Tell us a little bit about yourself!: 44 years old, been married for 21 years, have two children. Our daughter is in her 3rd year of nursing school in Colorado, our son is heading off to college this fall to study accounting. I’m a CPA and have seasons of very long office hours, however, the flexibility in the summer months, living in Idaho make the extra winter hours worth the trade-off. My hobbies are spending time outdoors at our cabin in the mountains, playing golf with my friends and family, and working out with a great CrossFit community.
What did your life look like before Stronger U?:
Before stronger U my diet was okay but I was simply eating too much, and would typically eat quite a few sweets after dinner which just gradually increased my body fat and I felt sluggish in the gym and didn’t feel great about how I looked. I had worked with a local coach at the previous gym I attended and had some success with macros so I knew something macros related was what I wanted to dive into again. Once my time with the coach was over, I gradually slipped back into poor habits, began to not really track anything and simply ate too much quantity. My activity level dropped off dramatically in the winter of 2020. I was working a lot, quit going to my gym due to COVID and just became quite lazy. With my job, my activity is basically nothing unless I am intentional about moving, before Stronger U, I was not intentional at all and it showed up on my waistline.
What does your life look like now?:
I am in a good place with food currently. I have some great meals think I really enjoy and they are so satisfying. I enjoy to cook and experiment a little in the kitchen as well. I honestly enjoy the time I spend doing meal prep. I think it’s partially cooking the food, and partially because I know it will take so much thinking and guesswork out of the next 4-5 days. This allows me to just think more about my clients, family, workouts, activity, etc. I don’t have to worry about what I’m going to eat hardly at all. My activity level is definitely up since stronger U. I met Candace, my coach at our gym. I had been going back to the gym for about 2 months following a 2 year layoff, when we met. I was getting a bit stronger and getting some aerobic capacity back but I still felt too heavy and wanted to lean down to what I knew would feel good and allow me to do what I wanted in our workouts. I immediately felt better, the weight began to come off and it was very consistent. I signed up for a CrossFit competition to keep me motivated, Candace, and multiple friends from our gym were signed up and it was a great “carrot” to keep me showing up at the gym, eating right, and to not give up during my stressful work season. I currently feel great, I’m about 6 months from starting on with Stronger U. I have enjoyed and value the maintenance phase, this is where I have probably learned the most. It’s pretty easy to be on a “cut” and stay motivated when the results are there and you see progress each week. I think staying aware and have the accountability after this phase has been valuable and is setting the stage for a true lifestyle rather than a small cut phase.
Why do you think Stronger U worked so well for you compared to other programs or diets?:
I like the data and visual analytics of the app, the awareness that provides along with weekly accountability from our coaches was a perfect balance. Not overly time consuming, yet plenty to keep on track and hit the targets we set.
What was something you regularly ate while on Stronger U that people wouldn’t expect you to eat on a diet?:
My go to is BBQ tri-tip with potatoes, and a large portion of vegetables. I love the process of BBQ’ing the tri-tip, while cooking my potatoes and vegetables and then portioning out all the deliciousness:) I eat this meal almost every day sometimes for breakfast and lunch. I’m amazed almost every time just how much food I’m able to eat and how perfect the macros are to keep my body running on some high octane fuel.
How much weight did you lose with Stronger U?:
20
How many inches did you lose off your waist?:
4
Did you have any favorite non-scale victories to share?:
Quite a few positive moments in the gym – Getting my muscle-ups back, lifetime PR in the deadlift while cutting and having my body weight down. Finishing my first CrossFit competition.
If someone is thinking about joining Stronger U, what advice would you give them before beginning their journey?:
Just do it, listen to your coach, and take the little extra effort each day to log into the app. Read the articles and listen to the podcast for extra encouragement. Just show up every day and overtime the results come.
