My Story
Hellloooo. I’m Bek, Nutritionist, Yoga Teacher, Personal Trainer and The Posture Queen.
My weight has been an issue for as long as I can remember. I am 50 years old now (OMG) and I still remember an incident when one of my Mum’s friend’s commented on the size of my booty (I now think my booty is excellent thank you very much) but this was back in the 70’s way before the Kardashians and people wanting butt implants. This was when the pancake butt was aspirational – now the pancake butt likely means your gluts don’t work and you probably have back and knee pain as a result – but I digress.
This was my first awareness of people noticing my body and commenting on it being different to other girls. This booty commentary continued on throughout my life and because my butt and thighs are still to this day the main deposit of any extra bodyfat I am storing – it’s still a thing.
SPOILER ALERT: I now love my body and have gratitude for all it’s done, can do and will do and I respect it and treat it well after doing battle with it for most of my life. If you don’t already feel like this – I want this to be your experience too AND it’s never too late.
Back to the story: once I left home and discovered the gym at age 18 – I started to realise I could manipulate or “control” my weight using exercise. Unfortunately, I didn’t know much about good nutrition back then (who did?) and I did every ( I mean EVERY) diet. I went to Naturopaths, Nutritionists, GP’s, Chinese medicine practitioners to find the magic solution for my weight issues. I managed to succeed for a while – I’m pretty good when I set my mind to something but, like all of you that have tried dieting, it’s not sustainable. At some point it all comes crashing down and my solution was to binge everything I had been missing and then it would all come back on in a matter of weeks. Enter exercise. I became a personal trainer age 25. I was addicted and loved exercise (I had always been sporty in high school) but my body didn’t look like a lot of the other girl trainers (sadly I was probably only a size 12-14) but everyone else seemed to me to be twig thin and I was always self conscious about giving other people exercise and food info when I was still in struggle town myself trying to find the holy grail (hint it doesn’t exist). So I would exercise more and more and more. This left my body depleted, stressed and, eventually, resistant to exercise.
I would have to do more and more just to not put on any weight and I became more and more restrictive with food. Not a very happy or healthy way to live but not uncommon for the 90’s and 00’s fitness instructor. I discovered resistance training in my early 20’s and this certainly was a great addition-it changed my body shape and made managing my weight a little easier. BUT, like many health professionals, I didn’t do what I was telling my clients to do (don’t overtrain). I was training until exhaustion and injury and then still trying to train even with injuries.
What an unhealthy roundabout I was on. Up down up down went my weight and my injuries became chronic in my late 30’s (little did I know I had a hidden thyroid condition that was also not helping).
FF to age 42. I was 18 months postpartum. I had a sick child so I had hardly slept in 18 months. I was feeling old, overweight, depleted and depressed and wondering why the techniques I had adopted in the past were no longer working for me.
SO what did I do? I did the HCG diet. Did it work? Yes I lost 8 kilos. But it was pretty tough to do and is primarily based on calorie restriction. I have deliberately avoided offering weight loss services up until now because it is notoriously hard/unsuccessful and I wasn’t sure I was the best person for that offering – so I’ve stayed away from it. I also feel like I’ve been so damaged by weight loss talk all my life I’ve steered clear BUT guess what – I like to be lean too. I do not like carrying extra weight and many of you feel the same. Do you care about your other health issues? Yes, but you also care about how that extra weight makes you feel. I’ve been happy to talk about weight management from a health point of view – fat is active tissue and it secretes hormones, visceral fat decreases organ function, insulin resistance, hormones yadda yadda but I’ve steered clear of the weight loss conversation because I think I’ve been a bit scared of it for all of the above reasons and because I am not a master of this domain for myself. But perhaps that makes me the most qualified.
YES, I lost a substantial amount of weight and mostly kept it off and I have a totally different relationship with food now (I’m no longer an addict but can be pulled to carbs and chocolate when I’m tired/stressed etc) but I can still put on 3kg in a weekend with ZERO effort. I feel like the gap between the new me and the old me can be pretty thin at times. Old me: I just want to lie on the couch, binge Netflix, eat all of the things and more and never leave the house again vs NEW me (mostly) I am all over this food business, my cravings are mostly for healthy foods and I LOVE YOGA and weight training.
Do you ever feel like there is a thin line between the TWO you’s? I can even oscilate between the two in 1 day. And right now I am carrying a few extra kilos. I have been struggling with exhaustion and I am over winter (I am prone to SAD) and my mental health even varies wildly from one day to the next so who I am to be talking to you about weight loss? Can I discuss thyroid function, pathology interpretation, nutrition for mental health, lifestyle medicine, yoga, weight training, POSTURE – ofcourse. Why, because I am the master of those domains. But I still don’t feel like I am the Master of the weight management domain. Will I ever be? Not sure. But maybe that doesn’t matter. Maybe the best person to help you on your journey is someone who’s struggles are still current, who understands that a great program can help underpin and guide success but knows that you might still need to check in for coaching sessions now and then for the rest of your life because mastery of most things starts in the mind and when we are under pressure that’s when we can default to old patterns of behaviour and comfort.
So I’ve talked a lot about my food issues/addiction but these all or nothing tendencies applied to exercise too. Unrelenting gym sessions, training through injury, multiple sessions per day which all lead in my early 30’s to a chronic need for constant allied health professional support. I had horrendous migraines, chronic back pain, I tore my hip joint cartilage, damaged both of my shoulders, made my post MVA neck injury much worse and the list goes on. I would need treatment 1 or 2 x per week but I used that to then go back and continue to do what I was doing that necessitated more treatment. I was on that roundabout for a LONG time.
FF age 42. I had all of those chronic injuries, my shoulders were so broken I couldn’t do anything at all exercise wise for my upper body that wouldn’t aggravate my shoulders or neck, I was overweight, exhausted and depressed. I was 18 months post partum and (unbeknown to me) perimenopausal which had made me weight loss resistant (insulin resistant) due to the changes in my hormones and my chronic sleep deprivation due to a sick child. I was stuck in a chronic state of fight or flight and my changing hormones meant that my usual calorie restriction and overexercise was not moving the scales AT ALL and making me feel worse in every possible way.
I knew I needed a complete overhaul and could no longer continue on the way I had been going. I had come to end of the line. I had to completely approach exercise from a different angle. Hang up the EGO (ie stop lifting such heavy flippin weights) and calm the hell down. I had dabbled in YOGA for years and I would start the dabble again. I returned to the gym and started to exercise more CONSISTENTLY – 5-6X PER WEEK but everything was LESS. I was used to lifting the kind of weight that would make mens eyes water at the gym and I loved it but I had to change my mindset. Appreciation for what I could do. Thinking about doing things that my 50 YO self would thank me for (and now I’m nearly there) and bit by bit my body recovered. Because I was resting more, sleeping better and not constantly inflamed with injury I could lose weight because it was safe. My injuries slowly recovered enough to be able to train. I could do a pushup again-this is so incredible if you knew where I had come from. I was destined for MRI’s, surgery and all of that drama which I refused.
My shoulders are still “tricky” they will never fully recover because they are damaged BUT I can do almost everything I would like. I cannot DB press and I have to be careful with other pushing movements. I cannot do lat pulldowns because my shoulders don’t like that angle but I can do pullups, rows and single arm lat pulldowns. I cannot do barbell squats but I can do goblet squats, deadlifts, bench lunges. I can do YOGA. I now focus on what I can do and I am in the best condition of my life. I have the least treatment I have had in over 20 years and I am mostly pain free. I do have a list of injuries as long as your arm:
-right ankle -right knee -both hips -thoracic spine prone to getting stuck -right side of neck -both shoulders
And despite all of that I have learned how to stay fit, enjoy the exercise that I can do and be in the best physical condition of my life. But I started at the bottom.
Many women over 40 make the mistake of entering (or re-entering) the exercise world at level 5 or 6 (pump class, general weights session in the gym, high intensity group fitness, advanced YOGA) without filling in levels 1-5 which is where you learn about how YOUR body is going. What works/doesn’t work? What is stiff/immobile? What differences are there from one side to the other? Does your core work?
If you go back to “regular exercise” without addressing these issues the risk of you (over 40’s lady) injuring yourself if substantial. And what happens then? You give up. I’ve heard the kind of comments like
-I tried that it didn’t work-you either weren’t doing the right thing or didn’t do it for long enough
-I couldn’t do that-you didn’t have a program that was designed for YOU
-exercise isn’t for me-movement is for EVERYBODY
-I just do walking now-that’s great as long as you are happy with the results you are getting
-I tried weights and it just hurt-you didn’t have a well designed program
-I worked out with a trainer and they didn’t listen-that was just a bad trainer
-I worked out with a trainer and they made me do ______-that was also a bad trainer-I’m sorry
-I worked out with a trainer and I just ended up injurying myself-okay even my clients have occasionally hurt themselves. Not because I programmed poorly but for unforeseeable reasons. The key is to identify what happened, could we have done anything differently and provide guidance to get them back to exercise (treatment, exercise program, rest etc) – if this didn’t happen it was a bad trainer
-I don’t know what I’m doing-that’s what a coach is for
-I don’t enjoy exercise-let’s find you something that you like to do that makes you feel successful. You might not love it but some boring things are necessary for the bigger picture (long term health, movement ability, injury reduction, strength, resilience) What’s your REASON to exercise?
-What’s the point-it’s not working-a well designed program, adequate difficulty to the program and consistency = results
-It’s boring-let’s find you something you like to do but remember like cleaning your teeth and getting a pap smear “sometimes boring things are necessary”
Okay, so my story is not going to be one that says you don’t have to do anything. That is not how life works-most things are energy applied=results. So 1 minute a day of exercise is NOT going to yield you dramatic results. Yes there was that documentary with Dr Michael Moseley which said 3 minutes of high intensity exercise will produce results. Yes, some health benefits which is great. But 3 minutes of sprinting on a bike 3x per week is NOT going to produce improvements in your posture, substantial changes to your bone health, reduce your risk of sarcopenia (muscle loss) or likely measurably improve how you look. It won’t improve your balance, mobility, flexibility, strength or possibly your aerobic fitness. We need to raise the bar to get those kind of results. I know we live in a “what’s the least I can do for maximal results” kind of world. I want that too. But walking around the block with the dog or occasionally stretching your hamstrings is NOT going to give you the kind of robust health, strength, mobility, resilience and long term health that a consistent, well designed exercise program will.
Okay so UPDATE to Feb 2023. I am now a qualified Metabolic Balance practitioner. (Yay!) Metabolic Balance is a personalised nutrition program totally unique to you based on the scientific analysis of 36 blood values, your health profile and your dietary preferences. It is a proven program completely BASED ON REAL FOOD (no gross shakes) that will help you shift that stubborn weight, stabilise your hormones and fit into all of the clothes that you keep moving to the side in your wardrobe. My hubby and I have started our own Metabolic Balance plans and have already seen amazing results. This program now forms the platform for my BRAND NEW program helping women over 40 lose weight, reset their hormones & metabolism, feel energised and fit comfortably into ALL of their clothes – this is my journey too.
I am so happy to have discovered Metabolic Balance as I was on track to return to my usual go hard method of food restriction and LOTS of exercise that HAS produced results in the past but is exhausting and the amount of time and focus it requires and super diligence to get lean and stay lean.
Metabolic Balance blows that out of the water. It encourages gentle movement only for the first two weeks (this is super hard for me) to allow the bodies metabolism to reset without the interruption of cortisol due to high stress and excessive exercise.
This now forms the platform of my brand new 12 week program “12 Weeks to WOW”
This program is a group coaching program designed to set you up with all the important components to help lose the weight and reset your metabolism - for life – how do we do that/how is this different to what you’ve tried before? This personalised program is designed for your body based on 36 blood values and I will teach you over the course of 12 weeks how to adapt the program to you for life. The journey scaffolds you with 1 on 1 sessions with me combined with group coaching sessions for maximal accountability to help you stay the course even when it gets tough. There will also be the option to opt in for another 3 months of coaching if you feel you need it to really help you stay accountable in the long term.
Program Inclusions
-Comprehensive Health evaluation: a deep dive into your health history to identify the root cause of your ongoing symptoms including a referral for a 36 item blood test with the option to upgrade the test to include a female hormone panel.
-Metabolic Balance personalised Nutrition Plan based on those detailed blood results, health profile, your measurements (and weight loss goal) and personal food preferences.
-1:1 session to take you through your personalised nutrition plan to make sure you understand how to implement the program to get the results you want.
-2 x 1:1 sessions to touch base during the program and at the end.
-1:1 session to introduce you to the home-based exercise program designed to improve your posture, reshape your body and have you stronger than ever. All accessed online with video teaching of all exercises and pdf workbooks to coach you through the process.
-Postural Assessment and feedback about areas that you need to work on: all done via photos that you will send to me (also doubling as your own personal photos at the beginning of the program)
-Intro to Yoga and breathwork
-ongoing email support
-The Special Sauce: weekly group coaching sessions helping to keep you accountable and problem solve issues as they arise. (All sessions are recorded and emailed to you.)
-Lifestyle and Mindset coaching – a new you requires a new mindset and a review of habits that have contributed to a lack of success to date. I will give you tools to help set you up for success!
No need to drive to appointments and coaching sessions – everything is conducted online making it convenient and saving you time.
If you have tried all the things and frustrated with getting no-where and you are “over it” and really ready for true transformation then book a discovery call to find out if this program is what you are looking for. I would be so excited to help you discover personal happiness and wellbeing as I have with this program.
So my story has a pretty happy ending (well I’m not dead yet just perimenopausal!). I have now completed my own program and I’ve transitioned to phase 4 of Metabolic Balance – integrating it into life. Maintaining my preferred weight is easy (even when I have little deviations), I no longer do arduous 30 minute cardio sessions 5x per week in addition to everything else I was doing. I have more time, I’m less stressed and it means that my transition through perimenopause, my endometriosis, my thyroid are all much more manageable and the symptoms nowhere near as dramatic. AND I can fit back into all of those clothes in my wardrobe I’ve been avoiding. I feel like I’ve found my own personal Holy Grail and know that this new approach is going to serve me well as I transition into the next phase of life-Menopause. I am also making lots of deposits toward having good long term cognitive function, bone health and avoiding a lot of the diseases that plague people over age 65. What’s not to love?
More about 12 Weeks to WOW program
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