28 Jan Finding himself again – A Transformation Story
Finding himself again…
Here is a transformation story from a client of mine. It transcends much more than pounds lost, as his weight loss was nothing compared to what he gained…his self confidence. Read on in Seans words…
It was late November of 2011. It was a difficult time in my life; my wife decided to leave, and moved out. I was self conscious about my appearance deteriorating since our marriage. I had gotten a personal trainer about 5 months earlier, and was working out regularly. Although I had got some good results from the gym regimen, and had a good personal trainer, I reached my plateau. There was only so much workouts will deliver without the proper nutrition. I had lost approx 1 ¼ lbs per month, but after the first 5 or 6lbs, I wasn’t making much more progress, even though I was doing both weights and cardio. My ex recommended for me to quit and stop wasting my money on a trainer, but quitting would’ve been more depressing. I determined to find a way to achieve a better body, and increase my confidence.
He thought he was doing everything right: I ate salads, and used lots of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and guacamole. I mostly ate what I thought were healthy protein bars, and used coffee with only a few “add ins”, and lots of no calorie artificial sweetener, which I thought was healthy because it was low/no cal. I would eat breakfast early, lunch and come home at night and have a large, but what I thought was a healthy dinner. In the mornings I’d have eggs and whole wheat bread or a protein shake bought from a convenience store. For lunch I’d eat lots of rice and chicken, or what I thought was a healthy burrito or salad from a high quality fast /casual restaurant. I’d come home @ night hungry, and have either a large plate full of grilled chicken breast, or lean beef with rice and a small salad w/avocado and olive oil, or a big salad with carrots, veggies, grilled chicken, and lots of olive oil (because after all it was ‘healthy’), avocado, and guacamole an hour before bed. I’d have a protein shake after going to the gym, but didn’t realize there was a right time based on my schedule as to when to have different types of protein. Most of my friends thought I was healthy, and my gym trainer said “just eat lean and green”, but I was not breaking through.
Getting to Know Natalie Since I thought I was eating healthy, I emailed a distant acquaintance who was a 
bodybuilder about what I should do for diet because I thought I was eating a healthy diet. He didn’t write back, but I noticed he subscribed to Natalie Jill, and I subscribed to her on Facebook. Natalie’s blog helped. She is a motivator and while I knew she was eating good foods, but thought that because she had a nice figure that she was “luckier” with the results because I thought she had good genetics and could devote longer time to workouts. I thought she was working out many more hours than me, and maybe that her genetic makeup just meant that her metabolism was better than mine, I reasoned, because we both ate healthy foods.
Then I read her blog and saw her ‘before pix’ when she had gained weight after having a baby- . I also found out that we were similar in age (she looks younger than she is). At that time, since she had lots of women clients, I wrote her and asked if she did a program for men. She responded quickly that she does, and has many contacts and knowledge in the industry to review what male dietary habits would respond best to my goals. Then I began to believe it was possible for me to follow her plan, and get results as well. Although she stated that I could get started with a “jumpstart” plan with a credit towards a higher plan if I wanted to apply it later, I opted for the customized plan based on my lifestyle and weekly phone calls as well as the ability to email her questions and diet so she could “tweak’ it as we go along.
Our first Consultation In our first telephone meeting, she asked me questions, gathered information, and then analyzed the information including what I had been eating the prior 3 days. The next day she gave me a full report on my diet, her nutritional do’s and don’ts, and completely customized nutrition plan. Seriously, she knew the kinds of foods I liked, and helped me sort out what to eat, the portion size of each item, timing of when to eat, and what snacks to stock in my house and office. Since I am a business owner and often meet clients out for meals, Natalie taught me how to stay on track for when I go to a restaurant. Also, even though I considered myself well read and reasonably educated on health matters, there were many things that were “difference makers” that Natalie taught me on our weekly calls. I used to think protein is protein, or one protein was “better” than another, but Natalie taught me when to eat what type of protein. Another was the timing of when to eat a combination of healthy fats, proteins, and carbs, and certain times when not to eat fats. Another was what proportions of healthy food to use (IE even though she agreed avocado was healthy, how much to eat at each meal or snack). These things all made a huge difference and my progress became much more rapid.
Sean after 7 weeks with Natalie Jill
Others are Noticing! The only thing that Natalie told me that was wrong was how much time it would take others to notice improvements. She said I would notice some progress in about 4 weeks, and others would notice in 12 weeks. For me, I started noticing some results in less than 3 weeks, but others started noticing within 6 weeks. I have just completed 7 weeks, (Started December 1), so in there were holidays (where I did pick a few treats off the normal eating plan), and lots of travel and temptations. Despite some interruptions in the routine, people are noticing in droves. I have lost 11 lbs of fat, but because I am putting on muscle which weighs more and looks better, people notice more. I am getting more results from lifting because of the plan (that is the new variable- I was lifting and doing cardio before). An unexpected benefit is that my digestion is much better.
I highly recommend Natalie. I trust her judgment and recommendation, and believe that she is a great motivator and coach as well. She is my “primary care nutritionist”, and for guys this is simple, because she tells me what I “gotta do”. Then it’s up to me to do it to get results. I have more confidence now, and believe I can continue to improve. I am receiving nothing by sending this letter, and she did not solicit it from me. My real motivation is so that others who are on the fence and didn’t know Natalie from anything other than her blogs or posts on FB (like me) would give her program a shot. It is simple but not easy- if you do what she says, I believe you will get realistic results (and she will tell you if your goal is unrealistic). She knows what she is doing.
Thanks again, Natalie. You are an awesome coach, motivator and nutritionist. This is what you were meant to do! Sincerely, Sean Berger
To learn more about the programs that Sean started with go HERE
