Real Life Real Stories
Heather has been showing up for herself every day for the last four months inside The Balanced Life Method despite significant work upheaval and stress and the ever-changing phases of life with a baby.
Food has always been an obstacle for Heather, and she either wants nothing at all or Mac and Cheese. Now, “I am doing better eating on this program than anything else I’ve tried.”
She is consistently getting her water each day and is doing yoga four mornings per week inside her morning routine.
Her partner has supported Heather, who has been encouraging her and helping her stay motivated by participating.
She just finished a Walktober walking challenge at work and enjoys walks with her 1-year-old around their property daily.
“I am able to get through a shopping trip without complaining about something hurting.”
The mindset shifts Heather has experienced are too many to count. She speaks to herself differently, thinks differently about work-related stresses, and can show up as her best self for her partner and daughter every day.
And she’s down 28.3 pounds without having to restrict her food intake or weigh and measure anything!
The best part about all of this is that all Heather had to do was consistently check off the boxes on her healthy habits every day to achieve these results.
Was every day perfect? Nope. Because life isn’t perfect… especially with a baby!
Congrats Heather! I’m so proud of the action you’ve taken for yourself and your health!
Like most of my clients, “A” came to me with a long history of dieting and a lot of ingrained ideas of what food needed to look like to lose weight, good and bad foods, and an inability to maintain her hard worked for weight loss as a result of those ideas.
We were all born intuitive eaters.
Through life experience and exposure to diet culture rhetoric, our ability to listen to our bodies’ wants and needs change over time. And we lose sight of our hunger signals in place of the false notions that we only need a certain number of calories or foods, and that number never changes.
When “A” and I started working together, she couldn’t tell the difference between hunger and insatiable cravings. Either all the Oreos or none at all. And constant thoughts that she would never enjoy a meal out at a restaurant because of fear of overeating.
Every week we work together to change her perceptions and attitudes towards foods. We expand her thinking about what is ok to eat and what isn’t. How to slow down inside her life to listen to what her body is signaling about hunger. And finally, empower her to challenge former inner dialogue around food.
I woke up to a text Sunday morning from “A” that read, “Just weighed myself and I DIDN’T GAIN A THING!!!!!! I’m soooooo happy!!!!!”
She never thought she’d be able to maintain a healthy weight without being on a restrictive diet… ever.
She hasn’t tracked her macros in 3 weeks. It’s been time for her to fly free and have faith in her instincts for a while now, and thankfully life gave us an excellent opportunity to allow her to leave the nest.
Through listening to her body, she’s been able to maintain a healthy weight inside an extremely stressful period of her life while still enjoying meals out occasionally and allowing herself to enjoy foods she loves… all without restricting her intake of anything!
And, as if what “A” has accomplished isn’t awesome enough, she can add body confidence too! Her text to me today: “I had a revelation this week. I’m no longer sucking in or thinking about my stomach when I see people!!!”
These pictures are four years apart. They show me at different weights and different body compositions but what they don’t show is more important.
What is not evident in the picture on the right is the almost year of working with Dana to wade through food issues, self-confidence issues, eating habits, crap that holds me back, fear of failing and succeeding.
The picture doesn’t show the growth I’ve fought for, the many books I’ve read, the journaling I’ve written, the crap I’ve faced.
But overall, the picture on the right is a product of me not worrying about how it would turn out when I smiled for the camera. Instead, I was just present, with my family, wanting to be in the proof of our fun day and not worrying about perceived flaws. There is no room for them anymore!
What to say…. I am much better with numbers than I am with words. I am a professional engineer by day and a semi-retired, semi-professional, competitive functional fitnesser by night. So let’s look at some of the numbers I see when I look at these pictures.
10.5 – The number of years I have worked a full-time job
9 – The number of months between when these photos were taken
8.25 – The number of years ago I first entered my weight into a diet tracking app.
7.5 – The number of years I have been CrossFitting
4 – The number of years since I last competed at “the highest level” of my sport.
3 – The number of different nutrition plans I attempted since 4
1 – The number of those plans that gave me the results I wanted.
Dana and CVN gave me that #1. These pictures only show the physical progress but they don’t even scratch the surface of the overall progress and impact it has made throughout my life. Dana has guided me through it all and helped me prioritize, adjust, and supported me through everything life has thrown at me both in and out of the gym. I genuinely look forward to our calls every week; not only to find out how we are going to play with numbers and tracking to reach my fitness goals, but also because I have gained a trustworthy friend and teammate in tackling everything outside of the gym too. Thank you, Dana! I’m so excited to keep working with you and have you with me as more progress is made and our relationship continues to grow. This is just the beginning!
Working with Constantly Varied Nutrition has led to a decrease in visceral fat, an increase in muscle, and significant gains in the gym, but, most importantly, it has changed my relationship with food. Now I think before I eat, rather than regretting what I ate. Highly recommended!
Marcie has been taking action to improve her health by 1% every day inside The Balanced Life Method for the last 100 days.
She’s gotten more comfortable in the kitchen and has a routine for her food that doesn’t require her to spend an entire day cooking every week.
She’s eating more whole real food… “we never had vegetables in our house before this “… and is eating more food evenly spaced throughout the day. As a result, she craves vegetables and fruits instead of processed foods.
Marcie has gotten more organized with her schedule and no longer becomes overwhelmed by running her own business and being the president of her neighborhood’s association. She’s also handling stressful situations inside both of those roles entirely differently.
She’s getting water in more consistently across each day versus chugging it when she realizes she hasn’t had enough and is increasing her exercise levels.
The new routine has benefitted her hair, skin, and nails, and she is getting compliments from people who haven’t seen her in a while.
Plus, Marcie is down 8 pounds and 8 inches overall and able to confidently wear outfits that didn’t quite fit six months ago!
The best part about all of this is that Marcie didn’t have to change her entire life to achieve these results. All she had to do was try to improve her health by 1% every single day.
Congrats Marcie! I’m so proud of the action you’ve taken for yourself!
Dana is the go-to nutritionist! Her recommendations have forever changed me. I have been working with her for a little over a year, and I can feel/see the difference. She is very supporting and is so easy to talk to.
Dana is absolutely incredible! She knows her stuff inside and out and is extremely understanding and adaptable with her plans and recommendations. Whether it’s hours on the road, a busy work schedule, kids, or any other challenge you face with your nutrition, get around and to feel better and perform better. She is patient and very relatable, and I cannot recommend her enough!
From beginning 6months ago to today!
I reached out to Dana when working out alone wasn’t helping and despite many efforts, my PCOS acne inflammation was not getting any better. She helped me find a way to eat cleaner with my chaotic schedule and in about two months my inflammation went down and I felt great for the first time in years. Her coaching has changed my eating habits significantly. No matter how much stress you’re under or how chaotic your life may be, she can help you find solutions to address major aspects of your lifestyle to help you recover and live as healthy of a lifestyle as you can manage.