WHY LOSING WEIGHT DOESN’T MAKE US MORE FIT!

Before you read the post, please look at the photos below.

This is the same young woman, my client ISABELLE PARISIEN.

Isabelle finished her 6-month transformation in our program and is also 115 lbs. While she has not made much progress in 10 years, her shape has completely changed in only 6 months!

Now you may be wondering, how does this happen… Let me explain

In simple terms – Looking fit and toned has less to do with weight and EVERYTHING to do with body composition. A person can be healthy on the scale while still having a high body fat percentage. 

This is usually the result of a low-quality diet, the wrong exercise type and poor lifestyle choices. It’s pretty common for people that are misinformed to take desperate measures in attempts to lose weight rather than address the root cause.

We will look at each point in detail along with Isabelle’s feedback to better understand.

Low Quality-Diet
Poor food choices, processed foods, low-quality carbs, low-calorie diets and lack of protein. 

For a long time, I fed myself breakfast and lunch with a meal replacement shake and had only fruits for snacks. Only at supper would I have a big meal with wine and sometimes, a lot of unhealthy snacks at night. From barely ate and could not understand why my body would not change.

Today, I’m in the best shape ever and eat over 2000 calories! I learned that my body needs nutrients every 2 to 3 hours. This keeps my cortisol and blood sugar at a good level, preventing cravings and big energy drops. I eat way more protein than I used to and realized I can eat a lot of carbs as long as they are good, unprocessed carbs and not all consumed in one big portion. Through this process, I learned to cook with fine herbs and spices and discovered pretty good recipes! Protein powders are an excellent choice to make sure you get all the protein you need in fitness nutrition.

Looking fit and toned has less to do with weight and EVERYTHING to do with body composition. A person can be healthy on the scale while still having a high body fat percentage.

Wrong exercise selection
Too much cardio, activities other than resistance training or even worse being sedentary and relying on diet alone…

I did a lot of running and jogging and some home workouts but not on a regular basis. After listening to Tara telling me I had to go to the gym to gain more lean muscles, I listened!

In August 2022, I started working out at Goodlife Fitness. Another game changer. Not only do they have more equipment that helps me work different muscles on different levels, but the sensation of training in a gym was also a big game changer. It helps me disconnect from every other life obligation.

Lifestyle factors
High stress, lack of sleep, alcohol consumption

I have been dealing with stress and anxiety for longer than I remember. Actually, I don’t even think I knew that anxiety had been part of my life for most of it. Like most people of my age, I enjoyed drinking and partying. I can tell now that alcohol was also an easy way I found to deal with anxiety. Do I have to add that my sleep schedule was messed up? I never slept very well and alcohol surely did not help. I was also going to school and working crazy hours at that time, doing double time and night shifts.

When I started with Tara, I was encouraged to reduce my alcohol consumption, practice yoga and try some meditation. That really helped me calm down and stay focused on my goals and priorities.

Today at age 36, Isabelle is healthier, happier and fitter than ever.

Yet…she’s the exact same weight!!

I hope this article will help other women live in alignment with their goals while using objective methods to measure progress to stay motivated!