How my client lost 9.3 kgs in 11 weeks, Overcoming Grief in the Process

Before I became a nutritionist I thought the most important important thing for this career was having a love of food and health.  The truth is that the most important thing in this business is a passion for people.  Helping people through the challenging moments of their life and watching them achieve success is a buzz that never wears off!

I love the thrill of the unknown when I meet someone for the first time.  Will this person succeed?  How will they adjust to the changes I am going to suggest to them?  Will they be a stayer or a quitter when the going gets tough?

When I met Jemma my first thought was "This woman means business!"  She was focused on her goal  and keen to learn all about low carb.  We talked about the food plan and key actions and off she went, keen to get  cracking.

Nine days later she came back and had dropped 3.7kgs, of which 1.6kgs was fat.  She was away!

Fast forward 11 weeks and she is now down 9.3kgs (most of which is fat), her visceral fat has gone from being high to now being within the normal range and her BMI has dropped significantly.

What makes her result so remarkable are the challenges she has had to go through over the past 11 weeks:

- When she first started she was recovering from a knee operation and still in pain so she wasn't able to be as active as usual

- she has two young children who have been sick on and off throughout the winter, impacting her ability to sleep and creating the extra stress of needing to work full time as well as look after sick children

- she has been supporting another family member through health challenges

But the worst part was that  5 weeks into this journey, a family member unexpectedly passed away.  It would have been very easy at this point for the wheels to fall off, especially with only a few weeks of low carb eating under her belt.

There were a few wobbly moments, but she did her best to get through, and was able to maintain weight for a few weeks.  Once her normal routine was restored, she was back into weight loss mode again.  

These are the key actions that have helped her achieve these amazing results:

1. FOOD DIARY - Jemma has tracked her food intake with pin-point accuracy.  Every week she comes to my office with a food diary that has been filled in perfectly.  She tracks not just food but all of the factors that are impacting eating (sleep time, water intake, emotional triggers etc.) What gets measured can be managed! 

2. ACCOUNTABILITY -  She wanted regular check-ins to make sure she stayed on track.  Hence, she has been coming to see me once a week. 

3. SLEEP - Jemma has made bed time her top priority and has seen a very clear pattern to the impact that bad sleep has on her appetite control the next day. With two young children, she isn't always able to control how long she sleeps, so makes sure she gets to bed early. (This is why it is one of the key topics in my Foundations of Fat Loss programme - sleep makes SUCH a difference to weight loss!)

4. WATER - She always drinks at least 2 litres per day (which is tracked on her food diary)

5.  ROUTINE - As a busy working mum with two young children, she creates a weekly plan and does her best to follow it as consistently as possible.  

No supplements.  No fancy meals.  No fasting.  No crazy restrictive stuff.  Just a good plan and good old fashioned discipline.  

I feel really privileged to be a part of this inspiring journey and can't wait until she hits her final goal, which I have no doubt she will achieve.