Carey joined Precision Nutrition Coaching for one reason only — to win the $10,000.00 prize.
Now, having lost 82 lbs and 19% body fat, she’s got a whole new perspective.
And she wants to share it with you today …
Carey's Transformation
Lost 82 lbs and 19.3% body fat!
- Age: 25 years
- Weight Lost: 82 lbs (from 232 lbs to 150 lbs)
- % Body Fat Lost: 19.3% (from 42.5% to 23.2%)
Trying to look like a magazine cover model? That was nonsense to Carey. She was busy with other things.
So, even though she was 80lbs overweight, she didn’t obsess about getting skinny.
That’s why she’ll tell you that the only reason she signed up for Precision Nutrition Coaching was to win the $10,000 prize.
“I looked at the transformation pictures and thought ‘I have a lot of weight to lose. If I sign up, they’re going to tell me what to do, I’m going to do it, and I’m going to win the money,” she tells me.
“If it wasn’t for the big cash prize, I would have never even considered it.”
Misguided? Who knows? We’re often told that intrinsic motivation (motivation from the inside) is better than extrinsic motivation (motivation from the outside).
But, in Precision Nutrition Coaching, we consistently see that hefty external motivators — like big cash prizes — are exactly what people need to kick-start the change process.
Still, I tell her, there are easier ways to get $10,000. (A part time job, perhaps?) So isn’t it realistic to assume there may be another reason to actually pay money and dedicate your life to a yearlong workout and nutrition program?
“Well, a few months before the program, my son decided he wanted to be a healthy person,” she says. “Every night we’d sit down to eat and I’d have a Taco Bell bean burrito and he’d have a salad and chicken.”
“After a few weeks of that, I started to look at those two foods — side by side — and wonder: ‘Why am I eating the Taco Bell when I could be eating something healthier?'”
And the more she thought about it, the more she realized that choosing healthy food isn’t about trying to look like a cover model. Rather, it’s about living the life you deserve.
“When eating those unhealthy foods, I felt like I was abandoning myself. I felt like I wasn’t fully engaged or saying ‘yes’ to life. “
So, she decided to join Precision Nutrition Coaching. Sure, the big cash prize was the initial motivator. But saying “yes” to life became the impetus for change.
It’s Month 1 of Precision Nutrition Coaching and Carey can’t do a simple body weight squat. She’s physically incapable.
“It was so humiliating,” she says. “I cried. I felt like the biggest idiot on the planet trying to bridge these two worlds.”
But with help from her son, she learned to modify the exercises.
“We held on to a clothesline at first and then moved from there. We came up with basic exercises that were within my range of motion that I could try to do. And we stuck with those.”
Initially, Carey had a “no way possible” mentality. But, like everyone who comes into Precision Nutrition Coaching physically deconditioned, she got over it. And, after a few weeks of training at home, she signed up at the YMCA.
She had learned to adapt. And, now, she was ready to start lifting weights.
That turned into a whole new battle.
“Every time we’d go to the gym my two sons would go play racquetball. Sometimes I’d walk onto the court, sit down in the corner and say, ‘I can’t do this any more. This isn’t for me.’ Then after 10 minutes or so I’d go ‘OK, I’m going to go workout now.'”
Then came a Precision Nutrition Coaching lesson that really shifted her perspective. In it, Dr. Berardi presented some unique ideas on motivation.
“I always appreciated that lesson,” says Carey. “I realized that no one feels inspired at all times and that it’s OK to feel that way. I also realized that even when you’re not motivated, you do it anyway because it’s life-supporting.”
And that’s when her identity began to change.
“There was a maturity in the questions she started asking,” says Erin Weiss-Trainor, Carey’s Precision Nutrition Coach. “It’s as if she was embracing a new identity and, from there, making sure that her actions were consistent with this new person she was becoming.”
Carey agrees.
“My attitude became: I’m the type of person who goes to the gym every day and eats these healthy foods,” she says. “So it became non-negotiable. Whatever else was happening that day, I was going to exercise and was going to eat well.”
However, she did still have doubts.
“Sometimes I’d get that voice that says, ‘This is not who I am, I don’t belong in a gym, I can’t do this! But then I realized that, yes, I am strong, this is what I do. One hour per day, I support my body in this focused way.”
And, as she continued to support her body with exercise and proper nutrition, as she continued to practice this new identity, motivated or not, the pounds flew off. In fact, at the end of the first six months, Carey had lost about 45lbs and 11% body fat. But she wasn’t done yet.
Following directions is pretty easy. Truly transforming one’s lifestyle in the long term… that feels like the real challenge.”
Like most people who go through the program, Carey wanted to keep going for two reasons. First, she wanted to lose more weight (although she was a little scared about the process). Next, she wanted to “deepen the lifestyle transformation” she saw during the first 6 months.
“I wanted to teach myself to make this a part of who I am. I knew how to follow a program but I wasn’t sure how to be a person who lived a healthy lifestyle.”
The exercise selection got harder as the programming progressed, but Carey was now capable of dominating the exercises. But she didn’t stop there.
“Toward the end of the year I was doing all sorts of stuff. I was scouring high-level bodybuilder magazines to come up with the most insane protocol to maximize everything for ‘Peak Week.'”
“Peak Week” is the week of final preparations leading up to the photo shoot at the end of the program. Client experiment with a host of unique strategies to help them look their best for their shoot. It’s an intense week that’s worthwhile, though not necessarily fun.
Except for Carey, it seems.
“I loved doing all that hardcore stuff,” she says.
And suddenly, this woman who couldn’t do a body weight squat and “didn’t care” about being overweight became a Precision Nutrition Coaching finalist, winning some great prize money along the way.
But, for Carey, while the money was nice, it wasn’t just about the money any longer. It was about gratitude for inspired moments, about saying ‘yes’ to life, and about embracing a new, healthier identity.
+++++
It’s 2AM and Carey, now 80 pounds lighter, is going through a circuit workout in the corner of her brother’s hospital room.
She’s doing push-ups. She’s doing squats. She’s breathing hard, using her lungs to fuel her body with oxygen as she moves, crouches, and bends.
She rests, lets her heartbeat slow down to a normal pace. Then she starts again.
“A full year after following this healthy lifestyle and working to change all those patterns and become a fit person, here I was in the total dark pit of unhealthiness,” she tells me. “I wanted to hold onto life while death and sickness were all around me.”
While nothing can prepare you for the death of a loved one, Carey found salvation in exercise. It’s not something anyone — especially Carey — could have predicted over a year ago.
During the grieving months after her brother’s death, she put on 10 pounds. It was tough, but manageable — she’s confident she can quickly take it off.
“If I didn’t have the habits to fall back on, I could have easily gained 50 pounds,” she says. “To me that means I am a fit person after all. It’s a testimony to the fact that my body has changed and the way it’s going to be in this world is different now.”
“No one goes into Precision Nutrition Coaching thinking that this is going to be a life transformation,” says Erin. “They think they’re going to lose some weight, become a little healthier, and maybe win some money.”
But as Carey found out that night in the hospital, sometimes the reason you start something isn’t the same reason you finish it. Cary started her Precision Nutrition Coaching journey to win some money. Today, she’s a stronger, leaner, fitter woman who uses exercise and nutrition as a way to celebrate life.
Want to read more great stories like Carey’s? Then come meet a few other men, women, and couples who lost weight, started eating better, and took control of their health.
Want help finally getting the healthy, energetic body you’re after?
For many people, improved eating and lifestyle habits can seem impossible to sustain, especially when progress feels non-existent. What the experts know: Progress is always happening, you have to know what to look for.
That’s why we work closely with Precision Nutrition Coaching clients to help them stay energized and motivated, and get in the best shape of their lives… no matter what other challenges they’re dealing with.
It’s also why we work with health and fitness pros (through our Level 1 and Level 2 Certification programs) to teach them how to help their own clients recognize progress and stay motivated through the same challenges.
Interested in Precision Nutrition Coaching? Join the presale list; you’ll save up to 54% and secure a spot 24 hours early.
We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Coaching on Tuesday, July 16th, 2024.
If you’re interested in coaching and want to find out more, I’d encourage you to join our presale list below. Being on the list gives you two special advantages.
- You’ll pay less than everyone else. At Precision Nutrition we like to reward the most interested and motivated people because they always make the best clients. Join the presale list and you’ll save up to 54% off the general public price, which is the lowest price we’ve ever offered.
- You’re more likely to get a spot. To give clients the personal care and attention they deserve, we only open up the program twice a year. Last time we opened registration, we sold out within minutes. By joining the presale list you’ll get the opportunity to register 24 hours before everyone else, increasing your chances of getting in.
If you’re ready to change your body, and your life, with help from the world’s best coaches, this is your chance.
[Note: If your health and fitness are already sorted out, but you’re interested in helping others, check out our Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification program].
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