Expert Profile: Rachel Cosgrove

Anyone familiar with Precision Nutrition and the principles underlying the 10 Habits knows what it means when we say, “Plan to break the rules 10% of the time”.  This means that 90% of the time, you need to be on or “compliant” with the other nutritional habits of PN.  When matching behaviours to goals and expected results, 90% is the magic number separating phenomenal from mediocre.

For the clients at Results Fitness, a fitness centre run and co-owned by Rachel and Alwyn Cosgrove, hitting 90% is what makes or breaks the deal.  Certified as a strength and conditioning coach, as well as a triatholon coach and sports nutritionist, Rachel uses the yardstick of 90% compliance to motivate her clients to stick to the plan and ensure their success.

Right now, she’s utilizing the 90% rule with a group of women participating in a 12 week challenge to get into their skinny jeans.  Every 2 weeks, Rachel will do body composition measures only on the women who bring in their journals outlining what they did to hit 90% compliance with the nutrition guidelines.  It’s not a method intended to punish those who weren’t as committed. It’s simply a function of what Rachel knows from experience to be true: those who don’t consistently hit 90% compliance will not see changes in their body composition, and without this standard, there’s no real way to discern what aspects of the plan are working for them (or not).

In a recent blog post, Rachel expresses her frustrations with those who choose not to follow her advice. She knows that her methods work and bodies will change as long as people follow the rules 90% of the time. Her knowledge comes from experience: not only has it worked for all her successful clients, it’s worked for her too.

Rachel is a seasoned competitor in many arenas. She’s competed in fitness competitions with both the NPC and Fitness American Organizations. She set an American record on the powerlifting stage with a deadlift of 297.6 lbs. In 2007, she completed the Ironman Triathlon. With each event Rachel has seen her body respond to the variations in training and nutrition protocols.

For instance, after 2 years of focusing on ultra-endurance events and competing at the World Triathlon Championships last summer, Rachel knew exactly what to do to recover her lean, “figure-like” physique: replace the long runs, rides, and swims with lifting weights and performing interval style cardio, and eat a diet that optimizes fat loss and muscle building.

Rachel as a triathlete

Rachel getting lean in the gym

Rachel was doing pretty well with 80-85% compliance. But when she scheduled a photo shoot, she knew she had to improve even further. She’s added some extra workouts and bumped up her nutritional compliance to 90%. With these changes comes the proof that 5-10% makes all the difference: In just one week of being on the plan, she’s dropped 2 lbs off her already trim and lean body.

And that 2 lb loss came after a week that included a few meals and splurges we wouldn’t expect to find in a nutritional plan. One dinner included shepherd’s pie, two glasses of wine and dessert at the celebration of her Grandma’s birthday; at another birthday, Rachel joined her friends in two glasses of wine.

If you’re wondering how Rachel managed to actually lose weight while indulging in comfort food, wine and dessert, let’s step back and look at the bigger picture.

During this week Rachel completed the following workouts:

2 strength training sessions
2 metabolic workouts
1 interval session on the Stairmill
1 short run (30 min)
1 day off

As for nutrition, a typical day for Rachel starts with coffee.  Because she has a 4:30 am wakeup call, Rachel doesn’t want to delay her morning rendezvous with “Joe”. Every evening, she puts organic, whole coffee bean in the grinder of her coffeemaker and sets the timer for 4:15 am.  Getting up at 4:30 am is much easier when she knows that a cup of freshly ground coffee is ready for her.

Despite the Christmas theme, Rachel’s favourite way to have her coffee year round is in this mug given to her by a client.  She loves it because it’s so big and magically turns her 3-4 cup/day habit into just 1-2 cups.

Breakfast omelet

While sipping her first cup of coffee, Rachel starts to make breakfast.  Most mornings, this is an egg or two with some egg whites scrambled up with spinach and salsa.  When mornings are especially rushed, going for a simple scramble of two pre-packaged egg whites and spinach works.  Whether Rachel’s breakfast is leisurely paced or one that needs to be fast, a multivitamin and four omega-3 capsules supplement her first meal of the day.

After breakfast, Rachel heads to Results Fitness to lead a group of women in a 5:30 am training session, followed by her own workout at 7 am.  Rachel starts to drink a shake of whey protein and frozen fruit during her training and finishes it up post-workout.  She pops home for a quick shower, then returns to the gym by 9 am to start her work day.

Rachel plans ahead for her meals at work by packing and toting an ice chest with food for the day.  By about 10 or 11 am, Rachel has her first meal at work, a snack of natural yogurt, almonds and frozen blueberries, followed by spinach and chicken breast for lunch a few hours later.

An afternoon snack of some turkey breast and an apple around 4 pm tides Rachel over until dinner at home — usually some kind of protein and vegetables.   On this day, asparagus sautéed in olive oil is paired with olive-oil marinated ahi tuna from Trader Joe’s. Rachel says this dish tastes especially good.  (Rachel generally breaks up the tuna steaks to make sure they’re cooked all the way through – she’s not overly confident about her cooking skills.)

Dinner of tuna and asparagus

Rachel aims to drink about a gallon of water daily and varies the carbohydrate content of her meals depending on her training for the day. She also often includes cottage cheese, oatmeal, nuts, peanut butter, and brown rice and brown rice pasta or tortillas.

When you look at all the other things Rachel makes happen in the week, it’s easy to see how Rachel was able to make progress.  Her two splurges were only two of the approximately 35 perfect meals she had the rest of the week, during which she included 6 training sessions.  With the majority of Rachel’s meals meeting her nutrient and energy needs, a few extras on top don’t get in the way of results.

After years of utilizing this principle to get results in both her clients and herself, Rachel knows that change comes not from perfection but by committing to the 90/10 rule.  With the flexibility to indulge in the extras 10% of the time, you can put more energy and focus into getting the other 90% that will get you to your goals.