How to keep the weight off once you have lost it, with Sara Durante
Nearly a year Ago today we published a great success story from one of our many diet clients, some of you might remember Sara Durante’s story and weight loss success using our extremely popular ketosis diet, however if you do not, take a look at the link below and get yourself up to speed…..
http://jwtraining.net/jwt-blog/2010/09/client-sara-durante-loves-her-new-lifestyle/
After working with Sara we kept in touch and put new program in place for her to keep working around- one of the many great things about Sara is if you give her a plan and tell her to stick to it, you can bet your house that she will follow it to the letter (and still ask for extra bur-pees or squats!) When you have this kind of attitude in anything in life, you sure make things a lot more promising in life and success seems to lurk around every corner you turn.
So a year on from her plan we touched base with Sara to see how she had been getting on, not only had she continued her training, she had continued to lose weight far past the diet phaze.- one of the biggest stigmas attached to intense dieting is that you CANNOT keep the weight off, we have always thought different and so has Sara, take a look at the interview we did with her and see what you think…………..
- Sara looking better than ever and proving hard work pays off
(JW Training) Hey sara, you completed the ketosis diet plan with JW Training and saw your body not only lose body fat – but increase muscle as well – a common problem people have after a hard diet is they put some of the weight they lose back on again. So the question for you is after the diet, what did you do to keep the weight off?
(Sara) Well, for one thing I didn’t look at the diet as a temporary phase. I never completely went back to my previous eating habits. I am by no means still on a ketogenic diet, but I took a lot of principles from it and took the chance to read a lot and learn more about eating low-carb while I was on the diet. It took discipline to teach myself how to eat healthy, but once you’re on the right path, it gets easier and easier. And if you stay on it, there is no chance you will put the weight back on. In fact, you will slowly but surely keep burning body fat and building muscle if you train as well. Before I started the diet I was 136 lbs, lost about 12lbs by the end of my 10 week program, to end up at 124 lbs. A few months later, I checked my weight again and I was 118lbs. And now I am around 115lbs. And I wasn’t even trying to lose more weight, just sticking to my routine!
(JW Training) How are you eating now you are off the diet? do you find you are having cravings to go back to old habits?
(Sara) In a nutshell, I am still eating low-carb and I still eat 5/6 times a day, basically every 3 hours. I try to always include some protein in every meal, eat a lot of greens and vegetables, a little bit of the less sugary type of fruit (green apples and berries are the best), use xylitol as a natural alternative to sugar, always have nuts and seeds with me for any lack of energy throughout the day. I cook most of my food, bring my own lunch and snacks to work with me every day. It’s become my routine and I love it.
And to be perfectly honest, I don’t really have cravings. Yes, from time to time I will have ice-cream or a slice of cake, but that is by no means the rule. Also, I’ve learned that there are healthy treats you can have from time to time – I always have some dark or raw chocolate, possibly sugar-free and sweetened with xylitol, in my cupboard. I try to keep my exceptions for the weekend, but I don’t beat myself up if have a piece of dark chocolate during the week. Also, the more you cut sugar out of your diet, the less you crave it – to the point where now I am generally put off by food and drinks that are too sweet and sugary. I just don’t like them anymore.
(JW Training) How do you resist temptation to eat the ‘bad’ foods?
(Sara) I rarely find it hard to resist temptation. For me, it’s really about being fully aware of what that “bad” food will do to my body – and I don’t just mean my shape, I am talking about my health as well. Once you know what that food will cause in your body, it’s so much easier to stay away from it. I simply don’t buy any junk food anymore, so it’s not even there to tempt me.
(JW Training) What makes you want to continue your training every week, you have a very busy lifestyle, how do you fit your workouts in and keep yourself motivated?
(Sara) I’m not going to lie and say I never get lazy, because I do sometimes. And it’s not always easy to keep yourself motivated, it’s true. But the bottom line is, make training a part of your routine, keep at it, it will become a habit and you will miss it if you skip too many days in a row. It’s pretty much always possible to work out for at least 20/30 minutes a day, even on your busiest day. If you don’t have time to go to the gym, buy yourself some dumbbells and work out at home in the evening. Also, always try to change things up, modify your work out, add to it, so you don’t get bored doing the same thing over and over again. Something else I find helpful in keeping myself motivated is talking about training with friends who are also doing it and are passionate about it.
(JW Training) To make your body change you really have to push yourself hard, how do you do this? can anyone work that hard?
(Sara) Simply put, yes, anyone can. Believe me, when Joe gave me my first program, I looked at it and thought “there is no way I can possibly do all this in one session”, but I was wrong. It always sounds more difficult than it actually is. It’s no piece of cake but it’s always doable. Of course a personal trainer is great to push you and get you through your session, if you find you can’t always push yourself.
(JW Training) What has exercise done for you? would you say its given you more confidence?
(Sara) Sure, confidence comes with the package, simply because working out makes you feel better about yourself. When you know you are doing the right things for yourself, you may feel tired after training, but you feel rejuvenated as well. I don’t want to get too deep here, but you can’t deny there is a connection between the mind and the body and when one feels stronger, the other will too.
(JW Training) What advice would you give someone who is looking to go on a diet with jw training?
(Sara) Don’t even question it, do it! It’s the best thing you can do for yourself. Be prepared to work hard, be disciplined, always keep your goals in mind, trust Joe, ask him questions, seek his advice and support, that’s what he’s there for, and he’s brilliant at it.
(JW Training) Thanks sara, any final words about training or the healthy living lifestyle?
(Sara) Mmhh.. perhaps the best piece of advice I can give is.. stay away from sugar/refined carbs. They are just bad for you in so many ways – but don’t just trust me or Joe, read about it, find out for yourself and make up your own mind about what food should get into your body. It’s the only one you’ve got, you should take care of it.