Natalie went from a size 18/20 to a 10/12

Update Dec 2015: More than a year later Coach Natalie is still going strong, despite a recent car accident that hindered her from working out while she recovered. A testimony to healthy eating habits, she didn’t gain a single pound.  We asked this amazing mom of 5 to update us on her progress. (You can also read more about how she lost the weight below)

“To be perfectly honest, I haven’t lost a single pound since that feature in 2014. I did however lose an additional pant size and it was awesome. I completely let go of the thought of a “magic number” and how that would bring me a sense of accomplishment. Forget the scale! My body was moving and looking fantastic.

I say “was” because I am now recovering for a car accident and I am not able to workout just yet. I am however excited to report that even though I am not as firm, I have not put on a single pound. Nutrition is king, and I see that now even more than I already did. This car accident was a blessing. I got to be put in the same position of a lot of my clients. Not at their physical best but desperately needing a start they can stick with. This accident has grown my passion and creativity for nutrition. I’m able to serve my clients better. I feel more than confident that my consistency with nutrition is helping me heal and keep my size down despite not exercising.”

Check out her blog for more about her inspirational story: http://teamwitnessfitness.blogspot.com

Sept 2014 – Weight Loss Success Story of the Day: Coach Natalie went from a size 18/20 to a 10/12.  This proud mom focused on fat loss and getting healthy instead of just pounds.  She has shared a lot about her journey and her mindset about losing weight.  I really love her perspective.  Check out what she shared…

What was your motivation? What inspired you?
What motivates me changes as I change. I started this journey motivated by the thought that I needed to do my best to be healthy for my children. I want to be in their photos as they grow, for them to have memories of us playing together and to just feel good. You have to take care of mama so that mama can take care of baby.  I continue to keep motivating myself with non-scale victories (like getting into jeans that don’t fit). As of right now my major motivation is my missions trip to Guatemala. I’m going with my oldest set of twins to help build a home for a widow and work with orphans. I want to be an asset on this trip. I want to have the strength to do whatever is needed in that home. The thought of serving in that capacity is what currently motivates me.

How did you change your eating habits? What did you stop or start eating?
I started this fat-loss journey with the thought that I could workout enough to cancel out my food choices. I refused, I mean I REFUSED to change my eating. When I first started, I was in group fitness classes 4 hrs out of the day and at first I saw results but that was short lived. You really can not out work a bad diet. I tried, oh I tried that method for a while without success. I didn’t really start focusing on my nutrition until a year and a half into my journey, and I wish I would have started sooner. It took a friend making herself available as an accountability partner and placing me in a small online group to start that gradual change. It was then that I stopped having my meals handed to me through a window. That’s when I stopped buying faux food that belonged on a shelf and started buying real food that didn’t last longer than a week in the fridge.

I use a great eating guide that helps me get in my healthy fats, carbs, proteins, veggies, and fruits. I REFUSE to diet, I rather maintain a healthy diet regularly.  If eating is something you struggle with I suggest you pick up Taste For Truth by Barb Raveling. It’s a great 30 day bible study that I have dove into more than once.

What did your workout routines look like?
I now workout once a day. My workouts range from 15mins to an hour and a half long it really just depends on what I am doing that day. 70% of my workouts are at home dvd series. I use Turbofire, Insanity, T25, 21 Day Fix, PiYo, Body Pump, Body Combat and so on. I have collected quite a few in the last 3 years but I use them, enjoy them and share them with others. I also enjoy lifting heavy and when machines are involved I do that at a gym.

What was your starting weight? What is your current weight?
Weight can be a lot of things so while I have lost weight I focus on my journey being a fat loss journey. I encourage my clients to think of their journey that way too. The last time I unhappily weighed myself was 237lbs amd wore a size 18/20 pant. I have two sets of twins and a singleton, and even while I was pregnant with my big healthy babies I didn’t weigh that much. I am just 2 months shy of hitting 3 years since I started this lifestyle change. I’m 5’9″ and have lost 23% of my body fat since I started, I now where a size 10-12 pant but depending on the brand that can go up (we women know how that goes). I recognize weight as a method to measure success in this journey but I don’t make a HUGE fuss about it. I celebrate my growing strength, power, endurance, speed, flexibility, mobility, health… the list goes on. I say screw a 3 digit number. All that number does is aid me in fueling this machine of a body. Seriously though, I track my weight for the sole purpose of adjusting my eating to meet my body’s growing needs.

What advice do you have for others who want to lose weight?
My advice is to focus on losing the right weight, which is fat. There is no need to do hours and hours of cardio. You may burn some fat that way but, you can also burn through your muscle. Burning through muscle makes for loose skin, and we don’t want that. Build muscles that burn fat and then properly fuel those muscles you are building with real food. Eat big, clean but big.

Take lots of pictures. I along with my clients take the same 3 photos either weekly or bi-weekly as well as our measurements. The scale tends to lie about the progress you made and sometimes the mirror lies to us as well. Photos don’t lie, all of your progress will reflect in your pictures. I can’t tell you how many time I was surprised when putting two photos side by side, it’s so rewarding. The more your cover up in your photos the less results you see, so I suggest using the same swimsuit or sports bra and shorts every time you take photos.

Earlier this year I was featured in the awesome women’s fitness magazine Gorgo. Here is the link so that you can dive in a little deeper on getting to know me personally.

If you need any help with your eating, figuring out what exercise program works for you, are in need of prayer, or want to be informed when my new blog goes live please reach out via email MyCoachNatalie@gmail.com and use the subject line “BWLW”. I’m a virtual coach and would love to help you in anyway that I can. Feel free to follow me on FB: LikeMyCoachNatalie. My handles for Twitter & IG are @MyCoachNatalie