Brandi Bartmess

"Are you happy with your weight loss/fitness journey? No, I mean truly happy! I am TRULY HAPPY! I was a few months ago too or at least I thought I was. OK so grab a coffee, tea, BCAAs and settle in cause I have tendency to get a little long winded...Most of us have been there. Wanting to lose weight (for good this time) and the first thing we do is drastically cut calories (convincing ourselves it's nothing more or less than "eating clean") and ramp up the workout schedule close to that of a professional athlete. That was me about 6 years ago. Eating like a bird and killing myself with a 7 day a week routine of running, kickboxing, weight and core work, kettle bells, P90X etc. It worked! I was "happy" with my plan because I lost over 50 lbs. I was 143lbs and a size 9 (in my opinion still fluffy). I was thrilled to be 5 sizes smaller. Finally, happy. But wait! Deep in the dark recesses of my brain is a door. You know, the door. You have one too right? This door is the part of my brain I have always tried to pretend isn't there. This is the door that just when I think something is AOK, I hear a little knock. Sometimes it is a knock so faint that I barely hear it and it's easy to ignore but if ignored too long, over time that knock becomes a brain rattling BOOM. Where is she going with this you ask? 30 lbs heavier is where I went. All because I ignored the knocking at the door that was trying to tell me there was NO WAY what I was doing was maintainable. Fun times with food happen, busy life schedules happen and what I was doing would not fit my life forever. That's exactly what I was doing - fitting my life around my goals, diet and fitness rather than the other way around. Fast forward 5 years to when I stumbled upon IF, IIFYM and HIIT. WHAT? You mean less really is more? Eat as much as you can, workout as little as possible and still get results! I've died and gone to heaven. I did it. A little shaky at first settling into macros and getting use to my eating window but 4 months later I was down 28lbs. Time to kick it up a notch and see where ADF would take me. Why? Why not? I was at my goal weight which I had adjusted from 150 - 145 - 140 and now I was looking for body composition. It was no longer about the # on the scale. 6 weeks later I was down another 12lbs and over 7 inches. HAPPY! HAPPY! HAPPY!Wait, what's that? Oh no, it's the door!!! Shhh, pretend you don't hear it and it'll go away. It took 7 months but that quiet little knock turned into a thunderous boom. ADF was waring on me. By no means am I dissing ADF. If it works for you and you're happy - cheers to you! Down days were becoming difficult to get through, I was over eating on up days, weekends were full of cheats, I was tired all the time, I wasn't seeing progress in my training anymore, I was barely maintaining my weight I was starting to feel a sense of failure. Oh no!!! Something has to change and fast or this will simply be another sad chapter in my all to big book of weight loss failures. But what needs to change? It has to fit my life, it has to make me happy, it has to be maintainable, it has to stop that knocking on my door. Fear was setting in. I can't possibly change what I'm doing or I will gain weight, fat, fluff. I know the science. I know the principles. I know what I need to do but I. Just. Can't. Get. Past. The. Fear. The fear of failure was paralyzing me from doing what my body and my goals needed me to do - what the knock on the door was telling me to do. Enter Miss Brandi. I've been following this girl for over a year. She knows her sh...uh, stuff! This is who I wanted in my corner to push me past the fear. Ok loooong story a little shorter - she worked out my macros according to my goals, my preferred training schedule and style, my concern for maintainable macros that don't drive me crazy trying to reach or stay within them. 4 weeks in I am eating more than ever!!! Over 6000 calories a week MORE than I was a month ago. I have energy, I'm loving my performance at the gym, I can eat every day, I'm not the odd one who doesn't eat in social situations, I'm eating things I had actually forgotten that I loved (ice cream, guacamole, cheese, butter, bread). I'm not gaining weight. As a matter of fact I'M LOSING! I'm eating maintenance calories and CrossFit only 3x per week and I'm losing. I'm 5'7, 135lbs and a size 6. I have a little fat I'd like to shed but I certainly no longer consider myself fluffy. Best of all, for the first time ever, there is NO KNOCKING on my door. I am truly happy! My recovery measures are through the roof. This is the holy grail of weight loss and fitness for me. The thing I was most afraid of (eating more) is the thing that my body and goals were craving. So what's the moral of this oh so long (but hopefully even just a little entertaining) story? If you hear that knocking on your door, no matter how faint, answer it! Don't let fear get in your way of making changes that will keep you on a maintainable and HAPPY journey. " - Paula Blair Coleman (Click here to see Paula's Progress!)

 

Paula! Love you, girl! You've been a gem and a joy to work with and might I add that you are a lady with drive and determination to be healthy and happy! -XOXO