Progress so far on Faye's emotional journey:
Day 1: Body fat 32.5%, daily calories below 1,000.
Day 39: Body fat 28.7%, daily calories above 1,500.
Faye's metabolism was completely messed up when we started PT just over a month ago. She'd been consuming under 1,000 kcal per day for absolutely years, which is very unhealthy and makes the body store as much fat as it possibly can (because it thinks it's in danger of starvation).
I knew we had a big task ahead of us to completely change the way Faye eats and thinks about food - the biggest challenge for her being an emotional one, because she truly thought that anything she eats will 'make her fat'.
It's not uncommon in the world these days to have twisted views on food and alongside a twisted body image.
Faye is now on her strong road to recovery (i.e. a healthy attitude towards food). So far she's only a month into her journey, she's eating nearly double the amount of calories from what she used to, and she's lost 1,2 kg during her first month despite the increase in her calorie intake. These results are astonishing, and I've told her from the beginning that first we'll need focus on fixing her metabolism up and only after we've managed that we should start worrying about fat loss. Getting on the scales in general is forbidden.
I wasn't expecting such dramatic results - but it just goes to show that sometimes you have to eat more to lose weight. We've gradually increased her calorie intake which has at times brought her to tears ("I feel like I have to force the food down when I'm not hungry").
Faye's diet now consists of healthy real foods such as lean proteins (e.g. chicken, turkey), good fats (e.g. half an avocado a day) and different sources of fibrous carbohydrates (great for energy, e.g. wholewheat pasta). Now it's time to start looking at having treats as part of her new healthier lifestyle, which I'm sure will be another emotional struggle (how could it possibly be good for you to have things you truly enjoy every now and again and not feel guilty about it?). I've told her to stop wasting hours at the gym, and instead focus on quick, effective resistance based workouts. During our PT sessions we lift weights. Because only that will result in a beautiful, shapely body and help burn fat while she's not training.
Faye's feeling very shy about her body image still, so I'll not publish any pictures of her just yet as she doesn't feel comfortable with the idea.
If you (or any of your close ones) suffer from lack of energy, being obsessed about your body image, not knowing what to do at the gym to make workouts effective or worst of all, are used to constant dieting without lasting results, maybe it's time to do something about it.... Once and for all.
I'm over the moon for Faye for taking a positive step in her life and being on her road to recovery, a fit body and mind. Girl, you rock xxx
/Erika Helsinki