My 11 Months Training with Bree
I am the Assistant General Manager of a private gym in downtown Calgary. For the longest time I said “I work AT a gym not OUT AT a gym!” I reached a point in my life where I no longer felt sexy and spent way too much time starring in the mirror picking myself apart. My drive, energy and motivation were low so I knew I needed some help; someone to hold me accountable. I heard of Bree through a member of my gym who was using her program and loving it. She would always talk about how hard they were but how good she felt afterwards. When I looked her up I realized how affordable it would be to try it out.
I started my fitness journey April 1st, 2015. First it was fat loss. I’m not a large person by any means, standing 5’2 and weighed 113 lbs at the time; but that was big to me. I started on the 12 week program, with a shopping list of healthy foods to buy and macro numbers to fill with them. There was also an alcoholic allotment of 2 drinks per week but I decided to scratch that out. The weight routines were tough but manageable; using the fitness app to track everything I knew when and where I could increase weight each week. Cardio was gradually added on every 4 weeks and the unnecessary weight came off each week. Not all at once like some would hope, but gradually so that it stays off.
I felt wonderful after the 12 week program was up so I decided to keep on going. Everything fit into my work week and I had created so many good habits, but did not feel capable of doing it on my own still. Since I no longer needed to lose weight I wanted to grow muscle and essentially put the weight back on. We started the reverse diet; slowing adding in carbs and fats, and gradually decreasing the cardio to allow my muscles to grow. I loved having the workouts right there for me so I didn’t have to spend anytime planning them. I started finding fun recipes and took a new likely to making dinner. (My boyfriend was the cook until this point.) Through the summer I did cut lose a bit and may have cheated more often than I should, but Bree was there to monitor the weight and was able to make all the adjustments to keep things the way they should be.
It was in October that Bree suggested doing a show. Something I never thought I would do based on the concerns that it isn’t healthy, and I was scared to leave the show feeling like I wasn’t good enough because I didn’t win. I wasn’t sure my self esteem could withstand it. I had been eating clean and at no point felt unhealthy in my daily diet, my body wasn’t screaming at me for nutrients by any means. At this point though I was feeling good, strong and thought it would be a great end goal to achieve.
I had a good 5 months with zero cardio, but we were about to add it back in for the show. Again everything was very progressive and my body didn’t have any type of “to much cardio” or “need more food”. Every meal plan has been something that was easily sustainable. In fact I slept better at night because my body was the perfect amount of tired!
Holidays were a bit tough with all the sweet treats and turkey dinners, but I found my own balance of cheats and made sure to not miss a work out. On vacation I found gyms in the area at planned it in my day, every day!
January was when I really focused in to lean out so no more cheating, no more liquor which sounds boring but you find ways to make your macros taste awesome when you are pushed! I had in the back of my mind to do it all on my own and thought I should keep it a secret incase I back out but one day I admitted to someone other than my boyfriend what I was doing and it was a relief to have them congratulate me on taking on the challenge. I even had some male members of my gym join in on my work outs because they were impressed on the level of difficulty. The more I shared with others about my experience with Bree the more they supported and cheered me on. One even looked her up and hopped on board.
I had my low days though, and I knew it was moments that had to be shared with Bree and she was right there to pick me back up and cheer me on. She knew what it took to succeed with her background in doing these shows and understood the feelings of doubt. No worry though, Bree to the rescue, every time with realistic views and a belief that I can do it.
I have entrusted my body and health to Bree for 11 months now. The science behind body building and weight loss is so far beyond me, but her background and experience made it easy to trust her, and I never felt pushed beyond my means, starved or sustained any injuries. I haven’t had a cold yet either!
I booked my own photo shoot a couple weeks ago because I wanted to showcase how strong, beautiful and sexy I felt again. My life, health, happiness and strength in my relationship have all been better because of this journey.
Bree brought my sexy back! And I can’t thank her enough. Figures crossed I can make her proud and bring home a trophy. My success is also hers!