I’ve got another case study blog post for you. If you missed the last few, here they are:

A Case Study on Increasing Energy & Losing Weight

A Case Study on Curing Chronic Migraines, Naturally

A Case Study On Curing IBS, Naturally

Meet Kathy.

Why She Signed Up - In Her Words:

"Looking for a change in the new year. I'll be working fewer hours and will have more time to dedicate to this kind of change."

*Note from Mandy: Most participants are working full time and busy people - so don’t worry if you don’t have “tons of time” on your hands.

Her #1 Goal For The Challenge - In Her Words:

"Weight loss."

**Note from Mandy: I spoke to Kathy before she started the challenge as she was skeptical that the challenge would actually help her lose weight. She had been eating a 1200 calorie diet for quite some time and only lost 1.5lbs. (1200 calories is on the very low end).

What We Did:

Weight

As backwards as it might sound, we actually stopped counting calories and increased Kathy’s food intake. Under-eating will actually slow down your metabolism as your body is mildly starving itself. It wants to hold on to extra fat because it doesn’t know when you will next feed it.

She followed the meal plans in the wellness challenge, which have a focus on protein and a serious amount of veggies. They are not ‘low carb’, but they ensure that you have the right portion and the right complex carbohydrate. Not all carbs are created equal, and you want to be careful ones you’re eating because they can be broken down quickly into sugar.

Her results: she lost 8lbs in 8 weeks, which is very reasonable.

Cravings

There are three parts to what we did for cravings. Step one was increasing what she was eating - as noted above. Step two was increasing her protein intake - as also noted above. Step three was making sure that she had good snacks made for when she got hungry.

The thing is, cravings and weight loss tend to go hand in hand - most people that want to lose weight also crave the bad stuff, making it difficult. Does that sound familiar? ;)

Healthy Travel

After the challenge, Kathy had to travel to Toronto for work. She asked a question in our private Facebook group about how to stay on track as she traveled. Luckily, I’ve lived in Toronto so knew a few healthy places to guide her, but here were some other suggestions I made:

• Bring some protein powder and a shaker to mix water + protein in the morning. Work travel breakfasts can often result in croissants and pastries - not ideal! If you can have that scoop of protein, you’re setting yourself up for the day. Eggs are great too!
• Research healthy spots in advance.
• Bring snacks! I suggested the Genuine Health Protein bars
  

You can read a full post on staying healthy while you travel

The Results – In Her Words:

"It’s been going really well. I think I've lost about 8lbs which is remarkable since I haven't felt hungry at all.  I never really have had digestive problems or anything, and haven't noticed anything significantly different otherwise except that I really don't enjoy sweet very much any more.  No cravings at all, and I dislike salty/sweet, high calorie stuff.  A very new sensation for me:)  So I'd definitely call it a success...

All in all - very glad I did this, VERY glad it was 8 weeks and not 4, and I really hope I can continue after it's done.  Having someone else plan the menu and create the shopping list is a huge perk.  I'd pay you weekly all year just to do that and nothing else for me!  I could go to your blog and pick the recipes myself but to be honest the best part is just being told what to buy and knowing that I won't be throwing out a fridge full of green leafy stuff at the end of week, unused.  Even though buying so much veggie stuff is expensive these days, knowing that next to nothing gets thrown out and I use absolutely everything makes it totally worth it!"

- Kathy, 2016 Wellness Challenge Participant

*For privacy purposes, her last name is not included