Patty Galicki – 2 Month Progress

Patty has been working directly with us for the last 2 months after making tremendous progress in her first 90 days of following the Own Your Eating program solo. When Patty reached her goal weight and started noticing herself feeling hungrier and having less energy, she decided she needed to take things to the next level and enlist the help of a coach at Own Your Eating. Read on to find out more about this teacher’s experience with reverse dieting and the Lifestyle program in the last 60 days.

Interview with Patty Galicki

When did you start Flexible Eating & how did you get started?

I started on May 2nd, 2018. That was a Wednesday. On Tuesday night, I’d listened to Jason talk about Own Your Eating and flexible dieting on the CrossFit podcast. That same night I bought an electronic copy of Own Your Eating- The Definitive Guide to Flexible Eating and signed up for the premium version of My Fitness Pal. Most people like to start their diet on a Monday but I couldn’t wait, so I started it the next day!

What prompted you to get started with OYE? 

I’d been celebrating my golden birthday for the entire weekend and when I went on a warm-up 400m run on Monday, I was shocked about how slow and out of breath I felt. I figured it was mostly from the weekend. When I got home, I dug out my scale to get an idea of where I was at that point. It was a wake-up call to see my weight at 140lbs. That’s a lot for someone like me who’s 5’3.” I knew my diet had gotten pretty relaxed for a while but I wasn’t expecting it to get to that point. The next day I was listening to the CrossFit podcast episode with Jason and something just clicked. I figured I might as well try out flexible eating. I’d done the paleo diet, the zone diet, and two rounds of Whole 30. I figured I could at least see how long this flexible dieting thing would last.

What are your goals and are you on your way to achieving them? 

My initial goal was to get rid of the extra pounds and get back to 130lbs where I’d felt most comfortable. Once I hit that goal, I’d been tracking for about 90 days, so I contacted Jason and Roz and signed up for the Lifestyle membership so they could help me calculate my macros for reverse dieting. My new goal isn’t weight specific anymore. Now I just want to keep doing my best at the gym while eating what I love with my favorite people! I’m really settling into the lifestyle aspect of this.

What changes have you noticed in your body or in general? 

At first, I was happy just seeing the weight come down. Then I started noticing all my clothes were fitting differently as my body was getting leaner. I’ve had to go out and buy new pants twice since I started! But what I’m most excited about is how I feel when I work out. I started flexible dieting because I got crushed by a warm-up run. Nowadays I’m pushing myself to go harder on the assault bike, put more weight on the barbell, and give more intensity every time I step into the gym. I love getting PR’s at the gym and then going home and enjoying dessert after dinner!

What has been your biggest obstacle that you have overcome or are working on? 

I have no problems when I plan my meals on Monday to Friday, but the real challenge is on the weekends. I love going out to eat with my friends and family but it can be challenging to track that. When I know where I’m going ahead of time, I can usually plan ahead and stick to my macros. But when plans change at the last minute I have to guesstimate and try my best! There’s been a couple of times when this hasn’t worked out so well, and I want to beat myself up about it, but then my husband reminds me I’m not on a strict diet. When I start getting a little too focused on hitting my macros perfectly, he’s there to remind me to be flexible!

What’s the one thing you previously would have deprived yourself of on a diet that you now get to enjoy guilt-free? 

DESSERTS! Sweets are definitely my Achilles heel. In every diet I’ve tried, I could give up soda, chips, and even bread with no problems. But I’ve never been able to shake my sugar dragon. That’s why paleo, zone, and Whole 30 didn’t work out in the long run. I really think that being able to have a very specific amount of sweets every day, especially after dinner, is really why this has become my lifestyle. That being said, I’ve realized just how quickly macros can run out with certain kinds of sweets so I have to really pay attention to the quality and the serving size.

What’s one piece of advice you would give someone that is just getting started? 

I always go back to the quote, “You can eat anything you want, just not everything.” There’s always the desire to eat just one more cookie, a little bit more ice-cream, or a couple more tortilla chips. That desire never really goes away. Those foods are literally designed and marketed to hook you like that. But your resilience and determination gets stronger every time you stick to your plan and hit your macros. And the longer you can stick with it, the more you start to realize what is worth fitting into your day and what isn’t. I love getting to eat anything I want, but I know I won’t be able to fit everything I want into one single day. So, there’s always tomorrow!

Patty is a teacher and coach at CrossFit Bearden in Knoxville. Like most women in their 30s with busy lives and social commitments, the pounds slowly started to pile on despite Patty maintaining her workouts at the gym. With Own Your Eating Patty was able to lose those 10lbs. without having to change her diet or give up going to social engagements. Now with the help of Roz, Patty is slowly adding more food to her diet and continuing to lose weight! How many diets have you been on where you get to eat more food?! We can help you reach this point too! All you have to do is get started. Download MyFitnessPal and and join the Own Your Eating Team today! What are you waiting for?