Transformation Tuesday – Alyson K.

Give it up for Alyson who has made an amazing transformation over the last 3 months! Alyson has been working hard and the hard work has CLEARLY paid off! I’m so proud of her and can’t wait for

her to rock her beach body on her vacay. Your boyfriend better keep his eyes on you girl! 😉

Read on to find out how Alyson has been so successful transforming her body and her relationship with food.

When did you start Flexible Eating?

June 5, 2017 was my first “official” day of commitment. 🙂

What prompted you to get started?

I had not only plateaued with my weight, but was GAINING. I’d been
active and lean my entire life. In retrospect, I had probably already been doing everything “right” all those years where I worked out and ate a well-rounded diet and didn’t actively avoid certain foods. When I started Crossfit I also got caught up in Food Fear. The weekdays were strict paleo and
weekends were for cheating (of which I would feel guilty afterward). I started to put on a little weight, which was alarming as I had always been the same size my entire life. So I cut more
carbs, ate less, and worked out more (often times doing 2 CF classes a day). I was probably in ketosis 90% of the time. Still no change. In a panic, I bought cortisol blockers and a variety of thermogenics, and started running (on top of
the other workouts). Still nothing. When I moved to SC, I decided to stop “formal” Crossfit. I thought an overhaul of my fitness regimen was what I needed. But despite trying 5 different gyms and classes, my weight didn’t change. I know people looked at me and thought I looked fine. But I knew my
body enough to know that I should be far leaner than I was and it probably shouldn’t be SO MUCH WORK. Eventually I had to ask myself if maybe it wasn’t my workouts that were hurting me so much as my restrictive eating habits. I was only paying attention to “WHAT I ate” not “HOW I ate”. My poor metabolism was so confused, if not broken, from all the damage I had done it by yo-yoing my eating habits, overworking my body, not eating enough, and nearly eliminating an entire macro
category- carbs- over time. I can’t remember how I came across Own Your Eating- It was certainly by accident- and I dived into flexible eating research, decided it was probably too good to be
true… and immediately scheduled a call with Roz anyway. 😉

What changes have you noticed in your body?

I feel new, both physically and mentally. I am currently down 3
inches in my hips and midway and down 7lbs in weight. While I get frustrated that the scale doesn’t move overnight sometimes, I can tell from my progress pics that I should probably worry less about that as I can clearly see that my body composition had leaned down considerably. But the biggest change I see is not in my body itself but in my mentality. Having freedom to eat things that make me happy, removing the word “cheat” from my vocabulary and rebuilding my relationship with food and my body has been so enlightening.

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

If I’m being honest: The biggest obstacle is fear. Letting go of an obsession is scary. Flexible eating is a complete overhaul of everything I have been doing for years. For me to be successful with this program I have to change EVERYTHING – not just my relationship with food- but also with working out. One of the things I’ve noticed is how anxious I am about having free time since I’m not working out as much. I get antsy. I’ve tried to combat that by going to slow flow yoga classes- something that will occupy me physically- but not exhaust my body. I go for walks in the morning instead of running. I have to remind myself that I don’t HAVE to lift every day and that I can go to spin class instead. I take rest days (plural! Eeeeek!!!) . It’s weirdly unsettling sometimes!

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

Only ONCE piece of advice?!?! How about 3….

1. If it’s been said before, it’s been said a thousand times: BE PATIENT. TRUST THE PROCESS. This had been a successful but slow process for me, and there are
times where I have plateaued and gotten frustrated. If you feel that way, take advantage of the personalized one-on-one calls with Jason or Roz. My bi-weekly calls with Roz have saved my sanity and her ability to firm up my numbers and provide guidance and reassurance have helped immensely!

2 Having an accountability partner helps! My boyfriend is also flexible eating and there have been a couple times where he’s walked into the kitchen, seen me hovered over a pint of ice cream, and said casually, “You tracking that?” Ummm…Oopsies! 😉

I think having someone to bounce ideas off of, share frustrations and
accomplishments with can go a long way towards success. If you don’t have someone, turn on the notifications for the Own You Eating Tribe on FB and all day you will be reminded that there is a community of supportive people all sharing the same experience and goal!

3. Don’t beat yourself up about an occasional “off” day. If you’re like me, then you’ve probably already spent a majority of your time over the years doing that
already. Don’t go back to those old habits of self-guilt and “making up for it” by doubling your workout the next day and eating less. Try to remember going over on occasion won’t undo everything. Chalk it up, move on and commit to hitting your numbers the next day!