During our last five week nutrition challenge Dawn lost 11 lbs, decreased her body fat by 3.3% and lost 2.5 inches! Dawn stated that her favorite part of the challenge was the simplicity of it. See Dawn’s full story below.
Introduce Yourself
“Hi, my name is Dawn McBratney”
You have been a member of CFJG for a while now and you just completed the 5 week nutrition challenge. Why did you sign up for the challenge?
“I signed up for the challenge because I had been doing CrossFit since March, I felt like it was a good way to get into shape. The challenge was a good kick start for the new year for me.”
You had some amazing results within 5 weeks – tell us a little bit about your success.
“I went into this after the holidays and I have been a little lax with the holiday eating. Over the course of 5 weeks I was able to lose 11 lbs, which is great. I’m down 3.3% body fat – so that is fantastic. I really wanted to lose body fat and start working on the effects of my CrossFit workouts, increasing muscle mass. I’m down 2.5 inches so I feel leaner, I feel tighter and I’m feeling stronger.”
We have the measurements that you had the success with. Was there any results that you had that maybe you’re coaches wouldn’t know about?
“Yes, definitely some things. I’ve never been a junk eater or bad eater, I think that the way I was eating during the challenge with very balanced meals, very balanced macronutrients and the discipline with the vitamins. This helped my digestive system. Actually my digestive system was probably as regular as it’s ever been, that’s a big thing for me, that’s something that I always struggle with. I think between the eating, the nutrients and the water, which is another big thing I struggle with. Being consistent with the water during the challenge, really helped crack a lot of those things which is fantastic for me.”
What was your first sign that you were making some progress?
“First off, it was very easy for me to drink the 8 oz of water in the morning, that was not part of my usual routine. Easier for me to get through 50 oz of water through the course of the day. I felt better, less sluggish during the late morning. So that was the first sign, I started feeling better, physically.”
What was the biggest obstacle for your nutrition that we helped you get over during the challenge?
“My nutrition obstacle is not so much what I eat, it’s that I tend to skip meals because I get busy or if I get stressed out. I don’t eat when I’m stressed, I have a pretty stressful job. The nutrition challenge was helpful for me to have those planned meals, everything ready to go. I took the time to not skip meals because I have the meals. When work and family life gets crazy I have the structure of having the meals there and ready, so I didn’t have to skip a meal or result to bad food.”
You had good success – what were the top contributing factors to help you get that success?
“I think the accountability of the challenge. I think it was great having to check in with Facebook, with the group. Seeing how people were eating and feeling, that was great. It’s always good to know that you’re not alone and having that accountability and that check in was super helpful for me. Even for someone like myself, I consider myself to be a self motivator, it’s good to know that I’m part of that group. So I think that was a really big factor for me as well.”
If there was someone in your shoes, like where you were 5 weeks ago, what would you tell them about the nutrition challenge?
“I would say without a doubt it’s definitely a great thing to do. I looked at it as, there are so many things I’m doing right, taking the effort to workout everyday, to get rest. The nutrition challenge gave me another tool in my toolbox, it helped manage not only my health but my lifestyle. It’s a great thing to do even if you have done something like this or if you feel like you’re a good eater, I think it would definitely add something to your lifestyle.”
