25 LBS Lost In 6 Months!

Suzanne’s Story…

I have been pudgy for most of my life, but I have also been very active, playing many sports in high school, university and afterwards. But as time went, on my eating habits stayed the same and some of my choices were not the best. Finally, the way my clothes fit (or didn’t) and yes the scale reached a point where I said I need to do something about this!! Though my brain had some of the answers, I needed someone who understands me and can teach me how to use the knowledge in my head for good. This is where Karen Gallagher came in.

To start, my goals was never really to lose weight, though I knew it would be a by-product of the lifestyle changes I was planning on making for the future. I simply wanted to feel good in my own skin, to have the person looking at me in the mirror represent the one I knew existed in my head. I wanted to be strong, confident and beautiful. I wanted to be able to continue to do the things I love like canoeing and backcountry camping without any issues or concerns about can I lift that or walk that far? I want to enjoy my life not simply live it!

Working with Karen has been excellent and I’ve enjoyed all our conversations about the weekly goals and food choices. I especially like the fact it’s made me more accountable to my eating habits and I can definitely tell the difference if I veer of course too much. But she never makes you feel bad, it’s simply did you get up the next day and do better? Because the goal is to always improve….no one’s perfect and everyone has a weakness food, just learn to keep that to a minimum. So though I might fall, I get back up and that’s what makes her proud, you don’t give up!

The changes that I have seen are more than just a number on the scale, though that has moved and brought me to a comfortable number I know my journey has not ended because I lost weight, but simply gone down a different path. Physically the weight is gone and I can see the beginning of definition of muscles and the strength that I know I have. More importantly, mentally my thoughts are clear, I have less stress and therefore don’t eat because of it. I am more confident and tend to stand straighter and realize that I am totally worth it (which can sometimes be a struggle for people).

I would definitely recommend anyone to work with Karen. She has an excellent knowledge base and gets to know you as a person when discussing one on one the goals and challenges of the week. Karen encourages you to think about the underlying issues to your cravings and gives hint/suggestion on how to avoid those situations. She is a good listener, and asks the right questions to bring issues to light. Karen also helps keep you motivated, as my eating habits may not be perfect, but they are far better than they were and that is from Karen giving suggestion on food and recipes to try new thing, you simply ask and she finds a healthy alternative (though eggplant still is gross!). I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Karen and can’t wait to see further results in the future!