Client Transformation: How Angie went from stuck and gaining weight to losing 14 lbs and 14.5 inches in 12 weeks!

𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 😍  𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝟏𝟒 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟏𝟒.𝟓 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 so far 𝐢𝐧 𝟑 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬.

Angie sought our help out of frustration. She was working out hard at the gym, eating around 1500 calories on average and just not seeing results. She wanted to see the muscle she was working so hard to build but the fat just wouldn't go away. 😩

Angie went from eating 1500 calories and not seeing any results in spite of working out HARD in the gym to eating MORE and gaining muscle while losing weight and inches! Her confidence has skyrocketed and she’s feeling amazing. 🥳

Implementing the Mastering Menopause Method, we started Angie in the first phase, 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞, showing her that by eating more we could revive her metabolism and have her thriving off those calories, dropping fat and preparing her body for a deficit to promote weight loss.

Her weight fluctuated by 3 pounds in the 2 months we had her at 2300 calories but her inches went down steadily. This is fat loss and body recomp. 👊

Many women find themselves in the same position that Angie was. By restricting calories and under fueling Angie's metabolism was slowed way down. This leads to frustration and multiple attempts at diets that end up failing. 🤦‍♀️

A lot of women end up under eating, never getting results. Once we were able to increase her metabolism by adjusting her macros to include more calories and leveraging protein, Angie was able to finally start seeing the fat decrease as she was increasing muscle gains. Just 2 weeks ago she hit a deadlift PR of 315! 💪🏻 

Angie was absolutely committed to trusting the process, found new recipes and carved out time each day/week to meal prep, showing up for herself and inspiring others. 

If you’re ready get started and to crush your goals BEFORE2024 send me a message on Facebook or Instagram, commenting “Angie” and I’ll send you details.

Now accepting clients, use the link to apply for 1:1 coaching:
https://www.menopotmeltdown.com/mmmcoachingapp

Free No BS Menopause Secrets Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/kathykatalyst/?ref=share

For all my social links: https://bit.ly/kathykatalyst

Do you have a question that you would like answered on the show? Please ask your question here:
https://go.katalystfitness.net/podcast-question-entry

Have a personal question? Email me at kathycote9142@comcast.net

Curious about my back story and why I created the Mastering Menopause Method? Check out this short video: https://www.menopotmeltdown.com/masteringmenopausevideo

Transcript

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I'm 53. So things weren't showing like they were before, over the last two years, I'd say it started going downhill. Like I was doing all this work and doing all this work and doing this work and I was eating what I thought was what I thought was right. To keep myself under control, but it just wasn't working. Nothing was working anymore. And in the last before I started working with you, so the six months prior to that. Things just really started getting frustrating because I just kept gaining and I kept gaining and in the last year I'd probably gained another 20 pounds and I was like, why is this happening? I'm doing everything I think I'm supposed to do. But it's not working anymore. I thought maybe I need more cardio. Maybe I need more of this. Maybe I need less of that. This is Mastering Menopause. By using fitness, nutrition, lifestyle, and mindset, you can master your hormones and get your body back. I'm Cathy Coté with Catalyst Fitness and Nutrition. Let's get Welcome back to Mastering Menopause. Today, I am joined by one of our clients, Angie, and she's going to give us a little breakdown of her experience, what it's like working with Katalyst Fitness and what the, a little bit of the process that we've gone through so far. If you follow me on social media, then you might have seen Angie's posts where she has lost 14 and a half inches and 14 pounds. This was in just under, it was right around nine weeks or so, nine or 10 weeks, I think. And hitting PRs and hitting 315 in the process as well. So we'll talk about what the process was look like, but You know what? Thank you very much for coming, Angie. So I appreciate that. And what attracted you to Katalyst fitness? Like, how'd you find me in the first place? Actually I was doing some research on the hormone stuff and how part of that was affecting menopausal women and their weight and so forth and all of their numbers, so to speak, as far as like their health issues and so forth. And then that was what attracted me first, because I'd been doing a lot of research for that, and somehow your name popped up, or your the No BS website popped up, the Facebook page. And that's where I first started to find you. And then it just catapulted from there, I guess you could say, because I started looking at it and everything that I was reading was spot on of everything else that I was looking at. And it was following along with all the research that I'd done up to that point. Then looking at the different diet and looking at things a different way, and it was very appealing to me because, just say, it's not one of those. Fad diets that just comes and goes, you do it for a little while and then you gain everything back afterwards. It actually is something that I can sustain and do as a lifestyle change rather than just being the next diet down, coming down the pike. That was where I started following in on your Facebook page and it just escalated from there. Yeah. I, and I remember our conversation, right? And I knew, like when I was talking to you, like I know to, I know what to do with her, right? I know I know what it's right. And you're just like what the hell? Like how is it, why am I, why can't I lose this weight? You were like I think you were eating around 1500 calories or so, working out, like really kicking ass with workouts and just Yeah. stuck. And I already knew I already knew like what we needed to do for you. But tell me in your words, like where, like, why did you seek out our help in the first place? I had been, like you said, working out for quite some time. It'd probably been over the, about four or five years that I had just, I just started from scratch with that. My son is a trainer and he doesn't live near me. So it makes it hard for him to work with me. But I started on my own and with his knowledge and some things that he was teaching me and touching me. I just started from there trying to better myself, trying to get myself back in shape, trying to do a better lifestyle. And as time went on, it went really well. I started lifting heavy and then I started working with a trainer at the gym a couple days a week and started lifting heavier and heavier. And I was doing all this work and I was like there for a while. It was fine, but that was, three or four years ago. Now I'm 53. So things weren't showing like they were before, over the last two years, I'd say it started going downhill. Like I was doing all this work and doing all this work and doing this work and I was eating what I thought was what I thought was right. To keep myself under control, but it just wasn't working. It wasn't working. Nothing was working anymore. And in the last before I started working with you, so the six months prior to that. Things just really started getting frustrating because I was really just, I just kept gaining and I kept gaining and in the last year I'd probably gained another 20 pounds and I was like, why is this happening? I'm doing everything I think I'm supposed to do. But it's not working anymore. I'm postmenopausal. So I'm over that hump. I'm doing all these things. And I thought maybe I need more cardio. Maybe I need more of this. Maybe I need less of that. Yeah. Trying to, play the number game and all those things. Yeah, I was tracking my food and I didn't think I was that far off and geez, it was crazy. I'm so frustrated. And that's why I was at that point with you. I was saying that, that I was doing everything I could do that I knew to do, but something was still missing and I couldn't figure it out. And I was, I'm one of those I've got to fix it. I have to figure it out. And after talking to you, I knew that was exactly what I needed to do So I was just like, no, I'm biting the bullet. I'm doing it. I'm just doing it. I remember you saying I work out, how come I want to see my muscles, like they're there, but I just can't, I just can't see them. I need to uncover them. So yes. Yeah. I remember that. Yeah. I know it's very frustrating. I know the kind of people that are listening to this are going to be like, that's me, right? I'm in that situation. And this is who I work with, right? It's not the woman that's just I don't know. I'm sitting on my couch doing nothing. And I don't know why I'm waiting. It's always like I'm doing this, right? I'm doing these workouts. I'm watching what I eat and instill it isn't working, and then you nailed it on the head, right? And you're like maybe I need to do more cardio or maybe I need to eat less of this. And we get stuck in that kind of situation. Yeah, so I, I knew what we needed to do for you. And I also know like. When it was like, when, when I said what the investment was, you were like, Oh boy. Okay. Which I understand that. But what what kind of tip that to where you're like, you know what, like you said I'm going to bite the bullet, but what was that decision in your head? I was at a point where I was so frustrated with myself and where I was at. And the fact that I couldn't figure out the problem, I couldn't figure out how to fix it. And. In my own sanity, in my own health, I wanted to do better, and I knew that was the missing piece. I knew in my heart and in my head that was what I needed to do to make this work. And I wanted to get back to that, where I was before, and I wanted to show all of my hard work. Just like you said, my muscles were, they were covered in fat, that you couldn't see them. I knew that were there and I was lifting heavy as heck, just like you said, dead lifting 300 pounds, but I couldn't see my muscles. And I was like, this is not cool. This is not what I want. So when I, when we talked about it, I was. I was so sold on it that I just had to do it. It's for me. It was a no brainer because I just really needed that for myself to get where I wanted to be. Yeah. Thank you. And I'm so glad. I'm so glad that you did. So what did we do? What do we do? So I would say and if you do follow me on social media, I highly recommend that you check out Angie's pictures and her graph of what happened. And seeing what does that look like when you lose 14 pounds and 14 inches, right? Just shrinking. But what was your reaction when, and so you were working with coach Lori. What was your reaction when Laurie said we're gonna, we're gonna bring you to maintenance calories. Yeah. My idea of maintenance calories was a little different than her idea of maintenance calories, which is obviously where I was messing up because I had heard bits and pieces, I'd done some research and I came in with a lot of knowledge, but, Okay. I was even at the 1500. I thought this eating more might be the right way to go. And I upped my calories to 1800. Yeah. I'm thinking 1800 is good. Right? Yeah. No, she went to 2300 and I was like, what? But it was exactly spot on. It was. It kept me right on the same weight. Within a pound or two, fluctuating, but I was like, whoa, that's crazy. And I felt, at first I thought, there's no way I'm going to eat that much food. But then I did and I figured it out. And it's like putting a puzzle together. You figure out how much of everything you need. And you just have to plan and make yourself aware of what you are eating and. What you need and what kind of foods or what and all of that was knowledge that I gained from you guys because I did not know in detail the things I should eat for one thing. And what was proteins, what was carbs? I was pretty good with proteins, but I didn't know like the carbs and the fats and how much of what to eat and. All of that made a huge, big difference. And when she put me on that maintenance calories yeah, I literally just stayed level within, like I said, a few pounds one way or the other the whole time. And it was crazy because it got my metabolism, sparked again. And that's, that was what I was missing to get myself where I needed to be. Yeah, and I will have to say so, Andrew, you just mentioned that your weight stayed the same for one to two. You fluctuated for one to two pounds for that first. I think you were in maintenance for eight weeks because you were just like bang, right? You banged it out right away, right? Which is. To your credit, a lot of people are like, that's a lot of food at first, but you're like, Hey, let's bring it on. Let's do it. And so while your weight fluctuated like one or two pounds, I think you lost initially. And then that came up, but your inches steadily went down and I think women have a hard time. Dealing with the, Hey, I paid you because I wanted to lose weight. And yes, that's what we're going to have you do, but we really have to increase your metabolism first. And so I think women think Oh my God, if I eat that much, I'm going to get huge. And you've had the same thought, but you're like, trust in the process, which is what we always say. And yeah. It did just stay. But when you bring calories up to maintenance, right? You shouldn't really gain or lose, but you will have a change in your body composition. And that's when your body releases the fat. And that's exactly what we saw when we saw your inches come down. So 14 pounds of weight loss actually came after the eight week mark, right? It just came. It just came falling off. And so that's what I think the missing piece for a lot of women is the fact that, yeah, you might hear, Oh, I need to eat more. But what is, what does that look like? And then just having that guidance to say here, this is really what you need to eat and more of this. It's not how, what can we take away from you? It's more what can we add and to get that change? Yeah that's one amazing things about it is. All this time I kept thinking I just need to take away. I need to take away cause I shouldn't eat this and I shouldn't eat that. And but instead I was actually hurting myself because my body was storing that food rather than using it for what it needed to be used for. And and I was, like I said, I was researching some of that and I was getting that information, but I didn't know how to apply it. And that's where you guys came in. You helped me apply the, that bit of knowledge that I had and then expanded on that dramatically. And yeah, those inches. Even while I was staying that same weight, I was just going down and my whole goal was I'm very muscular. So I knew the weight probably wasn't going to be, just lose 50 pounds, I'm not probably not going to do that. But the inches and the lean side of what I'm with me is what I'm doing. I want to be leaner. I want to. uncover those muscles and show those muscles. So I want to lean up and I know I'm going to lose weight and I want to lose some weight. But I know I'm probably gonna, I'm not one of those that needs to lose like 50 to a hundred pounds. It's not like that, but I want to lean up and get my body where it needs to be. And man, those inches, that, that's to me was like, so exciting to see my middle. Cause my middle was my problem area. And to see my middle shrink five inches now, it's just, it's insane. It's Oh my gosh, I know you guys got to check out her pictures. Yeah and that's what we do is fat loss, right? It's not just weight loss. I want to make sure that you're maintaining the muscle that you have in increasing it. And. Just taking off that layer of fat so that we can see what's underneath there. So yeah, girl, like you, you work out like a beast. And so it only goes to show That the the calories will go towards building that muscle even more, right? So now we're probably putting on more muscle as well as taking down the taking off the fat too. So it's an interesting process that I think it's hard for women to wrap their head around. How did you just decide, like, when you heard that, it's like, Hey, you got to eat 2300 calories. What was your thought process? I'm okay. Okay. Cause I, a lot of women might be very resistant to that. And so what was your thought process like? Like I, I already tried upping my calories a little bit, it was like, let's try this, see if this works, see if this helps. And, when she said maintenance calories, I'm thinking, 18 to 2000, something like that. And she said that 2300, I was like, Oh, my geez. But then I guess I was in that mode where I wanted to do anything to fix myself. So I was willing to do anything to fix myself. So it's just a matter of your mindset of what you want to do. And if you're not totally sold on it. It's not gonna work and you have to be totally in. So I knew that going in and I was like I'm gonna do this. I'm I've signed up for this. I've made this commitment. I'm going to do this. And whatever she says, obviously she must know what she's doing. So we're going to try it and see, we fail, but I did. I was totally sold on it. Just, yeah. Committed to trying it. I was like, what can I lose? Geez I've tried everything else and nothing's working. So it can't be all bad, something's going to work somewhere. But that was it. You just, I was just sold on it. I had to be committed 100%. So whenever she said 2300, I was like, okay, here we go. And yeah, that's, and that's what you have to be, it's only going to work if you're committed to it and you're faithful to following the plan. That's the only way it's going to work. Were you surprised by some of the foods that you got to bring back in? Yeah, it's fine, right? It's fine. Yeah. Yeah. Everybody has different tastes. What I like may not be the same thing you like. And so certain things that I was missing, or whatever, when I was in a deficit or even things that before that I was like, no way I'm going to eat that, because that's going to kill me, bring some of those back in. It's pretty exciting. Yeah. Yeah. That's true. And that's why I don't do meal plans. Cause it's I can give you a sample meal plan and what it looks like, but I highly encourage like our clients to just eat them, eat what you want that way. This is not going to be, that's the only way that you're going to shift your lifestyle is to make it your lifestyle, your choices, the foods that you like. I can sit here and tell you like a tuna bacon melt is the best thing ever because I do think a tuna melt, tuna bacon melt is the best thing ever, two grams of protein later. I Yeah. Somebody else, but yeah, I hate tuna. So it doesn't make sense, to make that. So yeah. So now Angie is going on her first diet break. So going through, but I don't think we brought your calories down super low either though. So what were your calories? We got down to 1710. Yeah. Losing. We dropped to 18. Yeah. Yeah, we we went down to 18 and then at the last two weeks of my deficit, we dropped down to 1710. Just to get it to finish off a little bit, get a little bit more out of it at the end. And then I just went back up to maintenance like the beginning of this week. Yeah, coincided nicely with Thanksgiving. Yes. Yes. I sat down at the table yesterday and I thought, Oh, I can eat most of what I want. Yeah, for sure. So yeah, my, my approach for holidays is they just don't count. Those calories aren't going to count. It's one day, so honestly. Like it's okay. Yeah, it's, I think it's like now is actually the perfect time to, if you're thinking about coaching, it's to come in because now we have, you have this holiday and then you have also Christmas, the Christmas Christmas calories as well too. And so just having enjoying. Maintenance and enjoying like the energy that you're going to get the improvement to sleep and digestion and mood and everything like that and I think that's so highly underrated is spending time and maintenance because we're always like you said, like I just maybe I need to bring my calories down more. Maybe I need to do more cardio. We always get into that. Never considering maintenance at all. So yeah. Yeah, so I'm just really looking forward to you, you crush in the gym, but you also crush like your meal prep and you're like, without fail, this is what I'm doing. This is what it looks like this week, you've definitely have inspired, you post that you post in the group, right? It is really about like your mindset and the effort that you have to put in. It's not hard. But it does effort and then it just becomes just what you do, that's what I'm so excited about. You definitely have taking the bull by the horns for sure. Taking all that and just applied it and made that your own. Just looking forward to seeing you, get, reach your goals. I think you mentioned that you were like eight pounds away from your goal or right. Or like that number that you had in mind, the number that I originally had in my head. Yes. Yeah, whether we go lower than that or whatever. I don't know. I have to wait when I see that to see what it looks like. It looks like. Yeah, but that was what I was before and when I was working out pretty heavy and then things were working before menopause hit and I looked pretty good at that point and I want to at least get to that point and it may be lower. It may be whatever, but that was my goal. Yes. Yeah, I'm about eight pounds away from that. Yeah, that's so exciting. Yes, it is. And that's part of it too. Even. When I went from even in the maintenance where the inches were coming off, it was exciting just to see something, but to me, those inches coming off was it, I didn't care that I lost five pounds necessarily. Yes, it's nice, but the inches were like, oh, and gee, I was so excited to see those come off and they just kept, just have consistently. Gone down just at a gradual rate and that's the other thing is I want to be able to keep it off. I don't want to be able to be one of those that, I lose 25 pounds and then next thing I know, I'm back up 30, I don't want to be that way. And I think this is what I needed to get me to that because I know that this is a way I can keep this off and with the knowledge that you guys have given me and what we've done, I really believe that can happen. So that's the big exciting part for me. Yeah, for sure. That's the most rewarding part like of what we do is just shifting that mindset that to get away from that being aggressive with a deficit and then gaining it all back like it's it's frustrating and I was there for sure. I did it for 20 years. Conquering that piece once and for all. And then guess what? Then we don't have to think about it ever again. And then we have more room in our head for other stuff for fun things. Is there anything that you would like to add? No. Just. Like we were talking about the mindset is so important. Yeah, I said, like I said, if you're not committed to it, it's not going to work. You got to be committed to it. You got to be consistent and, it's something that's not going to happen overnight. You got to take that time and put in that effort and. Planning is a huge part of it. If you don't plan ahead and that was part of where I was struggling in the beginning and learning how to do that. I knew, but I didn't do it. I was hit and miss on it. But I found so many recipes and stuff that was a huge safe at mom. Oh, my gosh. Mom has been like, huge for me. So thank you for that one for sure. But just having those things that I can go to there and I know exactly how much I'm eating for breakfast, how much I'm eating for lunch, whatever my snacks are going to be for the day. And I have to plan that out for the entire day because I work throughout the day. So I have to make sure to get all that in. Especially when I'm in maintenance, you have to plan, all these, the snacks and whatever else that you're going to take. And I literally, I almost got it down to a science. But like I have to, meal prep for my breakfast and meal prep for my lunch. And then I figure out what we're having for supper. I get all that in there, and then I add my snacks. I eat breakfast at home, so that's great. And then I take my lunchbox and put my lunch and whatever snacks that I have to have for the day, all go in my lunchbox for the day. All my water goes with me that I need to drink. That was a big struggle for me, my water go. And then, everything I have, I'm like, okay, I have to eat this today. This is what I have to eat throughout the day today. So at the end of the day, I look and whatever's left, I'm like, okay, this is what I still have to eat. Whatever. And I just plan it out that way. Of course, the deficit is the same way. I just don't have as much. I see that differently. Yeah but then my water go was my struggle in the beginning because I was not drinking enough water at all probably about a third of what I needed to drink and getting that in was, whoo, yeah, that was the hardest part for me but that has also made me feel so much better. I didn't realize how much water affected me. And now I, I get it in pretty close every day, but I have a plan just like the other. I have to drink this much by this time. But that's the thing is planning and then having that mindset and commitment to do it. That's the biggest things with this. And it works guys. It works. I'm telling you. I have seen the results and I'm excited to see the rest of the results as it comes on. Yeah, for sure. It's you mentioned at first, like, when you fail a plant, right? And it's you get to the end of the day, especially when you're like, okay, how am I going to eat these 2, 300 calories, right? And you get to the end of the day and you're like, oh boy you have all this left. What can you do better? And it really is the, it definitely is that planning and just having it mapped out. So that's where you definitely excelled. It doesn't just happen, this wasn't a, a mistake, right? This didn't just excellent. Accidentally, you just figured it all out. It was a process. It's a little bit of a process. And what is definitely I'm always like, let's reverse engineer. problem. What's happening? Where are we not getting these calories? A lot of times breakfast, right? That's the big one. We're like, okay. But yeah, I've been so proud of just watching your progress and then just seeing like the way that you post and here, this is my meal prep for the week. Like it is not even a question, so that's how it is. That's how it's done guys. That's the secret sauce right there. is definitely the mindset, right? Put your mind to it. And then just how are you going to make it work? Because everybody's lifestyle is different. I think people that work from home, it's not any easier, it still has to be planned, right? I think when actually people do work out of the home, that's almost easier because you have to. Be so regimented with the planning, right? It really forces your hand. Should also mention that Angie did go on a couple of vacations as well. And I know she was sick too. Nothing's ever going to be perfect guys. It's just if you can just make the commitment to to make a change for yourself and then figure out like, how are we going to do that? So that's what, you've definitely excelled at. So thank you. So thank you so much. I'm looking forward to, when we talk again in another eight weeks or so. Yeah, it's going to be, yeah, after the holidays, we'll see what's going on there. So I'm looking forward to that. So thank you so much. I appreciate you coming on and we'll talk All right.