Best friends makeover: Month 5

RECAP: Five months ago, Tracy Metcalfe, 46, and Tanya Leavitt, 37, both of Calgary, embarked on a yearlong Best Friends Makeover. Both women are devoted single moms who had gone back to university as adults to better provide for their families. They both worked in the nonprofit industry, shared rent and lived frugally but still had trouble keeping up with the high cost of living and heavy debt loads. They had little time and no budget for fitness, and didn't have much of a social life.

To the rescue, their own team of professionals assembled by Canadian Living Magazine. The team included coaches in: fitness (Shelly Stranaghan); nutrition (Rory Hornstein); life skills (Cathy Yost); career (Gimalle Crawford); finances (Jennifer Kirby); and image (Astrid DesLandes) as well as Dr. Rita Dahlke, a family physician.

A deserved reprieve
Tracy and Tanya close their eyes as they soak their feet in a warm mineral bath. The girls are having a paraffin pedicure after enjoying a steam bath and sauna and a relaxing cup of Rooibos herbal tea. They giggle while esthetics experts slough off dry and calloused skin from their tired feet and give them relaxing foot massages. They sigh as their feet are wrapped in a creamy paraffin wax. And they chat while their toenails get coated in fun-coloured polish.

This spa day, courtesy of the Oasis Wellness Centre and Spa in Calgary, “was such a nice day, we were able to sit and relax -- you know, girlfriend stuff,” says Tanya afterward.

It was also a much-deserved reprieve for Tracy and Tanya, who spent the first four months of their makeover cramming coaches' meetings, activities and homework into their lives. There were commitments to work out at least three times a week at Mount Royal Recreation. There was a grocery store tour with their nutrition coach, who wanted to show them healthy, cost-effective choices. There were regular thought-provoking sessions with the life coach and meetings with the financial coach.

Upgrading an image
The career coach needed time with the girls, too, to help them explore their work life and goals. Tracy and Tanya also needed time to work on updating their images. And, of course, all the while, Tracy's son, Spencer, 17, and Tanya's son, Kesler, 12, needed attention, the house they shared needed cleaning, and they had their regular day jobs to go to. And wouldn't you know it, Tracy's car kept breaking down.

With so much going on, it's no wonder that as the makeover unfolded, overriding priorities surfaced for each woman. For Tracy, it was work. Simply put, she needs a job that she loves but that pays more and is geared toward her education. The search is now on. For Tanya, it was self-confidence. She saw that changing some of her long-held habits and attitudes boosted her self-confidence -- and now she wants more. Here's how the girls are doing today.

Nutrition
Keeping food journals didn't work for Tracy and Tanya (both just ran out of time), so nutrition coach Rory Hornstein focused more on the importance of planning -- to eat healthy regular meals and to keep food bills manageable.

She provided kid-friendly recipes for Tanya (such as Corn and White Bean Soup and Soft Chicken Tacos) and easy and quick recipes for Tracy (such as Cheese Enchilada Casserole and Tuna Melt) as well as a template for planning two weeks' worth of meals and groceries. This planning reduces extra trips to the grocery store and encourages use of leftovers.

During a recent grocery store tour, Hornstein pointed out generic products that are less expensive than name brands, and recommended less processed and prepared foods. Hornstein advised Tanya to eat more regularly throughout the day; right now, she tends not to eat when she's busy or stressed. (Starving yourself affects your metabolism and sets you up for weight gain, says Hornstein.) Tracy still needs to cut down her caffeine habit (she drinks about four cups of coffee each day) because caffeine increases feelings of stress, says Hornstein.

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Photo by Roth & Ramberg