Family makeover diary: Month 3

Read about this family's wellness journey with Canadian Living Magazine and a dream team of coaches.

George's journal
Month 3 is upon us and up until now, I have seen small results with my weight loss. I have only lost a few pounds and I am very discouraged by my results. With Fran's ongoing encouragement and "lecturing" on what kinds of food to eat, the portion size and learning how to control the portions, it seems I am finally getting my eating in line with my goals -- to lose weight, decrease my cholesterol and keep my blood pressure healthy.

I have spent a couple of phone sessions with Fran discussing stressful food situations -- for example, what can I do when I am grocery shopping and want to buy all the "bad" food? And how can I get through a meeting at work when people always bring in cookies, cakes and donuts and -- more importantly -- how can I keep my mind off food; my constant, non-stop thinking about food?

I am now on a regular schedule for meals and snacking. I have my cereal at 6:30 a.m. before I leave for work, fruit at 8:30 a.m., low-fat fruit yogurt at 10 a.m., and a mixture of seeds and nuts -- only 1/2 a cup of course. I usually eat my lunch between 12 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. and then for the afternoon a diet pop helps me get to dinner. I find spacing my food out throughout the day keeps me full and occupied with lower-fat/healthier options. It beats going to the coffee shop during my break where they have donuts and other things that I would love to have!

Sue's ongoing support at the gym has finally paid off. A couple of days ago it was time for another assessment. I wanted to see how I had done weight-wise and measurement-wise. It was amazing! It has just been over 2 months and it's working, I am down 11 pounds and 6 inches! The exciting part is there are 2 inches off my waist! I was so happy! WOW, all the salads and chicken do pay off.

I am very pleased with the results because I did not think it could possibly work. I kept thinking turning 40 is tough and since I have had problems losing the weight in the past it was going to be harder now. But it was not as bad as I thought; I am down in size and I'm starting to feel really strong and confident.

Confidence is something that I was lacking a couple of months ago. I was at my heaviest weight ever, my clothes were not fitting properly and getting to the gym was a battle that I lost every day.

Cassandra our life coach has helped in the confidence part, she has assisted me in dealing with stress at work, helping me deal with the daily challenges of parenting and helped me realize some of my strengths.