My husband and I live in Allendale, a small town in northern New Jersey, with our 5 kids, ages 16-10. I’m a per diem operating room nurse in a same day surgical center but spend the majority of my time cheering for our kids on a soccer field or at an ice rink! I love reading and being at the beach!
I’ve always been an athletic person, involved in sports or a fitness program, but carried extra weight on my smaller frame, despite my best efforts to lose it. After losing my Dad in 2018, I got a Peloton bike and loved the “therapy” it provided. I followed a cardio & strength schedule, coupled with Weight Watchers, and I found myself in the best shape of my life by 2019.
My consistency was up and down throughout the years, but then I took a full-time job last year as a School Nurse. I went from working out often and eating well to being sedentary, completely stressed, and ordering takeout almost every day just to feed my family. After 3 short months of what we call “the toxic job,” I left…but had gained almost 10 pounds! I was irritable, discouraged, sluggish, disappointed in myself, and self-conscious about the way I looked. After 8 months of trying to lose the weight I had gained and not seeing the scale move, I finally decided that it was time to prioritize myself again! I’d seen others’ success through CSF and was hopeful I’d see the same!
For years, I restricted sugar & carbs, including fruits and starchy vegetables. It wasn’t sustainable though…there were simply too many good tasting, healthy foods I couldn’t eat, and I’d ultimately cave. I then tried Weight Watchers, which I had great success with, but I was tied to the app to track my points, feeling like I wouldn’t know what food had what point value if the app crashed, or I simply didn’t want to subscribe anymore. I felt like I was constantly scanning foods to see if it was something I should eat or if, on the other hand, the points would be wasteful and take too many from my daily allowance. Ultimately, both the “Atkins” and Weight Watchers programs helped to lose weight, but neither were sustainable options for me, nor did they address the fitness portion to help build muscle mass and lose body fat.
CSF is a simple program that focuses on establishing fitness and nutritional habits to reach your goals. My coach, was encouraging, non-judgmental, always took time to explain the process, and held me accountable to make sure I was adhering to my habit tracker and the overall process.
There are no specific food restrictions, the app makes tracking so easy, and the recipes provided are such great resources to have available! I love how personalized the program was for my specific goals and accomplishments along the way!
I started seeing weight loss right away, and after 8 months of trying on my own without the scale moving, that was all the motivation I needed to keep going! The simple fact of needing to be in a calorie deficit makes sense, but I had no idea how many calories I had been consuming, or where my target should be. This program lays it all out with a timeline, and goals which makes it simple, all while eating the foods you love!
The CSF program gave me the jumpstart I needed and the knowledge to keep progressing. While I’ve ‘graduated’ from the program, I’ll continue using the app to track my habits and hit my daily goals for calories, protein, fruits and veggies, and steps. I’ll also keep up with strength training to build lean muscle and continue to reduce body fat.
I have learned that walking and getting steps in is more valuable or effective than an intense cardio workout that requires more fuel to feed your body! I’ve also experienced that the consistency of repeating meals you enjoy each day makes tracking easier, and therefore contributes to your success. Meal prepping and prepackaging foods for a busy lifestyle helps tremendously, so you’re never left having to make bad choices because good options aren’t available. I love the CSF motto: “Eat what you track, don’t track what you eat.”
I loved the feeling of my clothes fitting better, even more than the number on the scale! I lost about 10lbs, 10% body fat, increased lean body mass by 7lbs & lost 13lbs of fat mass!
Had I not decided to use CSF, I would definitely still be trying with little to no success in losing body fat, developing toned muscles and eating to fuel my body properly.
If you’re on the fence, jump all in! There’s absolutely nothing to lose…but the weight…and there is no greater investment than investing in yourself! Your physical and mental health and overall wellbeing is worth it…you have one body in this lifetime. Fuel it and care for it properly, and it’ll serve you well! The coaches at CSF will give you all the tools you need to achieve your goals in a simple, sustainable way!
