My name is Dyan. I am 57 years old and am thrilled to be able to share my story & hopefully inspire many in the process.I have never been more than slightly overweight my entire life. I've had 5 kids & honestly,since I've taken fairly good care of myself, I didn't have many issues develop with child bearing.
However, I turned 40 & I saw a fast decline in my ability to stay lean. I read & re-read everything I could get my hands on. I managed off & on with my weight until I turned 50. By then, I was completely devoid of any muscle tone, had trouble keeping my weight down, & even though I had personal training off & on throughout my 40's ( mostly off) I felt I was losing my battle with weight.
So I started to gain, got flabbier, ate worse because I felt doomed. Then started to enter menopause..now I was really scared. My entire ancestry were not only overweight but obese, unhealthy & severely addicted to cigarettes and poor eating habits. I felt doomed. Even my friends told me that I should be happy. After all I was healthier than most and looked great.. So they said.
So I started reading again.. Even tried fasting, nearly starving to the point where even my hormones couldn't keep up with me. I was miserable. I had about 30 lbs that I wanted to lose at this point..
So I got my self a trainer and within a short amount of time I lost my 20 lbs still had little to no muscle. Almost gave up.
Changed my eating habits, worked out & did cardio that would make the average person sick!
Still couldn't get rid of those last 10 lbs. My body fat was still higher than I wanted. Once again people suggested that I just make peace with myself.
No way. I wasn't going down without a fight. My trainer was great in that he helped me build muscle & told me to research diet .. I would just get mad at him. I thought he's just doesn't understand.
Then enters my very own daughter. Vanessa McLean. She had been a personal trainer for a few years & was so excited to begin working with me. She quickly got with my other trainer to develop a plan .. He was more then happy to learn about her new discoveries & supported me all the way.(I live in two areas so as I go back & forth I would work with each trainer)
Fast forward about a year. We worked on muscle building, stamina & diet. While I had been seeing regular results, I seriously was considering liposuction & surgery. She asked me to wait & give her a try to work on my fat loss. It wasn't easy. We were dealing with hormonal issues at this point & even though I tried so many things, nothing seemed to work! I mean nothing!
Finally, she researches a few plans that she gets excited about. She went to seminars by the Metabolic Effect team. Vanessa got really excited! She begged me to try them.. She said mom, if this doesn't work I'll support any decision you make for surgery or lipo..because she said, that is how much I believe in this plan!!e.Because I could see she was passionate about this & desperately wanting to help her very own mother, ( after all , she helped so many others) I said ok.
She took my test to see if I was a muscle or sugar burner.. I am both. Yippee I get to eat stuff ! We started off with the Paleo plan which was easy for me because I'm a huge vegetable fan anyway. I started losing immediately. I mean my fat loss was taking off.
We switched up my workout routines & she watched me very closely. We then switched to the Metabolic effect plan which for me, included some starch ( with off course my 5-10 bite rule) I actually enjoyed the two lifestyle changes & would switch back & forth. I felt in control & powerful.
Then a really strange thing happened. People started to tell me that I looked younger.. Prettier & happier. I was toning up like never before, and lost not only the weight I wanted, but even more.
Checked with my doctors scale that shows exactly where your weight loss comes from & I am happy to announce that his scale said something to the effect that I basically lost about 9 lbs of pure fat, about 1 or 2 of water and a smidgen of muscle.. Which I have since replaced.
I am now down to 117 and thanks to Vanessa's insight & trust in her metabolic effect team, I am happy to announce that I am still enjoying my Paleo & metabolic effect lifestyle. I travel a lot so this is a plan that is truly going to work for me. My metabolism is so fired up. My skin & tummy is getting not only super flat but tight again.. This in itself is a miracle.I have a great relationship with food ( I was actually beginning to become afraid of eating before I had started this plan ).
I now have no guilt, I enjoy my 5-10 bite rule now that I am on maintenance . And we have even done a mother daughter photo shoot together that I am super pumped up about. My body fat is the lowest it has ever been in my entire life.. I'm so happy for the Metabolic Effect team.. &while I had so much support & help from many friends and listened to all of their ideas, tried a few, kept some for my very own, I have really got to give my daughter, Vanessa from Amplified Physique at least most of the credit..
As I write my story now, I am on vacation & enjoying my egg frittatas with vegetables & berries with coconut milk. I am not afraid of eating healthy fats any more.. I'm in control again & feel amazing. My waist is a mere 251/2 inches.. We are talking 5 children here!!! I never ever thought this could happen.. Thank you... Everyone of you who cared .. Jade, you saw me through this.. I'm a huge fan of all of my friends & family who are excited for me. I love you all..
My goal with this article is to inspire mostly mid life women who are discouraged & fearful of their changes, weight or even health issues. Don't believe it that we are destined to be fat because we are getting older. It requires a lot .. But nothing compares to feeling like you are truly alive in this world..it gives us a purpose
Thank you for listening
I love my team!
Dyan Bongiovanni