Mary C.

What health concern were you looking to address or heal when seeking out Composed Nutrition?

I felt I was putting in all of the hours working out, cutting all 'bad' foods out of my diet, and still not seeing any results. I also have historically had an unhealthy relationship with food that would bring me to restricting for days at a time and then eventually binge eating and regretting it. I was looking for a healthy relationship with food.

What was the deciding factor in choosing to work with Krista?

A friend had referred me to Krista. In just a few minutes of browsing her website, it was evident that Krista believes every 'body' is different. She makes it clear that her goal is to tailor the approach to each specific person she works with, versus a general guideline of workouts to do and portions to eat each day (I have now learned these general approaches can lead to depleting your body of nutrients that it needs). I include carbs and healthy fats in almost every meal now!

How did working with Krista help to achieve your health goals?

Krista taught me that the 'over exercise' and the 'under eating' method actually puts our bodies into a stressful state which can actually make a person gain weight. She helped me to tune into my bodies natural cues and to be at peace with eating more than the ~1300 calories a day I was originally consuming. Additionally, through 'menstrual cycle syncing', I became aware of when my body was naturally undergoing stress and learned to cut back on the intense workouts those days. Lastly, I did the hormone testing and found out I had very low progesterone, which one of the side effects of this can be weight gain. She helped me to restore my adrenal health by taking natural vitamins and supplements. I am now extremely aware of when my body is in natural states of stress and how to cope with it in these situations.

How would you describe your health now?

Before I was 'afraid' to eat more than a certain amount of food each day. I spent most days feeling so lethargic and then binge eating on weekends. It was a never ending cycle. Now, I eat when I'm hungry. Krista taught me that it is okay to take rest days when we are tired and it is also okay to allow yourself to eat foods that we sometimes put in a "can't have" list and then end up overeating said foods later. I've been eating more than I have in years and I've noticed more change physically than all of the times I was restricting like crazy. She has helped me become so self aware. I sync my exercise routine to my menstrual cycle, I fuel my body with the proper foods, and I can usually sense when a piece of my new healthy lifestyle is missing and how to fulfill it. 

 Any words of wisdom you've learned that you'd like to share with someone with a similar health concern?

Anything in excess is not good for us. Over-exercising and eating as little as possible are not going to give you permanent results. Our bodies are very smart and we need to listen to it's cues - they usually will lead us into the right direction which is our happiest, healthiest selves!