I will be 50 in one month and started working with Alicia at the beginning of August 2024 as a 1:1 client. In 3 short weeks, I lost 8 lbs and 5% of my total body weight (131.5 to 123.5). More importantly I lost inches off my midsection and thighs, and became visibly more toned everywhere. Once I found Alicia, the extra pounds and body fat decreased quickly. But my journey to finding Alicia was rather long with lots of bumps in the road. Unlike many people that work with Alicia, I am a fitness professional. Since 2009 I have been training my own clients and offering them nutritional counseling. My target audience is 25-40 year old men and women; I had also found a niche in post-partum. As an adrenaline junkie and ex-competitive cheerleader, HIIT bootcamps became my specialty. The more burpees and tuck jumps, the better. My metabolism had never been a problem prior to May 2024. I could abstain from carbs all week, indulge quite a bit on Saturday date nights with my friends and husband, and then rebound to my normal weight within days. I mainly followed a lower glycemic diet: higher in protein, moderate fats, low carbs. I also burned about 600-700 calories in my daily one hour bootcamp sessions. This formula worked for me perfectly until it did not. In May 2024, after a girls weekend getaway, my weight crept up to 131.5 when I weighed in Monday morning. That was the highest number I had ever seen. Normally I would creep towards 129lbs on the weekends and return to 125lbs by mid-week. BTW- I do not advocate weighing in all the time but I often do it when I know the result is not good to force me mentally to stay on track. I tried all of my normal tricks over the next month but my weight would not budge. Low carb, keto, intermittent fasting- all failed. By July the reality had set in, my hormones were definitely impeding my ability to lose weight. The scale was stuck between 130.5-131.5. I was worried that I would soon begin sliding towards 140 pounds. Menopausal books became my new favorite pastime but none of their diets and fitness suggestions worked. In one of my panicked states, my husband suggested that I look for a fitness/nutrition coach specializing in menopause. Prior to meeting with Alicia, I had interviewed 3 other coaches. All had words of wisdom, but nothing felt quite like it would work. Within 5 minutes on the phone with Alicia, I knew she was the perfect fit. She brought up many areas of improvement that really hit home like "detoxification of the liver". I learned that there are numerous physiologic and biochemical changes in menopause that can affect the function of the liver, and ultimately lead to weight gain. I signed up within the hour. Best decision I have made in a long time. Alicia sent me a diet within 72 hours of speaking live that is so easy to follow, especially because I really do not enjoy cooking. It is broken down by macronutrients and takes into account other members of my family that eat with me (3 teenage kids + husband). Monday night dinner becomes Tuesday lunch, so there is no waste. The recipes are delicious and full of flavor. More importantly, I am never feeling deprived nor super stuffed. It is obviously the perfect caloric intake and macronutrient breakdown. Alicia is a huge advocate of seed cycling to help stabilize hormones, which has been interesting to explore. All of my workouts are programmed into the HER app, which is perfect. I have 3 days of lower body (lots of glutes) and 3 upper body. We begin a new workout routine every two weeks, focused on hypertrophy. Each exercise has a video with the timing and you can easily follow along, even if you are a beginner. The workouts are the biggest change for me. As revealed earlier, I am an adrenaline junkie. So I thought I would greatly miss my hour-long plyometric sessions. Plus I was a little skeptical about surrendering my intense cardio for almost all weight training and Phase II cardio (60-70% of cardio max). Now that I am in Week 5 of her program, my strength is improving and I am loving the feeling of lifting heavy. I never thought that I could lose weight by eliminating high impact cardio, reducing my rep count, and increasing my weights. But that is exactly what has happened. Alicia's program is magic. One week ago, I traveled to Miami for an early 50th birthday celebration with my friends and family. We spent a lot of time at the beach and pool in swimsuits. I had friends and strangers inquiring about my workout and fitness routine because of my physique. I think I provided at least 5 women with Alicia's contact info. If my story resonates with you in any way, and you are investigating Alicia's program, STOP what you are doing and REGISTER. You will not be disappointed.
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Rebecca Gahan