Sara

Sara wanted to push herself out of her comfort zone to see how well she could do!

If you want to achieve the physique of your dreams there is nothing standing in your way.

Sara (33) wanted to have more to show for all of the hard work she'd been putting in with her workouts. Like most gym goers, Sara was well versed with dieting, but found it hard to keep pushing when the going got tough. After 4 years of training she knew that she wanted to have more to show it. With the guidance and support of her Pioneer Performance Coach James, she set out with the goal of getting into photoshoot condition.

"At the start I couldn't even imagine myself being photo shoot ready, but I trusted that if I followed the process I would get to where I wanted to be. Luckily I knew from the outset what to expect through speaking with other people who have been through the process, and this meant that I was able to keep going even when feeling exhausted and hangry!"

What were your expectations and motivations before starting your transformation?

After training for a few years my main motivation was to have something to show for all my hard work! In the past when I’d dieted I’d been able to get quite lean but always stopped when it got difficult, so I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone and see how well I could do.

At the start I couldn’t even imagine myself being photo shoot ready, but I trusted that if I followed the process I would get to where I wanted to be. Luckily I knew from the outset what to expect through speaking with other people who have been through the process, and this meant that I was able to keep going even when feeling exhausted and hangry!

What was your lifestyle and nutrition like before starting?

Although I’d been training consistently for 4 years, I’d taken a step back from training because of work pressures so was only doing light training 1-2 times per week and eating mainly convenience foods.

I wanted to get my passion back for training and eating well.

What was the hardest “bad habit” to kick during this process?

Before I started training for the photo shoot I’d gotten into the habit of sacking off training sessions if I’d had a bad day or was feeling stressed, so it was a struggle at times to resist that urge.

But I usually found that if I went and trained anyway, I’d feel better afterwards!

How has the change in nutrition and training impacted your lifestyle and energy levels outside of the gym?

Through prepping my meals using real unprocessed food and upping my veg intake I noticed my energy levels and skin improved, and drinking more water helped me feel more clear-headed than I had in a long time. My sleep also improved vastly through having a regular routine, and this really helped through the dieting phase.

What was your biggest takeaway lesson from working with your coach?

The main takeaway from this experience was to just trust the process that my coach took me through, and tick the boxes of not just nutrition and training but also managing stress and sleep. It is a big commitment, but the pay-off was worth it!