“I can help you with your nutrition and get stronger”. My friend Pam Owens was talking about her new program 3 years ago. I was curious. I knew she that she was a fitness and nutrition coach and specializes in golf, but didn’t know that she had a new program. I had been doing weight training for over 20 years but hadn’t worked with a trainer recently. Hoping to learn some new things and lose a few pounds, I signed up. It was a 1 year program and she used the Precision Nutrition system and tools. I would receive regular emails with nutrition lessons and my workouts, which were mostly strength based. The workouts were 4 days a week and Pam and I had regular coaching calls. Sometimes we Face-Timed so she could demonstrate or I could demonstrate. My customized program was heavy on building muscle which meant following the program and not doing some of the cardio I was used to. This was hard at first! I set my goals based on what I wanted to achieve and would track weight, measurements and take photos monthly.
I learned many things over the year but this is what stayed with me.
Eat slowly. It takes a while for you to sense fullness so eating slowly is important.
Balance your macro nutrients in a meal. Have some protein, a little fat, vegetables, sometimes starchy carbs.
Pay attention to carbs Are you carb sensitive? I hadn’t heard this term before. I was encouraged to try things out and see how I did. I didn’t realize zucchini is a starchy vegetable. When I think about carbs, I tended to think about potatoes, rice and bread.
Strength workouts alone can change your body. I lean towards cardio exercise so it was good for me to focus on strength work. I’m so glad I bought free weights and bands back then! I’m using them now during the quarantine.
Take note of your workouts. Pam suggested I write down my workouts that I received from Precision Nutrition. Each week your workouts would be emailed to you and for the following three weeks, the intensity would increase. I kept notes in a spreadsheet and have a year’s worth of workouts that I use today.
Experiment! Keep trying new things to see what works for you. Try new exercises. Experiment with new foods or taking foods out. I’m still doing this today.
Overall, it was a worthwhile program and I’m glad I went through it. At the end, I lost 14 inches and a few pounds.
Sarah R. O'Dell 
I’m so glad to hear you had such good results with your coach and Precision Nutrition. Good nutrition is so important for getting us to our goals. So many people think it’s a simple matter of calories in, calories out, but WHAT we eat really matters! So does building muscle, especially as we lose muscle as we age. Building and maintaining muscle helps us stay healthy across our lifespan. I love what you said about experimenting. Trying new things can help us continue to make progress and who knows, we may even find our ‘new passion’ when it comes to wellness!
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Thank you Terri! I really enjoyed the program and Pam is great to work with. I agree, it really matters what you’re eating! PN will come back into the story as I synthesize everything I’ve been learning the last couple years.
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