Happy Monday!

This is a sequel to a two-part series. To read the full story to see why I decided to pursue an online fitness and nutritional program in the first place and how I chose Refine YOU, read my blog post titled Refine You Pt. 1.

I went into 2019 with fatigue struggles; I saw that I was depending way too much on coffee and that I was not having a kind tone when I parented my children or served my family. You could just call me grumpy! I didn’t realize this about myself until my sweet husband showed me. So, one of my goals for the year was to work on the heart issues being revealed (aka repenting from my love of ease) and also to work on making changes to my nutrition and fitness to set myself up for success in living for God. It’s now July and with all the changes I’ve made this year, I feel like a completely different person! Praise God. I am going to be called into account for how I respond to my children and how I treat my family, and I really do want to hear “well done, good and faithful servant” from the Lord. And for me, that meant working on my fatigue. Refine YOU has been one of those changes. Again, you’ll want to read part one to this series to see the types of things I learned (truly some significant lifestyle changes for me!), as this post is more focused on the results.

Refine YOU was created by physician assistant and fitness nutrition specialist Kim Goletz to help people learn how to reach their goals and live a healthy lifestyle without “dieting.” She runs a customized, online program every seven weeks using a combination of nutrition and fitness strategies to maximize fat loss, gain muscle, and regulate hormones to give you the best bang for your effort. The best thing about it is that you do not have to severely restrict your eating or exercise all the time to get results. Therefore, this is easily continued as a lifestyle change. One thing I have loved is that Kim is always available for her clients and provides incredible customized support. Her motto is “progress not perfection” to ensure that you learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I am truly thankful for Kim’s guidance, support, and accountability!

One thing that I was shocked about learning of my own body: in order to see results, I NEEDED TO EAT MORE FOOD. Throughout the program I consistently struggled to eat enough protein and healthy fats. Not because I was trying to be restrictive, but because I needed to retrain my body! Kim was an excellent coach, and she helped me see that I was lacking in this area. I actually would like to do the Refine YOU program again down the road (let me know if you want to do it with me!), and one of my goals is to do a better job at meal planning so that I can keep getting more of my healthy fats and lean proteins in my diet.

As you hopefully have seen so far, I did not sign up for this to lose weight. However, I know that some people reading this do want help in this area and are looking for answers, so I will share some changes I saw after the six weeks:

• Significant energy boost!
• Around week three I noticed that my intestinal inflammation had minimized significantly, almost disappeared.
• I toned up around my abdomen area.
• I lost four pounds.

I took measurements before and after; I did not lose any inches in my arms or legs. This was good for me, because I was working on building muscle and I don’t think it would have been a good sign for my body type.

Now, God-willing, the Lord will allow us to adopt very soon. We are so excited!! And in that time I probably will not have any time to focus on exercise. My body may go right back to where it was before, and THAT IS OK. Again, this is not about what I look like. If you’ve just had a baby and you’re trying to lose baby weight — give yourself some time! We all have seasons where we have more capacity to do different things.

The important thing that I want to encourage my readers is the “why” behind doing any program. If you are draining money always trying to look better, it’s never going to be enough. Trust me. I was on that hamster wheel for over a decade and it’s exhausting and empty. You’ll always be desperate for the next thing to help you feel “pretty.” But true beauty is on the inside, the beauty of Christ that has been washed by His sanctifying work on the cross. It’s accepting that I am a failure and stained by sin, but that God forgives, cleanses, and redeems my life. When we find our identity in true beauty, the glorious grace of God — we will experience true soul-quenching satisfaction. God doesn’t call us to be pretty. God calls us to obey Him! And for me, I needed a little help this year obeying God in how I steward my body. If you need help too (accountability, fitness plan, nutritional plan, etc.) then I recommend checking out Refine YOU as one of your options.

xo,
Alexandra