Sara Smith

Before:
Weight: 71.5kg
Body Fat Percentage: 22%

After:
Weight: 63.8kg
Body Fat Percentage: 12.3%

I started training with EBW a few years ago, at that time I did a lot of running and didn't do much strength work. I began training with James Smith who was so knowledgeable and made me feel so comfortable, he introduced more weight training and I started going to one of their specialist sessions Modified Strongman. James educated me on my diet and nutrition and with hard work and structured training a few times a week I managed to get to 63kg and 15% body fat.

I then suffered a few injuries, setbacks and hurdles, one of these was an allergic reaction to a supplement containing caffeine, this lead to me having panic attacks every time my heart rate was elevated. It took some time to get used to the feeling and I was determined to get passed it and not let it hold me back, it was difficult and there were times when I didn't think the gym was somewhere I wanted to be anymore but eventually my love for all things "gym" returned. 

Unfortunately in this time my weight had gone up to 72kgs and my body fat was now far higher at 22% and my confidence was shattered. With new goals in mind I started to try to lose weight and get leaner, gradually my weight and body fat started to come down and I was back down to between 16-17% after a few months, unfortunately from there I had a new set of problems.

I spent to much time worrying about the scales and how many calories I was putting in, I still worked hard in the gym every week but in vein as to be honest most days I was in far too much of a calorie deficit that my body was holding onto anything I ate and my weight and body fat stalled and got stuck for several months. Throughout James had so much patience and understanding of my circumstances, eventually something clicked and a change needed to be made. James suggested a specific set of macros and a nutrition plan to follow, this meant hitting a set target of calories per day and increasing more specifically my fat intake, this was difficult for me at first and really took some getting used to. James also suggested specific supplementation and tracking my food each day, I found it really helped and the introduction of nut butter was my savior as this was an easy way to increase both my calories and fats at once. 

Magic things then started to happen, finally after months of seeing no improvement I managed to creep under 15% body fat and this was an amazing feeling for me, problem areas such as my triceps and stomach started to get leaner and I could feel the difference, I started gaining strength and gradually hitting personal bests week after week which only encouraged me to want to work harder and challenge myself even more. This has been a long journey for me, I feel more confident in myself and am finally happy with how I look (as happy as I can be given that I'm female) and I feel stronger than ever. 

This change to my diet has really worked for me and since reviewing my diet my body fat and weight have gradually continued to come down and I am the leanest I have ever been and it feels incredible. Working With Elite-Bodyworks has been one of the best choices I've made. A massive thank you to James who has been enthusiastic, kept me motivated the whole time and made me believe in myself and what I can achieve, this year I entered a strong woman competition which is something I would never have dreamt of doing before, I have made complete lifestyle changes with regard to my nutrition and training and have achieved more than I could have ever imagined.