Sarah's story: “I wasn't sure I was worth it”

Sarah almost didn't join. She told herself it was the money. Underneath, a quieter voice was saying she wasn't worth it. She'd run marathons and half Ironmans, and her body had stopped responding. Eight weeks later she'd lost 16 lbs of fat, and she'd changed too. Calmer. Less frantic. Her creative director noticed. So did her tennis coach.

This one's close to my heart.

Here's her story.

Active on paper, stuck in real life

Sarah has always been the active one. Gym, cardio, marathons, half Ironmans.

People would say, “You're always doing stuff.” But her body didn't show it.

“I always felt kind of like an impostor.”

Her sleep was off. Her eating was off. Her boundaries were gone. She was irritable and frantic, and she wasn't confident.

What used to work had stopped working. Sound familiar? This is the most common thing we hear from women over 40. You're doing more than ever, and your body has stopped answering.

The money wasn't really the hurdle

When Sarah looked at the program, the investment was the thing she kept circling.

Then she unpacked it.

“I used the money as that hurdle that I wasn’t ready to get over.”

Under the hurdle was something harder to say out loud. A voice telling her she wasn't worth it.

Here's the thing. So many women have that voice. It shows up right when you're about to do something you know is good for you.

Now? Ask her if it was worth it.

“The money thing is not even a thing.”

Consistency over perfection

Sarah calls herself a type A, perfection-perfection person. The biggest lesson she took from Chris, Shari and me had nothing to do with a workout.

“Nothing’s going to be perfect. Life is not perfect. Lean into that.”

Do your best. Be as consistent as you can. That's where the change happens.

She was under-eating, badly

Before the program, Sarah ate nothing until lunch. Too busy. Emails. Workouts. No time.

When her nutrition plan arrived, she couldn't believe it.

“This is so much food.”

Then came her aha moment, straight from marathon training. You drink before you're thirsty, so you never fall behind.

“I should never be hungry. I should always just be fuelling myself.”

Now she trains, comes home, eats, and she's already energized because she front-loads her protein.

And it never felt like a diet. Honestly, I don't love that word. It has “die” in it, and nobody wants that.

A work trip, a blender and 12 hard-boiled eggs

Sarah's job means shoots, travel, dinners and bars. So how did she stay on track?

She prepped.

• She packed her blender and a dozen hard-boiled eggs for a shoot in Toronto.
• She found a grocery store near the hotel before she left, made a list, worked out first thing, then shopped.
• She read menus ahead of time and asked servers for a simple swap, like the protein with a side salad.

She didn't want it to be a thing for anyone else. And it wasn't.

She also chose to keep alcohol off the table. Our plan opens it back up after the first two weeks, but at her interview she hadn't had a drink in over 100 days. Her call, all the way.

“I've never seen you like this before”

Then came the shoot that proved it.

Five business days to pull it together. Twenty-two people flown in from across Canada. The kind of week where something usually cracks.

At dinner after, a creative director she's worked with for eight years told her he kept joining the Zoom calls waiting for her to freak out. She never did.

“I’ve never seen you like this before.”

Why that matters: she'd kept her boundaries the whole week. In bed by 9 with a cup of tea. Up at 5 for her workout. Everyone taken care of, including her.

That same week, her tennis coach pulled her aside. She'd taken up tennis in January as a total beginner. He told her she used to rush the ball. Now she let it come to her.

Two people. Two parts of her life. Same thing. Less frantic, more even keeled. Still Sarah, still enthusiastic. Just calmer.

Sarah's results

Results vary by individual, based on your starting point and commitment to the program.

Here's the part I love. On the morning of her after photos, Sarah was stressed. She had her partner retake them again and again. They didn't look as big as it felt inside.

Then she figured out why.

“The transformation was so huge for me that it was so much bigger than a before and after photo.”

Looking at them now? “Pretty amazing.”

Watch Sarah's interview

Sarah sat down with me after her 8 weeks. Sixteen minutes, a lot of goosebumps.

Sarah today

Her advice if you're on the fence

You are worth it. “You only get to do this once. So why not feel as good as you can, as long as you can?”

Go all in. “Commit fully and completely.”

Expect more than photos. “The mental, heart and mind changes will be so powerful, you won't want it to end.”

Ready to start yours?

1. Watch the short video on our homepage. It walks through why your body stopped responding after 40 and the method Sarah followed.
2. Apply for a call with Chris. The application takes a few minutes, and Chris reads every one himself.

Apply for a call with Chris ↗

Prefer to listen? Sarah's story is about 11 minutes into our 21-minute podcast 🎧

Frequently asked questions

How much weight did Sarah lose with Forty Forward?

Sarah lost 16 lbs of fat in her 8 weeks. She also says the bigger change was how she feels and shows up: calmer, less frantic, more energized. Results vary with your starting point and commitment.

Why wasn't marathon training working for Sarah anymore?

She was doing a lot of cardio and not eating nearly enough, often nothing until lunch. Her plan fed her properly, front-loaded protein and centred her workouts on strength. Her body started responding again.

Is Forty Forward worth the investment?

In Sarah's words, once she looked at the long game, “the money thing is not even a thing.” She says the cost was really a cover for not feeling ready, or worth it. Chris walks you through the investment on your call, once you both know it's a fit.

Can you follow the plan when you travel for work?

Yes. On a work shoot in Toronto, Sarah packed her blender and hard-boiled eggs, found a grocery store near the hotel, did her workout first thing and checked restaurant menus ahead of time. She asked servers for a simple swap, and it was never a big deal.

Did Sarah have to eat less to lose fat?

No, more. When she saw her nutrition plan, her reaction was “this is so much food.” She used to skip breakfast. Fuelling properly gave her more energy, not less.

More answers for you

• Is cardio making perimenopause fat loss harder?
• Am I eating too little to lose fat?
• How do I stay on track on a work trip?
• Is one-on-one coaching worth it?

More client stories: Sari, stronger at a year than she was at 30, Erin, 25 pounds in 8 weeks over the summer, Ashley, who was starving all day without knowing it and Franny, who quit dieting and started eating more.