I was initially a bit worried about all of the prep time and having to make my own stuff from scratch if I hired Sarah. Not that I am a lazy person, but I never enjoyed cooking and was awful at it… Yet after working with Sarah and using her recipes, I actually enjoy cooking and food prep. And with all of the practice I have actually gotten pretty decent at cooking! I never thought I would ever say I loved cooking, but I do and it is now something I plan on incorporating into my everyday lifestyle.
It’s crazy, there’s so much Sarah helped me with. First of all, I can never thank her enough for helping me find out I had anemia (my doctor had totally glossed over my numbers – after seeing my blood test results, Sarah encouraged me to find a doctor who was well versed at working with runners so I could get a proper diagnosis). I was at the point in my running, where I felt so tired and fatigued, that I was thinking about just throwing in the towel. I had made dietary changes, cutting out gluten and dairy, and was thinking that I was eating really healthy, so I was baffled that I had such low energy. Thanks to Sarah I got to the bottom of it all.
After Sarah helped me get my iron levels up as quickly as possible and she also re-taught me how make food choices that made me feel way better, my body feels like it is just so very happy with me. I have more energy than ever before. I have been able to recover more quickly after hard workouts (yeah tart cherry juice and turmeric!) and I am not bloated and inflamed like I used to be.
The whole reason I finally decided to work with Sarah was because I really wanted to qualify for Boston. Since beginning with her, I’ve been able to run my highest mileage during training, without feeling overly fatigued or sore, and I made it to the start line and finish line injury free. The week of my potential qualifier race (CIM) I felt strong and powerful on the start line And although I had not been actively trying to lose weight, I also felt light and lean. It seems as though simply giving my body enough of the right food was what it took for me to naturally and effortlessly land on my healthy body weight – which although I wouldn’t have guessed it, also turns out to be the weight I race the fastest at.
That day at CIM I ran my fastest marathon to date (7 minutes faster than ever before and officially a BQ, even with the new lowered qualifying times!). And amazingly, it felt too easy – I never in my wildest dreams thought a 3:28 would feel easy to me. I 100% credit learning how to fuel myself properly to that. My mom and dad saw me at mile 25 and said they didn’t even have time to take my picture, I was flying by them so fast!
I have also found that I have a better relationship with food after working with Sarah. I don’t aimlessly eat something just for the sake of eating. I am more mindful about what goes into my body, because I see it as a source of fuel to aid me in performance and recovery. I always knew that, but after working with Sarah, it really clicked.
I loved how I didn’t have to track calories or macros. I have had to do that in the past, and the numbers just really messed with my head. Not having to track every single thing I ate really helped me to eat intuitively and not to just try to fit in x-amount of calories or x-amount of carbs. I saw food as fuel and not as something to be restricted. And it all worked! I am:
- No longer anemic.
- Have increased energy and no crash during the day.
- I’ve lost weight and leaned out.
- I’m so well educated on the importance of eating whole foods and more veggies (I wasn’t aware of really how much processed “healthy” food I was eating).
- I recover so much faster and I’m able to run faster for longer periods of time.
- Less frequent IBS flare ups.
- Less bloated feeling.
- More confidence in myself and in my running.
- Obliterated my CIM marathon sub 3:30 goal (I can’t believe it) – I’m off to BOSTON 2020!
I can’t wait to see how much more I can improve my time from continuing to follow Sarah’s nutritional advice. I’m actually going to pursue a career in nutrition now after working with her. I was thinking about it prior to working with her, but after seeing for myself how important nutrition is to training and every day, I want to help other people like she helped me.
Thank you so much Sarah! I just cannot thank you enough. =)
Kaydee Gregg, Denver CO
(winter to fall 2018 – nutrition coaching client)
