Sam L.
Background
I heard about Gisèle So Well through a friend ‘liking’ it on Facebook. The photo and info made me want to find out more. I was in my typical ‘post Xmas slump’ even though it was March and while I exercise throughout the year, after Xmas those extra pounds just didn’t want to shift. So with Spring just around the corner I needed to do something to help myself. I’ve tried the usual slimming groups in the past with some success, but ultimately, I lacked the motivation to keep going and the whole group meeting scenario just wasn’t for me. I wanted something more personal, more tailored to my eating preferences, my family cooking and my schedule.
Why Gisèle so Well?
Vicky’s ethos just seemed to sing out to me as being healthy and easy to follow with the added bonus of one to one meetings to keep me focused, so I decided to get in touch.
My first meeting with Vicky was life transforming. Cooking is not my favourite thing- I guess I’m just like so many other mums out there- stuck in a rut of feeding fussy kids, so consequently I was cooking twice every evening- once for them and then again for my husband and me. You can see how my enjoyment for cooking was lost over the years! We chatted about healthy options, family meals, one tray bakes, easy, quick healthy meals.
Vicky provided me a wealth of recipes from her own collection- inspired by her wonderful Grandma Gisele, and pointed me to a fabulous food app to find meals using any ingredients. We did weight and measurements on the first meeting to allow me to see progress and also took photos.
We had several more meetings over a 3-month period, then a summer break and a final ‘wrap up’ meeting after the summer. Each meeting brought a wealth of new recipes, healthy swaps- no more beige food for me! Simple tips for easy cooking (pouch brown rice- 2 mins to cook compared to 25 mins on the stove- how did I not know this!!!!) and check ins for weight. I started to find I was cooking meals that all my family could enjoy and more importantly, we were all being healthier, and cooking wasn’t the drag it used to be.
What’s changed for you?
My approach to cooking, looking for new recipes, using the food app, looking for the offers in store of tasty fresh ingredients and cooking around them using the app.
Also my mindset that my kids won’t eat certain foods- as young children they liked all the plain foods, as teenagers their taste buds have matured and the meals I’m cooking meet with positive comments. Who knew they’d eat sea bass and asparagus- not me apparently!
I am a healthy half a stone lighter. I’ve still indulged in my cheeky glass of weekend wine, eaten chocolate (but the healthy dark stuff) and have enjoyed plenty of meals out.
The Gisèle so Well plan has changed my life but also allowed me to live, work and socialise as I was before, without it dictating where I eat or the choices I make. I feel healthier, happier and more motivated as a result.
Going forward I’ll be continuing to adopt the Gisele so Well approach for an 80/20 healthy way of living, and post-Xmas, I’ll be stepping up to the 90/10 approach to shift those unwanted pounds!