A Coquitlam mom is learning to love food - and her body - again after an eight-week challenge to live better, eat healthier and learn about fitness and nutrition.
Nicole Robson is a Coquitlam mom and entrepreneur who, for the past eight weeks, has blogged, exercised, created recipes and fundraised for the Canadian Cancer Society as the Tri-Cities' representative in the Kin's Farm Market Green Fighters Challenge 2014
The fruit and vegetable store's second annual contest is just wrapping up - with official photos posted on Facebook - but as of The Tri-City News' recent interview, Robson hadn't completed her final body scan, which will "tell the story" of her fitness success. (A follow up interview will be published on July 4.)
But after several weeks of working out by doing the Coquitlam Crunch and regular hot yoga sessions at Beach Yoga, plus using proper nutrition information provided by the contest, Robson said she already feels like a winner.
"I really got to see what my body is made of," Robson said.
She started the contest weighing 190 lb. - her "pregnancy" weight, which she said was too high - and even though she was already trying to eat properly and exercise regularly, she wasn't losing pounds. She'd tried every low-carb and fad diet but the weight that dropped off always came back.
This time, Robson said, she was determined to keep off pounds.
The contest came at the perfect time for Robson to make a change. Her mobile hair styling business was doing well as were her children, aged 10 and 13. It was time for a little mom time and that's what the Green Challenge provided, along with a chance to blog about it along the way. Robson posted pictures of her vegetable "art" creations and received advice that enabled her to make changes in her eating and exercise routine.
She received body scans that told her what her fat, bone and lean muscle make-up was, and was told she only had to make small changes, such as cutting out the honey in her tea.
But the small sacrifices and eating more fruits and vegetables enabled Robson to drop eight pounds, at roughly a pound a week, a healthy rate, and an accomplishment she's likely to maintain. "Any more than that and you lose muscle," she said.
And a funny thing has happened along the way: Robson has learned that maintaining a healthy weight is not complicated.
As she says: "Now, I feel I've got a pretty good handle on things."
