Why Amy Ditched Paleo, Keto, and MyFitnessPal for Good

When Amy Spencer was teamed up with CBG Nutrition Coach Kali Butler a year ago, her goals were simple:

“To build muscle.”

And she also didn’t mind the idea of losing 10 pounds, but it wasn’t really about fat loss for her. Her main goal was to improve her performance.

One Year In: Spencer has been able to PR all of her lifts in the gym, some of them two or three times.

• Her back squat has gone from 165 to 200 pounds.
• Her front squat from 145 to 160 pounds.
• Her deadlift has jumped 50 pounds, from 235 to 285 pounds.

In addition to all of her accomplishments, she has learned that the scale means nothing. Spencer is 20 pounds heavier than when she started working with Coach Butler. She is leaner and with “way more muscle tone,” Spencer said.

“I 100 percent credit this to nutrition, because I didn’t change the lifting program pre and post CBG. I saw some progress before, but not the consistent progress I have seen since dialing in my nutrition,” she added.

Spencer’s Story

Prior to stumbling across CBG and commenting on one of Justin Romaine’s posts on Instagram, Spencer had tried it all.

She tried the Paleo diet for a while and was Keto for a time. She tried tracking her macros with MyFitnessPal and scanning and weighing all her food.

“I could never sustain it, and it consumed me and then I felt like I failed,” she admitted.

She knew what she really needed was a coach in her corner to hold her accountable, and a nutrition plan that wasn’t so rigid and consuming.

And the moment she joined CBG, this is exactly what she got.

“The most obvious thing right off the start was that [Coach] Kali did a great job assessing who I am. She got me and my willingness for no bullshit. I wanted someone to challenge me and not let me make excuses, but she does it in a way that she’s kind and to the point, but also motivating,” Spencer explained.

Better still, Spencer started noticing results quickly. After she got through the initial 16-week program, she signed on for another eight months because she “was so pumped,” Spencer said. She thought she could possibly do it on her own at this point, but she loves the accountability and advice Coach Kali provides.

She recounted the time when she first started seeing the number on the scale increase.

She wasn’t OK with it at first.

“But then [Coach] Kali asked, ‘Why does the number matter? You have been so consistent telling me about all these metrics that have improved, so why do you care about it now?’”

Spencer knew her coach was right, but she needed to hear those words to believe it.

“More Than a Nutrition Program”

For Spencer, the changes she has seen go far beyond her results in the gym and body composition changes.

“It has been a complete mindset change,” she said.

Prior to CBG, Spencer used to be so hard on herself when she was having an off day.

“I was all or nothing, so if I went out for lunch and didn’t make the best choices, then I’d be like, ‘What does it matter what I do for dinner?’ I would let the train go off the tracks for that day, and usually the next day, and then Monday would come and I’d feel like crap about myself,” she said.

Spencer rarely has those moments anymore, and when she does, she plans for them.

“If I want a pub burger then I’ll have one, but I might just choose my side differently. I’m just way more balanced in my approach [when it comes to nutrition],” she explained.

Ultimately, she realizes now that one bad meal, or even a full day or two, won’t derail her progress, and that she doesn’t have to be perfect to see big results.

Spencer credits having a real human being, rather than an app, with why she has been able to make the lasting mindset change she has with food and nutrition.

“[Coach] Kali helps you celebrate the small wins. And she remembers all the things I have told her about my life, and that makes a difference because I feel connected. She really cares about my progress,” Spencer said.

She added: “It’s way more than just a nutrition program.”