Mixed feelings - no recommendation for women in their 40s
I chose Coached by GLJ mainly because of their very positive reviews and was in their coaching for about half a year. I quit the coaching some time ago with very mixed feelings and have been thinking quite a time if I should publish a review but finally decided to do so. So here it is:
Positive things first:
GLJ are an extremely friendly and polite team. Communication has always been a pleasure - fast, friendlly, accountable. I also liked the exercises given, the comprehensive video feedback and their patient help to really work on a correct form.
They also took into account personal likes and dislikes as well as heath-related matters.
Now for the less positive aspects:
I have been in their coaching for almost half a year. I did strength training 3x a week, cardio 2x a week, and limited my calories until 1400 calories. And I did loose almost no weight, and - even worse - built zero muscle. This was very disappointing, if not even devastating. And this was the point where the coaching felt like a waste of time and money: There were no explanations from their side, only: "Your calorie deficit isn't very high" (being on 1400 calories!!!) or "you don't train very much" (5x week, being a working mum) or "you didn't increase weight or repetitions well enough so you can't build muscle" (why didn't you tell me earlier?!) or "you can't build muscle on a calorie defict" (ok, but for what am I doing it then?). Some of these statements were even contradictory. So I began questioning the concept. And they didn't like to hear that, of course. It seemed like it was all my fault that it didn't work. And I tried and worked so hard. I have hardly ever been so frustrated in my life. And it really, really affected my relationship to food.
We tried to give it a good ending, they gave me an exercise routine for the time after the coaching, which was very friendly. However, they have quite a strict cancellation policy - I think it should have been easier to quit when the concept obviously didn't work for me. So I left with very mixed feelings.
Loosing weight and improving muscles - especially for women around 40 - is much much more than "calories in - calories out". It's about hormones, it's about stress, it's about microbiome, it's about a healthy metabolism, it's about eating carbs strategically. I made up my own mind in the meantime, eat a lot more than with Coached by GLJ, don't count calories or steps, and: I have lost 6 pounds in 3 weeks AND - most important - have been able to keep that weight up for 6 weeks now including a holiday.
My summary: The concept of GLJ will possibly work if you are a woman maybe in your 20s with a healthy metabolism and a lot of time for you and your body. However, women with a metabolism which is stressed by life, working, kids, family, and many attempts to loose weight in the past will only be stressed more by this rigid program, and, most of all, being given the fault if it doesn't work. Another voice claiming that women are never good enough in this world. And I think this should change, with a respect for the complexity and wonder of the female body which is so much more that "eat less, move more" or "calories in, calories out".
Just my 2 cents.
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