Lisa finds exercise easier and more fun now

Despite a daily exercise routine, Lisa wasn't seeing as much progress in her fitness as she would have liked. With the help of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, Lisa transformed her eating habits, lost 19 kg*, which was 20% of her body weight, received a refund and finally started to see big fitness improvements. Even better, she has been maintaining her goal weight since May 2022.

*In 7 months. Individual results may vary.

Lisa's weight struggles

Prior to starting the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, Lisa was overweight despite being active. She regularly hiked and exercised, but snacking and indulging in treats had become a daily routine. She found herself struggling to find clothes that fit and was concerned about her health, having had gestational diabetes during both of her pregnancies.

"I’ve been overweight since I was in my early 20’s. I have always been really active – I hike 10 to 15 km a week, have a personal training session at least once a week, walk every day, go to the gym and do reformer pilates – so I knew being overweight was due to what I ate."

"I was snacking too much; I found through the last two years that all the treats we used to go out for had found their way into our house – ice creams, wine, gin, chips, take away food. They all became normal rather than treats (I partly blame COVID-19!)"

"The impetus behind starting the program was that I simply wasn’t feeling good. I was struggling to find clothes that fit, and I was seriously worried I was going to end up with type 2 diabetes in my mid 40’s."

Something just clicked

After starting the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, Lisa saw almost immediate results. Within a week, she had lost almost 2 kg and continued to lose weight throughout the program, reaching her goal of losing 10 kg by Christmas.

"I can buy clothes brands I haven’t fit into for years! I can run and exercise is so much easier and a lot more fun. I didn't realise how hard all that exercise actually was until I lost the weight. Now I can see the muscle development and I am loving it so much more."

"I have more energy and I am getting faster at running and completing longer distances – people attribute my weight loss to running but I tell them it’s the other way around – I run now because I’ve lost the weight and it’s so much easier!"

"I’m happier – we eat better and make much better decisions for the whole family. I look at my trolley when I grocery shop and feel so happy with the choices we are making as a family. I really enjoy it now when we go out or make the decision to have a treat."

Why the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet worked

The online program helped Lisa realise that filling her diet with nutritious meals left her feeling more satisfied and less hungry. She also found that by not denying herself things within reason, she was able to stick with the program long term.

"The program helped me understand that empty carbohydrates like cakes, bread, biscuits, lollies, chocolate and wine make me put on weight and leave me feeling blah. Filling my diet with grainy breads, crackers, more fruit and some veg (I really don’t like veggies very much) left me feeling much more satisfied."

"Understanding serving sizes was also really important to my loss, as was curbing my alcohol intake. I only drink now when I’m with friends – I no longer open a bottle of wine at home when I feel like a drink. I've learnt that urge passes. I do really enjoy wine and I managed a drink most Fridays with my work friends right through the program and still managed to lose weight."

"The refund also motivated me to stay on track throughout the program; I’m good at tracking food so I think I would always have done that, but it was the measurements and weighing in that it mostly helped me with. I am so glad that I have the before and after photos, which I probably wouldn’t have been so diligent with without the refund criteria to meet."

Long-term weight loss success

Lisa consistently used the tracker for about ten months, and she now uses it on an ad-hoc basis since she is on maintenance mode. As she freestyles mostly, she uses the combo function, and she also uses the recipe finder regularly.

"After religiously following the units for almost a year, it’s burnt into my brain. When I want to remind myself of how things track and in particular check serving sizes I use the tracker. I freestyled mostly so I use the combo function and I used the exercise plan to start with but I’m in a pretty good place with exercise so I didn’t use the exercise program regularly – just to change things up a bit. I also use the recipe finder quite a bit. The Facebook member group is great motivation and full of great information as well. There are so many resources available."

"Knowing that I can eat whatever I want – nothing is forbidden. I find now, its easy to tell myself I can have the thing if I want and then I decide if I really want it or not. Often I choose not, but telling myself I can’t have it usually ends up with me wanting it more."

Are you trying to lose weight? Read our comprehensive guide on weight loss to understand where to begin, what happens when you lose weight and what doesn't work when it comes to dieting.