Shelley Stark – Bodybuilder; Deadlift World Record, Lifestyle Coaching & Education.
Everyone has a story! You don’t have to be famous, successful or an “influencer”. Our stories, the culmination of our experiences, can truly help and make a difference in someone else’s life.
I wrote my story once, long ago, in the form of two self-published books. To be honest, I cringe at those now due my lack of knowledge and understanding and I’m no longer that person anymore. I’m older, wiser, and a lot more educated. However, those experiences helped me become who I am today, as cliché as that sounds.
Until recently I sat behind the scenes, not wanting to put myself ‘out there.’ I was happy in life. I worked in a job I loved, a lot, and when I decided to leave that position, due to circumstances beyond my control, I was left with what now?
Being involved in powerlifting, although no longer competing myself (maybe again one day), at the recent Masters Championships in Cairns I was speaking to a few people about nutrition and they all said you should be doing coaching yourself, you have so much knowledge around this. So, I came home, thought more about it, and now here I am, providing nutrition/lifestyle coaching and education and helping clients achieve their goals in a safe, effective and sustainable manner using evidence-based practices.
Rewinding a bit, in 2008 and 2009 I competed in figure bodybuilding competitions, placing 2nd & 3rd in my first year and 4th in my second. Prior to this I had a long dieting history. After this I was diagnosed by a sports psychologist with binge eating disorder. It took me a few years to overcome this and get some semblance of normalcy in my life again involving eating. In 2013 I started powerlifting. My greatest achievement in this sport was getting the World Record for Deadlift in both 2014 and 2015 in the 67.5kg Women’s M1 category. As others’ have said I love that powerlifting focuses on what your body can do rather than how it looks. I’ve been involved in powerlifting ever since.
Nutrition is simple, yet we over-complicate it.
I believe this is partly due to the misinformation spread by the media. Rubbish like; you need to omit carbs if you want to lose body fat; fasting will produce greater fat loss; clean eating is the only way you should eat; donuts and burgers are out of the question. With garbage like this spread, it’s no wonder we are confused about and how and what to eat, especially if we want to decrease body fat percentage.
There are many ways to go about fat loss. The bottom line is you must be in a calorie deficit in order to get rid of fat. The best diet is the one you can stick to, without too many feelings of deprivation, one where enjoyment is kept high and you are consistent week after week for as long as it takes. Patience and persistence are keys to fat loss as well as behavioural changes made along the way in order to maintain fat loss once the diet has ended.
I have been feeling quite vulnerable, if I’m honest, with my posts on social media but when I receive messages such as “I’m loving your posts” I know I’m doing good and on the right path. I love helping people and I want to make a difference so that we can all be free of the neuroses and stigma surrounding dieting and fat loss. Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s easy. The best piece of advice I can give is to educate yourself, work with a nutrition coach if needed, or read as much as you can from reputable sources on the internet.
If you would like to discuss your Nutrition with me, please get in touch by sending your details in the Contact Form below…