Crystal OKeefe: Welcome to the MetPro Method podcast. I'm your host, Crystal O'Keefe, and today I'm joined by MetPro client Keri Holder, and we are going to be discussing Keri's MetPro journey. Keri, thank you so much for being here today.
Keri Holder: Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.
Crystal OKeefe: Of course. We're excited to hear about your journey.
I want to take you back to the beginning. Why did you originally start MetPro? What was, what did you decide, like this is the moment? I know that MetPro was a good option for me.
Keri Holder: I started out with just the journey of deciding I needed something different in order to change my nutrition. I was really good with exercise and everything that way.
Of trying different exercises and whatnot and, but I knew I needed help and my husband had joked that we were going to go back to keto. Nothing against it, but it just wasn't working for me. I know I like food too much, that I needed to find an option. So, I had reached out to my sister's best friend who is a dietician, and she had actually sat through a MetPro training or a seminar.
That she had heard the owner speak and said she thought it might be a good program. So, then I started doing different research. There are other programs out there, obviously and whatnot, and with her recommending it, I reached out to one of your sales reps and spoke to him and was thoroughly impressed that I could have a one-on-one coach, because some of the other programs I saw out there, it was like group coaching and I knew that I'm particular about how I like to do things and whatnot.
A group fitness atmosphere is a great place, but I knew group nutrition wouldn't be what would work for me. So then when I found out that one-on-one coaching was available and whatnot, that I decided to take the leap and give MetPro a shot, and it has been one great experience.
Crystal OKeefe: That's awesome to hear. What would you say that the starting process was like? How would you describe it?
Keri Holder: The starting process was a little bit different than what I think most people may run into at MetPro. You get signed up for the app and everything, and I had a different coach than I ended with.
I had one month that I had a different coach before I was introduced to Amber, which at the end of the day it was meant to be that Amber and I were coaching and trainee because, we just have so much in common with the animals that we love. I have an English bulldog. She is English bulldogs, French Bulldogs, so it's just been a great experience.
But that was where that was a little bit of a different transition where you had one coach than different, and each of them had kind of their own little style. But, I enjoyed that they gave you three days to, here's the app, enter everything you eat regardless of, you know if you're on this plan or not, and then we're going to take you from there and figure out what your goals are and stuff like that.
Crystal OKeefe: That's a lot of really great insight. A great point. Sometimes we do switch coaches if they have a special project or things like that happening. Uh, so then we do get paired with different coaches. But I've always really enjoyed the fact that our coaches have very different styles because each person is so different.
And, what I think that does for people who are signing up is we're able to pair you with the perfect person for you, like you with Amber, and having so much in common. What kind of things did Amber have you focus on as you started the journey with her?
Keri Holder: I think I would say just mainly, just the different questions I had with nutrition and when you're on a phase, then they change the phase and it was nice to have somebody to work through those phase changes with, because of the fact that like I planned for the week.
I grew up with a mom who had a menu written down for the entire week of what we were going to eat each day because she could only grocery shop once a week. We lived out in the country as they’re dairy farmers, so she didn't have time to run into town. So, then that's what I loved about MetPro and working with Amber, was that I could build my plan for the week and we're good to go.
And then we plan. Sometimes she wanted to change it in the middle of the week, and I'm like, one, I can't always adapt to that. And two, mentally it would drive me crazy. So, we worked on, all right, every Thursday we're going to talk, we're going to discuss if we're going to change a plan and then move forward.
And then it was awesome working with her too because then you learned the different ideas about food. Yeah. And you know, like, well, why can I have it this time? But then you changed my plan and now I can't have it next time.
And I gained those little insights into why you do it that way.
Crystal OKeefe: Yeah, that's really great. I feel like that's another thing that's unique about MetPro is we like to, as coaches, we like to teach you as we go, so that when you do eventually reach your goals, you leave the program for whatever reason, and now you can continue it on your. Own. You've learned a lot about it and why things work. I think that's awesome.
So, was working one-on-one with a coach, what you expected since that was an important thing for you?
Keri Holder: Yes. I found it was very helpful, um, in regards to, because some days you'd be having a bad mental health day regards to all of this, that you just wanted to throw your hands up and like, ah, this isn't working.
This sucks. You know, why am I doing this? But then they would bring you, she would bring you back to the why, why are you doing this? In some days, she was kind of hard on you, but she wanted you to remember the why that you were doing it. You know, it wasn't like, oh, this is going to quickly happen.
You're not going to drop all this weight and then life is going to be great. You know, it's hard. You have to choose your hard to get to whatever goal it is that you want. And that's what I found with the nutrition piece, that it is hard, you know because you're going to have people that rip on you like, ah, you're already, you know, I wasn't over overweight, but I wanted to be at a certain level and you know, you'd have people rip on you because you don't need to lose any weight.
You look fine. You know, and it's like, no, there are certain aspects I want to gain out of this. And different things that I felt I totally got out of having that coach to guide me on those days where it was really tough, you know like I missed her the last couple weeks. I don't have Amber as my coach any longer.
Trying to get through the last month of, uh, tax season as I'm a tax accountant. And man, that was just brutal, where you're just like, I just need something. I just need to pick me up. And you're trying not to eat the donuts and the junk that are in the office because everybody else is using that as their crutch and you know, things like that.
So that's what I really liked and I enjoyed the fact that I had to tell her what alcohol I was drinking because I drank a lot of alcohol prior to this program. And that was also one of the other goals I wanted to get out of this was I wanted to scale back on my drinking, and whatnot. And so, she was always encouraging and helped me find different things that we could do to kind of substitute that.
Evening cocktail, you know, where you're trying to unwind and different things, um, and whatnot. I found that so helpful.
Crystal OKeefe: So I'm also curious about what kind of success you've had during your MetPro journey.
So you were working with a coach and now it sounds like you're on the basic plan. So what has that success looked like for you?
Keri Holder: That success has looked like for me that I have had energy every single day. I have lost 16 pounds in this journey, and I'm around that level. I don't really see that changing much at all, and that, um, I've lost inches in places that I didn't know would change just by losing weight.
All my goal and all of this was I just want to lose weight so I can fit back in the clothes that I currently own. And I'm now to the point that I had to go spend money to get clothes that fit because those clothes I wanted to fit into actually don't fit either. And so, things like that, and I've been able to push myself with heavier lifting of weights now, um, and different things that I know I got to play one short round of golf.
So far. I live in Wisconsin, so it snows every other day here yet. And um, I got to play one round in both my husband and I think the gains that I had on each of my clubs, which is an average to five to 10 yards further, is a combo of my awesome nutrition plan now, and that I've been lifting the heavier weights to get me to that point, and that was a total side effect I wasn't expecting at all.
Crystal OKeefe: Absolutely. As a side note, we had a whole episode we did about golf and we were talking about how your swing can actually change by losing weight. Have you noticed that? I don't know if 16 pounds is enough. I know the gentleman we spoke with during our interview, he had lost quite a bit and he found that his swing actually changed during that time.
Keri Holder: I listened to that podcast and he was awesome. He was an inspiration too. But, um, no, I didn't really notice mine had changed that much because I wasn't carrying weight in any one spot that I felt had really affected it at all, um, in that regard. And yeah, the other piece to this as well is that my stomach is finally flat, I don't feel bloated and feel like I look like, I felt like I looked like I was three months pregnant all the time.
And it was just like, I'm like, no, I don't want this. So, I've been able to obtain that goal and then hang onto it at the same time that I have a flat stomach now.
Crystal OKeefe: Well, those are incredible successes, Keri, so congratulations. That's awesome. And I love that you list that energy is one of your successes because especially being a tax accountant this time of year, for those of you who don't know, we are recording right after tax season.
Uh, and so, uh, Keri has been right in the thick of it, uh, for the last couple of weeks. So, I feel like that's a major win, being able to have energy and keep going during that timeframe. Uh, how did you end up coping with the fact that there were all these desserts in the office? Did you find that you had to rely on coping mechanisms that you may not have used in the past?
Keri Holder: Part of it was we changed where they were putting the snacks because they were right down a hallway that we all walked down all the time. So we had asked, cause there are a couple others of us that were trying, um, to lose weight or maintain your weight loss in the office. So that helped. And then once in a while, you know, it was just, I need that and I'd grab a piece of it, but I won't eat it all.
Like if there was a muffin, I'd take part of the muffin top up and yep, I'm gonna admit it. I threw the rest of it away because then it just satisfied that little bit I needed to get to that next level and to be able to survive tax season and things like that. And then you weren't thinking about it anymore once you knew that that junk was in the office. My brain goes, yep, you're just going to keep thinking about this and you're going to keep thinking about this. And so sometimes it was like, just had to give in so that my brain would stop.
But then I still had the, you know, maintenance to be able to throw it away. And if it wasn't good, like you're like, oh yeah, this is terrible. I threw it away. I took a bite and that was it. Nope, this is terrible. I'm not going to waste my calories on this. So, throw it away.
Crystal OKeefe: Yeah. Sometimes whenever we, uh, the kids will have desserts, I'll be like, is that worth the calories? Like, tell me how that tastes. I need details.
Keri Holder: Yes, exactly.
Crystal OKeefe: It might look good, but does it taste as good as it looks? I correct. So, what have you found challenging while you've been using MetPro?
Keri Holder: One of the biggest things I think I found challenging was initially, like, sometimes the program and Amber would want to change. Like, all right, we're going to do this for two days and then change it.
And it's like, I can't like revamp because I only like to grocery shop once a week, so I take advantage of the, um, online grocery shopping where I pull up to the parking spot and they put it in my car and I leave. So as things like that of learning to adapt of what could I have in the house, you know, like canned green beans are a huge thing that I have in my house because it's easy to maintain regardless of what my plan changes.
So that was one of the items I found kind of challenging in that regard. Um, another one was, um, it was. At the beginning, I always was one that cooked more with recipes, and then I found that this took a bit to scale back to go too simple where, all right, I'm just going to have a protein, my veggies and a fat, you know, or whatever.
You had the combo and instead of doing the recipe, I would kind of build that recipe. Like if I was going to make a taco box, I got rice that night with black beans. You know that. You learn to adapt it that way. But that took me, um, a while as well. And then, um, the idea of like going out on your own. I, when I knew that Amber and I were going to be taking separate ways, I knew I was going to the app only, but she took it upon herself to make sure that I had the items that I needed so that I could succeed with it.
And then also, there's still a coach in the background. I haven't had to reach out yet, but I do have a couple things that I'm starting to think about that I want to reach out to a coach and ask. Um, but, so those were some of the items, and the other piece was too, that I like to work out a certain way, so I was kind of bucking the system sometimes where they're like, well, let's do cardio.
I'm like, really? I don't want to do cardio. I love weightlifting. I'm one of those people. So it was always kind of comical. Sometimes we're like, well try, we have workouts in the app, and I'm like, Nope. I said, I don't build my own. I said, I follow Beachbody programs. I have it all set up in my basement that I can follow all of that.
And I'm like, Nope. I just want to know what my workout's going to be the next day. I don't want to build my own, or I would have no success with this at all. So that was kind of touch and go with both of the coaches, I would even say at the beginning. And then Amber gave me some really good guidance as, all right, well let's try this: cardio or, you know, things like that, that then I got it more dialed in as to what we are trying to accomplish. To understand that.
Crystal OKeefe: yeah, that's, uh, that's always funny to me. Again, as a coach, I find that if, if a person loves cardio, I have to really push them into strength, that if they love strength, I have to really push in the cardio, but, I mean, ideally we would do both.
Keri Holder: Yes. As you know.
Crystal OKeefe: Yep. So has there been anything that really surprised you about MetPro?
Keri Holder: The simplicity of it. I was expecting that like, oh, I'm going to have to build all this stuff. You're going to have to do all this stuff. And it was nothing. That was just kind of my, my mindset before. It's nothing that anyone said bad.
And I'm just able to pull up the app. All right, here's what I got in the house for supper. Let's see what we can combine to meet the expectations of my dinner. MetPro that night, um, and things of that nature. And then just like all the weights or inches I lost in my arms. In my chin, like when you do the photos, please do the photos people, because it is so unreal.
Because some weeks you're like, that scale won't move. And then the coach, Amber goes, I want to see photos. And you do photos and you're like, oh my gosh, look where I lost weight now. And like my arms, my chin and my upper thighs were the biggest thing. I knew it was going to go away in the middle of your stomach, but it was just, those are the pieces that just blew me away.
Crystal OKeefe: That is fabulous. That's a really, really good point too, about losing weight in places you don't expect, and I absolutely agree that taking photos is such a huge, huge piece of this because so many people, myself included, we live and die by the scale. You know, it's like, oh, that number. If it didn't go up today, or if it didn't go down today, then you know, I didn't, didn't do what I was supposed to do yesterday.
But when you're doing all the things over and over and over again, Scale's not moving. You start to question, did I do something wrong? And so when you can see the visual representation of this is the progress I've made, you see it happening, it's so exciting, so rewarding. Yes.
Keri Holder: That is the huge, that was the biggest thing I think I learned mentally out of all of this, is that some days that scale is just not going to be your friend, no matter what you do.
But then you all of a sudden turn around because my mirror is kind of right behind me where my scale is and you go, whoa, look at those abs today. I didn't see those before. You know when you have to take those wins instead when you're looking at some of that, because yeah, some days you're like, come on scale, just gimme something today. You know? And then you see that instead.
Crystal OKeefe: Yeah. And, since you've reached pretty much your weight goal, do you have other goals that you're working on as you continue to use the basic app? Or is it maintenance for you? Is that your goal moving forward?
Keri Holder: I would say it's a combo of maintenance is the goal. Um, because I do a ton of walking with playing golf. Um, you know, like I'm probably going to average probably 400 miles probably this year with the amount of golf my husband and I have planned and the group we're going with and everything else that way. So I want to make sure that I maintain that weight so I can be that much more enjoyable walking all these courses and whatnot.
And two is, like I said, with the weightlifting, now I want to get all that definition, I want to see those triceps, that once in a while I got to see that horseshoe. Now I want that to be more consistent so that I look good in all those golf clothes. Because I'm a stylist and I love golf clothes at the same time.
Crystal OKeefe: That's fantastic. Yeah. I had a, I had a client tell me this morning she was doing a plank and she saw shadows where abs are going to be. She was like, they're coming out. I'm so excited. It's like such a great feeling when you see that. It's so amazing.
Keri Holder: Yes. I don't disagree at all. And I have, um, ended up having a mirror in my basement that I'm like, all right, I'll put this over here.
And the other day I was like, whoa, look at my shoulders. I haven't seen that. You know, you're like, that's awesome. So yes, it's just however you can find those little wins now and then is what definitely helps you to keep motivated and to keep going.
Crystal OKeefe: That is awesome advice. Do you feel like there's anything else you want to make sure listeners know about MetPro or your journey that we haven't already covered?
Keri Holder: The biggest thing that I'd either, I don’t know if I was on this podcast or if it was a different podcast I had heard, is to choose your hard. It's hard to stay healthy, it's hard to stay overweight. It's, you know that everything you choose in life is hard, but you have to enjoy the journey because some days Yep, you're just going to fall off the plan and it's okay.
Just don't let it keep. Escalating to the next day and the next day and the next day and have a plan. You know, like, yep, I'm going to go out north today with my family and I'm not exactly going to eat on plan, but my snacks in the truck for the drive back to Green Bay. You know, things like that that, again, keep it simple.
I just, that I found so easy that it just makes life. You know, makes it more successful and whatnot that way. And to give yourself the grace that someday is, is just not going to work.
Crystal OKeefe: That is all excellent advice. That is really good tips for people who are just starting. Keri, thank you so much for your time today.
I really, really appreciate it. It's been, a pleasure talking to you and learning about your journey.
Keri Holder: ¬Yes. Thank you. I really appreciate you asking me to be part of the conversation and whatnot, to inspire others to make the journey into MetPro and to learn everything they can.
Crystal OKeefe: It's been great. Listeners, that's all for this week.
You can find all the MetPro Method episodes anywhere you get podcasts, or you can go to metpro.co/podcast. Please be sure to follow the show and rate and review that lets other people know what they can expect. You can also learn more about MetPro@metpro.co. I'm your host, Crystal O'Keefe, and I'll be back next week.
Until then, remember, consistency is key.
