Second CoSIDA Membership Recognition Week Coming Up! Nov. 6-12
Stayed tuned to
CoSIDA.com/ThankYourSID,
@CoSIDAnews on Twitter and
Facebook/CoSIDAnews for more member profiles and features as we will be promoting our profession and the individuals who serve their campuses and conferences throughout Recognition Week. Read more about our plans for 2017 Recognition Week and the 2016 Recognition Week
HERE.
This is the next profile Q and A in a series entitled
Communicators Outside the Lines: Better Yourself, Better Your Community produced by the CoSIDA Goodwill & Wellness Committee. Read past profiles at
CoSIDA.com/CommunicatorsOTL.
HAVE IDEAS OR MEMBERS TO NOMINATE FOR THIS SERIES?
If you have any ideas for this series, which will revolve around CoSIDA member volunteerism and health and wellness, please contact Goodwill and Wellness Committee chair
Chris Mitchell, Washington University in St. Louis Assistant AD for Communications, at (618) 560-9280 or
mitchell@wustl.edu.
Q&A with Karen Angell
Associate Director of Strategic Communications, Temple
by Chevonne Mansfield, Director of Communications, American Athletic Conference
CoSIDA Goodwill and Wellness Committee Member
Karen Angell of Temple has battled issues with her fluctuating weight since she was a teenager. With the support of her husband Sam Angell, SID at Drexel, she's found a plan that has proven to work for her which she shares below.
Karen’s challenge
(how her surroundings, upbringing, etc., contributed to her former state)
Q: When did you become unhappy about your health and/or lifestyle?
ANGELL: I've been waging war against my body since my mid-teens. I was quite overweight (up to 175 lbs) from about 15 through my early 20's, and have continued to yo-yo ever since. I've fluctuated in nearly a 50-lb range even in just the last 10 years. I've tried meal delivery services, various cardio plans, a super low-carb diet... and they all work, for a time. I also basically crash-dieted before my wedding in June 2016, but by the end of the calendar year I had put it all back on and more.
Q: What made you decide to make a lifestyle change?
ANGELL: In January (2017) I knew it was time to make some changes. As much as I'd love to be someone who could just eat sensibly and move my butt for the necessary amount of time, I just need more structure than that. So I wanted a "plan," but I wanted it to be something I felt I could really stick with long term. I also wanted something that if I did have some off days or weeks, I could get back to it. I so badly wanted to stop this yo-yo cycle I've been stuck in for so many years.
Karen’s plan
Q: What were the most important changes you made to your lifestyle?
ANGELL: The plan I went with is called many different things, but what I do is count macros (most of the time). I had a nutrition professional calculate my numbers for me. One thing that attracted me to this way of eating is the focus on protein. Nothing is cut out, nothing is forbidden, but I was tired of losing weight only to still have too much body fat despite being smaller. The benefit of a high-protein diet, whether or not you lift weights (which I now do) is that it helps you lose less muscle mass than you do on typical diets.
Basically, I aim to hit a certain number of grams each day of protein, carbs and fat. My protein and carbs are almost equal, while the fat is lower. So yes, like any "diet," I'm ultimately eating fewer calories than I burn. But if I want pizza, or cookies, or whatever it may be (even wine) - I can plan for it. Sometimes that means a protein shake and a lot of chicken if I want to indulge one night, but I never feel too deprived.
I've been working out fairly consistently over the last 10 months, but I'm now following an actual weight training program rather than focusing on cardio. The weight loss is slower, but I truly believe in the long run I will be much happier with my body.
Q: What was the most challenging thing you had to deal with during your lifestyle change/weight loss journey?
ANGELL: Vacations are always a diet-killer. My husband and I went to England for 10 days, and I really did not even attempt to track my food. It has happened for a few other stretches as well. But what I've noticed about macro-counting is that I keep being able to get back to it. Yes it's more fun to be "off plan" and eating unlimited pizza, ice cream and drinking wine, but I always end up feeling like crap. I'm usually pretty happy to get back to just having a small treat each day and upping the protein again.
Karen’s life now
Karen with husband Sam Angell.
Q: How long did it take you to start to see results?
ANGELL:I lost about 22 lbs between January and May and I've been nearly the same weight since then. I've gone up a few pounds (vacations, etc.) but I've been able to lose it each time. Now that I'm back into the routine of the normal work year, I do hope to lose some more weight. I hover around 148 right now (I'm 5-5). I don't have a specific number in mind, but my body fat is still a lot higher than I'd like it to be.
I know if I stick to the weight training, I'll make progress slowly but surely.
Q: How has your life changed now that you have lost weight?
ANGELL: Since I've lost weight a number of times over the years, the comments have sort of fallen off. That used to be pretty fun for me when everyone would notice. Now I have to really do it for myself and for how I feel. My husband (Sam Angell, SID at Drexel) absolutely does not care what I weigh, but he's very supportive no matter what! The best thing for me now is just more self-confidence. But buying clothes is definitely more fun as well!
Q: How long have you maintained your weight loss and what are the most important factors for keeping it off?
ANGELL: I've been hovering around the same weight for about 5 months. It doesn't sound like much, but that's huge for me. In the past, I've re-gained weight very quickly. The most important thing for me is just tracking what I eat and hitting my macros a majority of the time. If I were more consistent (not taking 1-2 day breaks every few weeks or so), I could definitely have lost more weight by now. But I feel good about the fact that I can have those off days and not let them derail me completely.
Q: You have an Instagram account for food and fitness tips. Can you share your handle for anyone interested in following?
ANGELL: I wouldn't call my posts "tips" by any means, but my food/fitness Instagram account is iifymangell. IIFYM stands for "if it fits your macros," which gets a bad rep from bodybuilders posting photos of ice cream and pop-tarts, but I'm part of a group of women who take a more sensible approach! We all get our macros calculated by the same woman and many of us are also on the same lifting program. They're all strangers to me in real life, but they've been a huge source of support.
Click here to learn more about CoSIDA's Goodwill and Wellness initiatives and find out how YOU can get involved.