Two best friends who shed a combined 50 kilos between them have revealed how they kept the weight off for good without strict diets or unrealistic workout plans.
Entrepreneurs Jade Spooner, 27, and Amal Wakim, 26, said they tried every diet imaginable to lose weight – but nothing seemed to work.
The Sydney founders of science-based nutrition program Equalution credits ‘flexible dieting’ for their incredible physiques – and they didn’t deprive themselves of foods they love.
The pair have been following a macro nutrients-based diet where they eat lean meats, fruits, vegetables and wholegrains, while allowing for reasonable indulgence in the remaining 20 per cent.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the high school friends-turned business partners opened up about how they transformed their bodies through the 80/20 approach.
Friends Jade Spooner and Amal Wakim credits ‘flexible dieting’ for their incredible physiques
Jade, who’s the founder of Equalution, credits ‘flexible dieting’ for her incredible physiques
‘We’ve tried every diet under the sun, from shake diets to low carb, veto, paleo, clean eating… every diet possible we’ve been there and done that,’ the friends told Daily Mail Australia.
‘But becoming educated on the science of nutrition has shown us the downfalls in our unsuccessful methods. A lot of fad diets lack a science based strategy, they’re either calorically too low or even too high.
‘From a protein, fat and carb perspective, it fails to meet each person’s needs, all the while facilitating restriction which inevitably leads to rebounds and blow outs.’
Jade Spooner, 27
Before: 78 kilos – size 12
After: 58 kilos – size 8
Jade Spooner, 27, said she became fixated with clean eating but she struggled with her portion control.
‘I gained a lot of my weight from clean eating. The issue I had was eating double the amount nutrient dense foods but with no calorie control,’ Jade told Daily Mail Australia.
‘What a lot of people don’t realise about clean eating is a lot of the staples are high in calories. My staples included avocado, nuts, coconut oil, salmon etc.
‘I didn’t exercise any sort of portion control or understand the caloric needs of my body for fat loss. Then because I was so restricted during the week, I found myself like a loose cannon on the weekends.’
The pair follow a macro nutrients-based diet where they eat lean meats, fruits, vegetables and wholegrains, while allowing for reasonable indulgence in the remaining 20 per cent
The founders of Equalution are known for illustrating the surprising comparisons in a graph to show you exactly what calories look like in different foods
Weighed 78 kilos at her heaviest, Jade admitted she struggled with her size 12 frame mentally.
‘I experienced a lack of self-confidence and I just had no faith in my ability to see any diet through given the number of prior failures,’ she said.
‘I was just so disappointed I got to that size. I remember seeing 78 kilos [on the scale] and I just couldn’t believe what I saw.
‘My mental health matched my physical health. It was just off balance, and as a person, I felt I had so much to offer the world and my weight just held me back and gave me no confidence to take the bull by the horns in any aspect of my life.’
She was determined to lose weight once and for all came when she decided to educate herself on the science of nutrition.
‘I practiced flexible dieting which for me was an entire body and mindset transformation, healing a lifelong poor relationship with food,’ Jade said.
Jade – who now weighs 58 kilos after losing 20 kilos – said she now feels happier about herself more than ever.
‘It’s all about balance really. We practice an 80/20 approach to nutrition, we eat a really balanced diet of wholefoods, nutrient dense lean meats, vegetables, fruits and wholegrains but also enjoy 20 per cent of ‘soul’ foods we love and enjoy,’ she said.
‘We’re both massive foodies so for us it was a blessing to have found a practice that allowed us to have our cake and eat it too.’
Amal, who’s the co-founder of Equalution, credits ‘flexible dieting’ for her incredible physiques
Amal Wakim, 26
Before: 75 kilos – size 14
After: 48 kilos – size 6
Amal Wakim, 26, said her weight started to pile on from eating large portions of food, including takeaway meals, burgers, fries, and pizzas.
‘Being from a Lebanese family we generally eat huge portions and a lot of calorie dense foods cooked in oil,’ Amal told Daily Mail Australia.
‘So not only was my diet poor but my portions were much larger than the recommended serving size.’
At her heaviest, Amal said her weight took a toll on her life.
‘I felt really unhealthy and unhappy,’ she said.
‘Being heavier at school, I experienced a lot of insensitive comments from others due to my weight and I did get bullied a lot which in the end became all the more motivating to make the change and do something about it,’ she said.
The young Sydney entrepreneur said they never deprive themselves of the foods they love
Superfood or super-fat? The pair illustrated what a ‘healthy’ bowl of acai looks like in calories compared to a McDonald’s bacon and egg muffin and hash brown
Her weight gain also caused insulin resistance and pre-diabetic.
‘Physically my health was really poor, I was pre-diabetic and was overall just really unfit and I would say that for a young girl, my body age didn’t reflect this,’ she said.
‘Mentally, I was just at a really low point, I was so uncomfortable in my skin that it made me uncomfortable with myself as a person.’
Her turning point came after a GP urged her to lose weight because she was showing signs of insulin resistance – a resistance to the hormone insulin, resulting in increasing blood sugar.
‘For me I remember my GP provided me a simple solution of losing weight given it was the root cause of insulin resistance,’ she said.
‘By nature whenever I put my mind to something, I have a very tenacious approach to my goals and I was destined to see my weight loss journey through.’
The pair have been following a macro nutrients-based diet where they eat lean meats, fruits, vegetables and wholegrains, while allowing for reasonable indulgence in the remaining 20%
The best friends launched their science-based, customised nutrition program to help people achieve their body transformation, while enjoying the foods they love.
The pair are known on Instagram for illustrating the surprising comparisons in a graph to show you exactly what calories look like in different foods.
‘The reason why we do those comparisons essentially is to educate on the energy intake in food. So what we like to educate people is how our body recognises food,’ Amal said.
‘So not as good or bad, but for its numeric value so the nutrient density of our comparison photos are not always alike but the calories shock a lot of people.’
For more information about Equalution, visit the website or Instagram.