Breaking the Cycle of Restrictive Intermittent Fasting

For years, Maressa Drake thought she was doing everything right.

The 42-year-old Jacksonville, Florida resident had been immersed in the fitness world for more than a decade.

In 2013, she started her functional fitness journey, which soon led her to compete. Injuries eventually led her to stop training so intensely, but she has been dedicated to both Orange Theory classes and strength training for the last five years.

Despite all that effort, something wasn’t clicking.

“I felt very stuck,” Maressa said. “I work harder than 99 percent of the people in the gym, and it bothered me that I didn’t look like I did.”

It’s often a problem that CBG coaches help athletes navigate — effort going in, body recomposition results lagging behind.

At one time, she experimented with intermittent fasting and saw results. But, the second time she tried it, this method didn’t have the same effect on her body.

In the past, Maressa was hesitant to hire a nutrition coach. But her curiosity led her to want to learn more about the best way to easily fuel for performance and body composition. “I was scared of the accountability and the commitment,” she admitted.

But then, one night in the summer of 2025, fresh out of a six-year relationship, Maressa was sitting on her couch with her phone and accidentally opened a live CBG video, where founder Justin Romaire was talking about his company’s approach.

The conversation immediately caught her attention, especially the part about not having to track her macros.

And so, last July, Maressa signed up with CBG Coach Kali Butler.

10 Months Later

Everything has changed for the better for Maressa since last July. All aspects of her life have evolved: from the way she fuels herself today, to results in the gym, to body composition, and her relationship with food.

The first big change Coach Butler helped Maressa make was eating before her morning workout.

“It has helped me physically with energy levels, but I think it’s also mental. I get excited to wake up and have my pre-workout, and I feel stronger and faster,” Maressa said.

The second big change was ensuring she eats shortly after her workout, whereas before, Maressa would wait for her intermittent fast to be over before she ate.

“The post-workout fueling has been a big game changer,” Maressa insists, adding that overall she’s eating more food and of a higher quality than before CBG.

And the results speak for themselves: Maressa has lost 25 pounds and feels better than ever.

“I have gotten so much leaner. People keep noticing, and they’ll ask me things like, ‘What do you do for your back?’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t know. It’s not like I have a back day at the gym,’” she said, laughing.

Recently, she sent her mother a picture, and Maressa’s mom couldn’t find her daughter.

“She didn’t recognize me… Sometimes I don’t either. I’ll walk by a mirror and [say to myself], ‘Oh my God, that’s me.’” As an added bonus, Maressa is finally confident in a bikini.

She added: “I live in Florida. Everyone is half naked all the time here.”

Weight loss aside, Maressa’s performance in the gym has also taken off.

“At one point, I remember I was able to do three strict pull-ups, but I banged out eight the other day, and it’s not like I have ever been focusing on pull-ups,” she said.

Most importantly, though, Maressa finally feels like she knows how to fuel herself in a healthy way that she can maintain long term, which was her ultimate goal when she entrusted CBG’s coaching.

“I wasn’t looking for a diet. I was looking to learn about how to fuel properly,” she said.

Maressa credits Coach Butler for helping her see the big picture and that she doesn’t need to be perfect to have success.

“I’m a perfectionist, but [Coach] Kali is always [encouraging], ‘It’s OK. Let’s move on.’ Even the blueprint isn’t [overly] specific. It’s a ballpark. So I think the biggest takeaway for me is that it’s about what you do consistently, not about being perfect,” she added.

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