CrossFit Fanatic: Dawne Gourley – Creating (and Resisting) Temptation

When you spend your days creating intricately delicious desserts, not indulging in a few bites here and there can be as challenging as hitting a designer shoe sale with no intention to buy. But it’s that kind of restraint Dawne Gourley is working very hard to keep in place.

Dawne is the extremely talented pastry chef who put together the delectable delights we all fell in love with at Jenika’s Grand Opening. She’s also a CrossFit superstar and hits the 6am classes twice a week, every week. Making it to those early morning sessions, she says, is non-negotiable.

Dawne joined CrossFit Westside about a year and a half ago with some friends that were interested in a new way to improve their fitness. Since that time, Dawne has heard Jenika talk about nutrition as the key to unlocking true fitness potential. However, like many of us, Dawne worked out so she could eat whatever she wanted, thinking that as long as she burned the extra calories, she would be fine.

But lately Dawne’s realized she should have listened to Jenika’s advice a little earlier. You see, Dawne has been following the four-week nutrition challenge prescribed by Jade and she sheepishly admits that eating better has had a huge impact on her fitness. While Dawne doesn’t know how many pounds she’s lost, she is feeling better than she has in ages. Not only does she have more energy, she has also seen huge gains in the strength department, which is a big deal for someone who has to hoist around 20kg bags of baking ingredients. After she made changes to her eating, Dawne also mastered the full push-up, which she has been struggling to get since she started CrossFit. And now that she has gotten it, she’s sure her kipping pull-up is not far behind.

But staying nutritionally on track has got to be particularly difficult for someone in Dawne’s line of work. How does a pastry chef manage to avoid the temptation of her own goodies? Dawne says it can be brutally hard, but she is committed to maintaining this new diet discipline. She explains that her commitment to CrossFit helps because when she works out, she feels more determined than ever to eat healthily and to replenish her body with only the best nutrition. The fitness gains Dawne has been experiencing act as some powerful positive reinforcement as well.

And although Dawne understands that her tantalizing treats are a big no-no during the nutrition challenge, she is of the opinion that when one indulges, it should be with food created from only the best ingredients. That’s why her creations are of the highest quality – they are made with organic ingredients whenever possible, including organic Canadian flour, the best chocolate, the freshest butter and cream, and sea salt.

While Dawne spent nine years honing her skills as a pastry chef at Bishop’s Restaurant, at the age of 39, she decided it was time to live her childhood dream of having her own business. She’s starting gradually with an online bakery for now; something that she hopes will grow into a physical location in the near future.

So if you’ve been salivating over Dawne’s deserts since sampling them at the Grand Opening, you’ll be happy to hear you can place your order now. Contact Dawne at dawnegourley@gmail.com and soon at www.dawnegourley.ca. And even if you’re working at getting your own nutrition on track, at least you’ll know Dawne’s creations are made with the finest, usually organic ingredients. If you’re going to treat yourself from time to time, why not do it with the best?

posted: 10 May 09   ·   Category: NewslettersNo Comments

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