I only saw how bad it had gotten after my boyfriend told me point blank: “I don’t feel attracted to you anymore. I like slim girls like you used to be.”I had never felt so low and worthless after that breakup, and I had only myself and my habits to blame.
After weeks of eating myself even deeper into my depression, I decided to try and go on a diet. Then another diet, then another diet, then yet another diet. Every diet I tried didn’t seem to help, or was so repetitive that I felt caged and couldn’t do it anymore.
The new year was fast approaching, and I still hadn’t made any progress in finding a diet that worked for me.
Finally, with the arrival of January, I had a revelation.
All the diets I tried were so complicated and specific or so simple and boring that they were pretty much doomed from the start.
I decided to try something else, something basic and pure. I cut out anything and everything that contained sugar, saturated fats, trans fats, or hydrogenated oils.
It meant no more fast food, take out, or sugary desserts and snacks. It sounds soooo easy on paper, but in practice takes a lot of willpower, especially if you are like me and pretty much lived on those things.
I started researching the body’s metabolism, in particular looking at what speeds it up and slows it down. My research led me to structure my diet into six smaller meals a day, which kept my metabolism faster than a mom shopping on Black Friday.
After a few months of experimenting on myself with this diet, I noticed that I was getting bored with it.
It felt repetitive and was falling into the same failed space as all the other diets I had tried.
I could have given up on it like I had so many times in the past, and I almost did. This time was different though.
THIS time, I adapted. I created a replacement food list to interchange some of the meals I was getting bored of. This way, the meals had the same nutritional value, but the different taste helped me stick with the diet plan.
AT LAST! THE DIET WAS WORKING! My weight had dropped dramatically, but I knew that if I exercised I could speed things up even more, and in the process become even healthier.
I joined a local gym and started out slow, working out three or four times a week. I found myself getting into a regular routine that didn’t seem to be challenging anymore.
Boredom reared its ugly head again, and instead of giving into the boredom and quitting my exercise routine, yet again I found the strength of will to shake things up and keep it fresh, by adding a range of fitness classes, online workouts, and Cross training.
After all of my failures and successes, my conclusion is that by continually mixing up your exercise routines and diet, your body and mind are always being challenged and the end result is a more enjoyable health and fitness routine, and a more enjoyable YOU!
“Where I am today is miles and pounds away from where I started. After creating my diet and workout plan to help others benefit from my own experience, I was hired by body2shape! Thanks to the great team here, I am able to reach and help more people than ever before. If you are struggling like I was, take the right step and let us help you achieve your goals!
