People ask me all the time about my diet, especially lately, since losing 47 pounds (and counting) less than 6 months postpartum. But I’m not on some crazy strict cut back, cut out diet, so I never really know how to answer other than responding with, “I eat really healthy.”
In my early and mid 20’s, I put myself on more diets than I care to admit. Figuring out what worked for me was a constant battle. Between cutting back on certain foods and eliminating others, I felt like I was always dieting, but I never seemed to find success. After college I was on a diet that, GASP! even resulted in weight gain! I mean come on people, WTH kind of diet makes you gain weight?! My goal on any diet was to lose, not gain. Oddly enough, it was a diet provided by the first personal trainer I worked with. He basically had me on a low carbohydrate, high protein diet while lifting very heavy weights at the gym – which resulted in packing on 20 pounds. This diet may work for some, but for my body type, frame and metabolism, it did nothing but bulk me up when all I really wanted was to lean out.
Now, in the beginning of my die hard dieting days, my goal was simply getting the scale to say skinny. skinny, Skinny, SKINNY! I desperately yearned to look and be as skinny as possible. Which all stemmed from an ex that constantly told me I was fat and needed to shed pounds (at 125 pounds, mind you). I was belittled and shot down for the entire relationship. I assumed everyone thought I was overweight and that I just needed to be skinny in order to find success in all aspects of life. Hence, what started my crazed obsession and desperation with dieting down to skinny.
Between my weight, on and off diets and a variety of exercise routines, I yoyo’d for years trying to find something – anything, that would result in being skinny. But I got sick of being on a roller coaster, and allowing anyone tell me who I should be, or what I should look like. Thankfully, I moved on – from the relationship, the endless skinny fad diets that didn’t work and the self loathing and image hating self thoughts and talk. I started moving forward on finding a healthy happy me. I quickly realized that skinny did not mean healthy. In fact, at my all time skinniest, I weighed 113 pounds and I actually felt unhealthy.
The word diet simply means the food and drink you consume, and how it effects your health. I worked hard for a long time figuring out what worked for me to maintain a strong, healthy and fit body where I didn’t feel like I was on a diet per say. I was sick and tired of feeling like I had to cut out and limit foods I loved. So, after years or trial and error, I found a diet that definitively works for me.
In 2012, my husband and I watched two documentaries, Fat Sick & Nearly Dead and Forks Over Knives. Both were life changing. We bought a juicer and started juicing fresh veggies almost daily, and we started cutting back on animal protein and upping our veggie and fruit consumption. I couldn’t believe the difference in my weight, energy level and overall health. I’ve always had really low cholesterol, but after consistently eating healthy, my HDL (good cholesterol) was optimal at almost 100 and my LDL (bad cholesterol) was in the mid 40s. My doctors were floored at the numbers and told me they rarely ever see HDL that high, and almost never see LDL lower than HDL. I was told, “Blood doesn’t lie and these results are optimal. Do not stop doing what you’re doing.” Not only did I feel like I found a diet where I was satisfied with my weight, but more importantly I felt strong, fit and healthy.
I never feel like I’m on a diet because I’ve adopted foods that are not only nutritious, but foods that I think are delicious and I love. I still eat chocolate and the occasional ice cream, but I have found a balance that works for me. I cut out things like processed foods and bad fats. So why not find a definitive diet that works for you? What works for me isn’t going to work for everyone, I know that. But my point is, you don’t have to keep putting yourself on fad diets to lose weight, only to come off that said diet to gain it back, or for it to never work in the first place. Simply find something that works in maintaining your optimal health and weight all the time.
My suggestions are as follows:
1. Read your labels, and don’t buy into the “low fat”, “no fat”, “no sugar” products. Because those products are loaded with substitutes and additives that in the long run, are harmful and are linked to cancer.
2. Strive to sweat a little bit every day. Whether it’s a hard core session at the gym, a walk outside or even cleaning your house – take 30 minutes to sweat daily.
3. Surround yourself with positive, loving people who bring you up, not down.
As I write this, I am exactly 25 weeks postpartum, and exactly 6 pounds away from my goal weight. A weight where I have always felt healthy, strong and fit. Some women lose all their pregnancy weight immediately, others have to work at it. I have to work at it, but I’ve done so with a definitive diet that works well for me, while maintaining a very active lifestyle. I hope this helps inspire women to realize that you don’t need to be on a strict diet, but to simply adopt a healthy way of eating that works for you all the time, not just some of the time.
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