frequently asked questions
I would change something about my diet. I would usually cut something out of my diet (sugar or excess carbs until the stall broke and then slowly reintroduce the foods back in.
Originally when I started, I did only dairy free and gluten free as my main lifestyle choice. I also followed intuitive eating so if I felt like it was something that wasn’t going to help me lose weight, I wouldn’t eat it. For instance, Potato Chips. Potato chips are both dairy and gluten free right? But intuitively, are they going to help you lose weight? Probably not. So I just used my own judgement for what I thought was going to take me in the direction of weight loss. Eggs usually for breakfast with some salsa. For lunch I would have some protein and veggies and then usually the same for dinner. I never made boring food. I added things to my foods to make it good all the time and just made sure to use a lot of good seasonings that I liked. At some point, that was no longer working for me to lose weight. So I then did the Whole 30 which taught me a lot about what I was eating and the importance of ingredients. I also did a lot of spurts of eating things that I liked repetitively. I remember at one point eating 3 eggs w/ketchup every day for breakfast with an asian chicken salad for lunch and the same for dinner for about a month. I LOVED those things during that time and they were very convenient and easy to make so I just kept doing it until I got sick of it. Then moved to my next set of foods and so on and so forth. The thing about dieting is that it has to be convenient and make your life easier or it will make you want to quit. I found this awesome premade chicken breast and asian salad mix that I was obsessed with and it was so easy. I just used a half a bag of the chicken and half a bag of the salad and saved the rest for dinner. Minimal dishes and no clean up. YESSS.
I worked out at home 5-7 days a week for the first year and a half using Beachbody’s at home workout programs. I was a single mom of 2 young kids and I knew the gym wasn’t an option. I recommend if you are going to go that route, that you start with 21 Day Fix. It is a beginner style workout that has the capability to be be moderated to start and advance as you go. If you want to start working out and you’re afraid of going to the gym like I was. Start there!
There’s an option for a healthier alternative literally at every restaurant. I would get a burger without the bun or cheese, a salad with a dairy free dressing and no croutons or cheese, a chicken dish without the cheese, a steak with a baked potato, etc etc. You’re allowed to order things on the menu and ask your waiter to edit the item to suit your dietary needs.
To be honest, my inspiration came from Instagram. I started following a lot of people who were on their own weight loss journeys. Doing this really made me believe it was possible. I don’t know why but seeing someone with the same body type that I had made me say “SHE CAN DO IT, I CAN DO IT”. It really changed everything for me.
For the gluten free part, I just knew. Whenever I ate bread or something with flour in it, I became extremely tired and also couldn’t stop myself from overeating beyond the point of being full. I also knew the foods I was “addicted to” (bread, pasta, donuts, pastries, etc) all contained gluten. I’m an all or nothing person for it’s a mental thing for me. I had to tell myself “I cannot eat ANYTHING that contains gluten” for me to stay away. On the dairy, I experimented with the Keto diet. Followed the plan exactly and I was gaining around a pound a day. I couldn’t understand for the life of me what was going on. So, it hit me one day. IT’S THE DAIRY PART. Quit the cheese and creamer I was having on a daily basis and the weight started coming off FAST.
I’ve always been horrible with my water. But I do notice the times where the scale moves is when my water is on point. Right now I am aiming for 2 – 74oz bottles a day. This is the amount I am happy/comfortable drinking. I don’t force myself to drink ever. I just drink a good amount throughout the whole day evenly. Don’t save it all for one time or one part of the day.
The most important thing you can do is find a water bottle that you find easy to drink out of. I drink mine room temperature since it’s way easier for me to take a huge sip like that instead of cold.
Making a commitment to myself that no matter how off track I got in my foods, that I would always be gluten/dairy free during my journey until I really could trust myself to not dive off the deep end and lose control. If I went to a party or get-together of some sort – to eat the chips and salsa instead of the chips and cheese, or to eat the meat out of the sandwiches and not the cheese, or to skip the veggies because I didn’t want to eat them plain without the ranch dip. It’s the little things that you do in your mind that gets you through. Don’t tell yourself you on a diet. The second you do that, you’re restricting yourself. For me, I said I simply don’t eat those things anymore since my body doesn’t do well with them. That mentally feels so much different and unrestrictive. Again, this game is all mental. Remember that.
Every time I dieted before, I would be making my kids food and literally be drooling at their chicken nuggets, snacks and mac and cheese. I can’t even tell you how many times I lost control and ate a bunch of it before giving it to them. It was because I felt deprived. I felt starving. I felt emotional. When you change it to a lifestyle, that just stops. When you don’t eat something because you’re “allergic” you don’t make exceptions no matter what. That’s how I handled that situation to the point that now it doesn’t effect me even 1%. It takes time! But with consistency, you will get there!
Since the beginning of the journey, I spent a lot of time using a dry brush, taking Vital Proteins Collagen and applying a lot of moisturizer. I definitely haven’t done it as much lately as I used to but it was something I did on a daily basis for the first year and a half. I feel like it’s a huge part of why my arms look the way they do without loose skin. Because that’s the area I focused on the most.
You can buy a dry brush pretty much anywhere. It’s a soft bristle type of skin brush that you use to exfoliate and get rid of the dead skin cells on the surface of your skin. This increases circulation to that area as well as prepares your skin better for the moisturizer you will apply afterwards.
Collagen has so many amazing benefits. For me, it clears my skin up faster than anything. If I’m starting to breakout, pretty much within 24 hours, my face is 70% better. It also has 20g of protein per serving so I like to use it as a protein powder as well since it’s tasteless.
“Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies, especially type 1 collagen. It’s found in muscles, bones, skin, blood vessels, digestive system and tendons. It’s what helps give our skin strength and elasticity, along with replacing dead skin cells.”
I took a pre-workout supplement! This is what got me through the first year of my workouts. I ended up getting into such a routine of working out eventually that I didn’t need it anymore.
Believe it or not, your taste buds will change! I used to only like bread and cheese. Not eat a single vegetable and drink no water. You will really be shocked how much your body changes. You will like things you never used to by cutting them out!
Drink WATER! As well as make sure that I’m well fed before making a bad decision. If I’m REALLY in the mood for something bad, I will try to eat something with protein first and drink a lot of water to see if it’s really a craving or if I’m just hungry. 99% of the time I was just hungry/thirsty 🙂
Water! Haha. And being consistent. A lot of people want RESULTS RIGHT NOW. They want people to notice their weight loss by day 2! But it doesn’t work like that. That mindset will not take you the distance. Don’t think short term, think years down the road where you want to be and every step that needs to be taken to get there. Consistency, consistency consistency.
I pay close attention to the way my body is feeling. I know when I’m getting too far off track. I like to weigh myself regularly even when I’m not dieting and I’m just maintaining. I keep a cap for my weight. If I hit 155, then we hit reverse haha. So I will not be too crazy and eat more freely until it starts to go up and then I will pump the breaks and try and do a round of the 21 day meal plan to get back on track.
No unfortunately. I want to be there! But obviously not bad enough or I would be doing it. I’m in that weird stage where I’m so close that it’s hard to diet because I’m like I’ve worked SO hard for 2 years, can’t I just eat now? Haha. But I have no doubt I will eventually get there!
Make sure you are doing it FOR YOU. Don’t seek other people’s approval. You don’t even need to discuss it with others if that’s what you feel is best. There’s also the other side which is making sure the people you are closest to TRULY know how important it is to you for you to reach your goals. Emotionally, get them to understand that you need them to support you and you need them to respect your decision to change. If you give it all you have in explaining it to them, they will get it!
Definitely! It was one of the biggest game changers for sure. There were so many days I just wanted to skip my workouts and sit on the couch. I just said every day “I’ll just take my pre-workout and see how I feel”. Always worked to get my booty up.
Definitely. I have been a huge coffee drinker this entire time. But I went from drinking a Venti Iced Vanilla Latter to a Venti Iced Coffee with Almond Milk. So the changes need to happen for sure!
