Two years ago I was the proud new mommy to a sweet baby boy and had the squishy tummy to prove it! I knew I wanted to get back in shape and went about it the best way I knew how. I ordered a new program (turbo fire) and committed to completing that. I did, and I lost my baby weight and felt amazing!
What I didn’t plan on, was where this start to just getting back in shape, would take me. I stumbled upon Instagram one day in my hunt for information on the best way to lose weight. I was introduced to the world of figure competitors, who were just ordinary people that with hard work and diet, were ripped and magazine worthy. I got to thinking…why not me. I started my own fitspo Instagram and dove in head first to researching clean eating.
That was all a lot of fun, until I drove myself crazy with conflicting information. I obsessed over sticking to the rules of clean eating, thinking I had to make everything from scratch and god forbid I went out to eat with my family. A meal out led to guilt and anger that I had to eat out in the first place. Then came the confusion of paleo, vegan, vegetarian, flexible eating, fasted cardio, holy moly too much information. One says, beans are poison, the next says beans are an excellent source of protein. The other preaches, eat what you want…as long as it fits your macros.
I found myself, not enjoying life anymore. I didn’t want to have a few drinks with friends because, well that wasn’t apart of my lifestyle anymore. I didn’t want to go out to dinner with my family because well, the sodium would be the death of me. I ended up disliking a lot of great Instagram accounts because I was annoyed that they seemed so perfect, to always have it right, but I didn’t.
So you know what I did. I took a step back. I deleted my Instagram account, stopped researching what was the best diet to follow, how many calories should I eat and just started to listen to my body. I wanted to find what worked for me.
Ya know what, that’s when I started to see results. When I stopped stressing over my calories, my macros, what foods were poison and what foods were must eats. I focused on daily exercise, ample water and making every meal nutritious. I paid close attention to the foods that reacted differently to me. If I eat wheat, I look pregnant, so I limit it. The same goes for dairy and sugar. I chose to limit those because they affected me, not because someone told me to. I took the basic knowledge I learned in my research and made every meal as balanced as possible. Protein, fat, carb.
I stopped caring if I went out to dinner, I picked the best thing they had there. If I wanted to have a few drinks with friends, I did that. I still saw results.
What I learned, when I stopped obsessing, is that all of the lifestyles mentioned above, work. But do they work for you. Some are vegan, vegetarian, paleo, completely alcohol free, etc. and that works for them. For me, I am focused on balance. I keep 90% of my meals clean, natural, healthy, whatever buzzword you want to call it. If you focus on making each meal nutrient dense…you’re golden.
So, by sharing my own personal struggle I want you to realize that in your own journey, you have to find what works for you. Take your own research and advice from others and tailor it to your lifestyle. When you’re not stressed about meeting requirements and deadlines and just focused on consistent healthy choices, the rest will follow.
