The Missing Link to My Journey

My health and weight loss journey began shortly after I got married 12 years ago. I knew that I needed to
lose weight, but it didn’t really hit me until I struggled to find a wedding dress that fit me well. I desperately needed to make a change, but losing weight was so hard and I did not know where to begin. The overwhelming world of dieting caused me to stay stuck in my old ways, and I found myself in the same place that I was the day that I went wedding dress shopping the year before.

When we went on our honeymoon I was so self conscious in the way that I looked and the clothes that I
wore that it was hard for me to enjoy our time together. I was heartbroken by this, but it was also such a
turning point for me and my health! I knew that it was time for me to take control of my life and get healthy for myself and also my husband. So I began trying many different diets: calorie restriction, beach body, weight watchers, and whole 30. None of them worked. I found myself in a constant cycle of restriction, binging, and then extreme guilt and frustration towards myself.

As I was trying different diets, I got to the point where I began to see some results with fasting and eating
very low carb. I would only eat green vegetables, meat, and high fats. This worked for a little while, but it came with a high price. I had no energy, my drive to live life was gone, my metabolism was hardly
functioning, and my lab work began to show the early stages of hypothyroidism. I was slowly killing my metabolism! But despite all of these physical warning signs, I still continued this lifestyle until I got pregnant. Once I had my babies, I would begin the low carb lifestyle again and try to lose the weight that I had gained back from pregnancy and an overall poor diet. This continued for several years, and even
though I did lose weight, I did not feel well at all. I woke up tired every single day as I counted down the
hours to bedtime. I so desperately wanted to reach my goal that I sacrificed my health and happiness
along the way.

In 2018 I was introduced to macro tracking, and I realized how little I was actually eating! I had to make a really big mindset change when I began my macro tracking journey. I had to allow myself to eat more so that I could live. This was probably one of the biggest hurdles that I had to overcome in my journey. So I slowly began increasing the amount of carbohydrates that I was consuming while decreasing my fat
intake. I began to eat more, and over time my life started returning to me! I felt energetic again, my drive to push forward and reach my goals and pursue life returned. I felt like I was given another chance to live.

But as I continued to track macros for a while my progress slowly began to stall. I went 6 months to a year with absolutely no weight loss or body composition change. I could not figure out why I could not get past this plateau! I was hitting my macros and working out every day. I was doing everything I knew to be right. This was a big struggle for me mentally, and I did not want to take a step back in my weight loss journey. I did not want to end up right back where I was before I found macros.

I knew that I could no longer do this on my own, so I decided to sign up for 1:1 coaching with Stay Fit
Mom in May of 2020. What I finally realized during my time with Amy, is that I was still not eating enough! I never changed my macros when I was tracking on my own in the very beginning. My body was hungry for more, but I did not give it the fuel that it needed. During my 6 weeks with Amy, she slowly increased my food intake, and I ended up losing 6 pounds and 6.5 inches. I had found the missing link to my journey!!! My body began to feel safe again, my metabolism started to heal, and therefore it felt okay to let that weight go. Not only did I see physical change take place, but I also saw a huge emotional shift in me. My confidence grew, my happiness returned again, and I finally allowed myself to eat enough so that I could live. Food was no longer tied to an emotional state, or a consequence for binging behavior or weight loss tactics, but it was now part of my life to be enjoyed, so that I could fuel and nourish myself appropriately. The guilt that I felt when eating the things that I loved was completely gone because I knew deep down in my heart that it is exactly what I needed to thrive. In a matter of 6 weeks, every aspect of my life had changed. I signed up to become a ninja and continue my journey with Stay Fit Mom, and over the course of a year, I continued to fuel my body without question or hesitancy and I gave my body exactly what it needed, and the inches continued to fall off. I feel like my life was returned to me in May of 2020, and I could not be more grateful for the gift that was given to me through Stay Fit Mom.

So if you are just beginning your health journey or you feel stuck or discouraged, I want to encourage you to keep going. It took me 12 years to lose 93 pounds, but I am here to tell you that it was so worth it!! Our health journey will be something that we pursue for the rest of our life. Honor who you are and give yourself the time and space to heal from the inside out. Give yourself permission to slow down and choose joy, and love yourself along the way.

I am here to tell you that you can feel good, and energetic on your journey. Today is a gift. You will never get this day back, so choose to say yes to yourself. Because every day that you say yes, and every day that you choose to put your health first will add up to big results. And before you know it you will have reached your finish line.