I have had many people ask me about my personal story and the motivation behind losing 54 pounds. They ask how I did it, how I kept it off and how I plan to lose the baby weight I'm currently gaining. So, I thought that since we are smack dab in the middle of the Holiday Season (and New Years Resolution Season is right around the corner), that I would share my personal story with you today.
I share this with you in hopes that it will help you realize that you are not alone if you have struggled with weight loss and/or a healthy self-image. Please feel free to comment on the blog, or email me with any questions you have- I love hearing from you!
I started wishing to be thinner when I was 8 years old. I know this because my mom recently pulled out a family album on which we wrote our wishes for the coming years. All of my family’s wishes for the future were hopes for traveling to exotic destinations and experiencing new things. My only wish, as an eight-year-old girl, was to become thinner as I got older.
Sadly, my wish was unfulfilled. In fact, I got bigger with age and my self-esteem & happiness continued to weaken.
I started dieting and trying to lose weight when I was 11 years old. My Mother who was equally disappointed in my weight (since she was a thin perfectionist) helped me by reading up on the latest diet fads and planning my meals for school. I constantly calculated calories, and became obsessed with staying within my daily caloric budget. I don’t think it’s any surprise that I stopped growing at age 12, topping out at 5ft tall.
Sadly, my wish was unfulfilled. In fact, I got bigger with age and my self-esteem & happiness continued to weaken.
I started dieting and trying to lose weight when I was 11 years old. My Mother who was equally disappointed in my weight (since she was a thin perfectionist) helped me by reading up on the latest diet fads and planning my meals for school. I constantly calculated calories, and became obsessed with staying within my daily caloric budget. I don’t think it’s any surprise that I stopped growing at age 12, topping out at 5ft tall.
Once I fell off my restrictive regimin, I immediately gained back all the weight, plus some. I became an “all or nothing” dieter, so even the slightest cheat was grounds for bingeing.
This was the beginning of my disordered eating cycle.
My Mother was always there to remind me when I was eating something “off” whatever diet I was following. This is when I started to secretly binge when no one was around to judge me. On top of the pressure I received to watch what I was eating at home, I was frequently teased at school by my (mostly male) peers as well. I was told by my middle school crush that I was too “Bloated” for him to go out with after I made my affection for him public.
Through my teen years and early twenties, I read diet books instead of schoolbooks. I gained and lost 30 pounds over and over and over again. I became obsessed with thin (not healthy). I tried every method the diet industry could throw at me; diet pills, low carb, low fat, the Grapefruit Diet, South Beach- you name it. It was all I could talk about around my friends and family. I would begrudgingly munch carrots and celery while my skinny friends would enjoy Whoppers & fries on a regular basis.
By the time I got to college, I was ready to rebel against dieting all together. I went on a four-year eating spree and gained over 50 pounds. Each time I ate, the goal was not to nourish my body, but to “stick it” to everyone in my life that made me feel like I needed to be on a diet. Everybody that found fault in the way I looked.
I got out of college wearing almost 60 extra pounds, with unhealthy skin, hair & teeth, and a terrible outlook on life.
By the time I got to college, I was ready to rebel against dieting all together. I went on a four-year eating spree and gained over 50 pounds. Each time I ate, the goal was not to nourish my body, but to “stick it” to everyone in my life that made me feel like I needed to be on a diet. Everybody that found fault in the way I looked.
I got out of college wearing almost 60 extra pounds, with unhealthy skin, hair & teeth, and a terrible outlook on life.
I started working as a teacher and jumped right back into my binge/diet routine that I’d known in High School. Since I was in my late 20’s however, I was finding that losing the weight was not as easy as it had been when I was a teen. I was single, I didn’t find my job satisfying at all, and I was constantly dieting with little to no real results.
It was finally when I decided to start taking classes at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and became a Health Coach that I realized:
It was finally when I decided to start taking classes at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and became a Health Coach that I realized:
IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT WHAT YOU PUT INTO YOUR MOUTH
that matters when it comes to health and weight loss.
Sure, it can be about that at the beginning, when you start your diet, but you've got to have a foundation of self-love and respect to stay on a healthy path for a lifetime.
Without the foundation, you will fail on every weight loss journey you embark on.
I had no idea that how I felt about myself or how I took care of myself on a daily basis was affecting my health (and weight) so much!
After becoming a Health Coach, I decided to make nourishing my body the onlygoal when sitting down to eat. This naturally led to shifts in my food choices- mostly whole foods with little human interference. I chose exercises that I enjoyed, like walking and running,
And I stopped working out just to lose weight.
I also started reading self-esteem & confidence books that were recommended in the curriculum at my school (just as voraciously as I had read diet books in the past). I started speaking to myself with respect and admiration instead of hissing toxic insults at myself under my breath.
I realized that I was dressing to “cover up” my body since I had gained so much weight and had started to look frumpy and aged. I hadn’t the faintest clue about style or how to dress for my body type (I’m a total Pear!). So, I set up an appointment with a personal stylist to update my wardrobe, get recommendations for what colors flatter my skin tone, and how to feel confident with my outfit choice every time I left the house.
I realized that I was dressing to “cover up” my body since I had gained so much weight and had started to look frumpy and aged. I hadn’t the faintest clue about style or how to dress for my body type (I’m a total Pear!). So, I set up an appointment with a personal stylist to update my wardrobe, get recommendations for what colors flatter my skin tone, and how to feel confident with my outfit choice every time I left the house.
I learned that in order to look great, I needed to start feeling great IN THE MOMENT instead of waiting for that magical number to appear on the scale.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT?
Even though I hadn't lost a pound, I felt Fantastic! I had amazing energy, I smiled more, I dressed like I was proud of my body, I unapologetically took risks without worrying so much about what others thought.
And let me tell you- people noticed!
Everyone started telling me how beautiful and “put-together” I looked, and “what was I doing differently?!”, and the most frequent question- “what was I doing to lose weight?!”.
This was crazy to me because at that time, I was at the heaviest weight of my entire life!
And then this slowly happened:
I lost 54 lbs. and returned to my body’s natural weight just by making a few simple changes in my eating routine and nurturing a positive self-image.
You know that old adage “I’ll believe it when I see it”? Well, when the goal is to lose weight and look great, I’ve learned:
“You must Believe it First, in order to see it Happen!”
You can't wait to love yourself until you lose weight. That is Conditional Love. You've got to give yourself Unconditional Love and believe that you are worth Every. Single. Bit.
So that’s my personal weight loss story. If you get anything from it, I hope it’s this:
HOW YOU FEEL ON THE INSIDE, WILL EVENTUALLY MANIFEST ON THE OUTSIDE!
So, you must work hard to FEEL AMAZING on the inside!
This is the reason I created the Happy, Healthy & Hot Coaching Program. This program is basically the summation of the path that I took two years ago to lose the weight for good!
I’ve combined health & nutrition with coaching in self-esteem, confidence, and personal style. But, unlike my journey, this program will have three SUPERSTAR PROFRESSIONALS guiding you every step of the way to help you feel and look amazing in just three months!
Have a great rest of your week!
Sincerely,
Coach Maureen
No comments:
Post a Comment