02/05/2021
The photo on the left makes me cringe, guys. I remember being so embarrassed when a friend posted it and I almost untagged myself. I remember being mad, irritatable and self conscious getting dressed for this girl’s night. It was supposed to a fun, festive night with friends, but feeling 100% uncomfortable in my own skin put a dark cloud over the evening.
This photo was taken in December 2019 and after being disgusted with how I felt about myself, I decided to take action. I joined a local weight loss clinic and began taking diet pills (horrible, I know!) and “being good” during the week, only to binge on the weekend and undo most of my hard work. I ended up losing 15 lbs in a little over 3 months.
And then....a gnarly infectious disease wreaked havoc on everyone’s lives. Hello, Covid-19. Goodbye normalcy, structure, sanity and alone time. Enter junk food, alcohol every night to “cope”, secret binge eating, sugar addiction, and ZERO self-control, which resulted in an overall extremely unhealthy version of myself. Annnd, I gained all of the weight back!
The irony of 2020 is that I likely worked out more consistently and more consecutive days than I ever have. But guys, you CANNOT OUT RUN THE SPOON! I gained and lost the same 3-5 lbs and felt generally disgusted with how I looked and disappointed in myself for spiraling so far down an unhealthy path.
I have tried allll the diets, y’all. Intermittent fasting, cleanses, shakes, diet pills, and the list goes on. Some were total failures and some were a fleeting success. All of them inevitably left me feeling frustrated and hopeless.
Fast forward to December...I had been working out fast and furiously for close to 12 weeks for 5-6 days a week. Meanwhile, I was eating everything in sight and refusing to hold myself accountable in the kitchen.
I.didn’t.lose.a.single.pound. Zero inches lost. And my body fat percentage didn’t budge. Let that sink in, y’all! A few weeks later, my friend Carrie Viehe Thayer shared part of her amazing journey to optimal health, and I was mesmerized and intrigued by her phenomenal results!Her story of yo-yo dieting, constant exercise, and turning to (cont’d in comments)
