But many people give up on their goals before the first month of the year is even over.
That’s why I recently decided to share my own transformation-something that took mewayout of my comfort zone.
I took the photo on the left in April 2017.
I was okay with my body, and I loved working out.
But I felt like I should be leaner for how much work I was putting in at the gym.
I still work as a writer and editor, but I’m now also a certified personal trainer.
I finally have the body I wanted, and the best part?
I’m confident that I can maintain it.
That said, it took a lot of work to get where I am now.
10 Lessons I Learned That Transformed My Body and Mindset
1.
There is no secret.
This is probably what people least want to hear, but it’s also the truest.
I tried going dairy-free.
I got hard-core into CrossFit.
I did dance cardio every day for three months.
I considered doing Whole30.
I tried well-researched supplements like fish oil, creatine, and magnesium.
There’s nothing wrong with any of these things.
They all probably made me healthier and maybe even fitter.
But the aesthetic results I wanted?
They just weren’t happening.
That’s because I was missing out on the big picture.
Making one big change isn’t enough.
There was no single thing that helped me change my body.
Instead, it was the combination of many small diet, fitness, and lifestyle changes I made.
When it comes to workouts, more isn’t always better.
In my “before” picture, I was working out five to six times per week.
Now, I work out a maximum of three to four days per week.
Instead, it became a chance to give a shot to increase the weights I was using each session.
That was key becauseprogressive overloadcan help you see results much faster.
You don’t need to feel like you’re going to pass out after every workout.
HIIT is a well-researched method of exercise.
The benefits are plenty.
It’s time-efficient, burns loads of calories, and provides a serious endorphin boost.
But you know what else is really well-researched?
About a year and a half ago, I started working with a new trainer.
Her advice shocked me: Less HIIT, more weightlifting.
Her rationale was simple: It’s just not necessary.
If my goal was to reshape my body and lose weight, lifting weights was the most efficient route.
(This is also known asbody recomposition.)
Why would you want to gain muscle when you’re trying to lose weight?
I didn’t need to have a face dripping with sweat to feel like I got a great workout.
Plus, I was getting a pretty intense heart rate boost from lifting heavy weights.
4. you could’t ignore your diet.
to make it lose weight, you gotta be in a caloric deficit.
In other words, eating less than you’re burning.
Changing your diet is HARD.
Now, there was a reason I resisted changing my diet.
I like eating-a lot.
And I still do.
Overeating had never really been a problem for me until I got my first full-time job after college.
At the end of the workday, all I wanted to do was treat myself.
And most often, that came in the form of food.
Within a year of graduating from college, I’d packed on a solid 10 pounds.
Over the next six or seven years, I’d added another 15 to my frame.
Transitioning to dialing in my nutrition was not easy.
It became very clear that I was using food for more than just nourishment and enjoyment.
I was using it to soothe deep-down, uncomfortable feelings.
And once I stopped overeating?
I had to find other ways of dealing with them.
I also learned how to cook tons of healthy meals, which can be surprisingly therapeutic.
Don’t give up the foods you love.
Just because I was cooking healthy doesn’t mean I never ate anything fun.
(The damage and inefficiency of the restrict/binge/restrict/binge eating cycle is alsowell-documentedbyresearch.)
Instead, I learned how to eat them in moderation.
I know, easier said than done.
I used to get SO annoyed when I’d see super-fit influencers sharing the unhealthy treats they were eating/drinking.
But I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Yes, everyone has different genes.
Some people can eat whatever they like and still maintain their abs.
But the majority of fit people who eat pizza, french fries, and nachos every now and then?
They’re enjoying them in moderation.
What does that mean?
And they’re probably filling up the rest of their day with whole, nutrient-dense foods.
Find something you like about eating healthy and exercising that has nothing to do with weight loss.
Let’s be real: No 12-week challenge is going to transform your body for the long haul.
Sustainable progress takes time.
Creating new habits takes time.
This is especially true if you have 15 pounds or less to lose.
You probably can’t just cut out soda or alcohol and miraculously lose the extra weight you’re carrying.
The less body fat you have, the harder it becomes to shed it.
So how can you make sustainable progress?
Perfection is the enemy of progress.
I used to do this all the time.
Starting my “healthy” diet, messing up, starting, and stopping again.
What I didn’t realize was that I was doing this because I valued perfection too highly.
If I couldn’t follow my diet perfectly, then what was the point?
In reality, perfection is simply not required.
And pressuring yourself to be perfect?
It inevitably leads to self-sabotage.
In doing so, the f*ck it mentality no longer had a place in my brain.
If I had an unplanned cupcake, NBD.
It was simply back to my regularly scheduled programming afterward.
One cupcake won’t ruin your progress.
Requiring yourself to be perfect?
Taking progress pictures feels silly.
You’ll be happy you did it later.
it’s possible for you to see in my before picture that I felt awkward taking it.
My hips are shifted to the side, and my posture is tentative.
It took me 20 months to lose 17 pounds.
My progress was slow and sustainable.
But if I had been going by scale weight alone, I definitely would have been discouraged.
Getting your “dream body” won’t make you love yourself any more than you did before.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
Back in April 2017, I probably would have givenanythingto body-morph into what my body looks like today.
But these days, I still notice my own flaws.
But I found that focusing on things my body coulddowas the fastest route to loving what I already had.
And that’s what enabled me to keep going.
I reminded myself that for many, this isn’t the case.
I’m not saying I have self-esteem and body image completely figured out.
I still see photos of myself and think,hmm, that’s not a good angle for me.
I still occasionally catch myself wishingthis partwas leaner orthat partwas fuller.
Find something about your body to love, and the rest will come with patience and time.
