“It’s not a diet…it’s a lifestyle.”

January 26, 2012 When we first started our lifestyle conversion, one of the obvious physical changes was our weight loss. All the sudden everyone was like “Hey, did you loose weight?” and then it changed into “Wow! You lost so much weight. How did you do it?” My response was always, “we changed what we eat…its not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.”

When we first started our lifestyle conversion, one of the obvious physical changes was our weight loss. All the sudden everyone was like “Hey, did you loose weight?” and then it changed into “Wow! You lost so much weight. How did you do it?” My response was always, “we changed what we eat…its not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.”

When we first started our lifestyle conversion, one of the obvious physical changes was our weight loss. All the sudden everyone was like “Hey, did you loose weight?” and then it changed into “Wow! You lost so much weight. How did you do it?” My response was always, “we changed what we eat…its not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.”

At twenty-one, I gave birth to my first child. I was a size 14/16 at the end of it and felt horrible. So, I went on Weight Watchers. I bought frozen meal after frozen meal. Yes, it worked but the weight came right back once I stopped. I took diet pills, over the counter and prescribed, drank meal replacement shakes, tried joining a gym, starved myself, ate 100-calorie packs of everything and tried every ridiculous diet fad from cabbage soup to South Beach and Atkins.  When I was a teenager, I would wrap my legs in saran and do step aerobics. Boy, am I glad those days are long gone.

In 2006, I weighed 160lbs. Now the scale lands somewhere around 120lbs. My partner, Jennifer, went from 175lbs to 125lbs. We eat three meals a day and snacks throughout…never hungry, as I do not allow the opportunity to arise. Cravings today are for things like veggies, nuts or homemade treats made of naturally gluten free flours like coconut or almond meal. I’ve actually found myself longing for kale and collards. Such words were not even in my vocabulary prior to this. What an amazing transformation it has been both inside and out.

I’m of the opinion that no one wants to be overweight. Almost every woman I know has said the words, “I need to loose weight.” The sense of hopelessness is always clear in their voice.  No one ever knows where to begin. If I could say one thing it would be, it’s not your fault. I know we can all have bad habits and we need to own up to them but honestly, the food we’re consuming is a major problem. Conventional food is slowly poisoning us. From weight to disease, and everything in between, the one common denominator is always food. This isn’t about “health” food or soy and tofu (we don’t even touch soy). It’s about eating whole unadulterated good clean food. It’s about drinking half your body weight in ounces everyday. It’s about going back to meal making. It’s about upping your (organic) veggie intake and slowly weaning yourself from being an everyday conventional meat eater. It’s about educating yourself about food and the systems behind it. It’s about teaching your kids why it’s important. Educate them…they are listening.

This is not about being thin (though I do love it), it’s about being healthy and minimizing the risk of disease, cancer and obesity. It’s about being the best version of you and feeling good about it. I warn you now…it will take time. You can’t change everything overnight but every time you make a new choice like eating-in instead of out or giving up soda for water or eating a real breakfast instead of just coffee, you are on your way to making real changes.

There are only two times in life…now and too late. You can do it. We can help.