With summer just around the corner, it seems like nearly everyone has begun to obsess over the need to lose weight. But from my health and wellness journey — which has taken me all the way from 250 pounds at age 23 to a fitness and wellness blogger today — I know it’s more about living a healthy balanced lifestyle all year long and not about fad diets just to get your body “summer ready.” Here’s my story—see if any of this sounds familiar to you.
I just woke up one morning back in 2010 totally sick of being unhealthy. I was ready to fight for myself and to learn to live a healthier lifestyle! Over the course of 15 months, I quite literally worked my booty off. I attended Weight Watcher meetings, joined a gym, hired a personal trainer, learned about clean eating — and I ended up losing over 85 pounds. Once I met my goal, I felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders—and I started to let loose a bit. At first, it was skipping the gym or having an extra treat here or there. Before I knew it, I had gained 15 pounds back.
Again and again, over the first 3 years, I kept gaining and losing the same 15-20 pounds as I tried to maintain that 85 pound weight loss — something no one seems to mention just how hard it actually is! But I was really determined not to become a yo-yo dieter, and I wanted to figure out how I could change my lifestyle for good.
I learned how to love myself while also creating a balanced healthy lifestyle that I could maintain forever.
I also discovered so many amazing products and brands that helped me make that transition — one of which is ONE Bars, my go-to protein bar for my busy on-the-go lifestyle! I also discovered a few other little tips and tricks that seriously changed the game for me. I’m so excited to share my top 3 with all of you today!
Tip 1: Practice patience with yourself!
I’m one of the least patient people I know! But over time I’ve learned to become patient with myself in order to give myself the time and space I needed to learn to live a balanced lifestyle. It took years of trial and error but eventually, I found a rhythm and my journey transitioned from being focused on weight loss and a goal weight to learning how to find balance, love my body and treat it with kindness, and still just live my life without constantly thinking about my diet or workouts. A true and lasting change takes time—and once I realized that, things began to fall into place a lot more seamlessly.
Tip 2: Create a gratitude journal.
Practicing gratitude has been instrumental in my journey to a balanced and healthy lifestyle. We all can get caught up in the things we are doing wrong or the ways in which we can do things better, but I found focusing on the good in my life helped me to feel better all around. It helps me make healthier food decisions and most importantly it helped me to realize that working out and moving my body was not a form of punishment but instead an act of self-care and self-love!
Tip 3: Tune into your intuition.
Listen to your gut. Seriously! We know our bodies best, and our bodies are giving us signs and signals all the time. Just because your best friend’s sister’s aunt lost 40 pounds on the Keto diet, or your dad’s coworker became vegetarian and suddenly lost 25 pounds doesn’t mean those diets or ways of eating are the best things for YOU. Eat how you see fit. Do workouts that make your body feel good. And always do what you think is best for your body! Once I took away any labels from my diet, I was able to find an intuitive balanced diet that felt completely right for me!
Another reason why I love my ONE Bars, they not only taste amazing but they fill me up and keep me fueled and that’s what works best for me! Because no one likes someone when they’re hangry!
I hope you enjoyed these tips and tricks to living a healthy balanced lifestyle! What have you all found that works best for YOU?! I’d love to know in the comments below! You can find more about my personal wellness journey on my blog at fittybritttty.com. And please come and hang out with me on Instagram — you can find me @fittybritttty!
