Hello,
I’m Julisa and I’m 35 years old. This is my review of the 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge.
I’ve been married for almost eight years to my amazing husband and we have three awesome boys ages four, two, and six months!
Yup, I have my hands full but have been blessed with a large and loving support net! We moved to Miami from NYC about two years ago and given this change and our growing family, I decided to become the “Household CEO” for our entire family’s wellbeing.
We enjoy exploring this city’s open spaces, the limitless family-friendly activities, and spending quality time with family and friends. We love having date nights every so often and on my “alone time”, the gym is my haven to participate in group exercises or run on the treadmill.
Growing up, my parents had always been big advocates of healthy eating. I’ve embraced this but have had challenges with weight loss due to the metabolism slowdown in my 30’s.
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism following my first pregnancy and was faced with challenges of getting rid of “baby weight” after three pregnancies within five years.
Within a few months after each of my pregnancies, my immediate attempt to get “fit” was to go to the gym. I would lose some weight, but it wasn’t sustainable partly because I would stop exercising, but primarily, I didn’t have a handle on nutrition for me and my family. I’d get bored of the same recipes, exhausted from creating “parents vs kids” meals and would stop tracking my caloric intake and fall of the wagon.
After my third child, I began to get really concerned about me and my family’s health. I wanted to make sure my kids have a healthy relationship with food and had an appreciation for fruits and veggies like I did growing up.
On a personal level, I wanted to lose the baby weight, improve my digestion (post-partum constipation and hemorrhoids is devastating!), find the energy to keep up with my “trio” and find a sustainable “diet” for me and my family, I want to be a healthy and strong fit mom 20, 30 + years down the line so that I can be there for them.
I had been following Clean Food Crush (CFC) on Instagram and one day I decided to check out the website and that’s how I found out about the 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge. I read the testimonials and knew this was exactly what I needed but I was hesitant.
I told myself, the only way I’ll do this is if someone joined me. I asked around and my best friend immediately took up the challenge with me. This has been one of the best decisions in my life!
The abundance of recipes for every meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are so delicious and easy to follow!
- Everyone in my family from my husband to my 6-month-old enjoys it!
- My eldest refused to eat veggies before and now he asks for “crunchy stuff” (carrots, celery).
- My second was shying away from eating protein and now he devours it.
- My youngest was not eating some of the homemade purees I made but when I introduced the cauliflower mash, it was a euphoric moment.
Additionally, in just the first month, I lost 12 lbs, my energy levels went up, and the last week of the challenge, I joined the gym and since then have been going 2-3x/week. I started out at 209 lbs.back in February and today, I’m at 184 lbs. I lost 25 lbs. in 3 months!
I could write a book on why I highly recommend the 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge, but I’ve narrowed it down to 3 reasons.
1. The support I received from the Facebook Group certainly kept me accountable and motivated from the moment I joined the 30 Day Challenge and even up until now.
There were days that I didn’t Eat “Clean” but that’s where the support net came to the rescue. There were times when I wanted to quit or felt I wasn’t doing this “correctly” or my progress wasn’t as fast as I wanted it to be but the team was there to help push me through it.
They would remind me to be patient and gentle with my body and to document and celebrate my accomplishments. The frequent photos of people sharing their meals, progress photos, etc motivated me to stick to the program.
2. I’ve learned to meal prep a variety of meals that keeps me and my family excited and healthy; cooking techniques such as shredding chicken with a food processor and using a crockpot (which I had collecting dust and had never touched since I received it as a gift about 2 years ago).
This program taught me things that save so much time and make my meals that much yummier. I even learned how to prepare foods to get the most nutrition out of them to keep my thyroid healthy. I received tips and tricks on how to incorporate healthy eating when traveling, having social gatherings, the list goes on!
In just the past month, I’ve traveled with my family three times and for each one, I was able to bring along healthy meals for the whole gang. For my son’s second birthday, I was able to make some appetizers and desserts that were a hit!
3. So many people have complimented my progress and told me they have been inspired to focus on their own health. I’ve been able to store my maternity gear and pull out my pre-pregnancy clothes. My confidence is up and I feel happier.
This lifestyle change has improved me in a holistic way. It’s not just for the 30 days – this is for life!
Thank you to Rachel for creating this life-changing program and to the admins, my February 11th peers, family, and friends for all of the support throughout this journey.
Best wishes,
Julisa