Thank you for taking the time to share your story with the CleanFoodCrush community. Please introduce yourself!
Hi there! My name is Tesia Johnson and I live with my two baby dogs Sampson and Kairos! We like to hike, swim, bike, camp and hang out in various parks and forests. I have spent the majority of my professional career helping disenfranchised youth prepare for and gain acceptance to college. I absolutely love the work I do and really feel that I would be doing this whether I was getting paid or not…but I do prefer getting paid!
What were you struggling with before you found out about Clean Eating?
The biggest obstacle before finding the 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge was finding my way with consistency. I’ve been around for a long time and I do understand the basics of eating healthy, but staying on track and making the commitment to long term change was really hard for me.
How has CleanFoodCrush and the 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge help you to transform?
First and foremost, the support from other members and from the moderators was a HUGE factor for me! As I mentioned, consistency was hard for me.
Being able to be surrounded by folks that were positive EVEN when they were struggling, encouraging each other to continue pushing, seeing the successes of others, looking at all the pictures of the delicious foods we are ALLOWED to enjoy rather than focusing on what we can’t eat. Really, there are soooo many benefits of being a part of this group.
On top of those things, having the structure of the program and all of the new food ideas and recipes helped a lot! I have found that if I get bored with the food that I’m eating or start to feel deprived then that’s when I get distracted. Having a ton of new recipes to try really kept it interesting and made it so that I LOOKED FORWARD to Eating Clean.
What kind of results have you experienced physically and otherwise from doing the challenge?
Oh my gosh! When I started the challenge I was extremely lethargic and I could not walk a block without feeling like I was going to have an asthma attack. This was REALLY serious for me because for most of my adult life I had been a larger person, but still active.
Because of a knee injury, I wasn’t able to exercise like normal and so the weight PILED on, of course, the extra weight aggravated the knee even more and so I was EVEN LESS motivated to exercise. This resulted in sort of a snowball effect that landed me at nearly 400lbs!
I honestly thought that that was it for me! That I would just continue to spiral out of control. I felt no hope whatsoever and I HATED looking at myself in the mirror. There were times that I would nearly cry at what I had allowed myself to become.
My asthma (which had never really bothered me before) had gotten so bad I couldn’t even walk a flight of stairs without fear. This, combined with the fact that it was physically uncomfortable to walk because my thighs were so big, dragged me deep into a depression. I didn’t want to leave the house.
After finding this challenge and focusing on my eating habits instead of worrying about exercising I was able to drop some weight. As the weight started to come off, I started feeding my body the PROPER FUEL, my energy level SKYROCKETED!!
I definitely still had problems with my knee but I was more motivated and had the energy to try exercises that didn’t aggravate my knee as much, like chair exercises and swimming.
After a few months of success, I was further motivated by the fact that my 50th birthday was approaching…what a WONDERFUL GIFT to give myself for my birthday! The gift of HEALTH!
Since I’ve started with this group in January I have completed a 5K, and a 10K, I’ve started swimming again (I can swim an hour of laps straight through) and I just signed up for a tennis class for the summer!
I’ve got my life back! I am SOOOO HAPPY!
As I type this I’m getting choked up because I really, honestly thought I was at the point of no return. I just didn’t feel like I had it in me to push through. But thanks to the support and encouragement from CleanFoodCrush and the 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge, for the NO NONSENSE leadership and wisdom from Rachel and just the complete care that this group provides…I’ve turned my life around.
It really was a blessing to find this group when I did. And losing 50lbs on my 50th birthday feels AWESOME!
What words of wisdom do you have for newcomers who are interested in taking the 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge?
If you are on the fence about taking the 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge I would say YOU ARE HERE FOR A REASON. If you are considering it, then you have probably tried other methods to get healthy. You may have tried on your own…but you are still searching for something…DO THIS FOR YOURSELF.
The difference between this and other things you may have tried is that this has just the right amount of structure. The plan is laid out for you with shopping lists, recipes, menus, support, camaraderie and you are surrounded by a group of people who won’t judge you because they are going through the exact same thing. They will be your BIGGEST cheerleaders, your soft shoulder when you are down and the practical guidance when you feel lost or frustrated.
Every single person that I’ve met in the group has been nothing but supportive. And just hearing the stories of other folks help you to not feel alone. It’s an amazing feeling. You can do this!
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