Hi there, my name is Sara.
I’m on the 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge year long journey, so I wanted to share some words of encouragement with you along the way.
So far I’ve lost 10 pounds and 10 inches and am feeling so inspired to keep going.
I have a long history of gaining weight, losing it, and putting it back on again. As far back as my Freshman year in high school, I lost 30+ pounds and kept it off for years. I graduated high school 116lbs and then graduated from college 154.
Flash forward a year and I was back down to 125 lbs and losing! Throughout all of these times I changed my diet and worked out. The number one mistake was getting comfortable with my weight and foregoing my diet.
Here was the issue: the word “diet.” It was the worst. I always felt I couldn’t have food that tasted good. I was always depriving myself of something.
Sadly, I married someone who was very manipulative and abusive in many ways. My first pregnancy was very hard on my body. My stress levels were off the charts, and I resorted to food for comfort. I began my pregnancy 146lbs and delivered at 184!
Needless to say after my beautiful baby was born, my stress just escalated. Between work, being a new mom, and enduring a very controlling husband, I was only able to lose half the weight by the time I was pregnant with my second daughter 2 years later. My marriage was out of control as were my eating habits and my workouts or lack thereof.
During my next pregnancy I only gained 20lbs during the pregnancy, but it still left me morbidly overweight only being 5’1”.
December 2015 was the end of an era for my girls and me. I had emergency gall bladder surgery right before Christmas. This was the beginning of the NEW me!
January 2016, I began walking after work. The girls and I would go on 2-5 mile walks daily. I started prepping my meals and the weight started falling off. I found one of my passions again, kickboxing! By summer, I was down 25 lbs.
I started dating again and met someone wonderful. He and I are still together and very happy.
When it came to my health, I knew if I didn’t figure out how to really eat for the rest of my life I would be right back where I always end up… overweight.
Savory Turkey + Chickpea Skillet Recipe
January 2017 is when I came across CleanFoodCrush. I was searching for Clean recipes when I stumbled across the website. I first signed up for the free 30 recipes, but soon that led to joining my first 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge in May.
At first, it was a bit tough to wrap my head around it all, but I gave it a shot. I lost 6 pounds fairly quickly, but by week 3 I fell off. By the end of the challenge I realized I needed more support long term, so I signed up for the yearly membership. It hasn’t always been an easy journey, but with each 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge, I learned more and have the support I need to keep going!
Over the past year the CleanFoodCrush family and Rachel have given me SO much. I have learned Clean Eating is fun and full of flavor! I was never very comfortable with trying to understand what Eating Clean meant until Rachel came along. Her website and Pinterest boards are my go to when planning my meals. My journey is far from over.
Finally, by staying on track, I have successfully lost a total of 10 lbs and over 10 inches!
Here are just a few of my AMAZING RESULTS:
- I have more energy
- I feel more focused at work
- Most importantly, I feel better about myself!
- My 5 year old loves most of the meals I cook, too! (I’m still working on my 3 year old.)
My goal is to continue this lifestyle change so that I can reach my next goal of weighing 135 by the end of May 2018, with my ultimate goal of weighing 125 by Christmas of 2018.
I have learned each day is a new day and to not focus on the negative (mainly the scale), but focus on the small gains.
If I could share anything with you that I have learned throughout this process it is that no two people are the same. Love yourself for who you are and don’t compare yourself to anyone. Everyone’s body is different, but if you fuel your body with the right nutrients, you will see results. Take your time… one of my favorite lessons is from the Classic Tale the Tortoise and the Hare. Slow and Steady wins the race.
If you join, I’ll see you inside the private groups along with Billie and Daisy who support us all so wonderfully.
Lots of Love,
Sara
CleanFoodCrush family member 🙂
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