I tried every diet and non diet under the sun

Weight loss story from @30stepsfor30

After trying all types of diets, Faith was able to find what works for her in order to lose weight. Faith learned to substitute the usual sugary / salty foods with sweet fruits and salted nuts.

I have always been that girl who has had to work hard to lose or maintain my weight. When I was 11 my mom would wake me up to do Tae Bo, which was a pain.My mom didn’t do it because she was obsessed with me becoming thin, she did it because she could see how unhappy I was with my own weight.After having 2 children the struggle became my new normal.

For years I tried every diet and non diet under the sun. From shakes, to horrible meal plans that restricted everything including salt, lemonade drinks, portion control using tiny color coordinated containers. I have even considered wiring my mouth shut for a month to drop weight (talk about crazy).

Most diets would work for a period of time but the weight would always come right back. If I was traveling in May I would begin trying to diet in March. If I had an event in December, I would start working out in October. In December last year I said enough is enough. I’m tired of the yoyo, dropping pounds just to travel, hating the taste of what I had to consume, busting my ass daily in the gym while binging at home routine. Why not just change your life forever.

I turned 30 in January and said that I would loose 30lbs. Not 30 lbs in 3 weeks but 30 lbs in 12 months. I signed back up to the gym. I got my self a virtual personal trainer for the first 12 weeks to kick start my life style change and It was the best decision I have ever made. I go to the gym at least 7 times a week (sometimes twice a day) not because I am dragged but because I truly enjoy my workouts. Instead of running on a treadmill for 30 minutes, my workouts are 80% weight lifting and I get my cardio in, in the form of HIIT, or a class such as spin or Zumba.

I stopped drinking juice, I cut back on sweets and aimed to improve my will power. I stopped following all those celebrities and food pages on social media and filled my timeline with positivity. Every time I scroll I see Afro Girl Fitness and a stream of other pages with girls pushing themselves and I remind myself to keep going. They say it takes 30 days to build or break a habit, after the first month, I haven’t even looked at juice.

I believe it is important not to restrict yourself completely but to make each meal enjoyable, and find a replacement for the bad with a healthy good. Want something sweet? Leave the chocolate alone and eat dried fruit such as dates and cranberries. Feeling a salty craving coming on, don’t go for the chips, grab the salted nuts. That way I never feel deprived, I enjoy every meal, I am always full, and I never feel the need to cheat.

My main advice to anyone wanting to start a journey is, don’t rush it, all good things take time. Each month challenge yourself to lose 2 lbs, then 5lbs trust me those numbers add up. When I started in January I was 185lbs and I was squeezing into a size 12 dress. 6 months later I am now 158lbs and fitting comfortably into a size 8. Those small numbers really added up.

Reward yourself for each goal achieved. I was wearing no named sneakers with holes (as a punishment for myself) as soon as I dropped my first 5 lbs I replaced them with my dream shoes.

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures! Take as many as you can. Because when you don’t see it, the camera will show you how far you have come. I have always looked pretty good in clothes, but my goal was to look and feel good naked. When my husband said ‘wow, you feel like a completely different person’ I responded ‘great, because I feel like a completely different person!’
My journey is far from over!