Ahhh, here we are, another new year. How long will it take me to write 2023 instead of 2022? I’m thinking not long since my one job consists of me printing off fuel tickets for our customers. I’ll have to get with the program real quick, like this year! 2023. 2023. 2023, Andrea. You got this!
Why does a new year feel so refreshing? Like we can conquer anything!? Cabinets get organized, closets get cleaned out, the attic/garage gets a good purge, and getting rid of old books and magazines. Then there are things like drinking more water, getting more sleep, and the big one, losing weight. Something about January makes the gyms extra full this time of year.
I think it’s great that people want to jump into health and fitness for the new year! But, why can’t we stick with it like it’s January every month? By April, people are fading out of sticking with it and are back to eating their normal way. Oh, let’s do some crazy diet for three months, lose 20 lbs., then gain it all back by December. Never eating a carb, cutting sugar completely out, or starving yourselves. Guys, I’m telling you this is not the way to do it. Of course, it works, but it is NOT sustainable.
It’s been over four years since I decided I was going to lose weight, and it wasn’t January. It was right after my thirty-second birthday in August. I had tried losing weight year after year. I always felt hungry, but I would lose 20-25 lbs. in two to three months, then turn around and gain it all back and then some. It was a vicious cycle until I reached a size 24 pants and was absolutely disgusted with myself. I had no guidance other than me knowing something had to change. I decided I was just going to start small instead of going all in and cutting everything out at once. One small bad habit I changed at a time until it started to snowball. Week after week, month after month, I was losing. Never felt hungry or deprived. “I can do it like this!” I thought.
I had hit 15 pounds, then 20 pounds, then 30 pounds, but it just took longer. I was on fire! I’m not throwing my momma under the bus or anything, but when I hit 30 pounds, I was so excited. Mom was excited too, but had seen me lose weight before; then, I plummeted back into my old ways. I knew she thought I was going to gain it back. Which I don’t blame her. This is the game I played for years, but I told her “This time was different.”
I had a whole new thought process, plus I never felt hungry or deprived. I still was eating things I loved in moderation. It didn’t feel like a diet, so it had to work. My parents never once told me that I needed to lose weight or that they were disappointed in me. Neither did my husband. It was just me feeling absolutely ashamed of how badly I let myself go — eating what I wanted and when I wanted it 24/7. Let’s fast forward to four years and five months later. I lost over sixty pounds. I went from a size 24 to a size 14!
I have kept that off and fluctuated between sixty to sixty-six pounds this past year. I’ve been wanting to hit that seventy so badly, but I have pretty much just maintained it in 2022. I tell myself I’ll get there when I get there. I have kept it off, which is something to be so proud of. Maintaining is harder than losing it! I kept a pair of my old pants, just so I have them to look back on. On days I feel like I haven’t progressed, I just look at them, and it reminds me how far I’ve come and how many new wonderful habits I’ve made for myself.
Last year I went to school to be a fitness and nutrition coach. I started taking on clients in July, and let me tell you — it has been so rewarding! I have not only helped people lose weight but have made wonderful new friends in the process. I’m teaching my clients how to lose weight without cutting things out.
Take my client, Cindi Solarek, for example. She gave me permission to use her name. I wasn’t going to, but she said she didn’t mind at all. This woman is just remarkable! She started with me in the middle of July and is sixty years old. She has lost 29.6 pounds in 24 weeks!! This was with very little exercise, but a high step count. This was seeing her weekly check-in still consisting of pizza, subs, going out to eat, desserts, and lots of camping food like hot dogs, s’mores, and ice cream. I always make sure, as her coach, she never feels hungry or deprived, but she gets lots of protein, fruits, and veggies throughout the day too! Even through helping raise her grandson, losing her brother-in-law and father, and helping with her momma, each week, she continued to show me that she was in it to win it. She NEVER had an excuse. I couldn’t be more proud of her! She is so special to me.
You don’t have to cut out things you love. It’s everything in moderation, and I can teach you. If you are looking to get healthy this year, just email me. I would love to take you on and teach you a new lifestyle. I have 3, 6, 9 & 12-month full programs; you save the longer you sign up for. But now I have a simple monthly “Accountability Program” also. It comes with the basics to start but will help get you on the right track to fit your budget. I want to be able to help as many as I can. If I can do it, you can do it! Come join my team! Email me at lifestylefitnesscoach@yahoo.com.
Learn to eat delicious things like a Reese Peanut Butter Cup Shake that is 100% guilt free!
Find me also on Instagram @ andreascountryhomecooknfitness for daily stories and shares on food, fitness, and family!
Reese’s Cup Shake
Ingredients:
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 Tbsp PB2
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 scoop of Vanilla Protein Powder (I use Ladyboss)
• Ice
Directions:
Blend in a mixer, top with a few sprays of Reddi Whip, and top with a Reese’s Thin. Enjoy!
