-by Mindy Irish
Diet is SO crucial!
People ask me all the time, “What’s your trick? How did you lose your weight?” There are so many answers to that, but when it all boils down to it, my final answer is, “I cleaned up my diet!”
It did not all happen overnight. Over 28 month’s time, I made four major shifts in my daily diet. What works and does not work for each person is going to vary, but it started out by really listening to my body and even cutting out so-called “healthy” foods that my body was showing not to tolerate. This I learned through food journals and diet elimation and then I got good results! For me it was red meat and dairy, for you it might be different. 
My next step was to cut out the processed foods. Snacky, cookie, cracker items just could not be a part of my daily intake if I was expecting different results. I had to cut it out to see the results, and in that, more good changes were made! Additionally, just being aware of the content of the foods I was eating was education enough to make me weigh out whether I should eat it or not….and what type of “work” would I have to do to get it off?! My third step was following a plan that encourages eating six times a day. Learning how to fuel my body with lower quanity and higher quality really gave me a boost to the next level. My fourth step to date was learning how to add in a higher quantity of lower-sugar vegetables on a daily basis and what that does for my metabolism and shape.
I write all this so you can see that change is both physical and mental. Nothing happens overnight and it’s an evolution of getting to know yourself and listening to your body. When you hit plateaus, you are forced to either accept it or make changes to power through it. My challenge to you is to dive deep into your diet and really look at what you’re eating on a daily basis. What should stay? What is hurting you? What should go? Be honest to you!
The intent of this post it to inform you of the time it takes to figure it all out. Everyday is an education. If you’re wanting more info on the exact programs that work(ed) for me, email me here and I can fill you in on those. For right here and now, focus on you and see how you can take your nutrition and fitness up a notch! Your body will thank you! Bottom line, no matter what you do in the gym, if you don’t clean up your diet on a daily basis, you may just be wasting your time!
