The Girl in the Yellow Dress

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A few years ago I threw away my scale. You guys, it was one of the best things that I’ve ever done. There is so much pressure to look a certain way, to weigh a certain amount, to fit into a certain size–throw that mindset away! EveryBODY is different, and what you should be thinking about instead of a number on the scale is how healthy and happy you feel. Healthy eating is a lifestyle, not a diet.

When I was growing up, I never really had any issues with my weight. I never thought about dieting, and I realize now how lucky I was to grow up in such a small town that I never even felt very much pressure to look a certain way. When I hit end of my senior year, I started gaining a little weight just like everyone else out there earning their freshman 15. It bothered me, and I went through a stage of my life where I tried literally dozens of crash diets. I tried cleanses, I tried cutting carbs, I tried clean eating on the weekdays and binging on weekends– I tried all sorts of weird stuff. Throughout all these crazy diets, I would weigh myself… and weigh myself… and weigh myself. Long story short, none of those diets lasted very long and none of them made me very happy.

Eventually I got married, and Casey’s example started to change my view about food. He’s a really balanced eater and he helped me see that you can eat healthy, while also having sweets every now and then. Over years and years, I’ve learned that healthy eating is not about being skinny and it’s not about a scale. It’s about changing your lifestyle to support healthy habits. It’s about thinking about long term health rather than instant results. It’s about how you feel in your clothes, not the size of your clothes or how much you weigh. It’s about looking and feeling healthy.

Before I got pregnant with Londyn, I was way to skinny. I didn’t look and feel as healthy as I could of been. I didn’t even try to look that skinny, I was just so busy that I never had enough time to eat. Once I had Londyn, I decided to do what’s called the Macro diet to try and look healthy instead of skinny. Honestly, it isn’t really a diet, it’s more of a healthy meal plan. I got together with my girl Allison and she helped me figure out how many fats, proteins, and carbs that I needed each meal for my body type. I found out that I wasn’t eating enough and I for sure wasn’t eating enough of the right foods together.

I had tried the paleo diet a while ago and never had enough energy. Come to find out, I just needed more carbs! And what I love about the macro diet is that no foods are off limits. I can literally eat whatever I want. I’m a huge lover of ice cream, so Allison helped me fit my 3/4 C of mint oreo ice cream into my daily plan. haha Every day I have 3 snacks and 3 meals, each consisting of a fat, a protein, and a carb. I’ve had to learn how to eat more often, and even bigger meals than I am used to. I’ve felt so good since I started these meal plans. I feel full and strong and most of all, happy with how I look and feel. Here are some healthy eating tips that I have learned through the years that have helped me and to go along with the macro diet.

Healthy Eating Tips

It’s about feeling good. This isn’t a diet, it’s a way of life. It’s being conscious of your health, giving your body the energy it needs, and feeling good about yourself.
Lift weights. To couple the meal plans, I’ve also been trying to make it to the gym at least 3-4 times a week. Sometimes that totally doesn’t happen, and sometimes I get there 5 days a week! When I work out, I do a lot more weight liftg than I used to. Because I’m eating more, I can use that energy to develop that toned (rather than skinny) look that I’m going for.
Drink a ton of water. I try to drink at least 8 tall glasses of water a day. Something that has helped with that is that the first thing I do when wake up is drink 1-2 tall glasses of water. It’s an easy way to get the day started off right as far as water intake.
Get rid of the scale. Like I said, best thing that I’ve ever done. You don’t need it- not when you’re goal is to be healthy and happy rather than skinny.

I know that a healthy eating coach isn’t for everyone, but if that’s what you’re looking for, Allison is awesome. She’s in Arizona, but you don’t have to live close to her because she does things mostly through texting. If you’re interested, check her out, she is amazing! Or you can alway check out Love by Lynns workout plan (love her), Fit Nation app, and BBG. All great plans to go by to help live a healthy balanced lifestyle!