Growing up I was always living a very active lifestyle. My parents had a rule that I needed to be in sports, or some type of club, to not only keep me active as my body continued to grow but to also get to know people. I was grateful for this rule I had growing up because it led me to where I am today. I was in just about every sport. From basketball, flag football, soccer, volleyball, and all the way up to dance. I had two brothers, so competition was in my nature. I never thought about my diet because I was a kid why would I? I need to eat to be strong and have energy. Why does it matter what type of food I am feeding myself? As years went on and my body started to mature, I could tell that exercise was still great and made me feel amazing after each workout, but something was off. I work out every day, but I am not seeing the results on the scale that I want so what is the point of working out? For years I had this mentality but I did nothing about it. After months and months of trying to find free meal plans, google healthy food ideas, and looking into weight loss supplements I realized that this was not a healthy way to look at myself. I decided that I should not care about what the scale says and just focus on what makes me FEEL good, COMFORTABLE, and CONFIDENT in my skin.

            A year ago, I decided enough was enough. I dropped all the google searches and focused on what my body was telling me. It started with a change in my workouts. I decided to push myself a little harder each time at the gym by doing more high intensity workouts. This helped me shed the extra weight fast. My goal heart rate was 150 bpm during my entire workout so then I could build up stamina. Second, a SIMPLE change in my diet is all I needed. I started doing a 16:8 intermittent fasting, where I go 16 hours without eating starting at 7pm and then I can start eating my first meal at 11am the next day. Often times I try to go longer if my body can handle it. I cut way down on carbs, not entirely cut them out but enough to where I wasn’t over-doing it. I substituted rice cakes for bread and started to LOVE vegetables. The best way to get your daily dose of veggies is by buying fresh produce, coming straight home from the grocery store, cut them up, and put them in containers in your refrigerator. This is the quickest snack when you’re on the go, or if your body needs a pick me up. I am a HUGE snacker, so eliminating my snacks was hard for me but substituting vegetables has made my body crave it every day. I make sure to be taking the right amount of protein after each workout and my goal is 100oz of water a day! Everyone should be drinking at LEAST half of their body weight in oz (ex. 120 lbs mean 60 oz of water). By doing this you are not only hydrating your body but you are eliminating the need of feeling hungry. Often times when we think we are hungry; it is just our bodies way of saying it needs water. Drink at least a glass of water before each meal to eliminate over eating.

Overall, do what works for you! Listen to your body, make simple changes in your diet because I promise you this is where you will find the abs you have always wanted. 80% diet 20% exercise, so don’t kill yourself too much during your workouts!