I tried doing the whole diet and workout thing for years and instead of feeling lean, fit and energized I actually gained MORE weight, felt deprived, depressed and damn near created an eating disorder.
But that wasn't enough to wake me up from the lies of the diet and fitness industry. I believed soo deeply in diet and exercise that I became a certified personal trainer and tried every diet out there thinking one of them would "save me" at some point.
I counted calories.
Cut out carbs.
Went vegan.
Ate spoonfuls of oil before meals (don't ask).
I have done just about every diet and cleanse out there. Many multiple times.
I worked out like a crazy person.
Got up at 5am to run on the treadmill (that literally is the definition of hell in my book btw). Trained for a half marathon, got my yoga certification, did workouts I loathed...
And yet...
The ONLY time I ever hit my goal weight during all this diet and exercising was for a SINGLE DAY after doing months of two-a-day workouts and playing the "what's the lowest calories I can consume in a day" game. Not a game I recommend for anyone ever, but unfortunately a sick f*cked up game that way too many women have played and are currently still using as a way to try to feel good enough in their bodies.
The thing we don't realize when we're trying to use massive deprivation to create our dream body is that what we're really after is a feeling of expansiveness. We want to feel FREE.
But here's the real question...
Why on earth would total restriction, deprivation and starvation EVER create a feeling of expansiveness and freedom in our lives, let alone our bodies?!?!?
The truth?
It doesn't.