If you’ve known me for a while or have been watching me on my blog, you might have noticed I used to fluctuate with my weight, a lot. In the past, I wasn’t able to keep off more than 40 pounds for longer than three or four months, which I would attribute to juice fasts, low-carb diets, cutting out sugar, the cabbage soup diet, etc.. I was so committed to losing weight fast in the beginning that I would completely deprive myself on a “crash diet “only to binge like a crazy person as soon as I got to my “end date”. Sadly, I would gain back all the weight lost, plus more then feel even more hopeless and depressed than when I started. 
Here I am nine months into what I call my new normal aka me understanding healthy lifestyle for real, for real. and between these two pictures, I’ve lost (and kept off) a total of 53 pounds!!! The craziest part is that I actually felt bad today about (my weight, how I look, all the hard work I’ve done) because I didn’t loose my goal amount by my “end date”. Why do we do this to ourselves? Do you see the crazy trying to creep back into my mind?? I remembered that there isn’t “end date” for being healthy, it’s something that just works if you do it consistently. I decided to make a side-by-side of a picture (I took when all of this started and now) to remind myself of what saying goodbye to 53lbs looked like. I now see why before pictures are the best motivation ever, they not only show you how far you’ve come but allow you to realize how crazy you are when you’re being nitpicky with yourself. Pretty powerful huh!?
I was REALLY nervous about posting this picture on my blog and social media channels because it’s really hard to be vulnerable and put yourself out there for public opinion. My hope is to inspire anyone out there who is struggling or needing motivation that yes, you can do this, just keep going!
Today I’m feeling truly grateful for finding the best nutrition for me to attain and maintain my physical goals and I am grateful for the believe in myself (even though it was borrowed it at first), that I can do this every day. I haven’t followed the everything perfectly, which was actually encouraging, but I try my best at making it a consistent part of my lifestyle.
Fitness/healthy lifestyle is a mindset, and good habits repeated very day, it’s not a destination, it’s a journey. I cannot stress enough, the importance of having support. Without my tribe I’d be lost, probably still yo-yo dieting and feeling helpless and alone. Please don’t do that! If you’re struggling and need help/tools/motivation I would love to help you!
If you’d like to see more fitness posts, healthy recipes or transformations please comment below! Thank you for supporting me in my journey, we still have a way to go, like, the rest of our lives. Xo, Chelsey
Photos by: DianaPutnamPhotgraphy