After I posted a photo of fitness progress on Instagram, I had a lot of ladies message me asking me how I shed the weight. I was excited to respond to them.

Excited because what I was about to tell them wasn't a diet pill, or some trick I read online. It was real life; things that anyone could do if they had belief in themselves instead of the gimmicks around us. So for anyone on a weight loss journey: I'm no doctor or personal trainer, but maybe this will give you the progress you've been looking for.

As I said in a previous article, I have been chubbier for a good part of my preteen through young adult years. I tried all these silly diets that I saw in a magazine, fat loss gummies, even cutting out certain foods entirely. While this may work temporarily, it's really not realistic. Most of these fad diets and things are so restricting that the minute you make a choice outside of those barriers, you're back where you started. This back and forth of wishing and believing these things would work was a dead end. It wasn't until recently that I decided to take a different approach. I know everyone has heard this word and they don't like it because WE WANT RESULTS NOW, but moderation is a major key, you guys.

Moderation allows you still enjoy the things you like, but instead of eating the whole bag, you can enjoy just a few. Of course, when you're trying to lose weight you have to eat things that are better for your body. Things that will fuel it in the right ways; but there is no crime in enjoying that ice cream cone with your friends if you want. Life is about enjoying food not being restricted and obsessed over it. Once you lose the mindset of, "This is so bad for me! I'm the worst for eating this. How could I?", things will start to seem a little brighter and eating lunch won't be a form of self hate.

This goes the same for going to the gym. DO NOT OBSESS over how terrible you are if you miss a workout. Life happens; you get busy. Missing the gym for a day is not the end of the world. I used to think like this and would actually be mad at myself for skipping. There are tons of other ways to get active and burn some calories that doesn't involve you being in a packed gym. Go for a jog, or a bike ride outside. Jump some rope. Ride your longboard. I feel like I get my best workouts when I'm doing something that is actually fun for me, like dancing or hiking.

Long story short, being healthy doesn't have to be a chore. It isn't about diet pills and being militant about everything you eat or the days you didn't work out. I find that when we are hard on ourselves like this, is when we are more susceptible to giving up. I am not perfect and I work on this still, but when you treat yourself with love and water your needs instead of stomping on them I promise you will see the progress you want- both physically and emotionally.