If you've clicked on this article there's a strong possibility you're expecting to find a magic trick that will help you lose a bunch of weight super quick or some new crazy and soon to be trendy health challenge that is gonna be your kickstart you to the body you want.

But fair warning, while there are elements of this article and things I have done that may have a drastic result on your fitness journey, this article is not at all meant to be a quick fix or easy tips and tricks to lose that last 10 or 20 pounds. Instead, I am going to share how in 6 months I not only completely transformed my body but my mindset and how I've been able to stick to my fitness journey because of it.

Let me start by saying that I have always struggled with my weight and my body image. Growing up I was always one of the bigger girls and even though I was really active and played tons of sports at a competitive level I still was always one of the biggest girls on the team. It wasn't until I was swimming competitively in high school I learned that with the right type of exercise, nutrition, and mindset I was actually capable of losing weight and achieving my fitness goals.

Obviously, this mindset and dedication paid off temporarily, but when I went off to college and had to adjust to a whole new life and lifestyle, I, unfortunately, was not adjusting so well. Long story short I started to deal with a lot of anxiety, depression and an eating disorder. My weight was fluctuating so much because I would gain a ton of weight and lose a ton of weight. I remember in 2016 I went from weighing roughly 167 pounds to 140 pounds in a matter of weeks. I even caught myself going through the same extreme workout and fitness cycles that so many other people go through which all resulted in temporary results due to a lack of consistency, dedication, and knowledge.

After going around the same negative cycle for a couple years and still feeling unhappy about my progress and hardly seeing any real, positive or lasting changes towards the healthy Instagram lifestyle I had spent so much time aspiring towards, I knew something had to change. And that was when I discovered a YouTuber named Sarah's Day who introduced me to a new way of approaching a healthy lifestyle. She emphasized the idea of a holistic fit lifestyle and nutritional approach I had never really heard of before. From her, I learned what it meant to "listen to your body," and learned how she was able to stay excited to exercise through what she commonly referred to as "functional training,"

Up until this point, I was so used to hearing and being told what I should and shouldn't do in the gym and what I could and couldn't eat that seeing her approach and results from living both a fun and functional active lifestyle seemed to be exactly what I had been missing this whole entire time.

So, in about May of this past year (2018) I gave myself four months to see how much progress I could make in the gym. It had taken almost a whole year to transform to a healthier mindset and heal my relationship with food and now all I wanted to do was tackle the next phase of my journey in the gym. I was hungry to see the progress I could make but, I knew that if I wanted to be consistent and make progress I needed a structured routine.

Specifically I set a goal of making it to the gym 3 days a week; Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for a minimum of 1 hour and would do HIIT workouts (from Sarah's Day Sweat It To Shred It E-book but you can also use ones found on Pinterest) on Mondays and Fridays, and started to consistently train specific muscle groups by lifting on Mondays and Fridays. The weekends were seen as almost a bonus point and not mandatory but if I went, I knew I would feel better and would usually just focus that training session on stretching and usually some light low-intensity exercise like yoga or opt-for an outside activity like running, hiking, walking my dog, etc.

After following this workout routine for a couple months and maintaining proper nutrition, which for me was decreasing simple carbs, increasing protein, and increasing iron in my diet (turns out not eating and not eating nutritiously can result in an iron-deficiency aka anemia), I saw a drastic change and I was so proud of my progress and excited I increased my gym days to about 5 days a week and went from lifting two days a week to three. I was so happy with how strong I was both feeling and becoming I made it to the end of my four-month goal and couldn't believe how much my body had changed!

Now, fast-forward two months later (6 months total), and the only difference is that I have dropped 2% more of my body fat, for a total BMI of 23% which is a normal BMI for my weight; 145 pounds and height 5'6". Another change worth noting is I now do a little less cardio and usually lift weights everytime I'm in the gym.

To be honest, I've seen the most muscle and body progress to truly getting that toned body look within the last couple of months of increasing my use of weights in my workouts because of the focused training of those individual muscles I was neglecting from just doing cardio and HIIT for such a long time. But, even more, important than my basic physical changes have been the strength and confidence I have gained from doing this as well.

Since beginning this little self-challenge a little over 6 months ago, I never thought I would make it this far and never thought that I would have been able to feel this good or maintain this progress. I owe it all to my discovery of an awesome Youtuber as well as the discovery of what it means to forget about the number on the scale, listen to your body and push yourself beyond what you thought possible. After all the pain, tears, little injuries and self-doubt along the way I am proud to say I have made it and you can too!

Looking at this last progress picture below I can only think of one more piece of advice to help transform your body and your life; above everything, be patient with yourself and be aware of yourself. When you remember this, you'll remember that every person needs and progress is going to be different and that is why for many people their journey will be filled with trial and error. But, nothing worth having comes easy and It will all be worth it in the end!