I tried dieting.

I’ll stop right here and take a moment of silence for anyone who has dieted at any point in their life.

I’m sorry.

Dieting stinks.

All of my life I have been thin. I mean, to the point where I had people pull Brian aside and express their concern for my health. Lots of people thought I had anorexia, and some even offered to take me to the hospital.

Except!

I wasn’t anorexic.

I just had a fast metabolism and I never over ate because I didn’t love food.

Then, when I got pregnant with Violet, I actually tasted variations in food – and I loved it (and sometimes craved it)!

After that point, I enjoyed food, but never to the point of over-indulging.

Let’s fast-forward a bit…

2016 began my intense workout journey and continued until February 2018. In February, I was finding it hard to do any extra anythings because we had been through some pretty tough events over the last few years. I feel like I kind of came to my breaking point and the end of it wasn’t even in sight. The gym almost became too exhausting for me to endure mentally, yet I kept eating like I was working out 2 hours/day, 6 days/week.

That brings me to my heaviest weight in life.

I decided to get back to the gym because let’s face it, I can’t control when life is going to throw curveballs my way.

I forgot how much I love the exhaustion that comes from working out and the burn from pushing your limits. It’s exhilarating!

…but then we booked a last-minute vacation.

This summer I lived in my winter stretchy clothes because I keep the temp in my house around 68 degrees. So, when I went to try on my summer clothes, they didn’t fit.

Now, you probably know by now how much I hate wasting money, so I figured the next best thing would be to extreme diet for 2 weeks.

UGH!

GROSS!

I hate dieting.

I cut out all sugars, dairy, bread, sweeteners, and junk food. Then I limited my caffeine to 1 cup per day. Plus, I restricted my calories and set time frames to eat (9am-5pm) – although I was a bit lax on the time restrictions.

Anyway, I have never wanted food so bad! I mean, I want food that I don’t actually like! My body is revolting and I feel like I’m dying.

It shouldn’t have to be this way.

So here it is. My revelation of the day.

Stop dieting.

Instead, just eat a healthy diet.

Exercise.

But not the kind that makes you want to die.

Do something that brings you joy.

For me, that’s lifting weights.

So, even though this was my first time ever dieting, it will most certainly be the last.

Don’t give up.

Even slow progress is momentum in the right direction.

To all those who have ever struggled with dieting or body image, you are worth so much more than the labels that you’ve picked up over the years. Don’t let other people’s highlight reels discourage you from being the best you that you can be. God created you special and beautiful and uniquely different from everybody else.

For a reason.