Consistency is Key - The Secret to Losing Over 120 lbs
Hi! My name is Tracy. I'm the Director of Customer Service for Nutracelle, and this is my story. If you haven't heard my story yet, I'm here to tell you just how I used Nutracelle's all-natural protein powder to lose over 120 lbs (122 to be exact, and counting!). People ask me all the time what my secret is, where I found my willpower, and just generally seem to tell me all the time, "I just couldn't do it." But the honest truth is: anyone can do this. If I can do it, trust me - YOU can, too.
I lost my job, I weighed over 400 lbs, and I was so incredibly sad inside; I felt helpless.
Before starting my journey I was not in a good place. If I'm being transparent, I hadn't been in a good place in a long, long time. I loved the job I had but the business I worked for closed down (three days after my birthday). I was at my highest weight and my depression was controlling every decision I made: what I ate, where I went, who I spoke to, and more. My friends and family had been telling me for awhile that they were worried about me, but I just brushed it off. "I'm fine!" I'd say, when they asked. "Don't worry about it." I'd tell them, when they'd start to share their concerns. The truth is: I just didn't care. I had given up.
This was a photo I took on a day where I felt good about myself. Looking at this photo, it's not hard to see how unhappy I truly was.
I knew I needed to make a change.
Drastically. My lifestyle was killing me, and I was headed towards a heart attack that, had it happened, would have undoubtedly been fatal.
The problem was, I'd tried it all before. I did the gym routine, I tried the plans, the fads, the trends. But I could never get a handle on my relationship with food. Each time I would start to see progress, my self-sabotaging ways would kick in and I would binge on bad food, telling myself, "It's just a cheat day."
It was never JUST a cheat day, though.
I wasn't an active participant in events / gatherings
One of the hardest realizations I have about my life pre-weight-loss is just how absent I was. If I even showed up to an event or a gathering, I always hovered on the outskirts. I wouldn't join in on the fun, that was WAY too scary. What if my weight got in the way? What if I bent a certain way and my stomach was visible? What if there were no chairs that I could fit into? What if, what if, what if. There were so many reasons NOT to do things, and I believed every one of them was valid.
Ruining a photo, as always.
If there were cameras around, I was always on high alert.
The idea of someone snapping a photo of me when I wasn't properly angled, posed, and ready was... well, terrifying.
I would always ask people to remove the photos they posted of me from their social media.
If they did snap a photo of me, I always ruined it in some way - just to distract from my size.
I tried Nutracelle after a recommendation by a friend, but I had very little hope.
I didn't think Nutracelle would help me. I was introduced to it and told it was delicious and would help me lose weight. I remember laughing and thinking to myself, "Right, okay. Some magical protein powder is going to help me lose weight? Just because it has prebiotic fiber in it? SALES PITCH!"
But I was desperate and open to trying anything at this point. I had thought about putting my name on the list for weight-loss surgery but after finding out how long the process could take, that avenue also seemed hopeless. So when offered a taste of Nutracelle (and learning how insanely yummy the Vanilla Cream is) I said, "Sure, let's do this." and placed my first order in February 2016. ↓
If you want to read about my first 30 days, check out my blog post here.
Let's fast forward to hitting that 100-lb-down milestone.
You can read my celebration blog and learn how I lost one hundred pounds here.
I've learned so much about myself on this journey. During my first year and losing one hundred pounds, I learned the affects that sugar has on my body, my terrible relationship with food, and why I spent all of my adult-life feeling gross from the inside out. I learned how to properly fuel my body, and more importantly, I learned the value of taking care of myself. I learned all about gut flora, the power of protein, and (ha-ha) how integral it is to drink enough water every day.
However, once I hit the 100-lbs-down mark... I started becoming complacent.
You would think that having success like that would just fuel my motivation, but instead it did the opposite. I became lenient, lazy, and started incorporating more cheat days. I let my emotions make decisions when it came to food again, and I started watching the scale creep back up.
Which brings me to my reason for writing this blog: consistency IS key.
Plateaus are hard. It's hard to feel like you're putting in the work but not seeing the results. It's important to remember that weight-loss is rarely a consistent drop. Plateaus are normal, and how you navigate your plateau can be your make-or-break moment.
You think it, you read about it, you believe it, you preach it... but until you've lived it - you really have no idea JUST how much you can accomplish when you commit to yourself every day.
They tell you to 'choose you' every day (I mean, heck, I've told people to do it too!) but we all know it's a lot easier said than done, especially when you're not seeing the results you want.
However this is when it's the MOST important to stay on track. Push through, find new ways to keep yourself accountable, and reach out to your support team. Whether that's family, friends, or even us at head office. (You can e-mail us at info@nutracelle.com, we're ALWAYS here for you!).
In the spring of 2019, Nutracelle introduced our 'NutraCountdown' magnets, and it helped me break my plateau.
These handy little guys have been a HUGE help for keeping me on track. When they launched, I thought they were adorable and that new folks joining our NutraFam would love them.
The more I thought about them, the more I realized this is exactly what I needed. Up until April, I was yo-yoing with my weight. In February of this year, I suffered the loss of a good friend that set me off track and derailed my progress. Trying to navigate my grief and focus on self-love just didn't work, and the grief won... every time. So not only was I dealing with my grief, I was also dealing with guilt for being off-plan, and frustration for not being able to get back on track fully.
I decided this would be a great time to get back on track and really focus on me again.
I started by simply checking off each day that I had a shake, and I found by the end of the week that I was holding myself more accountable. Throughout the weekend I was making better choices knowing that I had spent the prior week treating myself right.
Month after month I stayed focused, worked at losing the weight I had gained (I called it my grief-gain), and am happy to announce that presently I am at the lowest weight I've seen on a scale as an adult.
I asked my roommate Jordan if she would keep me accountable and even told my family that I was done with the cheats. No more "okay just one bite" -- I knew exactly where that one bite would lead.
I'm excited to celebrate with you and share my brand new before & after -- 122 pounds down!
In conclusion, I want to give you this advice:
Consistency is key; you will never reach a goal that you give up on. Your journey may not look the way you envisioned, but I promise it's worth it. You're worth it.
If you find yourself frustrated or off-plan, remember these three steps:
- Take it back to the beginning. Break out your NutraCountdown magnet, and a notebook. Have your Nutralean every day, and track everything you're eating/drinking.
- Kick-start your weight-loss again with our 7-Day Kickstart Guide. I've done this a few times and each time I find it insanely beneficial. The sugar detox alone is worth it.
- REACH OUT. Talk to us. Join the family on Facebook in our NutraTalk Support Community, or even just write to us at info@nutracelle.com. Every single staff member has their own success story and we're here to help.
After all, your success is our success ♥
Thanks for reading, fam!
xo
Tracy
