I’m not going into all the details but let’s just say I got really sick and went to my doctor! After talking to my health care professional we both agreed on stopping this diet asap. We also talked about the potential risks and I should have known better from the beginning or should have read about this topic in my nutrition book before I tried it myself. When I signed up for the challenge I had no idea about the program or the meal plan otherwise I probably wouldn’t have done it. We all learn from our past mistakes and this was definitely a huge one for me!

I learned from this experience as a person and as a coach. I see it as a motivation to educate myself and my clients even more. I try to be better in everything I do and in everything I believe. My personal goal has not changed, I still want to change the way I feel and the way I’m currently looking and my goal is to focus on lasting changes. This means you need to adapt a healthy lifestyle which is sustainable in the long run. There are no short cuts or quick fixes.

After this negative experience I gave myself two weeks to completely heel (gut wise) and focused on healthy eating and following a 80/20% lifestyle. Eating clean most of the time, without cutting out any food groups or limiting myself to restrictions which end in binge and overeating, since this is not healthy and doesn’t work. If you want to create lasting results you have to change your lifestyle – you have to change it into something you can follow and you can stick with. I’m eating healthy most of the time, I prepare my own meals which are a mix of whole wheat products, fresh vegetables and meat or fish. I’m currently eating 5 meals a day, three larger portions and two snacks. It works best for me and reduces cravings because I feel full most of the time. It does not matter if you eat three or five meals – the total amount of food intake at the end of the day matters! I also enjoy a donut or ice cream every now and then without feeling guilty to beating myself mentally up!

For a diet to produce meaningful weight loss and lasting results the main focus should be on reducing the total calorie intake, not proportions of protein, carbohydrates or fat!

*Picture credit “trust your gut” glamslamblog.com