It has been a while since I have written a Flab to Fab post.  Thankfully, I can report to you that I have been staying closer to the “FAB” side of things and have not returned to Flab. Staying “FAB” is not easy, it is an every day task!  I have to work at eating right every day! I still LOVE cookies and ice cream, oh and french fries… cheese burgers too!   I don’t always feel like making the right nutritional choice.  Sometimes the thought of another healthy salad makes me want to scream!

Despite having long since reached my goal weight, I still have good days and bad days.  I have found that maintenance is a lot harder than losing.  I kept myself to a pretty strict routine while trying to drop those last few pounds.  Now while maintaining, I have more freedom.   Freedom is not always easy.  While losing the weight, I retaught myself how to eat properly. I knew that I would never return to my old way of eating.  But. once I reached my final goal and loosened up my diet, I also knew that I couldn’t allow myself to let those bad habits slowly creep back into my life.

I attribute my success to BALANCE! I try to eat a mostly healthy diet, consisting of mainly fruits, veggies, complex carbs, and lean meats, making mostly healthy choices.  One of the most important things I do is I let myself indulge.  A sweet treat every once in a while helps me to be successful the next time I have to decide what to eat.  

My diet is balanced and not overly restrictive.  It doesn’t just consist of  kale and celery.  Every once in a while I will let myself have a bowl of ice cream or piece of a huge reese’s peanut butter cookie.  The key is to not eat the entire pint of ice cream or the whole cookie all by myself.  I love to eat and I love to exercise, but all diet and no exercise is not right, just as all exercise and not eating a healthy diet is also not best.

When I decided to make a drastic dietary change in my life, I knew I didn’t want to be on a “diet”.  I wanted to make a lifestyle change that would last forever.  Since reaching my final goal weight I follow the 80/20% rule. Eighty percent of what I eat is healthy, and I let myself splurge the other 20% of the time.

Eating healthy is not a chore, it takes thought and preparation, but it isn’t a chore.  I have given myself permission to enjoy food.  Being able enjoy a special meal with friends and family or have a piece of birthday cake at a party is all part of enjoying life.  I allow myself to go on vacation and fully enjoy foods at restaurants that I will not be visiting again for a long time (or possibly ever). It makes the whole balanced healthy diet attainable for a lifetime, not just to reach a specific goal.  I don’t want what I do and don’t allow myself to eat to hold me back from living my life. Once again it is all about BALANCE.

Trust me I have tried to only exercise and not eat healthy! For 5 years I diligently worked out so hard, but I always ate whatever I wanted to. It wasn’t until I improved my diet that I finally started to see all the awesome results I had been trying to achieve with exercise only.  Going from flab to fab includes both diet and exercise.  I also follow the 80/20 rule with exercise.  80% diet 20% exercise.

If you would like to read more about my journey from flab to FAB, you can do so by clicking HERE.

What about you?  Have you been on a journey from flab to FAB?  Have you made any major lifestyle and diet changes? What do you do to keep yourself on track and accountable?

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