Ariel lost 23 pounds

Transformation of the Day: Ariel lost 23 pounds and 2 dress sizes. She’s been on her journey for a few years now, and she became a vegetarian 3 years ago. In 2018, she decided to invest in a nutritionist and a personal trainer for support and guidance. Check out her journey.

Age: 32
Height: 5’10
Starting weight: 218lbs
Current weight: 195lbs
Total weight loss: 23lbs
Starting Dress Size: 16
Current Dress Size: 12

What was your motivation?
My motivation was myself and getting to the best me. For years, I played the victim, but in September 2018 I decided that I would not be in that place anymore. For me, the victim mentality was “I ate this because I felt like that.”, good or bad. I was an emotional eater and food was the relief. However, deep down inside, I had a desire to see a greater me living a greater life. I knew that I was more than a conqueror and I could conquer it. That knowing led me to start believing, and that belief led me to take action by seeking support and investing in myself. I sought out Nutritionist Guru because I knew that I needed help with my eating.

What inspired you to start your weight loss journey?
I started my weight-loss journey eleven years ago when I was a senior in college. My highest weight was 267lbs. I used my refund check from school to invest in a personal trainer to help me understand weight loss, and how to jump start it. Over the last ten years, I had been up-and-down on the scale, in inches, and with my eating/workout habits. However, I always remembered how good I felt when I ate better and worked out. That feeling always led me back to the healthy side, when I fell off. I have learned to love that feeling.

How did you change your eating habits?
I cut out fast food, soda, and coffee over ten years ago. Three years ago, I became a vegetarian. Since I’d been a vegetarian for three years, I had already cut out meat and ate mostly veggies. However, I placed myself on such a strict diet that it was impossible for me to maintain long-term. I like food, and just eating vegetables for the rest of my life was hard for me to swallow, even as a vegetarian. When I started on the program with Fitness On Fire, they requested that I start counting calories (which I hated to do in the past), but, was a huge help for me.

In Sept 2018, I decided to stop eating out while I was at the beginning of the Fitness on Fire program. I started to count my calories at the direction of the program. I also decided not to beat myself up about food and gave myself some wiggle room. However, wiggle room does not mean cheating, lol. Calorie counting helped me a lot because on many days I wasn’t eating enough food, which I realized was another bad habit that I faced at times. I was eating too little due to a busy schedule.

What did your workout consist of?
I have done a lot of different workout programs over the years, but, since the restart of my weight-loss journey with Fitness On Fire last September I have only focused on resistance training, working out about 5-6 times a week, I also strength training 3 times a week in a group fitness class.

How long did your transformation take?
I am currently still transforming. However, I started my program with Fitness on Fire on Sept. 28, 2018, and my results are up until Jan 1, 2019. I am not even at the halfway mark in their program, and I am already seeing significant progress and results.

The Fitness On Fire program worked for me because it is something that I can keep up with for the rest of my life, and it was very affordable. Some of the other programs that I have tried were so time-consuming that I could not have a life outside of the gym, or so expensive that I could not have a life outside of the gym. FOF is a program that you can easily incorporate into your life and is not going to wear you out physically or financially.

What advice do you have for others who want to lose weight?
Take your time, and do not give up on yourself. The weight loss journey is just that, a JOURNEY. I have never heard anyone call it a weight loss race. Do not pressure yourself to meet unhealthy standards or timelines. Also, focus on your journey, and tune everything else out.

Trainer: @Fitness_on_Fire