Clarissa lost 39 pounds

Transformation of the Day: Clarissa lost 39 pounds. She didn’t want to simply release the weight. She wanted to make a long term commitment to a new, healthy lifestyle. Despite the demands of school, work, and motherhood, she found the time to work out, eat right, and figure out what works for her. Check out her journey.

I want to begin by saying weight loss wasn’t my only goal. I wanted a lifestyle change. I wanted healthy habits that I could utilize every day, not just to lose weight.

I began my journey in January 2019 by first seeking to understand why it was important for me to become more healthy. I had been at my heaviest weight, but those were some of my happiest times. However, I didn’t feel happy inside. I also realized how much weight I had gained since I started college full time. I didn’t want to leave college before I changed my bad eating habits or without utilizing the free health clubs at my school.

So, before I graduated, I made it a goal to change my lifestyle by eating better, being more active, and changing how I think. Although losing weight is more of a physical act, it’s so important to change your thought life in the process. I started by focusing on discipline. I made sure I meal prepped for two weeks to assure that I was eating what I needed to eat. I chose this route because of my schedule and influence of food all around me, lol.

Once I was able to be disciplined with my eating habits and let my body adjust to those changes, I started working out for three days a week. I have a busy lifestyle filled with school, work, motherhood, and extracurricular activities, so that’s how many times I could work out each week. (More days were added as my scheduled freed up or with extra help). On non-workout days, I walked to school and took short walks with my son to make being active fun.

My starting weight was 194 pounds, and I now weigh 155 pounds. My height is 5’3″. I still have a long way to go, but I’ve found this journey to be so fun and fulfilling.

As mentioned before, I changed how I approached the role of food in my life. Some things that helped me were changing my coffee brand and creamer, monitoring the sweets I ate, trying new, healthy foods, and figuring out what my body enjoys. I also incorporated intermediate fasting into my routine and ate good carbs.

Your body won’t like everything, and that’s ok. I found what works for me, and now I want to encourage others to do the same. Everyone’s journey is different, and discovering how your journey will take shape is what’s important during this transition.

Advice: Drink water daily and eat breakfast and work out according to your lifestyle. Most importantly, never give up. Train your body and mind with patience and pat yourself on the back. Being a woman isn’t easy itself, but just know that you got this.

Instagram: @rissa_2013