Michele lost 60 pounds

Update May 2016 – Michele lost 15 more pounds.

“Since my feature, I’ve lost more weight for a total of 60 pounds gone in 10 months. I still have the same workout regiment. 6 days a week I do lots of cardio and lifting. I attribute most of my success to eating real food and as little processed food as possible. I think the reason I’m still losing weight is because I never gave up. I never quit on myself and I never stopped putting myself first. I don’t make excuses and I work very hard.

I have one cheat meal a week and I eat a lot of protein (eggs and chicken). I also drink 6-7 bottles of water a day and I eat raw veggies to maximize my nutrient intake. Bottomline, I love myself. so I take care of myself. If someone is looking for some encouragement or accountability, inbox me. We got this!”

March 2016 – Real Food Transformation: Michele lost 45 pounds. This mom was inspired by watching several great food documentaries that changed her mind about eating highly processed foods. She is dedicated to eating real, whole foods and working out regularly. Here is what she shared with us about her journey.

My name is Michele. I’ve lost 42 pounds so far and I’m NOT DONE! I stumbled across documentaries like FedUp, Hungry for Change, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead (1 and 2) and Food Matters. Those movies have changed my life. I now drink only water and I hit the gym 6 days a week. I have 5 beautiful kids and I plan on being around for a long time for all of them.

My motivation was myself. When I woke up one day and wasn’t happy with myself, that’s I knew I had to do something different. If you want something you’ve never had (health), you’ve got to do something you’ve never done (i.e. drink water, exercise, etc.)

Once I saw those documentaries, I realized I needed to eat REAL FOOD. I’m talking about food that God put on this earth for us to eat. So, if it’s made in a lab, I don’t eat it (or try not to). If it comes in a bag, can or has a commercial, I don’t eat it. I also learned about superfoods, like spiriulina, chia seeds, flaxseeds, kale, goji berries etc.

I started off by hitting the gym 6 days a week. I found great exercise classes I love. I schedule my workouts every week and I show up. I put in the work, I swear and I cry, but I get it done.

My starting weight was 207 pounds and my current is 162 pounds. My transformation isn’t over, but I have lost 45 pounds in 7 months (since Aug 2015). I’m nowhere near done with my journey. My height is 5’1″.

I highly encourage anyone wanting to love themselves more to start with the documentaries that I mentioned above. They completely changed my life by showing me exactly what real food is. I eat REAL FOOD! Believe in yourself, encourage yourself and don’t cheat yourself. You got this!

Follow my daily journey on Instagram: @_leigh_michele

(You can watch many of the documentaries that Michele mentioned on Neflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. You can watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead on Vimeo for free.)