College was one of the best times of my life, only coming in second to this point in my life where I love being a mom, having my husband, and am really enjoying being a business owner and helping change peoples lives everyday. And part of how I do that is sharing my story with you. So back to my college story! While it was one of the best times of my life, I look back now to how I treated my body during that time. First, the school meal plan was definitely not a good idea, plus add in fast food between classes, partying, and eating at all hours of the night was definitely not kind on my health or my figure. Not to mention the very little sleep I was running on each day. Needless to say, By the time I graduated I looked like high school Monica from friends. And I felt even worse.

While I was able to shed a few pounds just by going back to a normal existence and my moms cooking when I moved back home, I just couldn’t seem to shed the Freshman 15 (or 300 it seemed like in my case). All throughout my adult life, the weight just seemed to stick to me like glue. Then I got pregnant with Joey and piled on another 40. Now of course I can’t blame this one on partying or fast food, but I can say that I ate everything not nailed down. Which was fun to do while your pregnant because you’re like, “What the hell, people see I’m fat because I’m pregnant,” and that’s the perfect excuse. Until the baby was born and I went out one day without him and someone asked me when I was due. That was not so fun.

However, I couldn’t figure out where I was going wrong. Since I was breastfeeding I was eating healthier than I ever had in my life, yet, I couldn’t loose weight. Then I started Beachbody, and it really put things into perspective for me. I learned not only how to eat right, but I learned WHAT to eat. It turned out that even though I was eating healthy, my portions we still way too big, I was eating too many servings from certain foods groups, and not everything that I thought was healthy, was really that healthy. But it wasn’t until I started keeping a food diary that I realized where I was going wrong.

Having a specific plan laid out for me and tracking EVERYTHING I was eating AND drinking, not only showed me why I wasn’t loosing weight before, but it also made me second guess everything I put into my mouth.

A food diary isn’t just helpful for someone starting a new diet. It’s also great for anyone who wants to really understand where their calories are coming from. I get messages all the time from women who say they follow a healthy diet but just aren’t seeing any results. The first thing I have then do is write down EVERY SINGLE THING they put into their mouth- food, drinks, candy, gum, ANYTHING. Then I analyze it for them at the end of the week. This is when I find all the “hidden” calories they are consuming daily. I had one girl who didn’t realize how many extra calories the one soda she was drinking both at lunch and at dinner was adding to her diet. Not to mention all the extra sugar. Another girl didn’t realize just how many times she was sticking her hand in the candy bowl at work. So if you are having trouble loosing weight and you aren’t sure why, a food diary is a great way t figure it out. And don’t forget, you could also be eating too little. Or maybe you will find that you are doing nothing wrong and then maybe it’s time to talk to your doctor.

If you need help with keeping a food diary and/or want me to analyze it for you (free of course!), fill out this form and I’ll be in touch!