Ideal You: 40 Days of Losing to Gain Something Better

One day I woke up and said enough is enough. None of my clothes fit. I feel tired and gross. I’ve tried all the normal things for weight loss for going on three years. What else is out there? I need a new bag of tricks. What I found is Ideal You Health Center. I want to share my 40 day journey to whole new perspective on food, health, and how I feel about me.

My Compelling Reason

Before I started on this journey I did a lot of soul searching. Life is about more than a number on the scale and a single digit pants size. As a serial yo-yo dieter, who loves quick fix fads, I noticed something around the age of 39 – everything about my body is different! The foods that make me feel good, the foods that make me feel bad, the amount I need to eat, the results I get from following a program – none of them made any sense to me anymore. After three years of doing what used to work for weight loss and increased energy, I decided it was time to try something new and see if I could actually feel good. Because the better I feel the better I can show up for myself and all the people I love.

A Radio Advertisement Started It All

My super sweet husband hates to see me struggle. He encourages me to buy new clothes so I feel comfortable, join the gym to try new workouts, go running because it makes you feel good, etc, etc, etc.  When I do all those things and I still feel sluggish and crabby, it makes him unhappy too. We were in the car one day and an advertisement for Ideal You Health Center came on the radio. He looks over and says, “Why don’t you go talk to them?” My response, “Ummmm…. You know that is going to be expensive right?” Ever the practical one over here. We talked it over and I made an appointment to find out more information.

It’s All About What You Eat

I walked into my consultation very skeptical. Was this place just another fad diet wearing “this is super healthy” clothing? Am I going to have to sell my first-born child to afford it? What about life after 40 days? What I found as I listened is the program is all about cleaning up your diet, so you can recharge your metabolism. Simple fact, your body will burn sugar first. If everything you eat turns into sugar, you have no chance of burning it all and it is stored as fat instead. It my own simplistic terms, the program is about clean eating using an elimination diet formula. No shakes or pre-packaged food, for 40 days you are eating two meals a day of 100% real food -think farm to table or shopping the outside aisles of the grocery store. The program also involves supplements and drinking a TON of water.

Big Decisions Are Hard

Big decisions are difficult for me. I am a huge overthinker and I also do not really like to spend money on myself. One thing I really appreciate about Ideal You Health Center, they were not pushy or salesy at all! It was not a sign now or the price changes forever situation. I went home and thought things over for a few days. We looked at the budget. Weighed all the Pros and Cons. Finally, I decided to do it. I will admit, I was still cautiously optimistic that this program was going to work as planned. I was coming off three years of disappointing failures after all.

40 Days of Dedication

My personality is often that of an obsessive rule follower, perfectionist. Now this portion of my personality only shows itself with guidelines set by other people, I’ll break my own rules/plans any day of the week and twice on Sunday. For 40 days I followed the program exactly as written. No cheating! I love to cook and the program gave me the opportunity to get creative in the kitchen. Creativity was important because 1) I like food to taste good and 2) I didn’t want to be hungry all the time. I was able to accomplish these two goals. I’m writing an easy-to-follow cookbook for people launching on the Ideal You Health Center journey (or anyone who wants some easy, low-calorie, delicious meals). I hope to publish it right here on the blog in 1-2 weeks.

My Final Results

For people who love numbers, I lost 20 pounds in 40 days. For those who want bigger reasons than numbers, I have more energy and overall had a confidence boost from successfully following the program. I am now moving through the reintroduction stage of the program – called Lock In – so I can figure out if there are any eliminated foods that really do not agree with my system. I am also reintroducing exercise into my life, which I enjoy when I make the time to do it. Overall, I am encouraged and happy with my results so far.

Now What?

After my 21 days of reintroducing foods, it is time to live real life using all the things I’ve learned. Ideal You Health Center continues to support people for a full 12 months. I will be checking in with my nutritional counselors and letting them know how things are going. If things go sideways, they will be there to pump me up and figure out a plan to get back on track. I lost weight the last 40 days, but gained insight and understanding into how this body of mine works. My new understanding doesn’t go away. It will be with me from now into the rest of my days. This is not the end, it is only the beginning.

 

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