Positive changes (backstory and a bit of a review of Fit girls guide which I am a fan of now)

Well this may come off as an advertisement of sorts and it isn't meant to be ....yet it kinda is LOL. I will start with some background. Growing up I was always thin as a rail. Under weight. Often accused of being anorexic or teased by people who thought I didn't eat. I know usually when you think of people being made fun of it is due to being overweight. Trust me if you are underweight you get it too. When I was 18 or so and became pregnant with my first daughter I weighed prolly about 98lbs soaking wet. There was of course a big push from drs to gain weight. She was a preemie and weighed 6 lbs 7 oz at birth. Later when I had my 2nd daughter I put on a lot of weight with her and I felt overweight even though I weighed prolly a decent weight after. Not far from my ideal weight actually. I was in an abusive relationship though and was constantly put down for this or that.Made to feel less than all the time. (I'd been belittled by others my whole life so this wasn't anything new but it made me constantly doubting myself) So I beat myself up over it.  I went through 6 pregnancies total.  (not many people know about the first which was a miscarriage then my fifth I lost to trisomy 18) anyway so my body just by those terms has been through a lot. I also have autoimmune issues and an undiagnosed digestive issue that kept me sick a lot as a kid.  Drs didn't know why. They would just say gastrointeritis and send me on my way. (It seems to be gluten/wheat related which wasn't often tested for back then) I've also been through starvation.  I will pass on the details but will say it was not by choice and yes I nearly died. I was there to the point my body was nothing but bruises because I was bleeding out I hadn't eaten in 3 weeks straight. (I mean literally NOTHING other than maybe a slice of bread my friend brought me over that entire time)  and had dropped a lot of weight and was very ill. It was a very dark time for me. I can honestly say I know what true starvation feels like and I would wish it on no one. Anyway so looking at my history I haven't had an easy time with it all. I have spent a lot of time staying in survival mode. I am at this time at a weight that I am very uncomfortable with. It is way above my ideal weight. I am not at a healthy weight at all. I am also short statured which makes it even worse. It is taking a toll on me physically and mentally. I have wanted so bad to lose it down to a healthy weight. I feel like the body I have now does not represent at all the person I am inside. I have tried exercise in the past and my health would always get worse stopping me from doing what I needed to do. Calorie counting helped some but only to a degree. I was doing it alone for the most part. No one else in my family was wanting to take part in it as much. I think for them they don't like change and anything too extreme was off limits. I went off wheat for awhile and felt better but then felt I was making it harder on the rest of the family and while it may sound silly that bothers me. So I stopped and got sick again. (I had been teased some and I had people saying it would be fine if I ate just a little or that maybe it was something else making me sick.) I finally sucked it up and went off again. I am again feeling better. It messes my stomach up so horribly bad. I am also somewhat allergic not a bad allergy but enough to compound it. I feel better off it and I can no longer deny it as I have found through trial and error that it truly does make me sick. It isn't like I said hey this harder to follow diet looks fun lets do that. I changed a lil more eating a lil less processed food and fixing my lunches separate. I was desperate. I needed SOMETHING. Some kind of help to put me on the right track. I hate feeling the way I do. I asked the dr about a dietitian. She tried but it would require going to the city all the time. We don't have the gas or time to do it. I knew I needed something more than just the most basic modifications. I started seeing advertisements for fitgirl. Sounded at the time like just another gimmick or diet fad. I'd seen so many of those. The wraps, the drinks, I won't do pills. I wanted something real. Not a diet not just exercise. I finally decided to check it out further. What I found surprised me. It was not a diet at all. It was a lifestyle change. It was a community (mostly instagram but they are also on facebook and such) So you don't have to feel like you are alone. They don't promise anything crazy like most do. You can see from the before and after photos that girls post that the results in the beginning are not dramatic but they look happier, some weight loss is noticable, etc. As they progress over time as most have decided to stick with it the weight loss and toning become more noticable but it isn't at some unrealistic pace and they even tell you up front that they won't repost pics if it looks like you've done something crazy and unhealthy to get there. They have a series of books that to me would have appeared a bit costly but now after being a part of this (I'm only about 2 weeks and about to start week 3) they are more than worth it. I read mine daily and I want the one I don't have yet. They are beyond worth it. I did get mine cheaper than what they have on the site (there was a sale etc) The diet isn't a diet at all. It is more like guiding you on balancing everything.  They have recipes which count the calories for you 3 meals with a snack and a piece of dark chocolate by the end of the day. (sometimes you can add a dessert) The meals don't leave you feeling starving. I was surprised at the amount you get per meal. The trick is balancing the grains, protein, and veggies which sounds like something simple or basic but they give you a true feel for it and they have modifications for people who are gluten free like me and vegetarians etc. The meals are also adapatable and easily altered if you don't like something. Another trick up their sleeve is preparing meals ahead of time. For a lot of people if you are just hungry if it isn't something quick fix or something you are more likely to mess up and grab something else that isn't as healthy. They way they do it is either quick fix or pre- prepared so it is easy to just grab and go. (especially for lunches and breakfasts) They introduce you to eating without adding salt (you can have a dash here or there) and sugar. You basically wind up resetting your tastebuds to not need it. You don't eat processed foods. The hardest thing for me is cutting out pop but you are allowed coffee and unsweet tea which helps. With in the first week I lost weight and I've been getting compliments. I am doing it right now with out the added exercise. That part is adaptable too. If you don't work out etc to start with you start by walking more etc. Building up to it. You can redo the 28 day jumpstart as much as needed and then you move on to the middle book. The middle book is like the next level up and has several levels in it as well and there is also a cook book. As  you learn your portions etc you can branch out to trying new things. Also for me I was leery at first of the recipes as they were so different for me but I was very pleasantly surprised. I think a lot of other girls were too. They are amazing and my son has become interested in trying some too. The community on instagram has daily photo challenges. This keeps it fun and interesting. I have been posting pics of the new recipes and they will make you wanna be more creative in the kitchen. I've started really enjoying that part of it too. There are so many aspects to it that I just can't cover all of it here but it is as they say a lifestyle change. I do cook separately from my family right now but I think I can integrate it later. I've definitely learned new tips and tricks all ready. I am still excited about it even 2 weeks in. I look forward to making it all the way through and then starting again with exercises added. That or start my belly dancing which I am thinking of doing sooner than that anyway. Every Thurs they have a 5k (3.1 mile) walk which there is a theme for. I hope to start partaking in that. It may not be on Thursdays but I would like to get to where I do that regularly. Recently I got my 10,000 steps badge (about 5 miles or a lil more I think it said) I can easily see this as something I want to stay with and continue. It has been a positive lifestyle change thus far and what I was looking so hard for. I know some of this sounds like basic common sense changes and they are but it helps when you have such a crazy life to have some help with the layout and not to feel like you are by yourself when you are doing it. <3 community.="" fitgirl="" font="" nbsp="" the="" to="">