I’m going to get really vulnerable on here. I almost never disclose personal things to my patients, but I feel I owe it to you to share my experience. Over the past 2 years, I have lost 30 pounds.

I had a baby a few years ago and experienced a slew of health issues. Pregnancy complications that included severe nausea, bursitis, hip joint dysfunction that left me almost completely immobile, a long arduous labor that resulted in a C section, chronic hip impingement, and post-partum depression.

I was fortunate enough to be able to breastfeed, but was ravenously hungry and subsequently gained 30 pounds from all the inactivity and my newly fueled hunger. At this point, I was pretty sure I was going to snap the head off the next person that told me how breastfeeding “was designed to help a women lose weight.” *eye roll*

I felt awful. I felt like a fraud. How could I be a dietitian and need to lose weight? How had I let myself get in this situation. I felt betrayed and trapped by my own body. My body that had once been fit and active, was now painful and exhausted. By the way… this is absolutely diet culture talking. There was nothing wrong with my weight gain. Humans are biological beings that are supposed to change weight over the course of their life and through major changes to our bodies. I’d had a BABY and several chronic birth injuries that I will likely never fully recover from.. I’d created life inside me and courageously went through surgery so she could be born healthy. Yet somehow this societal expectation of how I should look and act had me in a vice grip.

There is a lot of pressure as a nutrition expert and a woman to look a certain way. Honestly, it can feel like a crushing weight. How was I to do all these things? Be a mother, work full time, take care of a house, take care of my nutrition, exercise regularly, visit friends, visit family, have hobbies, relax… it is too. much. 

In the midst of this health and existential crisis, came my biggest life change. Becoming a mother. This life change that had decimated my health, would ironically also cement the philosophy of how I approach my health.

Don’t sacrifice 95% of your life to weight 5% less.

Embodying this philosophy meant that I needed to make small, sustainable changes that didn’t disrupt my new life with my child, but continually helped me move towards a healthier version of myself. I knew my body very well, and the extra weight on my frame was making me feel sluggish and hurting my feet. I also knew that no one was going to stand over my death bed weeping and praising how I prioritized losing weight over everything else in my life. Our lives are an expression of so much more than the shape and size of our bodies.

So here I arrived… my life long quest for equanimity. The deeply rooted belief that the secret to life lives in the balance in all things. How could I increase my health while not sacrificing precious moments and joy?

The key is understanding the intricacies of metabolism and how to subtly manipulate your body while being patient. Let me say that again… being patient.  This is not something that happens overnight. Remember the first paragraph of this story? “Over the past two years I have lost 30 pounds.”  That is what is realistic for most people. It took me two whole years to lose that weight. But because I took my time, I know that my body has fully adjusted back into metabolic equilibrium because I didn’t rush the process.

Here are the actionable steps that I took to lose my extra weight that you can put into practice too.

1. Regulate my nervous system
   1. Deep yin yoga, meditation, breathwork
2. Focus on strength training
   1. 2-3x/week working every muscle group
3. Intuitive eating
   1. Stopping when I was full. Often throwing away food on my plate at the end of the meal. Indulging in single serving treats when I had a craving, or making treats from scratch.
4. Eat only at meals and designated snack times
   1. Feeling a bit hungry between meals is not a crisis. I often enjoyed warm tea between meals.
5. Reduce screen time
   1. Dopamine overload was making me feel crazy and out of touch with myself. I am still actively working on this!
6. Starting a depression medication
   1. Pro tip: It’s a lot easier to stick to a healthy plan when you aren’t crying every day. If you have depression and need help, there is absolutely no shame in it.

And there we go! I hope this was helpful and you perhaps felt a connection with me, a fellow human being who is also navigating the ups and downs of life on this planet.

I’m here to support you. Comment or email me!

Xoxo,

Bonnie