For most of my life I was very skinny, which was probably because I was a gymnast. I was lucky. After quitting the sport, I ate and drank whatever I felt like. I spent nearly everyday of my first two years of college eating lunch at places like McDonalds, Taco Bell and Wendy’s. I hardly exercised, yet I didn\u2019t gain weight. This luck naturally didn\u2019t last forever though. I started my fifth year of college, in 2007, weighing around 100 pounds. When I graduated, in 2011, I was up to almost 135. I decided to start working out as the weight was packing on. I thought I knew what to do and how to do it. After all, I had been taught this as a gymnast. I managed to lose some weight but hit a plateau. I kept increasing my training but nothing. I typically did an hour on the elliptical and a 5k, 5 or 6 times a week on top of strength training. It didn\u2019t take long to get frustrated and burn out, which led to gaining everything back.<\/p>\n

Near the end of 2011, I began having health issues. I was diagnosed with dermographism. I also experienced random pains, headaches and lymph node swelling but no one could find a root cause for most of these issues. Finally one of my doctors ran a blood test that revealed I had a very high IgE value, which causes a lot of inflammation in my body. My doctor experimented with various antihistamines but they all caused me to gain more weight. I even tried taking myself off of them\u2026bad idea! It was recommended that I try a paleo diet. I saw some results but after a month it felt too restricting to be a long-term solution.<\/p>\n

In 2013, my weight began to edge closer to 150 pounds so I joined Lifetime and decided to try the 90 Day Challenge. My boyfriend and I had planned to spend the holidays in Tahiti so I thought that would be excellent motivation for the challenge. I began at 148.5 pounds and I got down to 141.8 when I hit a plateau and eventually went backwards again. I never made it to the final weigh out because I got frustrated and quit. I actually went to Tahiti weighing about 152 pounds.<\/p>\n

I had stopped weighing myself for almost a year so I had no idea how much I gained. After seeing the picture of myself on my Ford badge, I realised I had to do something, I was at 165.1 pounds. So I decided to do the 90 Day Challenge again but this time for myself. The day I registered, I decided to get a personal trainer. I learned about the food sensitivity test and out of curiosity I signed up for it. It explained why the\u00a0Paleo\u00a0Diet caused some weight loss and why I struggled to lose weight the other times. I was highly sensitive to 35 of the 96 items on the list. I returned back to the\u00a0Paleo\u00a0Diet and eliminated all of these foods. I also decided to do the metabolic coaching because there were so many days where I did hours of cardio but never saw the results.<\/p>\n

By knowing the foods that I\u2019m sensitive to and the proper way to workout, I was able to drop about 40 pounds in 4 months. I was also successful at wining the 90 Day Challenge at my club. As for my skin, I have noticed that it isn\u2019t as sensitive as before. Unless I eat something I shouldn\u2019t, it hardly breaks out in a rash. The headaches are gone. One other plus, I am now also capable of running a 5k in under 30 minutes. I feel way more healthier and confident than I’ve felt in a long time. My success motivates me help others who have also struggled for a long time and teach them how to achieve these goals. It wasn’t always easy for me but with the right knowledge, anyone can do it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  For most of my life I was very skinny, which was probably because I was a gymnast. I was lucky. After quitting the sport, I ate and drank whatever I felt like. I spent nearly everyday of my first two years of college eating lunch at places like McDonalds, Taco Bell and Wendy’s. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"url":"","client":"","location":"","start_date":"","end_date":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"\n