1) The document provides advice and details from Collin about making lifestyle changes to lose weight since August, including developing healthier dietary and exercise habits. 2) Some key changes Collin made were doing a 3-day juice cleanse, eating 3 meals a day with healthier options like oatmeal or salad for breakfast and lunch, drinking more water, limiting snacks and allowing one cheat meal per week. 3) Collin also started running, beginning with 1 mile and gradually increasing distance and improving times, and found exercise and accomplishing fitness goals very rewarding.

1. Hi there!Iwant to start off bysayinghow much I appreciate youreachingoutto me for some
advice andto hear a little bitaboutthe changesI’ve made tomy lifestyle since August.Ihope youfindat
leastone thinginhere that will workforyouand helpyouachieve yourowngoals.Inspiringand
motivatingpeople withmystoryissomethingIreallywanttodo,so if any of thishelpsplease letme
knowso I can pass iton to others!
The firstthingthat I wouldsayis importanttounderstandisthat there isnoquickfix that is
goingto leadto longlastingresults.If youwanttodo somethingtokick-startthe processandget
yourself goingwithhealthyhabits,that’sagreatidea! Justbe sure you have a planfor AFTER thatinitial
boost.Whetherit’sa programlike the 21-day fix,aspecificdiet,orsomethingsimilartowhatI did(a 3-
day juice cleanse fromSujaJuice Company)–you probablywill seeresultsfromitif youfollow it,and
they’ll disappearif youdon’thave aplanin place forwhat you’re goingtodo whenthatprogram is
done. Developinghealthierhabitsiswhatwe’re afterandwhatwill helpyousucceedinthe longrun!
The secondthingI wishsomebodyhadtoldme wasthat whatworks forone personisnot going
to alwaysworkfor everybodyelse.Noteverythinghere willworkforyou,andprobablynoteverything
will be somethingyou’re eveninterestedin –that’sokay!
I knewwhenIstartedthat I neededtomake changesthatwere goingto be permanent,soI’ve
neveronce referredtowhatI’mdoingas a diet.I use the term“lifestylechange”.Ithinkit’samore
positive wayof describingthe process,plusitremindsme thatthisisn’tsomethingIcanjust stopdoing
if I want the workI’ve putin to continue topayoff.I know I have to stickwiththese thingsforgood!So
whenI use the wordsdietor dietary,I’mreferringtothe actual foodI consumed,nota dietplan.
I feltlike mybiggestissuewhenIstarted wasmydietaryhabits.WhatI was eating,how much,
and when.Sothat’swhat I wentaboutchangingfirst.Ihad triedeasingmywayintoweightlossmore
timesthanI care to count andwhile I’dhave some successusually,itwouldalwaysendupwithme
puttingonmore thanI had lost.I knewthatwasn’tthe approach that wouldworkforme. As I
mentioned,Idida 3-day juice cleanse withthe intentionof just“resetting”mybody.Iwantedto clear
out as muchof the junkfrommy bodyas I could – and itdefinitelyworked.Ididthaton a Wednesday-
Thursday-Fridaywhichallowedme toreallygeta solid5 daystart because I wasn’tgoingtogo out that
weekendandeatabunch of junkfoodto ruinthe progressIhad made.I usedthat time tocome up with
whatI thoughtwas a commonsense eatingplantofollow goingforward.Thatplanlookedsomething
like this:
 Eat breakfast,lunch,anddinnereveryday
o EatingbreakfastwassomethingIhadn’tdone probablysince mymomstopped
pouringme cereal before school inelementaryormiddle school
 Breakfastfoods:1 packetof oatmeal (IusuallygowithWegman’sorQuakerOats brand
weightcontrol,butreallyanyoatmeal wouldwork) OR1 bagel thinwithnatural peanut
butterOR 2 slicesof whole graintoast.
 Lunch foods:saladwithlow-fat/non-fatdressing(dressingonthe side helpscontrol
portionsize because alotof themare highin sugar – my saladswere usually

2. spinach/kale/arugula,fetacheese,eithergrilledandshreddedchickenorturkeybreast,
and unsaltedwalnutsorpecans) ORsoup,fruitOR veggies ORgreekyogurt
 Dinnerfoods:Some kindof protein –grilledchickenorfish,roastedveggies,rice OR
anotherstarch like sweetpotatoorquinoa.
 Afterdinner,nosnacks.Period.
o I was a terrible nighteater.Iwouldeatoutof boredom, emotion, orjust
because otherpeople wereeating –NOTbecause I washungry.
 Drink4-5 bottlesof waterperday.
 1 cup of coffee perday – withnocream or sugar. If I neededitsweetened,I’duse
honey.
 Foodsthat were off limits: ALLFASTFOOD!!, ANYTHINGFRIED,pizza,hamburgers,steak,
hot dogs,chips,cookies,otherbakedgoods,candy,soda,Gatorade,breadthatwasn’t
whole-grain,condimentsthatare highinsugar like ketchuporBBQsauce,processed
foodsor foodsthatdidn’t have to be prepared(microwave meals),mostfruitjuices
(these usuallyare veryhighinsugar – eventhe “no sugaradded”kinds!),alcohol
A couple of thingsIlearnedfromor experience withthosechanges:
 Askyourself:WhydoI want todo this?What am I tryingto achieve?Whatam I willing
to give upto make that happen?Whoam I doingit for?Write those thingsdown.Keep
themhandyand whenyoufeel weak,lookatthemtorememberWHYyou startedand
WHERE you’re going!
o I foundthat mysuccesscoincidedwithme deciding,forthe firsttime, that
weightlosswasimportanttoME. It wasn’ttoplease someone else.Itwasn’t
because somebodychallengedme tosee whocouldlose 20 lbsfirst.Itwasn’t
somethingbornoutof feelingrejectedorinadequate.I justtooka goodlong
lookinthe mirror and said“I want todo thisbecause I’munhappywithMY
choicesandMY life andI am the onlyone whocan change it!”
 Setsmall,realisticgoalsatfirst.Nothingisworse than“failing”toachieve agoal or meet
a deadline.Itcreatessucha negative mindsetaroundyourplanandcan derail you.My
original goal wasto lose 60 lbs ina year whichsoundedlike alottome.So I broke it
downto 5 lbsat a time thinkingthatif aimedfor5 lbspermonththat wouldcertainlybe
more doable andI wouldgetto celebrate asuccess 12 timesinsteadof waitingall year
longand alwaysfeelinglikemygoal waswayoff in the distance.
o CELEBRATE your success!Share itwiththe people youtrust.Embrace it.Post it
on Facebook ortwitteror paintit onyour house!If people thinkit’s“annoying”
or you’re bragging,theycanchoose to justnot pay attention.Butwhenyou
accomplishsomething,youhave EVERYRIGHT to feel proudof that!
 Successinchangingyour lifestyle isnotlinear.There willbe timeswhenweightfallsoff
almostdaily,andtimeswhenyougoa weekandfeel like there’snoprogress.That’s
okay!It’s natural.Try mixingupyourdietoryour workoutstogive yoursystema shock.

3.  I had to learnwhatit’slike to be hungryagain. I honestlycouldn’trememberthe last
time before AugustthatIfelthungerbecause myeatinghabitswere thatpoor.It’sokay
to be hungry!
 Everythingyoueatand drinkisfuel foryourbody.It’sup to youhow you’re goingtofuel
it – withcheap,quick thingsthatburn up quicklyorwithqualitythingsthatallow your
bodyto workmore efficientlyandeffectively.
 I didn’t,anddon’t,count caloriesorpointsor anythinglike that.Itwoulddrive me crazy.
But I DO pay attentiontoservingsizes,caloriesperserving(justtomake myself aware
of whetherornotwhat I’mchoosingisactuallya healthychoice),sugarperserving
(same reason), andingredients(feweringredients=lessprocessed/morenatural =
healthierfood!)
 I endedupprettymuchcuttingout pasta and mostbread.It wasn’tintentional
necessarilywhenIstarted,butthe more I thoughtabout those thingsthe more Itriedto
avoidthem.
 I allowedmyself one cheatmeal perweek.UsuallyitwasonSaturdaynight.I didn’tdoa
whole cheatdaybut usuallydinnerona SaturdayI letmyself eatwhateverIwantedfor
an entrée,butIstill stuckto my rulesaboutdessertsandsugarydrinks.Thatwas the
onlytime Iconsumedanyalcohol either.
 What youdrinkmatters!It’sso easyto drinkcaloriesandnot thinkaboutit.But they
can add up quickly.Andcuttingthemoutleavesyouroomformore food!
 If and whenyoueat out,check the menuforhealthieroptions.A lotof placesnowhave
nutritional informationrightonthe menuor a specificsectionof the menuforlighter
meals.Youcan also call aheadand askif a restaurantoffersthose typesof options.
o Eat This NotThat is a GREAT reference.It’sabookthat helpsyoufindsensible
alternativesatalot of restaurants.Theyactuallyhave a whole seriesof books
includingcookbooks.IHIGHLY recommendusingtheirproductsif you’re
lookingforthatkindof nutritional support.
 The bestway I foundto avoidnighteatingwasprettysimple –GO TO BED! At firstI had
to convince myself thatitwasokayto go to bedat 9:30 or 10:00. But goingto bed
stoppedme fromjustmindlesslyeatingwhileIwatchedTV thatI didn’treallycare about
and wastedtime.Italsoleftme betterrestedforthe nextdayandgave me a hungry
feelinginthe morningsoIwantedtoeat breakfast!
 I got on the scale EVERY day.I know a lotof plansdon’tsuggestthatbecause itcan lead
to beinga “slave of the scale.”AndI understandthatphilosophytotally.Butforme,
seeingthatnumbereverydayhasheldme accountable tomyself.Iknow I’mweighing
intomorrow,and whatI do/don’teattodayor how far I do/don’trunisgoingto be
reflected.
 People are goingtosay thingslike “ohit’sjustone piece”or“you can indulge alittle
bit”.That’s probablytrue,andtotallyapersonal decision.Forme though,Ihadsuch a
hard time saying“no”to foodfor mostof my life thatitfeelsgoodtobe able to politely
decline dessertora secondhelping.It’snotthatwhatthey’re offeringisn’tappetizingor

4. that I wouldbe throwncompletelyoff trackwithone snack.It’sjust that I want to
continue tobuildthatwill poweranddiscipline.
o One of myfavorite quoteshasbecome “Youcan have twokindsof pain inyour
journey:the painof discipline orthe painof regret.”
 Havinga great supportsystemisreallyimportant!Youneedpeople whotrulywantto
see yousucceed,whoare willingtokeepmotivatingyouandnotafraidto challenge you
whenyouslip,andpeople whodon’thave analternative motive orsomethingtogain
fromyour journey.
o There will be people who“support”you toyourface and thensay thingslike
“oh they’re adifferentperson”or“theythinkthey’re toogoodnow”.I had to
reallyreconsiderwhetherthose people trulywantedme tosucceed,and
whetherornot theyneededtobe a part of my journey.
 Whensomethingisworking–keepdoingit!Rememberthatthese new habitshelped
yousucceedto thispoint.If youstop,your resultsmightstoptoo!
I followedthateatingplanfor4 months – fromAugust2nd until Thanksgiving.Iwasreally
committedtoitand there were timesitwasa nightmare – but itwas absolutelyworthit.There were
daysI just wantedtobinge,daysI justfeltlike havingice creamorcake or juice.Makingitthroughthose
dayswas so fulfillingandsoencouragingbecause itgave me the confidence thatIcouldactuallydoit!
One of the thingsI wasstrugglingwithwhenIstartedmyjourneywasan overwhelming
negative feelinginlife.Everydayseemedtostarton the wrong side of the bedand I knew itwas
somethingthatwasimpactingmylife andthe people aroundme.SomethingItrieddoingtochange that
was makingita priorityto have a positive thoughtbefore Ievengotoutof bed.So I startedpostinga
positive/motivating/inspirational quote tomyInstagramaccounteverydaybefore Ievengotout of bed.
It soundedsillytome atfirst,butit reallyhelpedme change mymentalitybecauseIwasforcingmyself
to have a positive startandto be in a much more enjoyable mindsetrightfromthe time Iwoke up.
I startedmy runningabout3 weeksafterIchangedmy diet.Itwas almostas a joke at first,butI
knewdeepdownIneededtogetintobetterexercisehabitsaswell.Istartedoutrunningjustone mile –
somethingIhadn’tdone inclose to10 years.That firstday it tookme 10:59 to run a mile –but I didit.
The feelingof accomplishmentIgotthat day was as goodas I’ve everhadfrom anytype of sportor
workout.Iwas so proud.GraduallyIextended mydistancesandloweredmytimes,butthatfirstone
was still the best. Ihadalwaysavoidedrunningandthoughtrunnerswere crazy.Now Ican’t standgoing
evena daywithoutat leastrunningafew miles.WithANYnew workoutprogramor routine,Ithinkthe
mostimportantthingissimplytofinish!Youmaynot run as fastas you wanted tofor a specificdistance,
or as far in a specifictime.Youmaystruggle togeta certainnumberof repsat a certainweightor notbe
able to doa weightthe numberof timesyouwant.That’sokay!Trulygive ityour besteffort.Cutting
cornersdoesn’t helpyoudoanythingbutlearnto rationalize thatit’sokaytodo lessthanyou’re capable
of.Andif you’re notsatisfiedwithhow youfinished, rememberyoucanalwaystry again the nexttime!
If you have any questions,comments,orfeedbackIwouldlove tohearit!Thisis the firsttime
I’ve everactuallytypedupmystoryand planso if there’sanythingthatwouldmake itmore beneficialto

5. otherswouldbe greatlyappreciated!If youeverneedmotivation,inspiration,orevensomeonetovent
to whenyouhita plateauandfeel likeyourresultsaren’tshowing –please feelfree toreachoutto me!
-Collin.607-329-1123. Coachcw.51@gmail.com