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In case you’re over 40, like me, struggling to drop extra pounds and hold it off and have tried all types of strategies, you’re not alone. As girls, we juggle a lot that making time for ourselves and really taking the time to find out about wholesome consuming and weight reduction isn’t at all times a straightforward process so as to add to our to-do checklist. I misplaced 8 lbs however fully modified my physique composition in Lukas Duncan’s 8 week transformation contest, and I’m stoked to share the outcomes with you! However first…

Weight Loss Strategies I Tried First

Beachbody Teaching

In case you go approach again into the archives of my weblog, you’ll discover my hottest story about Why I Quit Beachbody Coaching. Lengthy story brief, the MLM enterprise mannequin is simply not for me. I did lose a little bit of weight, however the tradition was poisonous, and I made $0 earnings throughout the whole 12 months I used to be obsessive about it. 

Phentermine and Vitamin B Photographs for Weight Loss

In each metro metropolis, there’s a “weight loss plan physician” keen to take your measurements, calculate your BMI, and write a prescription for phentermine (aka adipex). Some will supply to present you vitamin b pictures to spice up your power as nicely. I attempted this, and phentermine simply made me really feel anxious and bitchy, fairly frankly. I used to be continuously thirsty, and you have to drink a ton of water whereas on it or you’ll be able to develop into dehydrated. 

I Bought Examined for Hormone Imbalances

I turned so fed up with my physique and the struggles I used to be having that I made a decision it should be medical. Perhaps the rationale I used to be so bitchy was as a result of I used to be peri-menopausal. So I made an appointment with a gynecologist to run a full blood panel and check my hormones. I thougth for positive my testosterone was low, and I’ve heard of different girls getting pellets implanted quarterly to spice up check ranges, enhance power and metabolism. There are additionally supposedly advantages to 1’s intercourse drive when on the pellets.

My check outcomes got here again that hormones have been fully in examine, and every thing was superb. My ldl cholesterol was low, although, which may be an indicator of future coronary heart illness or stroke. So I suppose it’s good that I did get the blood check.

I Employed an On-line Health Coach

What lastly labored for me was going again to fundamentals and hiring Lukas Duncan, the health coach who helped me drop extra pounds and get more healthy back in 2016, after I was in my 30’s. 

Lukas has helped a whole bunch, if not hundreds, of oldsters throughout the Nation rework their our bodies into lean, sturdy, wholesome machines. I signed up for his 8-week Miami Transformation Contest, with bi-weekly check-ins and updates based mostly on progress. 

How the Program Works

Whenever you join his 8-week transformation contest (which he runs continuously), he’ll e mail you a questionnaire with questions resembling:

1. Top, Weight
2. Brief Time period Health Aim
3. Lengthy Time period Health Aim
4. Meals Allergic reactions
5. Meals you hate 
6. Exercise Restrictions

and so forth – There are about 20 or so questions in whole. This helps him slender down the correct plan on your targets, making modifications when you have limitations, resembling dietary restrictions or former accidents.

You’ll additionally have to take a few “Earlier than” photographs to ship in together with your questionnaire in order that he can observe your progress. 

Simply earlier than Day 1 of the competition, he’ll e mail your plan, consisting of a full meal plan, s

upplements advised, and exercise plan, together with power coaching and cardio. 

My Outcomes – I Gained third Place out of 74 Contestants!

I began the plan at 158.7 lbs on January 3, 2024. In simply 8 weeks I used to be in a position to lose greater than 6 lbs however take a look at the distinction in physique composition! I extremely counsel a renpho scale. They’re incredibly inexpensive on Amazon and assist observe your BMI, physique fats proportion, subcutaneous physique fats, water, and so forth. Effectively price it, I promise! 

Only for enjoyable, I needed to look again at my “Earlier than” photograph from 2016, from the very first transformation contest I entered with Lukas. 

It’s laborious to imagine that within the under photograph I used to be 8 years youthful and weighed lower than within the above transformation “Earlier than” – at 41 years outdated!

The Actual Transformation Begins Inside

My bodily transformation is thrilling to share, but when I’m being sincere, the final a number of years I’ve skilled a complete transformation of my coronary heart and renewed spirit. 

Years in the past, God put a selected verse on my coronary heart….Romans 12:2 – “Don’t be conformed to this world, however be reworked by the renewal of your thoughts, that by testing you could discern what’s the will of God, what is nice and acceptable and excellent.” On the time, I didn’t know why this verse.

On the time, I used to be consuming wine most days. My husband on the time was touring for work, and lengthy story brief, I used to be harm and betrayed in a really huge approach in my marriage. 

I in a short time forgave the daddy of my kids for the betrayal, and I made a promise to God that I used to be going to heal. Whereas experiencing the entire phases of grief, I didn’t conceal it very nicely. I cried. I shouted. I prayed. I confirmed vulnerability and ache to my household, and I leaned on my God to tug me out of the darkness. 

However throughout all of this time, I had let myself go bodily. Whereas I had forgiven, I couldn’t neglect. I used meals to numb the ache. Fortunately, I continued praying and finally stopped counting on alcohol to numb me on the finish of a day, and I made a decision to take change my story.

I didn’t like who I used to be after I drank. I didn’t need to be that particular person anymore. So I let go and let God take over.

Right now, I’m renewed and restored, with hope for a brighter future. My now ex-husband and I are (dare I say) crushing this co-parenting factor, and we get alongside nice! Our youngsters are thriving, and my coronary heart is totally healed.

Transformation begins together with your coronary heart, from the within out. You can not hold pouring alcohol into open wounds. It’s essential to pack them take care of them tenderly, after which you’ll be able to concentrate on every thing else.

Ethical of the Story: God is Good…All of the Time. I’m Higher…One Day at a Time. In case you’re trying to start your own transformation journey, be happy to drop any questions within the feedback. 

Life is a group of recollections and experiences. There are ups and downs. I’m so grateful for God’s grace and am on the journey to a renewed spirit, freed from perfectionism. Perfection Hangover presents the sober reality – no filter.

Maintaining Momentum in Blogging Series

Running a blog thrives on dialog. It’s not nearly broadcasting your concepts; it’s about sparking dialogue and fascinating together with your neighborhood.

One of the vital vibrant locations for these interactions is commonly neglected—the remark part.

As we proceed “sustaining momentum” in your weblog, let’s discover a technique that locations your readers on the coronary heart of your content material creation: leveraging their feedback to information your running a blog journey.

I’ve at all times believed that the feedback, questions, and shared experiences from you, the readers, are a goldmine of inspiration. Each remark left on ProBlogger is a possible catalyst for a brand new publish. I learn every remark that’s left and try to reply wherever potential inside remark threads. Nevertheless, the character of running a blog implies that conversations can rapidly fade as new posts emerge. Though instruments like ‘latest feedback’ widgets and ‘remark subscription’ plugins can extend the dialogue, they solely provide a short lived repair.

The true magic occurs once I elevate a reader’s remark to the highlight of a brand new weblog publish. This does extra than simply acknowledge a reader; it invitations all the neighborhood to dive deeper into the dialog, fostering a way of possession and belonging in your weblog.

Creating Momentum by way of Engagement

This strategy serves a twin goal:

1. It supplies recent content material concepts. Operating out of subjects? Your remark part is brimming with inspiration to your subsequent publish. Actually, one in all my favorite content material manufacturing strategies is to turn a blog post upside down to get more comments.
2. It revitalizes the dialog. As an alternative of letting discussions dwindle, highlighting a remark can reignite the alternate and take it to new heights. I did this in a latest publish Content Creation vs Content Promotion: Where is the Balance?

Methods to Amplify Reader Feedback

• Hyperlink to the Dialogue: Kickstart a brand new publish by pointing your readers to an enticing dialog taking place within the feedback of a earlier publish. Check out this post as an example of this method.
• Highlight a Remark: Choose a notable remark and have it in a brand new publish, guaranteeing to hyperlink again to the unique dialogue and credit score the commenter. My motto is “Make Your Reader’s Well-known” (see point 7 of this article)
• Write a Comply with-Up Put up: Mix the above techniques together with your reflections. Some remark threads have the ability to alter your perspective or introduce you to new concepts. By acknowledging these shifts brazenly, you exhibit the worth you place in your readers’ insights.

Utilizing reader feedback in your posts isn’t only a token gesture of appreciation. It exhibits how a lot you worth your neighborhood. This strategy not solely makes the dialog in your weblog higher but in addition builds a robust sense of mutual respect and collaboration.

In actuality, this technique has helped ProBlogger maintain shifting and even acquire extra momentum. It reminds us that actual connections are key to a profitable weblog.

So, I encourage you to see your remark part as extra than simply suggestions. Consider it as a spot the place progress, inspiration, and nearer connections together with your readers can occur. Keep in mind, the actual energy of your weblog doesn’t simply come from the content material you make but in addition from the discussions it begins and retains going.

Additional Studying

Get More Comments: Write Unfinished Blog Posts

10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog

7 Questions to Ask On Your Blog to Get More Reader Engagement

Nadia Krige twenty second Dec 2023