Guest Blog Post from Kyra Williams

Good morning, ladies! I have a special guest on the blog this blog. Her name is Kyra Williams, better known as The Get In Shape Girl. She has inspired me in so many ways and she is here to tell her AWESOME story. Check it out!

Hi!  My name is Kyra Williams, but I’m also known as The Get In Shape Girl.  I am an online personal trainer and weight loss specialist, and I have a little success story of my own. 

I’ve transformed my body from a sedentary 160 pound size 10 to an athletic 135 pound size 4 through lifting weights and eating clean.  You can find out more about me at my website: www.thegetinshapegirl.com and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thegetinshapegirl- but today I’m here to teach you how you can lose weight and keep it off for good!

Clean Eating is NOT a Diet, Clean Eating is a Lifestyle.

Clean eating is not a diet plan we follow temporarily just to lose some weight, just to go back to eating junk food. 

Clean eating is supposed to be sustainable, something you can do for the rest of your life.  It allows us to have a healthy body, organs that function properly, plenty of energy to get through our daily tasks, clear skin, developed muscle mass, reduced fat and the ability to live a long and healthy life.

The idea behind clean eating is based on balanced blood sugar levels by pairing carbohydrates with protein and fat, and eating this balanced diet often to keep those levels at an even keel so that the levels never drop, never allowing us to get really hungry and start having cravings.  We are meant to fuel our bodies with foods that come from the earth – not foods that have been designed in a laboratory with chemicals under a microscope only to be mass produced in a factory.  Our body comes from the earth – it is natural, so why wouldn’t we feed it natural food that also comes from the earth?

This means you get to eat steak, fish, lamb, potatoes, greens, mushrooms, dairy, squash, coffee, chick peas, beans, cashews, oats, chocolate, cherries, mango, peanut butter.. the list goes on and on.  It’s nature’s gift to us so we can grow and flourish as humans.

Unfortunately some folks hear about a clean eating diet and think of it as a short term  fat loss plan.  Sure, it is called the “Eat Clean DIET,” but diet simply means the kind of food a person typically eats, it does not necessarily mean food restriction.

So many people find out about this diet and they get rid of the chips, the pretzels, the soda and the candy from their house, only to find themselves craving it again after a few weeks of really good eating.  Slowly they find themselves getting a bagel because they “didn’t have time to eat breakfast at home.”  Next thing you know, they’re buying a soda in the afternoon because they are tired and they need some energy.  Then it all goes down the drain as they order pizza for family dinner because they can’t be bothered to cook.

Look, you gotta be all in on this!!!  It’s not something to adopt temporarily expecting to see amazing results within a week.  Sure, I’ve definitely seen more clients than not get results in the first two weeks.  When done properly, typically they report feeling more energetic, their pants fitting better and they’re more regular in the bathroom.  When followed properly for about four weeks my clients report being stronger, having clear skin, being less bloated all over and sometimes even fitting into smaller clothes.

The good thing about following a clean diet is that it’s really easy to follow as a lifestyle.  You never have to feel restricted.  A typical diet of constant food restriction is not healthy to follow long term.  Your calories are often drastically reduced to the point where it’s just unsafe.  After a few days of food restriction you feel tired, sluggish and you may even get sick.. all in the effort to lose a few pounds?  WHY?!  Then, what about when you go out to dinner?  If you’re invited to go out with your girlfriends to dinner, you sit around and watch them eat burgers, sandwiches, while you’re stuck with lettuce and grilled chicken with no dressing.  If you make it that far, you are probably going to be left feeling resentful, but if you give in and fall off your diet you probably gonna feel a lot of guilt after.

As I said, clean eating is a lifestyle.  Rather than restricting calories at all, you can follow your proper serving sizes of protein, fat and carbs at each meal – you never have to count a single calorie!  I’ve never once heard of someone getting fat because they ate too much shrimp or pineapple, have you?

You can go out to dinner with your girlfriends and enjoy a healthy and fabulous meal option like garlic and olive oil steamed veggies with steak and you can feel healthy and fabulous after too – not frustrated or guilty.  And you know what, if you do end up having dessert then it’s no biggie – you just get right back on plan the next day!!

No one ever said you have to be perfect – life isn’t about perfection.  If you do have a meal consisting of pizza and beer, then it’s totally fine.  You may not feel so good after, but this is real life and in the grand scheme of things, is that pizza and beer really going to hurt you?  Wasting time feeing guilty will probably hurt you more.

Clean eating is a sustainable approach to food.  It’s something that you can follow for life, not something you do temporarily.  If you fall off the wagon, get right back on.  Enjoy things you love (in moderation) and I bet you that your food choices will shift to the healthier side anyway. 

You have nothing to lose (except maybe a pant size.. hehe)

 Do you eat clean?

Do you find it to a lifelong eating guide?

Leave me a comment below!

Kyra,

The Get In Shape Girl

P.S. Check out my Bikini Cookbook (www.mybikinicookbook.com)

It’s 40 recipes to help you get and STAY lean!