Every week I told myself that my diet starts Monday. I was constantly feeling tired and lacking energy. Weeks turned into months and pretty soon I found myself at my heaviest weight, but more upsetting was that it was the most uncomfortable I’d ever felt. I would change outfits 10 times before finding something that I felt hid my weight enough to wear. Over time I had labelled foods in my head as either good or bad. I would be “good” for a day or two, and then eat something “bad” so I would decide my whole diet was derailed and I might as well eat whatever junk I wanted. The worst part was that all of the sugary, processed, junk foods would cause flare ups of my autoimmune disease.

Then I heard about the KickStart Program. I was hesitant to join at first because of the price. Did I really need to pay money for another program when I had tons of unfinished Beachbody and other weight loss plans at home? After talking to a coworker who had participated, I decided to bite the bullet. I started out keeping things basic and eventually progressed to trying the recipes that came with it. The check-in every week was just the accountability that I needed. I ended the kickstart having lost weight and inches. More importantly, I had gained energy and started to build some healthy habits. 

I decided to keep the momentum going and joined the LIFE program and enrolled as a member at Encompass. I live half-an-hour out of town so I was again skeptical to spend that money knowing I wouldn’t be able to attend more than 3-4 days a week, but the accountability of having to check-in with someone was what I needed to keep going. I really didn’t want to have this be another change that I couldn’t sustain. 

In the past 6 months I have really started to feel the sense of community at Encompass. I’ve gained strength, energy and confidence. There’s definitely been weeks where I struggled with my nutrition and gone off track, but in the end the ease and simplicity of the nutrition program made it easy to jump right back in. It is such a nice feeling to be able to go into my closet and have clothes that fit, and to be able to pull out my summer clothes and not find that they’d “shrunk” over the winter. I am looking forward to not missing out on activities this summer because I feel fat or don’t want to wear a swimsuit. 

More rewarding than the physical changes are all of the other changes that I have noticed as well. I sleep better. I wake up feeling refreshed. I don’t get stomach aches after overeating. I don’t get that afternoon slump anymore. I have much more energy which is especially noticeable on my 12-hour shifts. I haven’t had a single flare up of my autoimmune disease. I am more confident and happy. I am more productive because I am fueling my body properly. I am getting stronger. I find myself looking forward to working out and staying active.

I would definitely recommend the KickStart and LIFE program to anyone looking for something that is easy to follow and sustainable. It is not a quick fix program, but if you stay consistent you can build a healthier lifestyle and lose weight without feeling like you’re making sacrifices.