How to Breakthrough the Diet-Binge-Diet cycle and finally achieve a healthy, toned body and peaceful relationship with food (Part 1/5)

I know we just met, but I’m going to ask you do to something kinda weird…

Let me explain….

It was only 12 months earlier that I had completely transformed my body on a mammoth diet and exercise challenge. I was a size 10, with visible abs, a sharp jawline, slim thighs and rock hard buns. I actually went on to win “Miss Brisbane” in a Body Sculpting competition and they even featured my Before & After transformation in Oxygen Magazine!

After gorging myself at the celebratory dinner I woke up the next morning puffy, bloated and with a raging headache. After eating so clean for so long – my body reacted violently to the tornado of salt, sugar and fat I’d plunged myself in.

I remember pinching my stomach in horror thinking “OH MY GOD I AM ALREADY GETTING FAT AGAIN!” (And I was equally pissed because all that food I dreamed of for so long – didn’t even live up to the hype!!!)

Instead of being super proud of my achievements – I was a victim of my ruthlessly high standards. You’d think I would have gotten “right back on the bandwagon” after that wouldn’t you?

But I was like, “Hang on, let’s just have a few more “treat meals” before I start again…”

And then I was like Homer salivating over “beer battered friiiiieees”…..

“I’ll start Monday” happened week after week after week…..

Then, it was like a movie screen flashing before my eyes, months of working hard on the computer, staying up late, rushing around skipping meals and eating junk on the run…

I would collapse on the couch like a slobbering walrus at 8pm and then be wide awake at 2am stressing and anxious about the day ahead…

I remembered the caffeine that pepped me up in the mornings, the chocolate that kept me going through the afternoon and the secret guilty bowls of ice cream every other night I had just for a bit of “fun”.

It all started to blur into one big, hot, fat mess… Now I remembered exactly how I got like this.

Even though after my challenge I had lost over 17kgs from when I started- from that very first Sunday blow out I just couldn’t help thinking I was always just varying degrees of “fat” in comparison to that ultra lean (and completely unrealistic) version of me.

And seeing that Gala Event photo was like getting punched in the face with the reality of all those negative choices.

I was the prime example of what happens “After the After”.

This is when the “All or Nothing” pendulum swings, you’re in the grips of the dieting gym bunny to coach potato rebound and feeling powerless to stop it.

I knew things had to change …… but how?

The thing was – I already knew everything about diets. I had studied them obsessively since I was in high school.

I didn’t need more information. I needed more motivation!

I needed to know how to STICK to a diet.

That’s when I googled “Weight Loss Motivation” and stumbled across My Mind Coach a website created by mindset expert Kylie Ryan.

I thought I was SO broken and after a year of couch potato-ing I desperately wanted to get back my super toned, size 10 body.

I knew I needed help because I just couldn’t seem to stay motivated on my plan for longer than 2 weeks! (And I was a fitness professional – you’d think I’d have more willpower than that!)

I was beginning to think I might as well give up and just accept that I was always going to be fat and it was always going to be a struggle…

I was sure I needed AT LEAST 10 coaching sessions before I would fix this problem.

But to my absolute surprise it only took ONE session to really help me unpack what was keeping me stuck! Kylie told me what I was experiencing actually was a really common mindset trap for many high performing women.

A few weeks later she emailed and asked me if I had been eating better and sticking to my exercise plan like I had told her that I wanted her help with.

I actually just said, “No. Sorry, I haven’t. I’m just trying to enjoy life for a while.”

The truth was – I no longer had those large reservoirs of will power to force myself to do things I didn’t enjoy. If trying to force yourself to do things was a limb- it was like it had been cut off. I just couldn’t bring myself to do anything I didn’t really want to, every choice had to be the easiest, simplest choice.

And for a long time things stayed the same …… from the outside at least.

But after a while I noticed myself feeling more motivated, more positive, more trusting in the process and being far less critical of my body and what others might think of it.

And then this happened.

If you’re looking at the photos above, wondering what the HECK happened in that session I promise I’ll tell you but first you should know 4 things about me.

1. I am half Samoan and according to the BMI charts I been in the Overweight category since I was born. My bone and muscle mass is off the charts. So I actually DO have “big bones” and yet I was still able to achieve this result without dieting.
2. I LOVE food – Samoan culture expresses their love as food and obesity is a sign of fertility and wealth. When I discovered how to stop fighting my body and instead use my love of food to my advantage, I never had to miss out on my favourite foods again.
3. I was ALWAYS the big girl in my peer group, my first negative thought about my body was as early as 5 and I dieted like crazy for at least 10 years of my life.  I had struggled with this issue for as long as I could remember, but no longer forcing it was getting better results than I ever had before.
4. I had little to no will power left. So the transformation above did not happen overnight but it also wasn’t hard work and it didn’t take heaps of time either.

And by the way – I know there’s a high probability your goals are not to have a body like a Bodysculptor.

The reason I show these pics is that it illustrates as how far willpower can really take you in a diet when you believe the myth “I’ll be happy when I’ve lost the weight”

The truth is – anybody can force their body to lose weight, but nobody can force it to stay off!

And here’s a secret most people never get the “privilege” to discover. I was exercising 3 hours a day, 6 days a week and I even ate 24 egg whites a day for over 6 weeks!

But even when I was ripped AF with paper thin fat levels all over my body – I STILL felt like I was a fraud and I STILL was critical of my body!

Surprise surprise – I couldn’t diet my Inner Critic away!

Today I eat to satisfaction, I enjoy my desserts without any of the guilt and I’m no longer afraid I’ll lose control on a holiday dinner.

I maintain a healthy weight and toned physique without deprivation, balancing macros or even vigorous exercise.

The biggest difference from back then (and the one that I’m most proud of) is that I just really have a deep sense of gratitude for my body. Critical thoughts about my reflection in the mirror just don’t have a place in my mind anymore.

Tomorrow, I’ll share what I uncovered in that one mindset session.

I’ll also share what I actually did to create this radical transformation, and how I’ve helped hundreds of women do the exact same thing (and why you can do it too)

Until then remember –

Diets are for Dying – Life is for Living!

Bianca xx

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PART 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5