By Karla Durr
Before starting Clean Kitchen, I had tried everything under the sun and had some success, but the weight always came back. Throughout high school and college, I was eating out constantly and doing whatever I wanted without thinking about how it was affecting my body.
There has never been a time when I did not struggle with my weight.
Fast forward 10 years, 2 kids and a lot of ups and downs that included emotional eating along the way, and I was not happy. I "knew" what I should be doing but I just figured I would never be a fit person. It wasn't in my genes. But I wanted to change that and I did not want my kids to have that same mindset or struggle the way I did as a kid.
In September 2018, I messaged Coach Steve about working out at Versus and began going to classes about three times a week. I told him I just wanted to get into the habit of making myself go without changing my diet yet. (This is funny to me now because of what I know; you can't out work a bad diet!)
When the promos for Clean Kitchen Challenge rolled out, I asked Coach Michael if I should do it now or wait until I was done teaching in the summer.
Life was really hectic.
- My husband and I were separating and heading for a divorce, but he was coming home from an almost year long deployment.
- I was about to take my test to become a Certified Academic Language Therapist.
- My first graders were challenging me in so many ways. I will never forget what he told me.
Coach Michael said, "There will always be challenges. It won't be easier in the summer, there will just be new challenges, so just go ahead and do it now!"
So I signed up, not really knowing what to expect.
At first, I felt like I wasn't doing anything. All I was doing was drinking more water. But as the program went on, I added more habits, and I started to change my mindset and the "why" of what I was doing—and then I started to change.
One of the main things I have gained from Clean Kitchen is the ability to customize what I'm eating and make it fit what I actually LIKE eating.
I do not like a lot of vegetables, so I would add in the ones that I do like. I'm not the biggest fan of salad, so I rarely eat it unless its a taco bowl. I can make one meal and customize it for my kids so they will eat it too! The list of possibilities with what you can eat is endless.
Another benefit is just how I feel.
Even though I am not getting a ton of sleep, I just feel better. My body is nourished from what I am eating. Also, being a teacher and having little kids, I used to get sick all the time. I have not been sick ONCE from the time I started Clean Kitchen in January. I credit this to taking my multi-vitamin and fish oils, and just eating whole foods.
I can never go back to how I was eating before. I will still cheat (pizza!), but as I told my CK Coach Jeni, I know too much! I will forever be grateful for this program and the coaches who motivate you to do better and to know the reason behind it.
I've lost about 20 lbs, lots of inches, and I can't wait to see what I look like this time next year!
