After celebrating her 40th birthday, SlimFast Brand Ambassador Amanda C. shares the success she found on the SlimFast Plan. She’s kept the weight off and continues to maintain her weight by supporting, learning from, and celebrating herself as she continues her SlimFast journey.
As another year has begun, I celebrate my 40th birthday, and I am inspired to take a moment to reflect on my journey thusfar. It’s been incredible, though I have had some rollercoaster moments that I thought were devastating at the time but have turned out to shape the woman I am today. As a child and teenager, I was confident and outgoing with a dream to be a model. Well, life happens, and things change. Becoming a wife and mother at a young age was such a blessing, while at the same time taking a toll on me physically and mentally. In 2017, I found myself divorced and at one of the lowest points in my life. That is when I discovered SlimFast. I told myself something had to change. I needed to show myself and my children that a healthy lifestyle is possible. I wanted to make sure I was around for my children as they grew older.
At the start of my weight loss journey, I had the most considerable cheering section. My family and friends were so supportive. Using the SlimFast Together groups helped me stay on track. I would remain active in the group to hold myself accountable. If I was doing great one week, I shared. If I had a bad day and ate a whole bag of chips, I shared that too. No one ever judged me or made me feel bad about it. That was a huge help for someone so terribly hard on herself.
As the year progressed, my family started seeing so many positive changes in me. So much so, that they began to use SlimFast. It was such a blessing to share this new lifestyle with them. We pushed and encouraged one another. Having that extra support from my loved ones was such a boost to help me reach my goals.
I am so incredibly proud of all of the weight loss goals I set for myself and reached. I am proud of the mother I have been to my two beautiful children, who are now young adults. I am proud of becoming a drone pilot and a student airplane pilot. I have always been terrible at school and tests, but I am pleased to say I went back to school and earned my certificate in social media marketing. I am SO proud of myself for learning to LOVE myself truly. That is not an easy task to do. I am also proud to be an Ambassador for SlimFast and help encourage and inspire others daily.
To help keep myself on a positive path, I reflect each morning by viewing my vision board. It has all of my challenging moments and my successful moments there. It is a great visual to inspire me to do my best each day. I also find that journaling my thoughts each morning or night allows me to reflect on what is truly going on in my head, and I can work through issues a lot easier that way.
My past-self would be proud that I found my confidence. My dreams of one day being a model are, in a way, playing out today. I have always gotten so much joy from helping others. I was not sure how to do this in the past. My past-self would be proud to know I help people every day by encouraging them to be the best version of themselves and inspiring them when they feel down. My past-self felt she was unworthy of being treated kindly; I now know that is a lie. My past-self ate her feelings when times were tough. She would be proud to know I no longer use food to cope with demanding days. I once struggled to walk a small flight of stairs; now, I love outdoor activities more than anything. I am also only days away from testing for my Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do!
SlimFast provides so many tools that still help me succeed today. The SlimFast website has helpful stories and tips from those who have had success with SlimFast. I also love all of the recipes provided on the site. I am not the best cook, but I can follow a recipe and enjoy a delicious Keto-friendly meal. You can also get linked to Shop.SlimFast.com where you can order products that come straight to your door. If you are an app person, I suggest downloading the SlimFast Together app. Within the app, you can track your success with the progress tracker, find delicious recipes, use simple meal planning tools, and so much more. I am a visual person, so seeing what I am eating each day keeps me in check with where I need to be. It is so common for me to have my phone in hand most of the day; why wouldn’t I use it to help guide me during my weight loss journey and now to maintain?
I encourage you to use the SlimFast Together groups. The group is a massive part of why I am where I am today. I have never felt bad within that group. It is my social media happy place. You will find so much support and encouragement within the group. I am also a picture person. I do better with visual reminders, so I love the group's Throwback Thursday and Transformation Tuesday posts. They are excellent reminders of what is possible if you never give up and believe in yourself.
While it is great to hear positive feedback from others, but I want you to be your own biggest fan. I want you to wake each morning, look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you are doing a great job, no matter what. Cheer yourself on. You are worth it. If you are having a hard time, try journaling or meditation. It is incredible to find out about yourself if you write in a journal each day. No matter what, do not give up on yourself. You are doing great, and you will succeed, KEEP telling yourself this daily.
I am blessed to say that I am thriving in life now. If you have a huge support group that is amazing, but if not, please know that you’ve got this. You are your biggest cheerleader. I genuinely believe that living a healthy lifestyle involves working together on your mental and physical health and SlimFast provides you with so much support to achieve your goals. All right, what are you waiting for? Let’s Do This!