Shantelle
Szuch
“The Eat-Clean Diet® has allowed me to take charge of my body in a healthy way.”
Age: 27
Height: 5'4''
Heaviest Weight: 205
Current Weight: 130
My Journey:
Dear Tosca,
Not too long ago, I lost a lot of weight. While I was happy with the progress I made, I wasn’t satisfied with the ”skinny-fat” person I had become. I had no muscle and was soft all over.
My brother convinced me to start powerlifting to tone my body. I started to read men’s bodybuilding magazines to increase my strength for powerlifting competitions. I constantly ran into the words “eating clean” but didn’t know what it meant until I picked up an Oxygen magazine. From there I learned about you, Tosca, and your books.
I started off with The Eat-Clean Diet® and The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook. I was hooked when I realized how much it was helping me with my powerlifting! I’m in the gym six days a week for over an hour (sometimes up to two and a half hours on heavy training days) and your plan allows me to consume enough appropriate calories to fuel my powerlifting without putting on excess fat.
I adapted the Eat-Clean Diet Principles to my life slowly, allowing myself to get comfortable with each change. I educated myself on why I should be eating better and used that information to keep me motivated. It helped that I was never hungry because I was eating so much Clean food! Even still, it was hard to give up some things like diet soda and coffee with sugar and cream. I had my moments when I gave in to the cravings but I didn’t give up. I remained focused on the bigger picture and reminded myself of the positive example I wanted to set for my daughters.
The Eat-Clean Diet has allowed me to take charge of my body in a healthy way. It makes me very proud that my kids know what “clean” foods are. The lifestyle has continuously become easier to follow and the concepts are so logical – if your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize it as food, then it probably isn’t food!
My advice to anyone else trying to get healthy with The Eat-Clean Diet is to start with the changes you know you can make and add more when you can. Don’t do a complete turnaround if that isn’t what works for you. And, definitely, find a passion in an activity. Mine just happens to be powerlifting!
Thanks Tosca!
Shantelle Szuch