Welcome to the new Harmony and Zen blog.
My name is Teresa Nichole Thomas. I was once a frustrated woman, probably like you, who could not lose weight. For nearly twenty years, I felt like I was doing everything right, but I was still struggling.
When I was growing up, I never cared about nutrition. I never had to.
Then I became a teenager. That’s when the hormonal changes started.
The weight gain was so gradual that I didn’t really notice. Then someone made a comment about my weight.
I was devastated. I thought this person must be seeing something that wasn’t there.
I jumped on the scale and was stunned at the number staring back at me. I was at least twenty pounds heavier than I thought I was!
Maybe you can relate?
I began to try to figure out how to lose weight.
I had been eating a lot of junk food and fast food at the time. I stopped eating that stuff immediately, and I dropped ten pounds.
That was great, but it wasn’t enough.
Since I didn’t know the first thing about nutrition, I wasn’t sure where to start. I didn’t know anything about dieting, either.
The only way I was sure I could lose weight was to just not eat, so that is what I did. For one week, I did not eat, and I lost ten more pounds.
I was thinking, “Wow. That was just way too easy, but I’ll take it.”
Little did I know what I was doing to my body. As soon as I started eating again, the weight started to come back.
I still didn’t link any of my experiences to nutrition.
I decided to try one of the popular paid weight loss plans…then another…then another…
Willpower was never a problem. I followed each new plan perfectly. The weight would come off while I was following it. Then I would stop the program. Again the weight would pile back on and usually bring more with it.
It was just so difficult to maintain those programs. I didn’t want to have to keep buying someone else’s food for who knows how long. It was disappointing to think that I would have to count calories, carbs, fat, or anything else for the rest of my life.
I also tried diet plans from friends and plans that I found online.
I experienced the same results with these plans as with the paid programs.
There HAD to be a better way. There had to be more to this weight loss thing. There had to be some reason I couldn’t keep it off.
I am guessing you feel the same way, and that’s why you are here?
I finally began getting interested in nutrition. I was shocked by what I learned!
All of the things I thought I was doing right (except not eating for a week–I knew that was wrong!) were actually harming me.
Even though I was learning more and more about nutrition, I still tried a popular cleansing program that I found online.
I felt so awful while doing that program, but I thought, “Okay. I am cleansing. I am supposed to feel this way.”
Right? Wrong!
Cleansing doesn’t have to hurt. It doesn’t have to make you feel sick. It doesn’t have to cause you to have to RUN to the bathroom, or else…
I decided to move to a plant-based diet–if only long enough to cleanse my body of all the crud I had been putting into it.
That was in January of 2011, and I haven’t looked back since.
The weight just began to fall off, and I felt great! It has effortlessly stayed off since.
Please don’t think I am trying to steer you in this direction. This is what worked for me. You may not be ready to go that route now or ever.
That’s okay! Wherever you are in your life right now is exactly where you are supposed to be.
The following year, I decided to attend an online school so I could learn more and help others to not have to go through the same struggles.
I found a school and signed up. I made a down payment and began my courses. After a few assignments and some additional payments, the school shut down.
Even though the school sent me all of the books and assignments after I made the down payment, I was out a lot of money, and I had no degree to show for it.
Then I found the Institute of Transformational Nutrition.
I contacted the school and asked a few questions. I kept feeling drawn it, so I enrolled.
This was probably the absolute, best decision I have ever made!
I learned there was so much more to weight loss and weight gain than just the nutritional part of it. There is a whole psychological and spiritual part, too.
It was a relief to learn this! The biggest thing I learned is that I am not broken.
None of us are!
How liberating that was for me!
With all the struggles, I also learned that everything happens for a reason.
Based on that, the fact that you have read to this point tells me that you are supposed to be here reading this right now and that you have something to learn from this blog. Therefore, I invite you to read each new blog post as it is written.
With this blog, I intend to post weekly and share with you many of the things I have learned about nutrition. I also intend to sprinkle the blog with some of the psychological and spiritual things that I have learned as well as some yummy recipes and other things you might find useful.
My wish for you is that by sharing my frustration, weight loss struggles, and knowledge with you that your own journey on this Earth can be made much easier.
I welcome your comments. Please ask any questions you have, or leave a comment below to let me know how I can help you to get healthier one step at a time.
