I remember when I started my first Whole30. People were only mildly encouraging. Most told me, “You know, most people gain all the weight back and then some after doing fad diets.” I persisted despite the negativity and embraced not a fad diet, but a change in lifestyle. I knew that the key to success long-term was not the mindset of losing weight but of changing my lifestyle to get healthy. I wanted to make changes that were permanent and, most importantly, sustainable forever.

Whole30 led me to Paleo which has been my diet for eight years now. While injuries have led me to not be as active for the past 6 months, I’ve still managed to keep the weight off and to remain healthy.

The key to keeping the weight off is to embrace the lifestyle change and to have the mindset that there is no turning back. There is no being unhealthy. There is no accepting sabotage. There is only success.

I am so much better off today than I was 10 years ago. Heck, if I hadn’t made the changes, I might not even be here today. I had fatty liver disease, Type-2 diabetes, and circulation problems in my legs and feet. Even my vision was declining due to the diabetes. All these things were reversed within the first year of doing my first Whole30 just due to diet change alone.

Set your mind to it. Stop putting it off. Commit to being healthy and do the work to make it happen. Once you embrace the lifestyle, it gets easier.