I’ve always had an “in-between” body shape. I’ve never been skinny, really, but I wouldn’t classify myself as big either. I’ve been average my entire life, and I’ve always eaten pretty much whatever I wanted. I figure skated for the better half of my childhood and into high school, which burned a lot of calories and kept me in relatively good shape, but I was never one to go to the gym or go for a run just because. When I stopped figure skating, I fell into a rut, which lasted around 4 years.

I didn’t exercise. I ate fatty foods and pasta for basically every meal. I went through a period during my junior year of high school where I worked out almost every day for months, and I felt awesome, but I soon fell out of the routine. Another major contributing factor was getting together with my boyfriend of now 3 years. What they say about gaining “date weight” in a relationship… it’s true. I have gained weight over the past few years, but recently I realized I needed to make a change, not just for looks, but to feel better.

I had been consuming God knows how many calories each day in fast food, burgers, noodles, candy, etc. My boyfriend and I joined the gym to give us something productive to do on nights when binge watching Dexter and eating salt and vinegar chips under the covers got boring, but I realized all my hard work was for nothing when I canceled it out by eating horribly.

In the past, I thought eating healthy meant only eating an apple and a granola bar all day long and barely having enough energy to get out of bed. I think that’s why I never stuck with it before; what I was doing then was unsustainable.

This time, I started to look into different recipes that were low-calorie but still filling, and I didn’t let myself starve. I’ve been eating A LOT of vegetables, and surprisingly, with a little effort they can actually be delicious. It was definitely hard to figure out, but being healthy doesn’t mean you have to be hungry. If you make healthy choices, you can virtually eat as much as you want and not feel guilty or bloated. And GUESS WHAT. You don’t have to eat healthy 24/7. It’s so much easier to stay on track when you let yourself splurge every once and a while! Yes, eating a cheeseburger for dinner that you’ve been craving isn’t the best choice, but it’ll satisfy your need for something greasy, it won’t kill you, and you can still stay on track.

Eating healthier and being active has made me have so much more self-confidence. Although now I’m honestly not doing it for the purpose of losing weight, I have lost a significant amount of stubborn belly fat just from a couple months of healthy choices, and it feels great. I’m not bloated from fried foods every night and my body feels cleansed. I drink lemon water in the morning now instead of a venti iced caramel macchiato from Starbucks (ok, sometimes I make an exception) and I feel just as awake and fresh as ever.

My point is, don’t let the fear of eating healthy stop you. It is actually possible and you can still eat delicious food all the time. Your stomach doesn’t have to stay growling if you make the right choices. And it’s actually fun to try new recipes (who knew zucchini noodles actually might be better than regular noodles)! Don’t do it to lose weight, do it because you’ll feel better about yourself, and your body will thank you.