I was always a scrawny child. I honestly can't remember anything I enjoyed eating. Bacon, maybe? When I was five years old, I can still remember sitting at the dinner table scoffing at the chicken nuggets in front of me (seriously, what kid doesn't love chicken nuggets)? My dad, almost as stubborn as me, gave me no other option for dinner. What he had made was what I was going to eat, and that was that.

"Skylar, you're not leaving this table until you eat your dinner."

That left me with only one option... fall asleep at the table. My dad reluctantly carried me to my bed that night, and I won another battle against eating something I "hated" that I had probably never even put into my mouth.

Upon middle school, something big happened. I started trying food and I never really stopped. I ate everything: buffalo chicken tender plates and french fries with extra blue cheese, deep fried Oreos, Big Mac’s and frozen pizzas. My friend Haley and I would have sleepovers every weekend and when I say "sleepovers" I mean, we would each eat a pint of Ben & Jerry's to our faces, followed by two boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese and we’d finally guzzle that all down with energy drinks. All this just so we could secretly stay up past midnight, lay in her bed in a food coma and talk about boys…..but I'm getting a little off topic here.

I went from scrawny to plump in a couple of years. I would say I put on about 60 pounds. My heaviest was 170 pounds at age 18 and I'm only 5’ 3”. My diet was incredibly unhealthy and my lifestyle was entirely sedentary. It's odd, but looking back….I didn't care. I had zero concern about my health and I really didn't care much about my appearance.

However, college changed my entire outlook on my health, my body, and my priorities. I'm not certain how it began. It could have been the greasy unappealing food at the dining hall. It could have been that cute bad boy, Christian, who lived right across the hall from me. It was probably a combination of both….but God, I miss that smile. Whatever it was, I wanted to make a change for myself. I started with exercise. I made two really good friends who were big into going to the gym every day (huge motivator). The elliptical became my best friend, helping me transition into a slow paced cardio workout. I would usually do about 30 minutes of cardio and that was it. This along with eating only veggies and chicken from the stir fry bar (Thank you, Jesus) lead to a 10-pound weight loss in just 3 weeks. Woohoo! Once I saw those results, there was no turning back.

For personal reasons, I moved home after only 2 years from Keene State College, so it became a lot easier to control what I ate. My mom has always been a health nut and we've always had healthy food in the house, so when I moved home she just had to buy twice as many groceries (thank you, Mommy). It took me a while but I caught onto the health train and spent a lot more time at the gym. I began going to the gym 5-6 times a week, focusing more on muscle training than just cardio. You would be surprised how much weight training burns fat across all areas of your body. I became a gym enthusiast because of how it made me feel. I felt healthy and strong for the first time in my life, it was a truly amazing feeling. Honestly, what could be more important than your health? You can't live without a body, people! As for my diet, I completely cut out fried foods, soda, added sugar, white carbs, and pretty much anything processed. My diet to this day is almost entirely fresh local produce, mostly plant-based (small amounts of eggs, chicken, turkey or fish every now and then, plus sushi…. I can't live without sushi). This lifestyle change leaves me feeling full, healthy and happy every single day, and I can honestly say I don't miss the bad stuff. It's been out of my body for a few years now, so I can't eat any of that food without having…. belly issues.

And so, what I want you to walk away with after reading about my weight loss experience, is that you can take diet pills, count your calories, or eat a really bland gross cabbage soup for a week to lose 10 pounds, but none of that will keep the weight off, and most importantly, it won't leave you healthy. Trust me, I tried that first. If you stick to a diet, sure, you'll lose a few pounds but it's all coming right back once you stop. I love the commercials that advertise losing weight without exercising. We are biologically meant to be physical! According to the American College of Sports Medicine, to keep your heart healthy, you should engage in 30 minutes of moderate to high-intensity cardio 5 times a week. This has also proven to reduce the risk of diabetes, cancer and even osteoporosis. So, if you're looking to lose some weight, feel healthier and happier, then take my advice. Change your lifestyle! It's worth a shot, right? Your body is a temple, so treat it with the respect it deserves and more importantly, the respect it needs.