Feature Fridays: Rachel Miller

I am so excited for the first installment in my Feature Fridays segment.  I reached out and have received an amazing response, I have stories scheduled until the end of March.  I am so excited to read and share each one of these inspirational and motivational stories, especially as since I have my own story.  I have always loved reading others success stories it makes me know that I am not alone!  Today's story comes from Rachel Miller at Undercover Diva: A sitcom.  Read on to hear how she changed her life through exercise and nutrition!

Feature Fridays: Rachel Miller

For most of my young adulthood, I had been overweight.  At the encouragement of my Pilates teacher in the Spring of 2011 semester, I began to track my calories and exercise using My Fitness Pal.com (they also have a mobile app, both are free).  Let me tell you, counting calories is an eye-opener.  It really introduced portion control, which I think is more important than what you actually eat.  I still eat pizza, ice cream and all those delicious sweets I just allot calories for those treats.  It is also important to understand that you don't need to be perfect in your calorie counting everyday; as long as you have a deficit of 2,500 calories at the end of the week, you will lose 1 pound a week (My Fitness Pal calculates your deficit for you).

Initially I set my goal for 15 pounds that I wanted to lose.  The first 10 pounds or so come off quickly (more if you're heavier) because this is all water weight.  When I got to 15 pounds lost, I loved what I was seeing so I tried for 5 more pounds.  Then I tried for 10 more pounds.  When I did it I was ECSTATIC!  I am now maintaining that weight by running, eating well and strength training twice a week.

I eat a vegetarian diet, and I believe that has helped me maintain my healthy lifestyle and has changed my mindset towards food.  I now truly view food as fuel and try to fuel myself with as many whole foods as possible, although I do enjoy my treats.  Healthy living is an ongoing process and a constant learning experience.  I have seen the health problems associated with not eating or living well, and would like to avoid those if at all possible.

Rachel: Before and after her journey

 A special Thank You! goes out to Rachel for being my first Feature Friday Reader story.  She has a wonderful story to share and great tips too!  Check out her blog Under Cover Diva: A sitcom to see what she is up to in her journey.

I also want to give a shout out to my friend and graphic designer Laura Schmeisl for designing my Feature Fridays logo.  You can check out her work at Laura-Schmeisl.com.