Feeling like you can't live the life you want can sometimes be all you need to make a change. Charity Nelms [1] realised this after her job as a flight attendant began to take a toll on her body. Experiencing the beauty of the world and going on adventures wasn't something Charity was willing to sacrifice, and the desire to see the world inspired her weight-loss journey.
She didn't follow any fad diets or workouts. Instead, she exercised, changed her nutrition, experienced highs and lows, focussed on structure, and believed she was capable of improving her health. To find out exactly what Charity did to lose weight, continue reading.
What Inspired Charity to Make a Lifestyle Change
"I started my career as a flight attendant and realised how incredibly hard it was on my body," Charity told POPSUGAR. "I was travelling all the time, seeing the world, and going on adventures, and my body wasn't keeping up with what I wanted to do," she explained. This was her "lightbulb moment," and Charity knew she had to get in shape in order to "live and do what I wanted to do, which was to see the world."
The Lifestyle Changes Charity Made to Lose Weight
Charity started her weight-loss journey with the Couch to 5K [2] running app. Initially, she only ran for exercise but explained that the app gave her structure, and eventually her fitness routine "blossomed into a full love for working out, lifting heavy, and keeping my body in shape."
To date, Charity has lost 40 kilograms over the span of four years. "This includes lots of learning, ups and downs, plateaus, and finding peace with where I'm at in this journey," she said.
Charity also found planning her workouts out in advance were key to her weight loss. "I bought guides, I used apps, and I looked things up on YouTube. I never went into the gym just making up what I was going to do that day." Her advice for people getting into a workout routine: "You have to put in the legwork for something you want. If you want something big, you start doing the legwork to get you there."
Charity's Approach to Nutrition
Implementing a workout routine was the first step to improving her health, and Charity also made nutritional changes. Sometimes, she'll count calories or her macros, but she also focuses on intuitive eating [3]. "If I feel I need structure nutritionally, I'll track my food for a while until I feel I can be successful eating mindfully and consciously," Charity explained.
"I've found not restricting myself and allowing myself [to eat] what I want helps me to not binge in the long run," she explained. Here's what a typical day of meals looks like for Charity:
- Breakfast: two cups of coffee with half-and-half, an egg-white omelette with spinach, peppers, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and green onions
- Snack: a plant-based protein powder shake or a FitCrunch protein bar [4]
- Lunch: spinach salad with fat-free feta, dried cranberries, walnuts (optional: rotisserie chicken), and an iced latte
- Snack: banana and coconut peanut butter
- Dinner: chips and homemade guacamole with ground turkey tacos, assorted peppers, mushrooms, onions, coriander, and lime
- Dessert: dark chocolate
Charity's Challenges and Nonscale Victories
Becoming stronger and healthier should be celebrated, but they aren't the only things that matter. For Charity, a major nonscale victory was running a mile without stopping. "I cried like an infant. Things I thought I could never do that I can do now still humble me," she said.
"Running under a seven-minute mile, walking into the gym with confidence like I belong there, enjoying a healthy and balanced relationship with food, and finally seeing some booty gains," are just a few of the nonscale victories she's experienced. Charity explained that her weight-loss journey wasn't always linear, and at times, she hit plateaus and had her fair share of trial and error.
"Sometimes, our bodies leap forward but our thoughts about ourselves stay stuck in the mud, even though we have made progress," Charity said when asked about the challenges she faced when losing weight. For her, "the mental game was much harder than the workout game."
"Learning to love myself, treating myself with patience and kindness, and changing my thoughts has been a hurdle but also a game changer," she said. Once her thoughts began to change "everything else started falling into place."
What Keeps Charity Motivated
Another thing that has helped Charity throughout her weight-loss journey was reminding herself that she's capable. "I feel more capable than I ever have in my entire life," Charity said. "The solid foundation of confidence I have laid allows me to now walk into a room and feel like I can accomplish anything anyone asks me to do," she said.
Charity's Advice For Those Who Want to Start Their Own Weight-Loss Journey
Charity's story shows that a simple goal can change everything. You don't have to start with the most complicated diet or workout routine, you've just got to start somewhere.
For those ready to embark on their own weight-loss journey, Charity said, "My number one tip for people is to get a plan; get some structure. Set a daily goal, a weekly goal, a monthly goal; whatever you can stick to." Instead of doing what everyone else is doing, Charity recommends finding something that works for you and that you can maintain.
Her final piece of advice: "Be kind to yourself, have patience, and allow yourself to mess up sometimes. You're worth loving at every stage in the game."