Our Very Own MeredithECD Gets Fit!

I LOVE success stories. And I love them even more when they hit so close to home. 

Most of you know MeredithECD from visiting The Kitchen Table, Facebook and meeting her at many of our events. She is an integral part of the RKP Books team, and I am so thrilled that she is our guest blogger today. She has done remarkably well remodelling her body into a healthy, happy form. Well done, Meredith!

MeredithECD looking hot!

I’ve struggled with my weight since I was in middle school, over 10 years ago. I started putting on weight slowly at first, but once I hit high school I ballooned up to around 170 pounds. University was the worst time for me, with fast food and school meal plans the only food I could afford, and alcohol in vast supply. I never did make note of my heaviest weight, but the highest number I saw on the scale was 197 pounds.

Almost as bad as my food intake was my exercise – or lack thereof. With plenty of classes, papers to write and a job at the school newspaper, I found more excuses to be lazy than I found reasons to be active. I played ultimate Frisbee for one year, but I’d get halfway across the field during a game and be acutely out of breath.

MeredithECD before her dramatic transformation.

The clincher was when I visited Italy with my sister in my second year of university. We were visiting friends who were living there with their young daughter Ava, and we had made so many fun plans. I found myself tired and lethargic, unwilling even to go tobogganing with Ava and feeling just plain miserable.

At one point, Ava’s mom actually had to physically pick my chin up because she noticed I was looking down at the ground while we walked – in Venice! Imagine watching the ground while you walk around the beautiful city of Venice! I was too afraid to look up and see the faces looking back at me in disgust or disappointment – I was used to seeing that in Canada all the time.
After this trip, and after an emotional intervention from my family, I finally realized I needed to make a change. I was tired of feeling sick each and every day because of the foods I was eating. I could barely last through a full class because I felt tired all the time. I was 20 years old and slowly killing myself with bad food choices and inactivity. I wasn’t ready to give up on a healthy and vital life.

I started by adding in slightly more exercise – my apartment building in third year of university had a gym – and walking to campus instead of taking the bus. I knew this wouldn’t be enough, though. I cleared the junk out of my sections of the kitchen cupboards and fridge, and filled them instead with lower fat dairy, whole grain pastas and leaner meats.

Eating these foods, I cut out enough fat to lose about 40 pounds. I wouldn’t realize it until later, but I am lactose intolerant and sensitive to red meat, so these were clearly not good choices for me. I also had no clue about portion sizes or proper servings. Stuck in a plateau at about 160 pounds for two years, I was tired of feeling like I wasn’t reaching my potential.

Then I started working at Robert Kennedy Publishing. I can’t even express how thankful I am for having been introduced to The Eat-Clean Diet and Tosca’s amazing wealth of knowledge! I started following The Eat-Clean Diet Principles > sticking to complex carbs, healthy fats and lean proteins and, most surprisingly for me, finally getting my portions right!

MeredithECD hard at work - flexing that is!

I’ve lost 20 pounds since I started working at RKP, and I’m not looking back! My goal is to carve out more muscle definition and work on trimming down my stomach and thighs. I’m not worried about the number on the scale anymore – feeling healthy, beautiful and happy is worth so much more to me.

And best of all, I’ll never again look at the ground while I’m walking! I’m too busy taking in the sights around me and feeling thankful that I am still here to enjoy them.