Guest post by Renata Trebing

Intuive Nutritionist & founder of Nourish with Renata

About 6 years ago, I was the heaviest I had ever been. 

When my husband saw the scale inch up over 200 lbs, I literally saw him shake his head. Shake. His. Head. And I didn’t murder him. That’s real love, y’all.

To be fair, it was because I was pregnant with twins. And, all the reading and doctors told me I needed to gain weight so that the babies could get bigger. Of course, I happily obliged. Mostly because I love chocolate milkshakes but also because I wanted to make sure my kiddos were healthy and strong, and didn’t need to spend time in the NICU.

The babies arrived, and I spent months sleep deprived, nursing and changing A LOT of diapers. 

I made a pact with myself that I would not even *think* about working out or limiting my food intake (breastfeeding two babies requires a lot of calories) for 6 months. 

Once that 6 month mark rolled around, I was ready to focus on me again. 

Note that I didn’t say I was ready to “get back in shape” or “get my body back”. I think so many moms fall into this trap of thinking their bodies need to return to what they looked like pre-baby (or pre-babies in my case).

Instead, I wanted to feel strong and healthy. I wanted my body to feel like mine again. 

I had spent almost 10 months carrying babies, then 6 more months breastfeeding them almost exclusively. So I was ready to make my body my temple once more. 

Going through a twin pregnancy really made me realize how amazing the female body is. I mean, everything stretched, shifted and molded to make room for two human babies. That is pretty miraculous. But the miracle doesn’t stop there. 

I saw how my body changed after delivery, and how it kept shifting and changing as I started to nourish and nurture my body.

I saw how I felt totally satisfied when I added the right combination of ingredients to my plate, and how I didn’t crave sugary candy bars anymore.

I saw how my body grew stronger with every push up and sit up. That my stamina increased with every jog and burpee. 

In the months that followed, I lost weight, got physically stronger, but most of all, I gained mental strength. What I always like to say is that “Exercise and Nutrition is a physical manifestation of a mental muscle”.

When we can see ourselves doing one more weighted squat, even though our legs are shaking, that mental muscle gets stronger.

When we opt for a big, colorful salad for lunch, even though everyone around us is grabbing pizza and fries like it’s going out of style, you better believe that mental muscle is doing a whole ‘nother set of 10!

There is something so empowering about making a daily choice to nourish and nurture your body. Whether it be starting off your day with a smoothie, or adding an extra veggie to your plate, you can feel a palpable difference when you choose to eat less refined foods and more fresh produce and lean proteins.

I started to realize that eating healthy foods didn’t have to mean eating boring foods with no flavor. In fact, I started to create my own healthy recipes that were filled with nutritious ingredients but still helped me feel amazing and energized. These recipes helped me, and my family, feel better than we ever had before. 

I shared these recipes with friends and family, and soon after, I started my healthy food blog, NourishwithRenata.com. 

I started developing meal plans for women based on these and similar recipes, and I heard rave reviews back from my clients. They loved the food, and they felt good about fueling their bodies with these good-for-you ingredients. One client actually reduced her cholesterol so much that she was able to stop taking cholesterol medication. Another client lost almost 8.5 inches over her whole body while following the meal plans! Even better than that, I have seen the confidence and self-belief in these women grow as they make a daily commitment to keep showing up for themselves.

That’s why I created my cookbook, Nourish Your Body: A 30 Day Healthy and Delicious Meal Plan. I know the power of having recipes that not only are healthy, but are also full of flavor and energize you. I have seen the transformation that women go through when they follow the meal plan, and see the weight and inches dropping off, and their confidence soaring. I’ve seen this happen to my clients, and I’ve seen it happen to me too. 

So I guess you could say that being over 200 lbs was the best thing that ever happened to me. It allowed me to see the power of the human body, to make a choice 6 months after having twins to nourish my body, which led me where I am today, sharing my first cookbook with you. I hope you’ll make the choice today to nourish your body too. Because I know powerful things can happen, when you make a choice to show up for you. 

Grab your copy of the Nourish Your Body Cookbook.