The Secret to Reshaping Your Body: One Woman's Quest for Perfection

My name is Sarah, I'm 21 years old and I've been actively interested, sometimes to an obsessive degree, in developing my best possible body for the past 6 years. As a teen, when I attempted to turn myself toward a healthy lifestyle, I developed a mild eating disorder and tended to overexercise. Though I lost weight, I was slowly destroying my body. I've recovered and gained weight, and haven't felt entirely satisfied with my figure since. Recently, I've finally found success, so I am here to share some things I've learned in my quest.

First, you ought to know a few of my embarrassing details. I'm about 5'5 ½ (5'6" if I stand super-straight) and I weigh 140 pounds (yikes!). You ought to feel priveladged because I hate, hate, HATE owning up to my weight. Honestly, what woman doesn't? However, I often forget to focus on the fact that I'm a size 4-6. That's pretty great! So my first tip:

Forget about Weight!

I've always known that I weigh more than I look like I do. I'm a very densely packed person. Why? Muscle! Muscle is dense tissue, so it takes up less space than fat. So, if you're dense (like me) you're smaller than you would be if you were primarily fat! The scale can't tell you how much of your body is fat (those body composition scales are inaccurate) so it can often be a demon making you feel down when you might be very healthy. You might have more muscle that fat. Which leads me to my next point:

Muscle is Sexy!

When I focus on building muscle, I look hot! My thighs (the source of all my nightmares) look firmer and tighter when I concentrate on weightlifting. In fact, three weeks ago, when I seriously began focusing while hitting the weights, I lost .5 and inch on each thigh! Within a week! What was it? Fat loss, water loss, skin firming-I don't care. They were smaller, and as I'm sure my fellow females know, that's the only thing that matters. Muscle tightens your body and gives a body all the right curves. Muscle certainly has helped to begin reshaping my legs that I thought would never look slim again. How did I slim those stubborn things?

Lift Heavy Weights!

I'm serious. Put down that five-pound dumbbell. NOW! Challenge your muscles. I've been reading magazines that focus on fitness models and figure competitors, which encourage women to life heavy. Well, I finally listened, and they were right. Remember my slimmer thighs? Guess how much they can lift? They can squat 110 pounds and dead lift 80. And I'm only getting stronger. Don't worry about "bulking up" because that takes a lot of time and effort. I haven't gained size with heavy weights because those are not my goals, so don't be afraid. You won't turn into a muscular behemoth without very specific training programs and nutrition.

Eat! Eat a Lot! But Eat Only Clean Foods!

To lose weight, you have to eat. As one who didn't always believe that, you should believe me when I tell you that starving is not the answer. I've damaged my metabolism in my journey for thinness, and am still trying to eat more and build it back up. To fuel tough workouts, you need food, so eat a lot of clean, natural foods. Don't eat anything processed and avoid white sugar and flour. Also, eat protein. You need protein to build muscle, which in turn helps to slim you down, so get as much in as you can. I've been subsisting on a lot of oatmeal, lean protein, veggies, and raw almonds, and I feel fantastic. If you eat completely "clean," it is very difficult to remain (or become) fat because clean foods fill you up and are thus hard to overeat. A book I'd recommend is The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno!

Following these simple steps has begun to reshape my body. Some of my clothes are definitely a bit looser (only three weeks into it!) and I feel healthy. I've found a wonderful and sustainable way of life, and I hope my story will inspire you to throw out some of the old rules, lift heavy weights, lift, and watch your body change!