I recently made a commitment to eat cleaner—less processed food, no added sugar, and no artificial sweeteners, just clean, fresh, whole foods—as close to their natural state as possible. Colorful fruits and vegetables and lean meat. Although I had already eliminated a lot of processed, highly refined foods from my diet already, more and more "junk food" had begin to creep back in.

The first two days were extremely difficult. I almost quite. I wanted to eat and munch so bad. I thought I would go crazy. But that is just the point. All that eating, snacking, and munching was causing more regain. Although some regain is quite normal, I had gained past the point I was willing to go. Not only were my clothes getting tighter, but I realized that even with consistent Pilates classes, I just wasn't as flexible as I was a few years ago.

But I didn't quit and I'm so glad I didn't. You know what they said, it's darkest right before the dawn. Little did I know I was on the verge of a breakthrough. By the third day, my cravings disappeared. My blood sugar became more stable, I begin to lose weight, and I started to feel terrific.