Testimonial Tuesdays get me so excited. I found Brittany on Instagram after she posted a picture of one of my recipes. I checked out her pictures and found her amazing transformation! She is such an inspiration to me, juggling nursing, cross fit, and clean eating. And talk about small world, Brittany and I actually have mutual friends because she’s from Mississippi and I’m from Louisiana! Follow her on instagram at @bstew26 .

Bottom Left: Me at 145lbs during the summer of 2012 Top Left: After 8months of Crossfit, no real change to my eating or drinking habits. Right: After a year and a half of Crossfit and an 80/20 clean eating diet!
Growing up, I was never a kid that struggled with my weight. I stayed active with cheerleading in school, so looking back I know I never really was overweight. However, that in no way means I didn’t struggle with body issues. Right before I started Junior High, puberty was really cruel to me. It seemed that overnight my body turned into an hourglass figure and my thighs and hips grew twice their size. My body changed so quickly that I had (and still have to this day) stretch marks on my thighs! I was so self-conscious to get into shorts or my cheerleading uniform or a bathing suit. And I know that you’re thinking, “Every girl wants that hour glass figure!” But trust me, as a 12 year old girl, all I knew was that I was DIFFERENT, and during that time in life all you really want to do is fit in. So although my struggle was never really with my weight when I was younger, I definitely dealt with some body issues. I know what it’s like to not be comfortable in your own skin….

many of the principles behind this lifestyle at a very young age. Without knowing it at the time, I was a pretty Paleo child. Being raised on a farm in upstate New York, I regularly ate eggs that came from our own chickens, organic veggies grown in our back yard, and humanely raised, grass-fed meat, from sheep and goat we raised as well.