This Coach Transformed Her Body After Stopping These 5 Common Mistakes

Dierdre Rae is showing off her before-and-after transformation – in a crop top. In a new social media post, the London-based certified health and wellness coach discusses her health journey, revealing how she overcame an eating disorder to become the healthiest version of herself. In the before photo from 2019, she did “hours of exercise every day, massively undereating for days and then binging, the body is constantly swollen and bloated.” Now, in 2024, she has a more balanced approach to diet and exercise and is healthier than ever. Here is how she did it.

She Achieved “Food Freedom” After a 10-Year-Long Eating Disorder Battle

“Food freedom is never something I thought I’d be able to have (for reference, I’m around the same weight in both photos). It was a 10-year battle, but here we are over 5 years later - intuitive eating, never calorie counting, doing the exercise I enjoy, resting without guilt, and not constantly thinking and worrying about food/body image,” she writes in her post. “If you’re struggling, I have a free binge guide in my bio 🫶🏻 (just some tips from me that helped heal binge eating habits for myself, some of my friends, and clients 💗), but here are a few things that helped me start to recover.”

She Read This Book

First, she suggests ordering a book. Buying the book ‘brain over binge’ by Kathryn Hansen (in her Amazon storefront or on audible, was a game-changer. “There’s a book and a recovery guide, make sure you get the book,” she says.

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She Balanced Her Breakfast

Next, she tackled her diet, starting with breakfast. “Eating a balanced breakfast (protein, fats, AND carbs) the morning after a binge/overeating to balance out blood sugars,” she says.

She Quit Dieting

After years of yo-yo dieting and seriously restricting food, Dierdre gave up crash diets for good. “I completely stopped dieting and trying to lose weight (had to sit with that anxiety),” she writes.

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She Reversed Negative Thoughts

She also changed her thought process. “I started standing up for myself by not letting unchecked intrusive thoughts come into my brain. I reversed any negative thought about my body and food into something I’d believe,” she writes.

She Shifted From “Intense Cardio” to Weight Lifting and Walking

She also shifted her approach to exercise. “I stopped all intense cardio while recovering. I only weight lifted and walked. (intense cardio can mimic binge symptoms and make you ravenous),” she explains.

She Incorporated “Fear Foods” Into Her Diet

And lastly, she “ate and incorporated my fear foods EVERY day,” she reveals. “It helped to take away the feeling that if I ate something ‘bad,’ the whole day wasn’t ruined; therefore, I was less likely to binge (I had cake after lunch every day for an entire summer). IT’S NORMAL to overeat it in the beginning, but it’s about practicing taking those foods off of the pedestal we’ve placed them on.”

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Stretching Is Also Important

She discusses how important and “underrated” stretching is in another post. “Getting workouts in is incredible, but mobilizing your body has just as many benefits. I know that stretching is easy to skip out on, especially after you’ve finished a workout. Still, even a few minutes of stretching can have massive benefits,” she writes, listing benefits such as muscle recovery, injury prevention, increased range of motion in joints, enhanced muscle performance, can help improve posture, promotes blood circulation, can relieve stress, enhances athletic performance, and reduces muscle stiffness and soreness. And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.

Are you struggling to lose weight? It could be because you are saying the wrong things to yourself. Hannah White is a personal trainer and online coach who uses her personal experience of losing weight to help others achieve their diet and fitness goals. In a recent post, she revealed a lot of the mistakes she made and things she said to herself that prevented her from losing weight. “The five things limiting beliefs and ‘excuses’ were some of the MAIN things holding me back from achieving my fitness goals in my 30s,” she writes.

She Stopped Saying She Was Too Old to Lift Weights

The first things she quit saying? “I’m too old to start lifting weights,” she reveals. “Age is just a number, and if you’re still able to move your body, then there are ALWAYS things you can do! “If you can sit down & stand up from a chair 🪑 You can ‘Squat.’ If you can pick up shopping bags off the floor 🛍️ You can ‘Deadlift.’ Start small & build from there. You’ll be surprised at what you’re able to achieve with consistency.”

She Stopped Blaming It On Her Metabolism

The second thing she stopped saying: “I have a slow metabolism & can’t lose belly fat,” she reveals. “If you have a diagnosed medical condition, then you should absolutely seek help from your doctor! But for everybody else… your activity level & diet are the main factors that impact your ability to lose belly fat.”

She Stopped Blaming It On Being Premenopausal

Next, she stopped making an excuse that “I’m perimenopausal now, which is making it hard to lose weight,” she says. “True. But it is not the actual hormones that affect your metabolism. Hormones massively affect how we feel, yes! And how we feel affects our daily actions and habits.”

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These Things Helped

She recommends doing these things to help:

• Improving the quality of your sleep
• Managing stress
• Reducing alcohol & caffeine
• Focusing on fuelling your body correctly
• Daily walks and regular weight training.

She Stopped Blaming It On Genetics

“It’s my genetics” is another excuse she stopped making. “Genetics play a role. Let’s face it. We’re not all created the same. Some people inherit a higher basal metabolic rate (BMR), which means they burn more calories when they are at rest. And some people are more ‘naturally’ athletic. However, lifestyle choices & actions also affect your BMR & what your body is capable of!”

She Stopped Saying She Didn’t Have Times

The last thing she stopped saying? “I don’t have time to exercise & eat healthy,” she reveals. “You don’t need to be perfect to make progress with your fat loss & fitness goals. “Doing small things consistently will make a MASSIVE difference, especially if you’re starting from scratch.”

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Here Are Some Tips

She offers the following tips to help with weight loss. “Things like going for a 10min daily walk, eating more protein, adding a portion of fruit or veg to each meal, drinking a glass of water every hour or so, etc.,” she recommends.

She Stopped Exercising to Lose Weight

In another post, she reveals three mistakes she stopped making to lose fat in her 40s. “I stopped seeing exercise as a way to burn calories and started training to get stronger instead,” she says. “This really helped to shape and tone my physique, as getting stronger meant that I built muscle and lost fat in all the right places. Plus, the extra muscle I built burns more calories at rest, so I found I was able to eat more food and still lose weight.”

She Stopped Trying to Eat Less Food

“I stopped just trying to eat less food and started tracking my macros and eating the right quantities of nutrients for me and my goals,” she continues. “This gave me more energy for my workouts and got rid of my sugar cravings for good. “It also allowed me to still eat all the foods I enjoyed without feeling guilty as I knew I was eating what I should be.”

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She Stopped Drinking Alcohol

“I stopped drinking alcohol,” she says. “This one speaks for itself. Better sleep. More energy. Less anxiety and mood swings. More focus on my goals. Also, it’s not just the empty calories in alcohol that affect your weight loss efforts. Alcohol halts your body’s ability to burn fat and build muscle. So it’s definitely something to reduce or eliminate completely if you want the best results.” And if you enjoyed this article, don't miss I’m a Nutritionist and Here Are 25 Weight Loss Truths You Need to Hear.