In a month, around 38 percent of adults claim they overate or started consuming unhealthy food as a means to fight off stress.
And, this was also the case with Justine McCabe who had to deal with much more than she could handle.
After losing her mother and her husband committing suicide, Justine began finding solace in food; however, she was also gaining a lot of weight.
Her closest ones couldn’t recognize her anymore.
They started expressing their concerns and encouraged her to start exercising. Eventually, she started going to the gym, 4 years ago.
Justine Decides to Change Things & Lose Weight
In the beginning, her decision to go to the gym was out of spite. She would always take a selfie and post it so that others can see her in the gym.
However, the Instagram photos helped her stay accountable and actually exercise consistently.
The more she exercised, the more she was able to shed pounds.
Until today, she’s been able to lose 124 pounds. However, she also found a beneficial way to cope with the loss of the two very important people in her life-her mother and her husband.
Overdoing It Caused Problems
However, soon enough, exercising became an escape from reality for this woman. So, she no longer listened to her body.
She experienced knee pain and when she went to the doctor’s, she was told that she has a torn ACL and meniscus.
She was advised surgery to which Justine responded with more exercise. Unfortunately, she was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
Justine Decides to Slow Down
Justine realized it was her body asking for a pause and recovery.
This is when she decided improving her mindset-rather than striving to become perfect and lose weight all the time. Now, she decided to exercise moderately to keep her current weight.
She did less intense workouts that were softer on her joints, but also enabled her to keep her figure.
She no longer restricted foods, but focused more on intuitive eating. Listening to our bodies is crucial if we want to live a healthy life.
A Happier & Healthier Person
Today, she’s in a much healthier place, both physically and mentally. Her daily goal is to ‘choose to live’.
She’s following this mantra by enjoying activities she never did before, including sky diving, hiking, and travelling.
Regardless of the immense pain she’s experienced because of the loss of her mother and husband, she’s doing her best to live her life in a healthy way and to inspire others.
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