Hello, I am Sarah Thomas, founder and CEO of Burn Fat and Feast. Today we're talking about what I have personally changed this year, and it's not about eating less and working out more. Now, I know you probably want me to get right into the details of exactly what I've changed to see massive physical transformations in my body this year, and I promise we will get there.

But first I need to start with a little backstory. So I created Burn Fat and Feast almost 11 years ago. I created it for myself.

I was 35 years old and I started to feel changes in my body inside and out. I felt frustrated. I was overwhelmed.

I felt irritable regularly. I was eating little to nothing every single day, around a thousand calories or less. And I was tapped out.

I was tapped out as far as how much physical activity I could do. I often spent an hour and a half working out daily and I was just plain tired. I was tired and I was unhappy.

I was not in a space that I knew was sustainable, nor was I in a fun place to live. I felt like I was truly in a food jail where I couldn't allow myself to eat anything other than whole foods. And I often felt like I would opt out of social situations because I knew that there would be food all around me.

I knew that my body couldn't handle the food that would be there, the drinks I desperately wanted to partake in, but I was afraid. I was afraid to consume anything but certain whole foods and little to nothing.  So the truth is, I hit rock bottom.

I hit rock bottom when I was 35 years old. I had lived in this lifestyle of deprivation and overtraining, overworking out, and it consumed my thoughts. It consumed my thoughts all day long, every day.

All I could think about was food and moving food and moving since my early twenties. Now, if you've ever been there or right now you feel like you're there, you know, you know how mentally exhausting it feels. It literally takes over every aspect of your life.

It seeps into your relationships, into your self-confidence, your self-worth, and quite literally, it holds you prisoner in your own skin. Now, I think I should also mention if you don't know this about my story and this part of my story, that at that time in my life when I was 35 years old, I was teaching 20+ fitness classes a week and undereating majorly. And I was carrying 15 pounds of excess weight, with little to no muscle definition.

And again, I felt awful on the inside. And so that's my story from my twenties to my mid-thirties. That's how I lived.

And it was also the birth of burn, fat and feast burn, fat and feast was created so that I could personally find freedom and happiness in my life once again. So now fast forward to this time last year, I had lived the Burn Fat & FEAST lifestyle for about 10 years. I transformed my body inside and out.

My gut health was healed. My mindset had changed from deprivation in the all-or-nothing mindset to one of food, freedom, flexibility in my daily life, and happiness returned to my life once again.  And I, and I have to say that my personal relationships all around also improved.

I was physically in a place where I felt strong and confident in my own skin. From the time I started living the Burn Fat & FEAST lifestyle at age 35 up until my mid-forties, I changed my body composition, and I was physically carrying more muscle and less fat. Now that was a 10-year transformation for the most recent transformation that you are here to hear about.

And to be totally transparent and honest over the course of those 10 years, my progress was one of Hills and valleys. It wasn't always easy. I wasn't always motivated.

I didn't work out every day. I wasn't always meal planning. I wasn't always tracking my nutrition and I certainly wasn't always getting the rest that my body needed.

That's 10 years’ worth. And that's where I was at the end of 2022. I was basically living the lifestyle I'd always lived for 10 years, but I found myself going through a lot of the motions doing some of the things, but not doing the things well or with intention.

That's where I was in 2022. So, in January of 2023, end of December 2022, I think this honestly started as far as my mindset and thinking about, okay, I need to do some things differently while living this lifestyle. I know works so incredibly well and has worked for me for so long.

I needed to stop and get back to some basics. It wasn't that Burn Fat & FEAST wasn't working for me any longer. It was that I wasn't working honestly, and I wasn't truthful in my own journey.

I was in the thick of some business upgrades and some business changes. And some of those things were again, being totally honest and transparent with you here.  They were weighing me down.

They were weighing on me and they were causing stress 24/7. I have three kids. Two of them are teenage daughters, which is stressful in and of itself.

And again, to be honest, winter is my least favorite time of the year. And it often brings on sad for me, seasonal affective disorder. I wasn't prioritizing my own rest.

I was allowing work to bleed into my personal life and I wasn't connecting with my husband, Mike. So here's the thing. I was still following my burn, fat and fees, nutrition and working out daily, but I forgot some of the most important foundational pieces to the wellness puzzle.

The foundational principles that we teach in Burn Fat & FEAST. I was allowing the outside world to control my wellness. I began reprioritizing my sleep, making eight hours a night, a non-negotiable.

I decided to not allow work stress or other stresses to control my thoughts. And I decided to release some toxicity that I knew needed to go and was weighing me down in business. I recommitted to my neat movement.

If you're new to that term, that is the non-exercise movement that you do throughout the day. I dove back into all the educational trainings that I provide for our Burn Fat & FEAST members on mindset, limiting beliefs, and creating a strong, why gut health. I reconnected with all of that.

I reconnected with our Burn Fat & FEAST community for the support I knew I needed during this time and the result. And I hesitate to even say the result because I will be forever on a wellness journey. So these are not results, but it's a near snapshot of my progress.

I am a work in progress. I started sleeping more soundly. I started waking up, feeling happy and rested again.

I was able to turn off work and reconnect with my family. I felt more energy.  I was more motivated in all areas of my life.

And yes, what you have seen on social media is the outward result of these changes. The physical result of these changes is I've lost almost 10 inches and I've dropped an entire pant size. Have I lost weight on the scale? Probably, but honestly, I haven't weighed.

I don't know because that number does not matter to me in the slightest. I’m only focused on gaining muscle mass for longevity in my life and to keep my metabolism high. So were there physical changes and a result? Absolutely.

But it was all the internal work that I did to create that. Now, let me remind you, that I have focused on these things along with being intentional with my workouts and nutrition for eight months now, eight months of this year. And if you followed what I said earlier about my journey, creating Burn Fat & FEAST. I've honestly been on this journey for over 10 years now.

So, I say that because this is not, nor was it a six-week transformation or a 12-week transformation. Although when I began living the Burn Fat & Feast lifestyle 10 years ago, I did see those three-month changes. But this right now, this year was an eight-month transformation that truly started 10 years ago, started 10 years ago with the mindset changes.

And because of that, my journey over the last 10 years, I was able to see quickly that I was in a lull in my journey and be able to pull myself right out of it and go right back to the educational training that we teach inside Burn Fat & FEAST. So over the last 10 years, I had highs and lows just like you do. That's a normal part of the journey.

I've had physical changes and mindset changes. And this year, this year, and in and of itself, because I've learned so much through the previous years and I've stayed committed to some of the foundational principles that we teach in Burn Fat & FEAST, I've begun to reap the rewards physically. So I'm very thankful.

I am incredibly thankful to our Burn Fat & FEAST community for all the education that we provide so I can continue to learn and grow with our members throughout this journey of life to be my best self. And so there are three C's of success. Those are commitment, consistency, and community, making the commitment to a lifestyle and having a step-by-step plan of action to make it happen is a key ingredient.

Consistency is where I feel most people get confused along the way. Consistency means being consistent with what you can do right now. That doesn't mean never missing a workout, or never having poor food choice days.

Consistency is what you do most of the time. And so, I say that most people confuse that because when we say consistency, I think the mindset is I must be perfect. I must continually work out six days a week and I'm not consistent unless I'm doing that consistently.

Consistency is what you do most of the time. You're going to have missteps along the way. And that final aspect, the community aspect is simply not talked about enough.

As I mentioned earlier, without the support and daily interaction from our Burn Fat & FEAST members, I would have been okay with the complacency that I found myself in at the end of last year. So the ebbs and flows of wellness are normal.

What's essential is that you have the core pieces in place and the education to fall right back in when you get to where I was last year. So I want to share with you the Burn Fat & FEAST pillars and fat loss principles that are our core pieces. And there are seven of them.

The first one is mindset management. This is where I went back to this year. We create a positive mindset.

We grant grace with progress over perfection through our flexible and sustainable lifestyle. And that creates a strong foundation to learn and grow again, foundation. If you don't have that strong foundation, you are going to fall out and not be able to pull yourself back.

The second principle is gut health healing. And we practice gut health healing through whole-food nutrition. The third pillar of Burn Fat & FEAST and our fat loss principles is macro-management.

We talk about macronutrients and how we truly need to eat more food, especially as we get older. We have three signature phases in Burn Fat & FEAST and three signature seasons that we walk our members through. The fourth pillar is regular rest.

This is one we do not talk about enough truly as we get older and our metabolism and hormones start changing more and more. We need to prioritize proper sleep and recovery days as well as digestive rest through intermittent fasting and balancing our hormones. The fifth pillar is effective exercise.

It's not just about movement. It's not just about taking a fitness class. It's not just about going in and doing a workout.

It's about effectively moving our body with a variety of workouts to increase our metabolism, working smarter, not harder. And the sixth pillar here is community connection with our assigned mentors and our Burn Fat & FEAST sister community. We have an unmatched accountability system and connection and the seventh and final pillar of fat loss and the Burn Fat & FEAST lifestyle is our signature system.

We have a research-based approach to our three phases and our three seasons. And we give you educational trainings throughout your journey to avoid plateaus and to keep you learning and growing. 

If you're feeling that slump right now, I got you, friend. If you're currently feeling that low in your journey, now is the time to transform your life and achieve the body you've always dreamed of. 

Picture a life where you not only shed unwanted pounds but also nourish your body with delicious, wholesome foods. The Burn Fat & FEAST program is not just a diet; it's a transformative lifestyle that empowers you to take control of your well-being.

 Say goodbye to restrictive diets and hello to a sustainable approach that combines effective fat-burning strategies with the joy of indulging in nourishing feasts. It's about finding balance, enjoying your favorite foods, and sculpting the body you deserve.

Join our vibrant community of like-minded individuals who are committed to embracing a healthier lifestyle. Together, we celebrate victories, overcome challenges, and provide the support needed to ensure your success.

What are you waiting for? Prep week starts February 12, 2024. If you have further questions, please remember, do not hesitate to reach out.

I am here for you. I'm walking this walk and this fight with you along the way to be the best version of myself and you inside and out. So until next time live well, happy, and to your full potential.

The journey to a happier, healthier YOU starts now! Click the link to join Burn Fat & FEAST and unlock a world of possibilities. Your body, mind, and soul will thank you for making this empowering choice. Seize the opportunity – your transformation awaits! 🔥🌈💪

🔗 Join Burn Fat & FEAST now! 

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