Breaking Bad Habits: How Fit Mother Kristen Turned Negatives Into Positives — And Lost Over 90 Pounds

Written by: Dr. Anthony Balduzzi,

Founder of The Fit Mother Project & Fit Father Project

Founder, The Fit Mother Project
Founder, The Fit Father Project

Written by: Dr. Anthony Balduzzi,

Founder of The Fit Mother Project & Fit Father Project

Founder, The Fit Mother Project
Founder, The Fit Father Project

breaking bad habits

Breaking bad habits can help you turn negatives into positives, and get your mind, body, and soul moving in the right direction.

That's what Fit Mother Kristen did, and it changed her life!

Kristen, like many of us, struggled with her health and nutrition.

Over the years, she tried fad diets and a bunch of other stuff that just didn’t work.

She was lacking energy and wasn't happy in a lot of places in her life, and that lack of contentment was affecting her marriage, family, and other relationships.

Eventually, she found herself in a place where she just couldn’t continue the pattern of her old habits anymore.

She had to make a change.

Then, she found the Fit Mother Project, enlisted her best friend to join with her, and she was off and running!

And, she was able to reinvigorate her life, physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.

She got herself completely on track, and learned so many amazing lessons along the way!

Listen to Kristen's Story on the Fit Mother Project Podcast:

Depressed, Discouraged, and Just Unhappy in Life

One day at church, Kristen met an old friend who had lost about 30 pounds on the Fit Father Project.

She was thoroughly impressed by this transformation and decided to explore the Fit Mother Project

“I got home that night, hopped on my computer, and found that the Fit Mother Project was the complement to the Fit Father Project. I was really excited about it, so I talked to my best friend about it. She was looking for a change too. So we joined the program and never looked back.”

At the time of joining the Fit Mother Project, Kristen weighed 235 pounds.

She knew she had to change her habits to become healthy and lose weight. 

“I was at my heaviest. I'm midlife. I'm not in a place where I can continue the pattern of old habits. I've got to make a change. I was lacking a lot of energy. I wasn't happy in lots of places in my life, and that lack of contentment was affecting my marriage, family, and relationships with people.” 

Despite her weight, Kristen was doing her best to remain physically active.

Nevertheless, her body was not aligning with her physical fitness goals.

“I was trying to do a lot of things that I just wasn't physically able to do anymore. I started sinking into a place of significant discouragement. When I look back, I feel like I was probably depressed, and I'm a bit of a pessimist anyway.”

One of Kristen’s biggest weaknesses was emotional eating, which played a significant role in her weight gain. 

“My brother had died the fall of the year before. So the patterns of emotional eating that I had then hit overdrive, and I gained an extra 15 to 20 pounds in about six months. So I knew I needed to change the way I was living my life. I couldn’t continue because I was going to eat myself to death.”

Even though Kristen had tried some weight loss techniques before joining the Fit Mother Project, she did not have the knowledge, education, and expertise to drive the right results.

“The way the Fit Mother Project Project laid out the educational aspects of what nutrition looks like was simply great. I learned so much. I loved the program's structure, and being able to control my environment. It was a fantastic experience because it felt like you were equipping me right from the beginning on how exactly to do that.” 

Everything from lessons on the importance of hydration to preparing healthy meals was life-changing for Kristen. 

Find out how Kristen created healthy habits and behaviors using a positive feedback loop!

Breaking Bad Habits

The Fit Mother Project gave Kristen the courage and motivation to get rid of her unhealthy old habits.

Even though building new habits was overwhelming, she kept going and gave it her best. 

“It was a lot of work. Every morning I'd get up and already have a plan because of the journaling that the Fit Mother Project had given us. It taught us about our water intake, breakfast, lunch, dinner, our go-to meals, and things like that. It really prepared me for success straight out in front without me having to make a lot of decisions in the spur of the moment.”

Still, one of the most nerve-wracking aspects of the Fit Mother Project for Kristen was exercising. 

“I was scared to death because even though I was a physical person in the past, I never did anything past college. But even then, I was overweight and never fit, nor had I been given a lot of instruction on how to do that. So the exercises were excellent.”

Within two weeks of joining the Fit Mother Project, Kristen began noticing changes in her body and the way she felt about herself, even though they were not clearly visible on the scale. 

She recalls how the Fit Mother Project urges you to celebrate non-scale victories (NSVs).

“I could see strides being made very early on, even if it wasn't on the scale, which is great because the program recognizes non-scale victories too. Sometimes they're bigger than the ones on the scale that you get on every morning.”

Kristen's entire family began to get on board.

Her husband joined the Fit Father Project and lost 25 pounds! 

“In the process of all this happening, my husband and children have done better. They eat a lot more of what I eat nowadays. And I keep a lot less in the house, giving them the opportunity to eat according to my plans. Desserts and other things that used to trigger the eating around the house nonchalantly have dropped significantly. So that’s good.” 

At first, Kristen wanted to get down to 155 pounds.

She got there and set a new goal for 145.

“I was able to continue eating on plan and having a free meal once in a while, or a free item once in a while, and doing my exercises six, seven days a week, and I was still dropping.”

She continued setting new goals and ended up losing about 100 pounds,

Kristen recalls how she used to hate looking at herself in the mirror before starting the program.

“I didn't like looking in the mirror. It affected my intimacy with my husband because I hated myself. I really was very discouraged by the fact that I continued to increase the sizes of my clothing. I was a size 18 going into a 20 pretty quickly.”

However, not just her body but her mindset also changed during her fitness journey.

It was motivating to get going. I started to see the changes and have more energy. I started to have a different mindset about things I saw that I could be really proactive for my own health. It was very empowering. Before, I just felt completely defeated. I really think that the biggest transformation for me even early on was a mental one because I started to really take responsibility for the fact that I had a lack of self-control and discipline in the way I eat.”

So, what would Kristen say to someone looking to join the Fit Mother Project?

“The most important part is using the tools the Fit Mother Project gives us. Go back and read the meal plan. Go all the way from the beginning to the end. This process is meant to enable you to get fit and take care of yourself. A big part of doing this successfully is believing that it's not going to happen overnight. Be patient with yourself and gracious because it's hard work. Be courageous, take a breath and start and do as much as you can. And every day that you keep showing up and you keep doing it, you're going to start believing in yourself more. Also, become a part of the Fit Mother Project’s Facebook community. For me, that community was a huge part of my success.” 

breaking bad habits

3 Key Takeaways From Kristen's Journey

To summarize, here are three key lessons you can learn from Kristen’s successful health and fitness journey:

Lesson 1: Hydration Is Extremely Vital

Water not only removes toxins from your body and acts like fuel for your workout regime, but it also keeps you full.

Begin your day with water.

After all, seven to eight hours of recommended sleep during the night is a long period to go without any water consumption.

Lesson 2: Overcome Self-Destructive Behavior to Steer Positive Changes in Your Life

Self-destructive behaviors aren't good.

Continue with the negative momentum in your life, and it will spiral you deeper until you hit rock bottom, where you know you need to shift gears.

For example, Kristen hit the point in her life where she started hating her own body because of her weight and eating habits.

That’s when she knew she had to do something about it.

But, once you generate positive momentum in your life and change it for the better, you’ll become unstoppable.

Lesson 3: Start Your Health and Fitness Journey With Structure

When you start with structure, you can start to see results and energy in a proper direction.

And then it becomes self-reinforcing in time.

Consider your health and fitness goals.

Ensure you’re creating a balanced routine.

Start slow and progress steadily.

Build activity into your daily routine.

Be flexible as and when required, whether it’s your meal plans or workout regime.

Lastly, allow time for recovery.

What is FM30X?

FM30X is a simple, sustainable, and specific weight loss program that is designed especially for busy women over 40. With short metabolic training workouts, an easy-to-follow meal plan, and an accountability team that is there for you at every step, FM30X can help you lose 30, 40, or even 50+ lbs — even if you’ve never picked up a weight in your life.

Click here to see what you get when you join the FM30X program today!

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Dr. Anthony Balduzzi
Founder of The Fit Mother Project & Fit Father Project

Founder, The Fit Mother Project
Founder, The Fit Father Project

After watching his own Dad lose his health and pass away at the young age of 42, Dr. Balduzzi founded The Fit Mother Project and Fit Father Project to help busy moms and dads get and stay healthy for their families.

Dr. Anthony Balduzzi holds dual degrees in Psychology & Nutrition from the University of Pennsylvania, a Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine, and is also a former national champion bodybuilder. He’s is most proud of the fact that he’s helped over 40,000 families in over 100 countries lose weight and get healthy for life.

If you’re a busy mom who wants to finally lose weight, get healthy, and actually keep the pounds off for good, this is the simple program you’ll love sticking to…

Fit Mother Project is the answer you’ve been looking for. Inside the program, you’ll receive:

  • The simple & delicious Fit Mother Meal Plan with easy recipes for you and your family.
  • The metabolism-boosting Fit Mother Project workouts to kickstart your metabolism for fast fat burning.
  • VIP email coaching where we’ll personally walk you through the program.
GET STARTED TODAY FOR FREE

If you’re a busy mom who wants to finally lose weight, get healthy, and actually keep the pounds off for good, this is the simple program you’ll love sticking to…

Our Fit Mother 30X Program (FM30X) is the answer you’ve been looking for. Inside FM30X, you’ll receive:

  • The simple & delicious Fit Mother Meal Plan with easy recipes for you and your family.
  • The metabolism-boosting Fit Mother 30X Workout (under 90 min/week) to kickstart your metabolism for fast fat burning.
  • VIP email coaching where we’ll personally walk you through the program.
Learn More About FM30X

*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on breaking bad habits.

Join Fit Father 30X

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Fit Mother Project Fact-Checking Standards

Our Fit Mother Project Team’s deepest commitment is to helping you live healthier for both yourself and your family. And when it comes to online content, integrity and trust is everything. That’s why our Fit Mother Project staff-writers are all trained professionals in the field of health and wellness (registered dieticians, licensed personal trainers, and licensed physicians) – see the full team here. We rigorously run all of our articles through a rigorous editorial process to ensure the accuracy, simplicity, and utility of the information. And we aren’t just a team of “academics” sitting in an ivory tower. We are real people – with jobs, responsibilities, and families – working hard in the trenches and testing our tips & methods out to make sure you can stay healthy for family.

Here is what you can expect from us on our Fit Mother Blog and YouTube channel:

  1. All of our content is written and reviewed by licensed health professionals (dieticians, personal trainers, doctors).
  2. In nearly all of our articles, we link to published research studies from the most respected peer-reviewed medical & health journals.
  3. We include research-based videos to accompany our articles to make it easier for you to consume our content, put it into action, and see results.
  4. Inside our articles & videos, we do promote our free meal plans, workouts, and/or paid programs, because we know they have the potential to change your life.
  5. We openly take feedback here on our contact page. We welcome your content suggestions… and even feedback on grammar (we’d like to thing that we’re pretty OK at spelling and “stuff”).
  6. Above all, we are a community of likeminded men and women committed to living healthier. We do not advocate any health advice that we wouldn’t personally implement with our families. Because as far as we’re concerned, you’re our family too.

Thanks for checking out the blog. We can’t wait to support you toward greater health, energy, and vitality.

– The Fit Mother Project Team

 

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