An Australian personal trainer has written a letter to her younger self as a reminder of what fitness errors she has corrected overtime to sculpt the body of her dreams.
Rachel Dillon, who lives in Queensland, used to restrict her food intake, do ‘excessive’ amounts of cardio each day and feel guilty about missing a workout as a teenager.
Now she balances her cardio with weight training and ensures she’s getting enough nutrients to build lean muscle and protect her joints.
In an Instagram post shared on Thursday Rachel showcased a before and after image of her body as a teenager and today to convey the difference over time.
Rachel Dillon, who lives in Queensland, used to restrict her food intake, do ‘excessive’ amounts of cardio each day and feel guilty about missing a workout as a teenager
In an Instagram post shared on Thursday Rachel showcased a before and after image of her body as a teenager and today to convey the difference over time
‘Dear teenage me I wish I could go back and tell you that you don’t need to restrict yourself of the foods you love, put down the magazines telling you ‘nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’ and you don’t need to label foods ‘good’ and ‘bad’.
‘Stop comparing yourself to others, this is your journey, there is no need to do excessive amounts of cardio each day, you don’t need to do 50 crunches before bed each night to ‘get abs’ and stop fearing the weights room.
‘You don’t need to feel guilty for missing a workout or over indulging, stop letting the scales define you, they are just a number and you don’t need to TRY (try being the key word because this was never sustainable) and eat 1,200 calories a day because a tracking app said so.’
Rachel went on to tell her 1.4million followers that education is power and she’s glad to have the knowledge to learn from her past wellness mistakes
Rachel went on to tell her 1.4million followers that education is power and she’s glad to have the knowledge to learn from her past wellness mistakes.
‘I say it a lot but I truly mean it when I say education is power. The reason I say this repetitively is because I have been there, I have made just about all the mistakes you could think of when it comes to health and fitness,’ she said.
‘I promise you putting in the work and time now allows you to set yourself up for long term success in the future.
‘If you are dreading your health and fitness journey, I’m here to tell you, you don’t have to.
‘I promise you, you can create a lifestyle you truly enjoy and on YOUR TERMS.’
Rachel, who has her own exercise program called Move With Us, credits weight lifting to getting a taut derriere and ‘snatched waist’.
Before and after images of Rachel (pictured) shared online show how weights can help sculpt the body and build lean muscle
‘Weight lifting changed my life and believe it or not I once was SO against doing it. I still remember the first day I lifted weights at my local gym, I would only allow myself to do one to two leg exercises because I was SO scared of getting ‘too muscly’,’ Rachel wrote.
‘I still remember sitting on a leg press for the first time, I only completed one set because I was SO fearful.’
At the time Rachel questioned her habits and asked herself what she’s fearful of.
‘If only I could go back and tell my younger self. Life the weight! Eat more! Fear less!’ she said.
‘Weight lifting changed my life and believe it or not I once was SO against doing it. I still remember the first day I lifted weights at my local gym, I would only allow myself to do one to two leg exercises because I was SO scared of getting ‘too muscly’,’ Rachel wrote
‘There is so much we don’t do because we are conditioned by society to think a certain way,’ Rachel added.
Today Rachel shares both home and gym workout ideas for others to follow, and to build muscle she eats up to 2300 calories a day.
She often begins a workout at the gym with barbell squats followed by Romanian deadlifts, then elevated reverse lunges and hip thrusts.
To ensure she gradually builds muscle, Rachel eats more calories than her body burns every day, but she admitted a calorie surplus can be difficult to stick to.
‘Honestly with my busy schedule I personally find a calorie surplus can be quite hard to adhere to, so preparation is KEY!!!’ she wrote.
To hit her daily targets, she eats three meals, a healthy morning snack and an afternoon dessert she eats before dinner.
Rachael ensures she to hit her targets of 111g protein, 69g fat and 359 calories every day.
She starts the day with a 9am oat milk latte with two sweeteners, followed by a ‘bagel board’ spread at 10am she fills with fresh mango, passionfruit, strawberries, blueberries and cherry tomatoes.
Rather than eating dessert after dinner, Rachel enjoys waffles and chocolate ice crema topped with ice cream at 4:30pm (left). By 6:30pm she sits down to have a bowl of crispy salmon with pasta and and a leafy green salad (right)
By 11:30am she enjoys dried mango sliced for a quick on-the-go snack.
Lunch is often at 2pm in the afternoon and on this occasion Rachel made poached chicken with curry sauce, rice and a side of greens.
Rather than eating dessert after dinner, Rachel enjoys waffles and chocolate ice crema topped with ice cream at 4:30pm.
‘Yes I always eat dessert before dinner,’ she wrote.
By 6:30pm she sits down to have a bowl of crispy salmon with pasta and and a leafy green salad.
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