At first glance, you'd never guess that Anna Victoria used to eat McDonald's three times a day — or was hospitalized because her digestive system shut down from too much junk food.
The trainer and creator of Fit Body Guide [1] told POPSUGAR, "I still [love eating junk food] today, but now I understand that that food was what was responsible for my health problems." She described a moment in college in which the abdominal pain from the aforementioned digestive distress was so severe, she collapsed. It wasn't until later on (with help from her now-husband) that she forewent fast food and transformed her life — and physique!
Anna mentioned that she gets a lot of flak from people when it comes to her transformation, because although she used to eat really poorly, she was never obese. The most common response she gets from people (online or otherwise) is "But you looked fine before!" she said. But she insists that it's not about how you look when it comes to eating right and working out. "I looked fine, but I didn't feel fine," she said. "It doesn't mean that it's any more OK for [someone who isn't obese] to abuse their body with fast food and such poor nutrition."
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Some of you might be able to relate to this — you're looking to live a healthier lifestyle, eat cleaner, exercise, and be kinder to your body, but someone tells you that you don't need to because you look a certain way. "Society tells them 'You're fine, you don't need to work out, you don't need to eat healthy, you look OK,'" Anna said. "But it's not about how someone looks, it's about how they feel." Amen to that. Anna places the priority on feeling good — via healthy habits — and that the physical results are an added bonus. We couldn't agree more.
Anna has some advice for anyone weaning themselves off fast food, because it doesn't happen overnight! "Order the healthiest thing you can" and "do the best with what you're given." She suggests taking it one step, one choice, and one day at a time — don't let yourself become overwhelmed.