Colleen Lost 104 Pounds Going Vegan and Eating This 1 Meal For Lunch and Dinner

Colleen shared with POPSUGAR, "I started my weight-loss journey in August of 2016 to lose the 80 pounds I gained being in my current relationship." Also, after donating her stem cells to her father who had acute myeloid leukemia, she was told by her doctor that she was a candidate for other medical issues, and he recommended she live a healthier lifestyle. Colleen began working out regularly and changed her diet.

Colleen went from being a vegetarian to a vegan and focused on portion control. She's into tofu and tempeh and is obsessed with raw veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, string beans, and especially brussels sprouts. She adds, "I like to have a very colorful diet. I don't really count carbs, but I like to make sure snacks and food are low-carb."

Here's an example of a typical day of meals and snacks:

Breakfast: protein shake with vitamins and greens

Lunch: a vegan protein, usually tofu or tempeh, with veggies (mostly broccoli and brussels sprouts)

Dinner: vegan protein with veggies

Snacks: low-carb tortilla with peanut butter, banana with peanut butter, or homemade protein cookies

"I fell in love with working out and work out five to six days a week, taking classes such as Spinning, kickboxing, step, and also working out by myself on the gym floor," Colleen shares. "I love to do fasted cardio in the morning, and then weight training and/or a class at night. Honestly, if I can take a Spin class every day I would."

Fasted cardio for Colleen is usually around 9 a.m., except for Wednesdays when she teaches indoor cycling early in the morning at 5:45 a.m. "I eat breakfast around 11 a.m. after my fasted cardio at 9 a.m., otherwise Wednesdays I eat around 7 a.m."

"Some non-scale victories I experienced are a whole new wardrobe. Everything in my closets is new. It felt so great to donate all my other clothes as well. Also nobody recognizes me anymore! I can wave hello to someone from my town, and then I have to say who I am, and they say, 'Wow, you look great!!'"

Colleen shares that before losing all this weight and getting healthy, "I always felt sluggish and tired and now I always have such great energy." That keeps her motivation up!

She also feels proud of the changes she sees in her body and keeps on the healthy path so she can maintain her progress. Her stomach is flatter, her arm and leg muscles are more defined, and she loves the way her clothes fit — she went from a size 2XL to a size small!

Colleen wants to remind us that losing weight doesn't happen overnight. She suggests, "Take your weight-loss journey day by day and pound by pound. Some days you might eat healthier than others, but don't let one bad day of eating tear you down. Take that food you ate as fuel and go lift!! Trust in the process and trust in your body! And above all else, make sure you stretch!"

"Definitely stick with your weight-loss journey," Colleen says. "There will be ups and there will be downs. There will be weeks where you lose body fat but gain muscle and that number on the scale can possibly go up. Don't always rely on the scale, it's just a number. Take before-and-after pictures, and love your body. You're stronger than you think. Push yourself and trust in the process because it's all worth it." We agree — this is great advice.