Women Fitness: In a typical day, what was your diet like?
Lydia Dzuibanek: I meal prep consistently and I am the type of person who can eat the same thing every day. I have a cheat meal planned every week that I look forward to, so as long as I stick to my meal prep, I will eat anything on the cheat day. I make a protein powder with a spinach and kale fruit smoothie every morning after I get back from gym, and I include my multi-vitamin powder. I eat oatmeal around 7 a.m. I eat two hardboiled eggs and yogurt as a morning snack. For lunch every day, I eat ground turkey with green peas, slivers of carrot and celery on a bed of spinach. I drink another shake or eat a protein bar after lunch. For dinner, I have chicken fajitas with sweet peppers and onion on a bed of kale blended with a few cranberries and seeds. I change up my lunch and dinners every few weeks with fish and veggies and a veggie sausage with sweet peppers and onions. I drink a gallon of water every day with BCAAs.
Women Fitness: Who/What do you consider the greatest motivation behind your healthy weight loss journey?
Lydia Dzuibanek: Without a doubt, who I consider my greatest motivation behind my weight loss journey is my trainer Mike Rike from Anytime Fitness. He was the first person I asked for help and when he agreed, I felt hope for the first time. With his help, I was able to grab on to that hope and climb out of my suicidal depression. I was able to fight to become strong mentally and physically. He never let me down, is always brutally honest, never failed in creating the perfect workout plan to allow me to achieve my fitness goals, never allowed me to slack, whine, complain or feel sorry for myself. He is very much like a big brother to me; I want to impress him and not let him down, and I respect and love him.
What I consider my greatest motivation to weight loss is having finally found an outlet that works to fight my depression. This allows me to actively fight for my quality of life and my boys but also to show others who suffer from depression that there is hope. My greatest desire and motivation is to inspire and help others. That is what drives and motivates me every day to stay focused and strong on my fitness journey, to keep making new goals and to continue to push myself past my comfort zone to achieve new things.
Women Fitness: How do you plan to maintain your healthy weight & body?
Lydia Dzuibanek: To me, maintain sounds like a destination. My health is a journey. I am not at the ideal weight and body shape I desire. In order to maintain my healthy mind and body, I intend to continue to do as I have been by eating clean, working out daily, training with Mike at Anytime Fitness and fighting my depression. I will always be on this journey. I will always have goals and will always be focused on smashing the goals that are in front of me.
I also intend on making positive change connected to fitness and health, not only in the lives of those who are suffering from depression, but also with kids. I have created a PE curriculum for elementary schools and hope to be able to get kids excited about a lifetime love of fitness. If I can inspire kids at a young age to love fitness, that will follow them into their adult lives and benefit them in a big way.
Disclaimer
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