When one tiny decision changes everything…

Three years ago I made a decision that would ultimately change the trajectory of my entire life and my business.

Of course I didn’t know it at the time.

In that particular moment, all I knew was that I was frustrated.

I was exhausted and worn out by the secret battle I had been fighting with myself and the scale for the better part of ten years.

I felt like I had tried everything. Weight Watchers. Green smoothies. Juice cleanses. Noom. The F-factor Diet. Bistro MD. I counted calories. I counted points. I ran every morning and worked out with a trainer 3 days a week.

But nothing worked. That number on the scale kept creeping up, while my confidence tanked. 

I avoided photographs. I stopped speaking in public. I said no to media appearances. I began hiding from everyone. 

I was so ashamed of myself and my body, and the fact that no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t seem to get a handle on my weight.

And then three years ago, almost to the day, I finally hit the milestone I had been dreading.

For the first time ever, that number on the scale registered over 200 pounds.

I weighed more than I had at 9 months pregnant. I weighed more than my husband, who wasn’t a particularly skinny guy.

And even though I was mortified, it wasn’t actually seeing that number that shocked me.

It was seeing this photograph of myself that someone else had taken.

And that was the moment I made the decision that changed everything.

I stopped dieting, and started researching.

I wanted to understand why everything I had tried hadn’t worked. I wanted to know why it was so hard to lose weight, and what actually causes us to gain weight in the first place.

I immersed myself in books and journals and academic studies. 

I became an expert on things like insulin resistance and gut health and the role of hormones in the body.

And I was shocked to discover that almost everything we’ve ever been told about what’s healthy and what’s not, about what will help us lose weight and what won’t, is flat out wrong.

Because, as it turns out, weight loss, especially for women over 40, has nothing to do with calories or exercise. It’s all about hormones.

So, based on what I was learning, I started changing the way that I ate and the way I cooked for my family. 

It wasn’t a diet. In fact, I was eating far more than I had ever dared before. I focused on nourishing my body with the right nutrients, on reversing insulin resistance and balancing my hormones and healing my gut.

Within six months, I had lost more than 40 pounds. 

But it wasn’t just the weight. I had so much energy! My skin was bright and clear. The dark circles under my eyes were gone. I stopped having headaches every day. No more heartburn. No more bloating or indigestion. I looked and felt years younger.

After all those years of struggling, it felt like a miracle. 

Three years later, it still feels like a miracle.

And that’s why I can’t stop talking about it.

A lot of people have asked me why I basically blew up my existing business to start Thinlicious and launch my Thin Adapted System two years ago. More than a few have told me it was crazy.

And I’ll be honest, from a business perspective, it wasn’t a very smart move.

Starting a brand new business from scratch is hard, and these last two years have definitely challenged me in ways that I never imagined. 

But to me, this is more than a business. It’s a calling.

There isn’t a day that I don’t remember exactly how it feels to struggle with your weight. That pain and frustration is still so fresh in my mind that it feels like it was yesterday.

But now I also know there is a solution. 

One that’s not only helped me, but now also thousands of other women who have struggled just like I have.

Over the past two years, I’ve watched our TAS clients not only shed pounds, but break food addictions, reverse Type-2 diabetes and autoimmune conditions, get off medications, and transform their lives in every way imaginable.

And honestly, there’s nothing that gets me more excited than seeing other women experience the same life-changing freedom that I’ve found.

It’s worth the crazy amount of stress and fear and uncertainty that has come from giving up an established business to pursue something totally brand new.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not also sometimes a little scary.

All I can do is keep going. That’s all any of us can do.

Andre Gide once said, “we cannot discover new oceans until we have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” Along those same lines, Walt Disney noted that, “we keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

In other words? The decisions you make today have the power to change your future.

But sometimes you have to be willing to try something new.

And so, my challenge for you today is to decide to decide, in whatever part of your life that decision needs to happen. Move confidently in the direction of your goals and dreams. Take action, even if you don’t yet know what the ripple effect of those actions might be. Because not deciding is also a choice.

Live with purpose, friend, and have an amazing week!

xoxo, Ruth

P.S. If this story piqued your interest in my TAS program, which is open for enrollment this week, and you want to learn more, tomorrow I’m hosting a live workshop called The Real Weight Loss Revolution: 3 Secrets for Reaching Your Health Goals that No One is Telling You. If you’ve never joined me for a live training, you should know that they are always a lot of fun and jam-packed with information—you’ll definitely want to take notes!

The workshop is free to join, but you do have to register, which you can do HERE.

This week’s podcast episode…

What’s cooking in my kitchen…

Here’s the recipe I shared this past week:

The latest from my Instagram…

Instagram is my jam! If you’re there too, I’d love to connect with you—find me at @RuthSoukup or @ruthsoukupbiz for online business tips!

What’s Happening Around RSO…