You’d never know it by looking at her now, but Lurin Carlin wasn’t always the most “food conscious”.

About 10 years ago, when she was newly married and spending time with her in-laws, Lurin realized her husband’s family stuck to a pretty “clean” diet. Completely organic, ton of fruits and vegetables. This was a foreign concept to Lurin, and she took a pass on cleaning up her poor diet for a while. Her mother-in-law, however, really encouraged her to cut sugar and processed foods from her daily meals.

Several years and two babies later, Lurin was still eating junk food, and thought she could easily peel off the post-pregnancy pounds with exercise and breastfeeding.

Nope!

The lightbulb moment that changed everything for Lurin, was seeing her sister-in-law slim down almost immediately after having a baby. She was full of energy, and always felt great. Lurin, on the other hand, was constantly exhausted. She was having migraines all the time. Leg cramps. Stomach aches.

In 2015, Lurin decided she was going to try the 21 Day Fix®. The eating plan requires you to cut sugar and processed foods, and encourages followers to plan out their meal portions. 

At first, starting the new plan was a struggle, but her mother-in-law kept encouraging her to stick with it. It didn’t happen overnight, but the cravings subsided. Lurin was noticing her health started to improve, and the the weight was melting off. According to Lurin, the new “clean-eating” lifestyle made her feel alive again.

As far as fitness was concerned, Lurin loved working out, so exercise wasn’t the issue. It was when she incorporated clean eating, that a total transformation happened with her body.

Within six months of starting this new lifestyle, Lurin had easily dropped twenty pounds.

She finally realized the most effective and sustainable way of eating, was focusing on macros. Macronutrients are proteins, fats, and carbs. Everyone needs a certain amount of each one, on a daily basis, to fuel their body efficiently and effectively. Lurin’s dramatic transformation, of course, led to friends and family asking how she did it. After a while, she decided to start taking on clients as a macro coach, helping people attain their health goals.

Next week, we’ll be talking to Lurin on the podcast. Tune in to hear a lot more about clean eating, and macros.

Click here to follow Lurin on Instagram.

This story was written by Lauren Connelly, frequent contributor to The Pāpur.

Edited by staff at The Pāpur.