There's a common misconception that extreme calorie-cutting diets are the key to getting the body of your dreams.
But did you know starving yourself can actually sabotage your efforts to score a flawless figure?
Not too long ago, we introduced you to a fitness blogger, Madalin Frodsham, who proved "starvation diets" don't work by posting side-by-side pics revealing what her body looked like on an extremely low-calorie diet versus a healthy, balanced diet.
However, Frodsham isn't the only fitness blogger who's on a mission to discourage people from going on diets with extreme calorie restrictions.
Abby Pollock is another Insta-famous fit chick from Toronto, Canada, who's using side-by-side pics to show how simple it is to get the perfect bubble butt.
Yep, take one look at Pollock's backside, and it's not hard to see this girl has a booty that could put even Kim Kardashian's iconic butt to shame.
However, Pollock hasn't always had the killer bod she does now.
Five years ago, she was 20 pounds underweight and struggling with eating disorders.
At the time, Pollock was in an unhappy relationship, under a lot of pressure at engineering school and dealing with the fact her father had just been diagnosed with cancer.
So she decided to use her diet to as a way to gain a sense control over her life.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Pollock revealed, "Food was my safe space, in some weird and twisted way."
Pollock used MyFitnessPal to track her food intake and only ate about 900 to 1,000 calories per day.
She became fixated on losing weight and eventually progressed from "clean" eating to a restrictive raw vegan diet.
According to Pollock,
I told myself I was following these diets for ethical reasons, when really I was using them as a means to further restrict and cover up my disordered habits.
It got the the point where Pollock was only consuming a green smoothie and two salads per day, plus some raw veggies if she felt as if she were going to faint from not eating.
In a recent Instagram post, Pollock revealed,
Eating 1,000 calories a day took constant willpower. I was physically drained from eating so little, I was mentally drained from obsessing over such a trivial part of my life.
Finally, Pollock decided something needed to change and sought help for her eating disorders in 2013.
She hired a holistic nutritionist and personal trainer who gradually increased her food intake and changed up her fitness routine.
Pollock now eats a balanced diet that consists of approximately 1,700 calories per day.
She avoids eating processed foods and preps her meals ahead of time to help her stay on track.
Plus, Pollock also uses a dieting method called intermittent fasting, which requires her to fast for about 16 to 18 hours each day.
According to Pollock,
It has helped me repair my relationship with food, become more in touch with my natural hunger cues and it has allowed me the lifestyle flexibility to eat larger (even restaurant-sized) meals while still making progress toward my goal.
In addition to changing her diet, Pollock also revamped her fitness routine.
Prior to working with a personal trainer, Pollock was subjecting herself to grueling two-hour cardio sessions.
Under the instruction of her new trainer, she began doing two shorter cardio session and four heavy weightlifting per week.
Like many women, Pollock was afraid weight lifting would make her bulk up.
But as the weight training progressed, she began to watch her waist shrink and her butt grow into the perfect Kim Kardashian booty.
Pollock maintains her flawless figure by hitting the gym four times a week and lifting weights for one hour.
She says,
Transformation does not come from finding the 'perfect' moment, training plan or diet. It comes from taking action and choosing to learn through your failures, rather than give up.
If you ask me, Pollock is certainly an inspiration to all.
Citations: Exactly How This Woman Got a Literal Peach Emoji Butt With Diet and Exercise (Cosmopolitan)
