Ree Drummond says this ‘simple shift in mindset’ helped 43-pound weight loss

While Ree Drummond says she’ll always love food, she believes she hit “rock bottom” in January and decided she had to change her ways.

In a blog post published on her website Tuesday, the celebrity chef said she was driven to feel healthier and hoped to shed some weight before her daughter got married in the spring.

“I was tired, puffy, and desperate … and I knew I shouldn't be feeling that way,” she wrote. “Though I had gained considerable weight over the past three years and I definitely wanted to slim down for Alex's wedding in May, what motivated me the most was just wanting to feel better and have more energy.”

Since deciding to make a lifestyle change, Drummond said she has lost 43 pounds.

“It's more about how I feel after a few months of regular exercise, more moving, and more mindful eating,” she said. “Feeling good is really all that matters, and because of that, the weigh-ins are becoming less and less important to me.”

She said she started counting her calories and weighing her food. After hitting a weight-loss plateau midway through, she said she started to eat more protein — around 30% to 40% of her calories each day.

She also drastically cut back on her sugar intake and stopped drinking alcohol.

 Related:"The Pioneer Woman" shared with TODAY how she approached her weight loss and the keys to her success.

Drummond said she also started exercising. She wrote that she walked with her dogs or often used a rowing machine.

“I learned that making time each day to exercise simply had to be done — because, just like having a baby, there's never a good time,” Drummond wrote. “I'd gotten so accustomed to excusing myself from working out because of my work schedule or travel schedule … but during the past few months, I just chose to be late on a deadline or put off work until the next day so that exercise could happen. It was a simple shift in mindset, but it was important!”

She added that she also started building muscle with the help of her husband, Ladd, when he was in a neck brace after a crash on their ranch.

“I was absolutely pitiful when I started. I am a former ballerina but literally could not do a proper lunge without toppling over,” she said, adding that now she can do proper squats and lunges. “Most importantly, I now have palpable muscles in my legs and my butt. … Poor Ladd is actually tired of me asking him to squeeze my thighs and comment on their current firmness and taking his hand and putting it on my glute so he can feel me flex it.”

“Actually, I don't think he's tired of it,” she quipped.

While Drummond says she knows she’ll always be prone to “weigh-in ups and downs,” she hopes this journey has given her the tools she needs to stay on track.

“It only took me 52 years to figure it out, but that's okay!” she concluded. “Remember that feeling good, realistic goals, being healthy, and having fun is the way to go!”

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