Travel agent, 27, shares the meals she ate to shed a staggering 20kg – and the one diet phase you should skip forever

• Brittany McCrystal said you don’t need to eat chicken and rice for weight loss
• Instead, she ate a variety of tasty dishes including ‘fakeaways’ of her favourites 

A travel agent turned fitness coach who had ‘tried every fad diet under the sun’ before shedding an incredible 20kg has spilled the exact meals she ate to lose the weight.

Brittany McCrystal, 27, who is from New Zealand but lives in Sydney, tipped the scales at 82kg after she got a desk job close by to a food court and started ‘partying too much’.

Despite trying to eat healthily, Brittany said she had ‘horrible binge eating and drinking habits’, and would diet only to fall off the wagon and re-gain all the weight.

However, after ditching her all or nothing approach and focusing on a ‘back to basics’ plan centred around nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods and regular exercise, Brittany has lost an incredible 20kg in just nine months.

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BEFORE AND AFTER: A travel agent turned fitness coach who had ‘tried every fad diet under the sun’ has spilled the simple secrets behind her incredible 20kg weight loss

NOW: Brittany McCrystal (pictured) shared the delicious meals she ate to achieve her ‘dream body’ and said you don’t need to eat chicken and rice

To achieve her dream body, the 27-year-old didn’t deny herself a little of what she loved.

Brittany said at breakfast time, she would typically eat meals like baked eggs with turkey bacon or egg and ham breakfast tacos.

Because she loved McDonald’s, the 27-year-old also often made herself a McMuffin ‘fakeaway’ with healthy bread and ingredients.

Another of Brittany’s favourites is Biscoff and banana baked oats, as well as more conventionally healthy options like scrambled eggs with avocado, protein oats with peanut butter and a mixed berry protein smoothie. 

At lunch, Brittany said typical options are pizza wraps, chicken cheese quesadillas, crispy chicken salad, spicy tuna rice bowls and avocado pitta bread.

Dinner is a similarly tasty affair, typically comprising something like creamy chicken pasta, stuffed beef mince potatoes, shrimp tacos, prawn red curry or steak with air fryer fries.

She also snacked on cookie dough protein balls, fresh fruit and yoghurt and sugar-free hot chocolate, and said you don’t need to deny yourself in order to hit your goals.

Britt said the one diet phase you absolutely must skip is the ‘chicken and rice’ phase:

‘I’ve lost 20kg and I ate tasty delicious foods every single day,’ she said, adding you don’t need to eat boring foods to lose weight.

BEFORE AND AFTER: Brittany said at breakfast time, she would typically eat meals like baked eggs with turkey bacon or egg and ham breakfast tacos, and then at other meals she made ‘fakeaways’ of her favourite takeaways 

‘Now, I eat amazing, tasty food that makes me feel good afterwards,’ she said; adding that she likes to put nutritious spins on certain foods (pictured)

Speaking previously to FEMAIL, Brittany said before she lost the weight, she was in a ‘bad place’ with her mental health.

‘I was afraid of carbs because I thought they would make me fat. I also yo-yod on and off the Keto diet because I initially saw results and then it just stopped working,’ she told FEMAIL.

The 27-year-old recalled she had ‘bad panic attacks’ and hid her body in ‘long baggy clothes’.

Worse than this, Brittany’s energy levels were ‘really suffering’ and she had to seek help with a specialist to deal with her fatigue.

Brittany said her diet before was filled with no breakfast, a snack from the vending machine like potato chips, giant portions of leftovers for lunch and big meals at dinner followed by ice cream.

However, when she got on the scales at a friend’s house and saw the number staring back at her, she knew she needed to change.

The 27-year-old (pictured) said you have to take weight loss slow and steady as there is no instant quick fix

To lose the weight, Brittany completely overhauled her eating – replacing takeaways and huge portions with nourishing but healthy meals and snacks.

‘Now, I eat amazing, tasty food that makes me feel good afterwards,’ she said.

‘I take typical foods and throw a more nutritious spin on them.

‘For example, this morning I had Biscoff and banana baked oats, lunch was fresh spring rolls and for dinner I had homemade nachos made from tortillas.’

Brittany said she has learned that being on a health journey ‘doesn’t have to suck and you don’t have to cut all the foods you love’.

‘It’s about finding the perfect balance between a mixture of wholefoods and soul foods, and never labelling a food as good or bad,’ she said.

‘Food is just food, and when you apply a label, it makes you feel guilty which can lead to restricting and then binge eating.’

‘Food is just food, and when you apply a label, it makes you feel guilty which can lead to restricting and then binge eating,’ Brittany said (pictured now) 

To lose the weight, Brittany completely overhauled her eating – replacing takeaways and huge portions with nourishing but healthy meals and snacks – and she also worked out 

Alongside the healthy eating, the 27-year-old aims to train five days a week for an hour and get 10,000 steps daily.

‘I never used to enjoy training until I found a program I love and now it’s just a habit and I love how it makes me feel,’ she said.

Her overhaul has also led her to change careers.

Brittany’s tips for lasting weight loss

1. Go slow and steady with weight loss.

2. Cut fad diets and restriction, they are designed to rob you of your happiness.

3. Get clear on your goals as starting a healthy eating plan without a clearly-defined goal is like driving to a new location without putting the destination into Google maps.

4. Stop looking for quick fixes and focus on one thing at a time.

5. If you want to change your body for good, then you need to change your lifestyle.

6. Have a plan that is designed for you and only you as everyone’s goals are different so finding some ‘random diet and exercises on Google won’t give you results’.

Brittany is now a fitness coach and she created her own fitness app ‘BrittFit’, which boasts hundreds of healthy recipes and workout routines.

‘I am also going to compete in my first WBFF Bikini Show in July,’ she added.

‘I’m doing it because I want to show the world my transformation and to know that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.’

The fitness coach shared her weight loss tips with FEMAIL, explaining that the key is to go slow and steady.

‘Cut the fad diets and restriction, they are designed to rob you of your happiness,’ Brittany said.

‘You also need to get clear on your goals as starting a healthy eating plan without a clearly-defined goal is like driving to a new location without putting the destination on Google maps.’

Her second tip is to stop looking for quick fixes and instead focus on ‘one thing at a time’.

‘Small steps lead to big results. If you are wanting to change your body for good, then you need to change your lifestyle,’ she added.

Finally, Brittany advised having a plan that is ‘designed for you and only you’ as ‘everyone’s goals are different so finding some random diet and exercises on Google won’t give you results’.

‘Don’t give up,’ she said.

‘It gets easier and you learn so much on the way.’

To follow Brittany McCrystal on Instagram, please click here. 

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