My Accidental Diet: Wellness and Weight Loss, A New Side of Food and Fitness
by Rhonda J. Fransoo
About the Book
My Accidental Diet is the story of how Rhonda lost 45 pounds. Rhonda’s weight loss did not come about as a result of a ‘diet’ she went on. Instead, it came about through her focus on improving her health and well-being.
Rhonda shares the changes she made, the things she learned, and how she overcame life’s inevitable obstacles. With health as her focus, she began to look at food and fitness in a whole new way. Step by step, Rhonda transformed her relationship with food. She explains how food became fuel for the cells of her body and not just filler for her stomach. The word ‘diet’ no longer needed to mean deprivation and starvation. For Rhonda, it now means Delicious, Invigorating, Energizing and Tantalizing. She will share inspiring stores of falling down and getting back up again, and learning to say good-bye to foods and habits that no longer serve her.
Rhonda’s journey is about discovering new ways of doing things, new ways of eating, exercising and thinking. She explains how exercise became something she wanted to do, not something she should do, and how running a marathon really is just practice, persistence and putting one foot in front of the other.
My Accidental Diet includes motivational tips, recipes and inspiration to help you on your own journey. For Rhonda, her accidental diet was nothing short of life-changing.
“My Accidental Diet is a book full of inspiration; a delightful step by step guide on how to find your way back to health. Rhonda’s story made me laugh and cry and it challenged me to start examining some of my own ‘excuses’ for not doing what I know serves my greater good. My Accidental Diet will take you on a journey full of wisdom, insight, vulnerability and practical tips that can easily be incorporated in to our day to day life. This book is a MUST read for anyone who finds themselves wondering how they can get on the fast track to feeling good again.”
— Patti Fleury, BCR, CHN, Restoration Health (www.restoration-health.ca), author of Life After Crohn’s: 5 Steps to Total Wellness.
About the Author
Rhonda was put on her first diet when she was just 11 years old. That diet started a roller coaster ride of weight loss and weight gain for almost 40 years. At the age of 50, Rhonda’s life took an abrupt and unexpected turn that made her stop and take a good look in the mirror. What she saw was a very unhealthy, overweight, and unhappy person. She knew she had to do something or her health would only continue to decline. But, going on another failed diet was not the solution. Instead, she began a journey to reclaim her health by making one healthy decision at a time. In this book, Rhonda shares her story of how she stopped dieting, lost 45 pounds and rediscovered a whole new side of food and fitness.
Rhonda is now living the active, outgoing, healthy lifestyle that she only ever dreamed of. She loves to share healthy, delicious meals with her friends and family. She is an avid runner and has completed two marathons. In the summer months, Rhonda grows a variety of fruits and vegetables in her backyard garden. She lives in Abbotsford, Canada with her husband, son, and dog Elly-May.
You can see more of Rhonda’s Eat Breathe Grow Lifestyle on her social media accounts:
In the Media
Featured on CTV Vancouver
Featured on CKNW
Interview with Rhonda J. Fransoo
Please share a bit about your journey to become a published author?
I have had a life-long desire to write a book and actually started two books a few years ago that never got past the first chapters. About 5 years ago I took a writing course which helped me a lot. I learned to write without knowing where the writing was taking me. I had a vague idea when I started to write “My Accidental Diet” of what I wanted, but had no idea how to get there. So, I just started to write and write and write.
Eventually I had stacks of notes that I then sat down with and organized into categories or “chapters”. From there, I wrote some more as I tried to tie my ideas together. The writing and re-writing process took me three years. In the end I finally had a manuscript which was ready to read. I had some friends and family read it over to give me their thoughts and suggestions, and then I re-wrote sections of it again. I was then ready to start my research on how to get my book published. That is when I found Julie and Influence Publishing. I met her for coffee with my manuscript in hand and I knew fairly quickly that she was the person I wanted to work with.
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How does the writing process work for you? Do you schedule a time every day, work madly when inspiration hits or ?
I wrote very sporadically over the course of 3 years. Sometimes I wouldn’t write for a couple months. Sometimes I wrote everyday for a week or so. My best writing happened in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep. I would get up and just write down the thought and ideas that were flowing through me. I also like to write first thing in the morning when I am fresh and the house is quiet; when the distractions of the day don’t interfere with my thought process. Sometimes I have had to force myself to sit at my desk and stare at the paper and write nonsense just to get the writing process started. Many of those writings will never make it to print, but I usually ended up with something I could use in my book.
I write using pen and paper. I tried typing my initial writing on my computer, but found I was too worried about spelling and punctuation and often lost thoughts because I was trying to make it right on the page. When I write with pen and paper, I just let my thoughts flow and the writings are a big mess, but that works for me. I literally cut and paste my thoughts together after that.
What did you find most difficult about the writing and publishing process? What was the easiest?
The most difficult thing about writing was being disciplined to do it. It was also frustrating sometimes when I couldn’t join my thoughts together. When this happened, I would usually start over and really think about what it was that I was trying to say. Sometimes it was two steps backwards, one step forward.
The most difficult thing about the publishing process is that I feel like I am learning a different language. It is so new to me and I have made mistakes that have cost time, money and a few sleepless nights. There really is so much to learn. I have no idea how people do this on their own. It is a lot of work. But, in the end, I know it will be worth it.
The easiest part of writing was when I would have a ‘middle of the night’ inspiration and I would get up and write page after page! Sometimes I would read it the next day and think “Wow… that’s really good!”. Those writing sessions were easy and fantastic! The easiest part of the publishing process was finding Julie. I knew almost immediately that I wanted to work with her.
What title (or titles) have you released? Please include a short synopsis of what your book is (or books are) about.
My book is called “My Accidental Diet.” It is the story of how I lost 45 pounds. But, it is not a “diet” book. Instead, it is a recount of all the changes I made in my life to improve my health and well-being. I focused on changing my thoughts around food and what it’s purpose was. I changed my thoughts around exercise. I changed my self-talk. I changed a lot of things by making positive healthy decisions one at a time. My focus was health, not diet. At least not “diet” in the traditional sense. In the end I lost weight and regained my health and a new lease on life.
Do you have any new books in the planning or writing stage?
Oh yes! I come up with a new title for a book everyday! But, seriously, I am thinking of following up with a cookbook, but not a cookbook in the traditional sense! I have some notes started and I have many recipes and meal-planning ideas that I would like to share.
What would you like readers to know about you?
My weight loss/wellness journey started very slowly in my late 40’s. However, the majority of my weight loss occurred between the ages of 51-53. I finally figured out how to fuel my body so that I wasn’t “starving” and over-eating all the time. I finally figured out that exercise can be fun and adventurous and so very rewarding. I ran my first marathon when I was 55 years old. These days I have taken up trail running. I feel younger than I ever have.
I hope to inspire people to not give up and to try new things and to step outside of their self-imposed comfort zones. I focus on being active and healthy and I make choices that support that lifestyle. My focus is healthy living, not dieting! I eat a lot and I move a lot and that keeps me young.
What was your reason for writing this book?
I wanted to share my story, because I think we all have stories to share that will help other people. My story happens to be about diets, health, wellness and how I finally decided to stop dieting and start being healthy. I see a lot of overweight people who seem unhealthy and who struggle to do simple things like climbing a set of stairs. This makes me sad because there is a better way. By sharing my story and sharing the things that I learned along the way, I hope to inspire other people to take positive healthy steps to improve their health, well-being and ultimately the quality of their lives.
My purpose is: “To teach, inspire, and motivate people to improve the quality of their lives through proper nutrition and exercise, and to support them on their path towards enhanced well-being.”