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For a long time, I have struggled with my weight. I would look at people around me and compare myself to those who were thinner than me. I would hide my body in very loose-fitting clothes and not admire the person I was. I started gaining weight in 8th grade, and that is when I started to have very low self-esteem. Over my high school career, I realized my weight kept increasing, and once freshman year in college came, I gained another 15 pounds. It wasn't until my Junior year in college when I finally decided to make a change in my life. I no longer wanted to feel insecure in my body or let it affect my day to day life.
How I lost weight....
The first thing I started to do was replace all my drinks with water. One of the easiest ways to gain weight is through liquids. Although I was never a soda drinker, the sugary juices made me gain weight. Right when I cut off juices and only drank water, I noticed a complete change. I consumed a gallon of water a day and I felt great. Replacing my drinks with only water was just the start.
The second thing I did was tracked what I ate. I used My Fitness Pal (calorie tracker app) and stayed in a caloric deficit. Writing down everything that went into my body helped me figure out what nutrients I was lacking and what I needed more of. Honestly, My Fitness Pal was my best friend throughout my fitness journey and I still use it whenever I need help tracking my food intake. If you are trying to lose weight, I definitely recommend getting My Fitness Pal and log in everything you eat.
The third thing I did was workout 5 days a week. 5 days a week sounds like a lot if you are not the one to go to the gym, but after a week or two you get used to it. The most important part of my journey was keeping a routine and not steering away from it. I made the gym a priority and treated it like a "doctor's appointment". I thought to myself, in order for me to get fit, I HAVE to go to my "appointment". You CAN'T miss an appointment. Thinking that way allowed me to push through and go to the gym even when I had zero motivation. If I had no motivation for the gym, the motivation came when I started working out. During my workouts, I made sure I incorporated strength training and cardio. I would warm up for 10 minutes on the elliptical, strength train for about an hour, and ended with the Stair Master for 10 minutes. As time went on and I got stronger, I was able to run a mile as a warm up and end with 30 minutes of the Stair Master. I am a strong advocate of the Stair Master because it burns body fat off while building muscle at the same time. So, I did not lose my curves since my muscles were being sculpted while I was burning fat. Also, during and after my workout, I would drink BCAAS to help with my muscle soreness/recovery. I drank a protein shake after EVERY workout as well.
The most important part of my weight loss journey was staying CONSISTENT. Honestly, if you are trying to lose body fat, you HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT. There is no way you will reach your goal if you only try 50% of the time, which I know from experience. Before I decided to be serious about losing weight, I would only go to the gym maybe once a week or even once every two weeks. I would also only be in a calorie deficit for half the week. That won't cut it if you're trying to lose weight, especially in a shorter amount of time. Remember, you get what you put in. If you work hard every day, the results WILL come. It takes time, but it will. Patience is key. You can't expect to reach your goal overnight.
One thing I always did while I was on my weight loss journey was check my weight consistently in the beginning, which I shouldn't have. Every day, I would weigh myself and hope to see some change. Checking my weight drove me crazy because if I saw I didn't lose one pound, I would get angry with myself, even though I knew I was eating clean and working out. If you find yourself to be checking your weight constantly while working out and eating healthy, I strongly advise you to stop. I felt more accomplished when I checked my weight once a week because that's when I saw the weight drop. If you check every day, you will see the weight drop very subtly and it might discourage you. Again, being patient and consistent was key in my weight loss journey.
There was a point where I weighed myself at the end of the week and I noticed that I gained a pound. I was confused because I knew I was eating right and working out. What I realized after was that I gained MUSCLE, which is not a bad thing at all! In my head, I saw my weight go up and I felt a bit discouraged, but knowing that the weight went up because of muscle gain made me feel better. The muscle was starting to replace my fat.
Overall, my consistency with tracking what I ate, my water intake, and working out, led me to lose 40 pounds of fat. It took me about 3 months to lose that weight and it has changed my life forever. I'm now more comfortable in my skin and overall feel better about my health.
I'm now a Certified Personal Trainer and fell in love with fitness/health. If you need any guidance, I encourage you to check out my programs for direct help. Here's the link:
Thank you for reading!
