How I Lost a Sh*tload of Weight

The past few months I have been on one heck of a weight loss/fitness journey and well, one of the most asked questions I’ve been getting these days is the infamous, “How in the world did you do it?!” While I wish I had some really exciting secretive answer to share… unfortunately it’s just the good ol’ fashioned way. I can say however, now that I’m in my mid-30s and lived life a bit – I have probably tried any crash diet you can imagine and my weight has fluctuated all over the place throughout the years. 

In all honesty, once I got into my 30s, EVERYTHING changed for me. I noticed myself putting on weight MUCH easier than I used to and well, losing it became WAY more difficult. Trust me – I used to tell myself I’d lose 5 lbs by the weekend and somehow I did every time.

Oh to be young and have a thriving metabolism, right?

A lot of things changed for me in the last year. I was in a relationship that I thought was “it” for me and then got blindsided and dumped like a piece of garbage. Literally, I felt like that. Once I realized it was a blessing in disguise I told myself that it was time to stop thinking about other people and start prioritizing myself. And so, that’s exactly what I did…

First I focused on my mental health and all the things that made me happy – like truly happy in life. I stopped obsessing over things I thought I had to do and just really worked on ME. Then about 5-6 months ago, I took the big leap into my health and well-being. Originally I wanted to slim down a bit but I knew it was a huge undertaking and I was a little overwhelmed. I was probably at the heaviest I’d ever been in my life and truthfully the hardest part is starting. Once I began seeing results (slowly) I started to get more motivated and it kept me going. So much so that after 3 months I was practically at my goal. I was so happy that I pushed myself a bit more and I now can say that I’m below my original goal and damn it feels good. 

Now that I’ve given a bit of context, it’s time to dive into the things that worked for me.

REALIZING IT’S A LIFESTYLE

God I know that’s the last thing we all want to hear but I’m going to be that annoying person who crams this down your throat. It took me 36 years but I finally realized that it’s 100% a commitment and lifestyle change. While there are so many fad diets out there that offer quick fixes, I’ll be the first to admit they are extremely unhealthy and deprive the body of the nutrients and calories it needs which ends up leading to binge eating later on and gaining it all back faster having literally learned NOTHING. Once I realized that I could actually enjoy the types of foods I like while being mindful, it changed everything.

PORTION SIZE IS EVERYTHING

Listen it’s simple – in order to lose weight it ultimately boils down to the calories you consume versus the calories you burn throughout the day. Essentially, you need to put your body into a caloric deficit in order to lose weight. Does that mean you’ll be starving? Absolutely not. If you eat the right foods you’ll be fulfilled and content and wake up way less bloated the next day this I can promise. I immediately cut my portion size by at least half for every meal as well as obviously making smarter food choices. As soon as I felt the slightest bit full, I put the plate down and never forced myself to finish. This was KEY and worked wonders.

SMART FOOD CHOICES

Diet is KEY. My food choices were pretty bland – lean chicken, ground turkey, lots of veggies, limited carbs. Sugar is the devil, seriously. I limited any sugary foods like candy, soda, baked goods and sweets. Sugar is SUPER addictive and can generally lead to overeating. During those essential first few months pretty sure the only “sweet” item I allowed myself was my morning creamer with a cup of coffee. Other than that I cut it all out and didn’t crave it ONE bit. Did I allow myself an occasional glass of wine? Duh, you gotta live!

EXERCISE AS YOU WANT

Ok so here is where some people may disagree with me. Starting this journey I knew myself, if I worried about achieving certain workout goals while also focusing on a limited diet and eating differently I knew I’d drive myself absolutely NUTS. I decided for the first time ever I was going to NOT stress about my workout routine and just focus on diet and make that a priority first. I made a point to move my body every day in some sort of way (whether it was walking the dogs, getting a mellow workout in or even doing a bunch some housework). Other than that, I left the workout stress behind and I can tell you I’ve never felt better in doing so. For me, I just knew it would be too difficult to focus on two different extremes while trying to manage working and having a life of my own. As I started getting down to my goal weight I started to amp up the workouts because I was less stressed and it worked like a charm.

EAT EARLY

I’m going to really age myself here but I eat dinner at about 5pm every night. It sounds wild but seriously it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. Eating early allows your body to work and digest your food completely before you get to bed. I wake up with a flat tummy every morning I do this.

All of the above is how I achieved the results I did and I don’t feel an urge to want to binge eat or go back to my old habits whatsoever. Doing things the RIGHT way for once has changed my thought process when it comes to losing weight and being healthy. Now that I am where I want to be, if I go out to dinner to a fun restaurant I allow myself to eat and drink whatever I want for that one meal (with reason of course). I don’t deprive myself and in fact I find that I’m craving those better food options now that my body has gotten so used to it.