60lbs down - halfway point reached

As of today, I'm 60lbs down from my heaviest ever weight. I've always worked shifts since leaving school, which I think massively contributed to weight gain, and I worked for a long time in the airline industry, so holidays twice a month didn’t help at all either! In January my gym ran a ‘body transformation’ challenge which I entered, and it really spurred me on to work as hard as possible. I have learnt a few things which I’ll share with you all since I’ve learnt so much from this sub.

1. It’s not all about the lbs There have been weeks where I have actually gained a little weight, but when I check my stats out on the body comp/scales machine I use at the gym, I have still lost fat and gained muscle. My ultimate goal is to be healthier, therefore those weeks where I have gained weight but lost fat, I’m still happy.

2. Diet is more than half the battle, but the battleground may change I have done most of my weight loss on the Keto diet (good sub on here for those that are interested). It has really worked for me, since I haven’t felt hungry and it’s an easy (almost lazy I’d say) way to not have to count everything and still lose weight. However, I’ve started doing a high intensity circuits class at my gym, which I love (more about that below), and Keto, for me, just isn’t giving me the energy I need anymore to perform at my best. I’ve now introduced carbs back in, by switching to Slimming World, and I’m already seeing positive results in my performance. The key here though is DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU and don’t be afraid to change it up if you feel you need to. This is a marathon not a sprint.

3. I have to enjoy exercising I’ve recently got into weights, which I enjoy seeing the results from (strength gains only at the moment), but the main reason I’ve been going back to the gym over and over are two things. Playing squash, and the HIIT class I’ve become addicted to (it’s called Blaze if anyone wants to YouTube it). Find something you really enjoy, and use it. Don’t be afraid to try new classes out at the gym. Blaze was seriously hard when I first started it, but every time I go I tell myself it can’t possibly be as hard as last time was.

4. I have to be in the right mindset There have been certain days where I’ve known I’m not in the right frame of mind that day to 100% stick to my eating plan, or do two sessions at the gym. I’ve been going 5 times a week since January, but three or four times I’ve had days where I really am not feeling it. What do I do? I eat a little more than I normally would, but I make sure not to binge. Maybe I treat myself to a dessert one night that’s a little naughty. I still go to the gym, but I do one session instead of two, or I just go for a swim. Anything is better than zero, and you can’t beat yourself up about the occasional treat. Again, marathon not a sprint.

These are the four things I think I’ve learnt that have helped me so far. My Ultimate goal is to get down to sub 200, but I’m not too fussed about the actual numbers, I’m more bothered about being healthy. But also, not gonna lie, it does feel incredible to be buying clothes three sizes smaller than I used to.

And now, the obligatory progress pic. First pic on the left is me at my biggest, then start of gym challenge, end of challenge (a month ago) and now. https://imgur.com/a/1qSUgCR

Big thanks to EVERYONE on this sub, it’s the biggest source of motivation for me.

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