What I have come to learn during my weight loss journey...

My whole life I have struggled with fluctuating weight. I have always been very active with my job and sport but found myself ranging anywhere from 70 to 90kgs throughout the past 7 years (I’m 163cm). I tried every diet but it would never seem to stick or I would come to a standstill with my weight loss and give up. But for the first time ever at the age of 22 I have finally come to the realisation what I was doing was wrong and I wasn’t healthy.

Now I’m 4 months in and I’ve lost my sugar cravings for the first time in my life. I’m running and enjoying it as well as sticking to workouts. For the first time in my life I have stuck to a healthy diet for longer than two months and now I am doing it properly I finally have energy to get through my day and still workout after. And most importantly... I’m finally happy.

I don’t know why I have only now just taken these things in... maybe it’s because I’ve moved out of home away from my parents who were both obese and had poor eating habits. Maybe it’s just maturity, or maybe it’s because I’m now in a very physically demanding job where I can’t afford to be unfit or tired. But since I’ve come to the realisation I just had to put my thoughts out there, so if I had to tell my younger self anything... here it is.

1. Don’t starve yourself by not eating, skipping meals or slashing your calories. You think you have a slow metabolism but in reality you are doing it to yourself. Don’t think just because others talk about living off 1200 calories a day that you should be able to. My TDEE is currently 2400... You were living off a deficit of 1200 calories. No wonder you were unable to control the cravings. You only need a deficit of 500 to loose weight.

2. Don’t skip meals if you break your habits and have a chocolate bar or ‘unhealthy meal’... you are human and still make mistakes. Skipping your next meal is only going to leave you more hungry and you’ll just end up binging later that evening and feeling guilty.

3. Popular diets like Keto might work for some, but you need to be able to keep that up as a lifestyle and for some people that is easier said then done. You need to be in it for the long haul, otherwise you’ll just put the weight straight back on once you start eating carbs again. Been there and done that.

4. Scales and BMI can lie to you. Don’t be so caught up on the numbers of your weight. My ideal weight according to the BMI should be 62kg. And I know I will never reach this. When I realised 4 months ago I needed to change I had a BMI of 33 and weighed in at 90kg. I know from past experiences of I stepped on the scale right now there wouldn’t be too much of a change. But, I am replacing muscle with fat. I have no idea what I currently weigh, but In the mirror I see the best results of my life, I can fit back into clothes I wore when i was at 70kg and the physical demands of my job is so much easier. This is how I know I’m changing.

5. A gym membership isn’t a guarantee that you will loose weight. It’s a great benefit but don’t think because you don’t have one you will not have as good success. Take advantage of the exercise and weight loss routines online that you can do at home. In fact I’ve had more success with sticking to these because after a long day of work the last think I want to do is drive to the gym. But I can always find enough motivation to workout at home. Don’t feel that you have to go the gym to loose weight.

6. You can still eat the foods you love, sometimes you just need to make a few adjustments. I love scrambled eggs on toast but now I have it with whole grain bread every morning. I love pasta and rice but now i make it with brown rice and whole grain pasta. I can hardly taste the difference. I swap to pork mince instead of beef mince ect ect.

7. You know what, it’s ok to have a ‘bad’ day. It’s ok to go out with friends and have a big pub dinner every so often. It’s ok go have a a few glasses of wine after a long day at work once in a while. We are all human and if we restrict ourselves from the things we enjoy too much we are more likely to binge. Please remember that things in moderation is ok. If you feel like a chocolate bar one day then just have the chocolate bar. If your flatmate brings home pizza then have some slices. This is what had stopped my bad binging is not fully cutting out everything.

I hope this helps even just one person out there who has been struggling with their weight. Also this has just been my experience and this is what works for me to keep sticking to my lifestyle change. Everyone is different.

submitted by /u/becca-98
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