For context, I went from over 210 pounds to 143 pounds as of this morning. I figured that sharing these tips can help anyone who’s currently struggling on their journey, and I would hate for anyone to make the same mistakes I made and feel lost!!
Focus on making the MAJORITY of your intake nutrient rich foods!! Throughout my weight loss journey, I focused on eating lean sources of protein (grilled chicken/fish, egg white omelets, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, soy, beans/lentils), carbohydrate sources with FIBER (seeded/keto branded breads/tortillas, beans/lentils again, fruits+veggies, potatoes, fiber enriched cereals), and a portioned amount of healthy fats for satiety and hormone health (avocados, cashews, hummus, egg yolks, almond butter), and this helped me feel full AND satisfied throughout my weight loss and maintenance journey. Also, if you have a lot of weight to lose, your maintenance calories are most likely higher than someone who’s much lighter, meaning that you can DEFINITELY fit room for fun foods (chocolate, baked goods, your favorite fast food burger, etc). Doing this has helped me immensely with not binge eating because I know that I can STILL have ice cream or chicken nuggets and make progress, it’s about fitting it into my calorie budget. There is no “good” or “bad” foods, it comes down to your overall calorie intake!!
Find out what you’re actually FEELING before making food decisions. I know that probably sounds stupid, but if you’ve struggled with binging/emotional eating, we tend to turn to food for comfort, to relieve stress, or get a hit of dopamine! Most of my binges came from feeling overwhelmed about something in my life, and if you feel the urge to go to your grocery store and buy a whole cake, pint of ice cream, and family size bag of tater tots with chicken nuggets + add ons for those tots, sit with that feeling (AWAY from the kitchen or store) and identify what you’re ACTUALLY feeling. Food is most likely NOT going to help you in that instant, but reflecting and engaging in low stress activities will!
Don’t go without eating for too long OR cut your calories too low!! Doing either (or both) of these will increase your hunger hormone (ghrelin) and decrease your fullness hormone (leptin) to a point where you feel RAVENOUS, and it’s much harder to make rational food choices if you’re hungry af. This can also raise your cortisol, making you feel like you’re in fight or flight mode, hence making it harder to make rational decisions. Slow and steady wins the race, so before you go cut your calories, make sure it’s not an aggressive approach (plus it can increase your risk of losing muscle, and I bet you’re trying to lose body fat primarily).
Do an exercise routine you ENJOY!! For me, I walk at least 10k steps a day and find ways to fit extra steps into my routine if I’m busy with work- but this helps raise my Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) by a fair amount, meaning that my deficit calories aren’t incredibly low, and I don’t feel overly hungry because it’s low intensity exercise. I also incorporate weight lifting a few times a week to preserve/gain muscle, and if you weight train throughout your weight loss journey, you can look leaner/better at a higher weight because muscle is more dense than fat! I find it much more sustainable maintaining my weight at 140 pounds and lean vs when I ran and was 110 pounds in high school- especially because it gives me more wiggle room for how much I can eat.
If you do overeat/binge, MOVE ON!! I know it’s easier said than done, especially if you feel puffy, bloated, and sick the next day, but if you dwell on one binge, it increases your likelihood for binging again. Instead, reflect on why it happened, make changes where it’s necessary, and remember that it won’t derail your progress if you get back on track and give yourself grace. The way I got to my heaviest was by binging, then feeling the need to heavily restrict, only to feel RAVENOUS within two days, and then eat excessively again. It was a vicious cycle, and I’ve definitely had episodes where I ate too much throughout my weight loss, but getting back on track and being consistent is what got me to where I am. Remember, it’s CONSISTENCY, not perfection.
Think about how you can make your favorite fun foods nutrient rich, but still tasty!! You will never catch me eating raw broccoli, but cooking it to where it gets crispy on the edges is BOMB. With chicken nuggets/strips, I’ll either make homemade versions or get the Real Good brand because I find it tasty. With chocolatey desserts, I’ve found low/zero added sugar alternatives that still taste good, and with Mac n cheese or burgers, I’ve used leaner ground beef/turkey, lower carb buns (I like the aunt Millie’s one) and pasta brands that are higher in fiber + making a homemade cheese sauce that’s lower in calories but higher in protein. Doing this makes the diet not FEEL like a “diet,” and something that you can stick to long term. And if you are craving “the real thing,” make sure it’s actually WORTH it! I like poptarts, but I’m not going to use my calories for them because I know that my local bakery has AMAZING poptarts/pastrys, so I have one or two every week. It’s like a special occasion, and no poptart will ever compare.
If yall have any questions or habits you’d like to share, please share 💜
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