> Stats
F20 150cm/4'11
SW: 69kg/152lbs
CW: 64kg/141lbs
GW: 48kg/105lbs
Weight loss from June 21 to July 31.
So before we start on my easy 16 or so pieces of advice, ask yourself: how much do I want this and how willing am I to sacrifice my current habits for this? Weight loss is not instantaneous and it is not a marathon, it is a lifestyle change. You will feel discomfort, hunger, frustration.
But you will also feel pride and amazement at what you're truly capable of. Nothing will beat the feeling of seeing your efforts pay off, your clothes fit better, and your health improve. Picture a timeline, but don't be strict about it. Having an all or nothing "I need to lose X weight before Y time" will only set you up for major disappointment if you ever falter. Be kind to yourself!
Let yourself tumble and fall down so that you can try again. So are you ready to be a rockstar? Then set a goal weight and let's go!
Eat less. It's all about CICO or Calories In, Calories Out. I don't know where my conception that weight loss = intense workouts came from. But yeah, you can't outrun a bad diet. It's not a very sexy answer because I think a lot of people expect a miraculous secret key to lose weight, but the reality is if you eat less calories than what your body needs to maintain your current weight, you will see numbers go down.
CICO for dummies. Go find an online calculator like this one: https://tdeecalculator.net/ and insert your height, weight, and activity level (do you live on your couch or are you an Olympic athlete? One of those people will need to consume more food). For beginners, just put the lowest activity level which is sedentary, I'll touch upon physical activity later. Figure out: your BMR (basal metabolic rate = the kcal you need so your organs don't fail) and your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure = the kcal you need to function in everyday life).
Ex: As a short woman, my BMR is around 1300 kcal and my TDEE if I was sedentary would be a bit less 1600kcal. If I eat at 1400kcal? That's a 200kcal deficit.
Numbers? Math? Aw man! Now that you now your stats, you need to decide on a calorie deficit = how many calories will be cut from your TDEE. Is your TDEE 2000kcal per day? Eating 1500kcal will give you a deficit of 500kcal, which is usually the typical deficit sustainable long term for most people. 1kg of fat = 7700kcal. If you eat at a 500 kcal deficit, then boom, you'll lose a bit less than 1kg or around 2lbs every two weeks or so. Thermodynamics baby!
Spreadsheets, spreadsheets, spreadsheets. How will you meet that deficit? Get a calorie counting app and a food scale. Do NOT guess-timate. I repeat do not guess-timate. You will be surprised at how much calories are in sauces, oil, alcohol, and basically everything you eat. Log in your every meal and weigh everything from sauces, to oils to drinks. I personally like LoseIt! but MyFitnessPal is also popular.
The Evil Liquids. Don't drink your calories. But also, if you do, absolutely log it! People say don't drink your calories a lot, but it's genuinely because somedeinks add 500+ calories that ultimately will not keep you full. For a 1500kcal meal plan per day, that's 1/3 of your calories in a drink! Focus on water, black cofee and tea which are 0 calories. But, there can be moderation! Zero calories sodas are great and work for me personally (be aware of how they might affect your hunger levels though!). I also love my Viet coffee and smoothies, so I count them into my total and adjust accordingly. Speaking of which...
Withdraw from your calories bank. You don't have to eat the same deficit every single day. If your meal plan is 1500kcal per day to produce a 500kcal deficit from 2000kcal, you have 10 500kcal per week to play with! It's okay if you destroyed that tub of Ben&Jerry's at 2 am on a Tuesday. You're at 2100kcal now? Don'y give up ans just go back to junk food. Eat less on Wednesday! Better yet, distribute those extra calories during the remaining days of the week however you like!
Gulp, what's water weight? So, all the advice online says to drink water and to be aware of water weight. But what even is that. Water weight = your body being a diva and holding onto water because of excess sodium, hormonal changes, carbs intake, the cycles of the moon, Earth's gravitional pull. No but seriously, the only thing you need to know is drinking more water = better hydration = less water weight. The recommended water intake for an adult can range from 6 to 8 glasses per day so start chugging!
That's that whoosh! During the first few days of eating in a deficit, you might notice a dramatic drop in weight. I loss 2kg/4,5lbs in 2 days! Am I losing weight too fast? Is weight loss actually easy? Don't panic (and get ahead of yourself), that's water weight, and some people can lose up to 8lbs of it! Dramatically reducing heavy-sodium junk food and drinking more water will make all that water weight whoosh away. But now the real battle starts, losing fat! So you need to disconnect that number on the scale from actual fat loss.
Well shoot, people are all losing weight but me... Has your weight loss has slowed down significantly after all that water? That's normal and can depend on too many factors to count. Losing 1kg is not the same for someone who's 150kg and someone's who's 70kg. Do not compare your progress to people who have different stats, calorie deficits and lifestyles than you. As a short woman, I cannot do an 800kcal deficit than a tall man previously eating 3000kcal per day can. He'd be eating 2200kcal per day and I'd be eating hopes and dreams and nothing else.
Macros and gymbros. Carbs, protein, fats. You need all three. Yes, 2g of protein per kg is optimal for building muscle. Muscle is important so that you don't end up losing more muscles than fat which can give you a "skinny fat" look. But calm down and breathe, you don't need to go full keto and cut down ze evil carbs! They keep you full, so focus on better carbs like sweet potatoes which also gives you good fiber. Focus on healthy fats like avocadoes. Ultimately, don't beat yourself over counting macros to the gram if you're already struggling with just calorie counting. It's all about building good habits, not jumping straight into perfection.
But mom, I want to be ripped and leaaan! If you do decide to up your protein intake because you want to start lifting weight (the CO part of CICO), please be realistic with yourself. If I wanted to get 130g of protein in a meal plan of 1300kcal per day to have that 2g per kg standard, I'd probably have to snort lines of straight up protein powder. Up your protein, fiber, whatever intake slowly. Cook meals you'll actually like eating and not just protein slop. As someone with a huge sweet tooth, I love dessert protein recipes. Figure something that works for you and don't shoot for the extreme.
Oh no, weight plateaus! Does you weight chart look like a range of mountains? Have you been hovering in weight jail for the past week? No, you aren't immune to thermodynamics, weight plateaus and fluctuations are normal. Water retention, stress, and any amount of things can affect weight. Shoot, if you have a menstrual cycle, your weight is on a rollercoaster ride perpetually. Wait for that poop session, don't be so harsh on yourself and have patience! I've been stuck at weights for two weeks before seing any changes. Don't panic and lose all your progress by eating or all back.
The scale cult. On the same topic, don't let the scale control you. Yes, your goal is to lose weight. But progress can be seen in so many different ways. As a short woman, my progress is non linear, but I celebrate non-scale victories such being able to wear my belt tighter. Measure your waist, legs, arms and take a break from the scale. Those measurements are the one that matter. And keep a schedule. I like to weigh myself everyday in the morning after going to the bathroom. But I only log my weight every 6 days, doing so keeps me sane about fluctuations. But everyone is different, some weigh and log everyday, others do so once per month. Find a schedule that works for you.
Touch grass, and dumbells. Yeah, I don't like sports either. But as a short woman, I need to move more to also raise my TDEE. Doing light to medium activity (usually walking 8k-10k steps per day, sparse home workouts plus working at a waitress), already raises my TDEE to 1800-1900kcal as compared to 1600kcal at sedentary. That means more caloric wiggle room on days where I'm especially ravenous. Moving more includes many things, even walking! Cardio is good for losing body fat. Weightlifting is good for building muscle and eventually getting toned. But you can mix and match. Don't force yourself to the gym if you know the habit won't stick. I like strength straining with pilates and dancing for cardio, everyone is different.
Am I a couch potato? Don't know how to figure out your activity levels because you workout but have an office job? What even is light exercise 1-3 times per week? No worries, eat just below the activity level TDEE that you think you are for a few weeks and check your progress. Generally, I'd recommend to underestimate your activity level, most fitness apps are inaccurate. But if you're constantly irritated, have low energy and brain fog, listen to your body and eat more. Don't go crazy and start training like an athlete just to have a 1000kcal deficit, you'll crash and burn. Just getting the recommendew 8k to 10k steps per day can do wonders. So start slowly and put on your walking shoes.
Mentality. Is. Everything. Going from obese to overweight meant cutting calories and changing many habits. It's annoying, it's frustrating and you will be uncomfortable. Perhaps you're feeling hungry for the first time in your life. Maybe you're tired of weighing everything and having to meal plan. It's not going to be easy, at all. My ultimate goal weight means losing more than 30% of my starting weight. If you've put on weight over months or even years, it's going to take you a huge amount of effort to lose it. But, if you drill it in your brain that you want this, more than anything, you'll smash it. Proving to yourself that you're capable of losing weight and enduring hardships feels INCREDIBLE. You'll gain a new sense of appreciation for yourself. So do it! Just start! Begin your journey for yourself.
Bonus round, miscellaneous flash tips:
- Block out the food noise any way you can. You can stop following those baking channels, delete that food delivery app, skip the sweets section. Make simple but hard decisions. It's ok to go to bed hungry.
- Sober life. Cut down (or entirely stop) on the alcohol. Those sugary cocktail calories add up!
- Look into volume eating, there's a subreddit for that! Huge quantities of lower cal, high volume food like vegetables will make you much feel fuller.
- Don't shoot yourself in the foot. Stop celebrating weight loss victories with food or treats. Cut those bad habits in the bud. Go out and buy yourself something nice like new clothes instead.
- Replace previous guilty pleasures. I'd never be able to cut out sugar entirely, so instead I love to make super indulgent low-cal desserts.
- Try out intermittent fasting, there's also a subreddit for that! I love it personally for my controlling caloric intake. On a 1300kcal budget, I'd much prefer to eat two big meals and a snack rather than three tiny meals per day.
- 80/20 rule. It's not all or nothing. Don't aim for perfection everytime. Eat 80% cleanly and treat yourself the rest of the time. If you followed your meal plan for 6 days, log in that little sunday brunch with friends guilt free.
- Random things that helped: downloading MeThreeSixty to do a full body scan. Buying an electronic scale to get more accurate readings than a mechanic one. Following low-cal high-protein cooking channels. Having mini goals like losing 2kg, 5kg, 10kg and not just a goal weight. Being active in weight loss communities and reading up on people's very different journeys.
- Most importantly and for the love of god, stay mentally healthy. Don't bring your food scale to that buffet where you'll never be able to get accurate calorie counts, don't refuse your poor grandma's cookies, don't be miserable and skip out on every single social event. Don't hold yourself to impossble standards by comparing your journey to people online who claim to have lost 10kg in two months. Don't accidentally become the worst version of yourself when you're actively making a step to improve upon your lifestyle. You're still you even if your weight is going down! Don't ever lose yourself to a number.
Closing words:
Honestly, if you've read this far, you're already half-way there. The most importance piece of advice I have is in the title. Just start. When I began this journey on June 21, I never would've thought that I'd be here—more happy and proud of myself than ever.
So yeah, screw what other people think you can or can't do, you are capable! Set your mind to it and you wilk achieve your goal. The first step is one of the hardest, and whether your goal is to lose 10kg or 100kg, deciding to start is already a big achievement to proud of.
Hopefully this weight loss handboon has been helpful! I've just started on my weight loss journey and honestly as a broke university student with a part-time job, it gets pretty hectic and difficult. This community has been so helpful in making me feel less stressed and overall happier with the progress I've been making.
So thank you everyone :D Let's all continue on this journey together.
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