Stats: 29F 174cm SW:89kg CW:65.5kg Initial GW:68kg Current GW: no-idea-but-superhero-body
Before and after: https://i.imgur.com/YZPBgKK.jpg 84.1 kg on the 20th of October 2016 (i have no SW pictures) vs. 65.5kg on 29th of August 2019
It recently occurred to me that I started my weight loss journey in the beginning of September of 2016. Being a long-time lurker, I decided to share with you guys some of the things that I have learned over the past 3 years, perhaps they will be of help to someone.
I'm going to try to keep this short:
Three years ago I was at my highest, 89kg. I have never been very slim, I had a history of gaining and losing (i was 83 kilos at 18 and back to 68kg at 22) but I gained about 20 kilos over the course of 4 years by over-eating. The over-eating was partially caused by mild anxiety and very mild depressive episodes, but the main reason was: I like food and I live for carbs.
I had previously attempted to diet, but with no success. Looking back, it wasn't the diet at fault, but the fact I had no knowledge on how to do that right, starved myself for a few days (weeks perhaps) and then got sick of it and went back to my previous habits.
What triggered me to actually do something was the fact that I was so close to 90 kg, and I knew that if I go over 90 I will get used to it and move on. Also, two of my best friends (both of them were over 120kg at their SW) had started losing, so this kinda motivated while also scaring me. It might sound petty, but I didn't want to end up being the fattest one. So one day I decided that starting that day I will join the gym. No starting Monday, no starting the 1st of the month. Starting today. And I did, started with treadmill and some light lifting.
Didn't change my diet for a while, but I went to the gym consistently 2 or 3 times a week for the first month and started seeing some improvement after a few weeks. In my case it was normal for some immediate progress since I spend 8 to 10 hours a day in front of the computer at work, don't do any sports, don't walk since my office is 300m away from the house, etc.
After seeing the first results on the scale (back then I used the scale as my primary means of measuring progress) I started doing some slight changes to my diet by trying to eat smaller portions (my main meal was and still is around 10.30 PM). Again, it worked.
Our (bf's and I) diet is mainly pasta based since he's usually the cook and he's Italian. At this point I have started counting calories with MFP and I noticed that pasta is A LOT of calories. So we ended up agreeing that we'd alternate pasta nights with steak and vegetables nights (I realize that I am so lucky to have had such a supportive person next to me throughout the whole process) . This also helped for a while, until I started feeling the weight loss was slowing down.
So I decided to go for a personal trainer at the gym for a few months. And this worked miracles. Having a professional look after you does wonders. Not only he gave me nutrition tips and taught me the basics of how macros work, but he also knew when to stop me if I was pushing myself too hard. I started paying more attention to macros, and kept around 1400 kcal/ day, with the occasional cheat day.
Starting June 2017 I plateaued at 75 kilos. I occasionally managed to go down to 73 but then went back to 75. Tried staying around 1200 kcal, it didn't do much. However I wasn't feeling bad about it. I was already feeling like my body wasn't a blob anymore, I was still seeing some changes even if they weren't showing on the scale. I kept on with my normal 3 times per week gym schedule, and saw improvements with cellulitis. I was ok with that. What I noticed was that I took breaks from the gym for long vacations (1 month long vacations) I gained little weight (1-2 kg) but the gym break was noticeable on my body.
March 2019: a friend suggested that I might want to try lifting heavy. So I tried out lifting slightly heavier. I immediately started losing again. I guess my body was used to my normal routine and just needed slight a push. I seem to be plateauing at 65-66kg now, but I am more than fine with it. I can finally see some of the abs that I have been working on for the last 3 years, the cellulitis is improving, my booty has a shape. I don't care about the numbers anymore, my goal right now is to build some more muscle. I want a superhero body.
I am still eating simple carbs. I occasionally eat junk food. I hate IF (it's just not for me, I get hangry). My main meal still is at 10.30 PM. But now I am keeping it under control.
(Nope, I didn't manage to keep this short)
I am going to sum up some of the things I have learned:
- Take it slow and give it time. Thanks to taking it slow I have very little loose skin for the 23 kilos lost, that can only be seen in certain positions.
- Make small, gradual adjustments. This way your brain will be tricked into thinking that it's not that a big of a deal. Making all the adjustment at the same time will overload your brain with negative thoughts and feelings.
- Educate yourself in order to make the adjustments. Learn a little about nutrition and macros, it will help you take better decisions. Also learn about various types of training, so you can choose the best fit for you. There are so many resources out there.
- Don't beat yourself up over the numbers, but be consistent with your schedule. I have seen 2 kg variations in the same day due to water retention and bloating. A number is just a number.
- Workouts: change your routine every once in a while. Your body will get accustomed to the same routines and might stop collaborating.Also, as a sidenote: you might not like working out. I still don't like the feeling of my muscles burning and the shortness of breath, but try to find something that you dislike less. Soon enough you will start enjoying the endorphins flowing in after a good workout and you will start pushing yourself so you can get that feeling.
- In my case, eating carbs before a workout does wonders on an energy level. I strongly suggest you try that out, they give me that little extra fuel I need. I have a snack consisting of a piece of toast with something or a banana or a yogurt and cereal 1 hour before I leave for the gym. I also have a protein shake after the workout, but that is mainly for helping muscle development, but it will also keep me quite full for the evening (so I'll eat less at dinner).
- Educating yourself will also prevent workout related injuries. Lifting heavier has caused me a slight injury - also related to a small defect in my knees that I didn't know about. Not a big deal, but again, taking things slow helped. I would have probably injured myself much worse if I would have jumped right into lifting even heavier.
- Your goals might change and that's ok. I started working out so I can jumpstart the weight loss. My goal was skinny. My goal has changed, I want to build some extra muscle now.
- Your body might have more than you thought imperfections when you reach (or are close to) your goal. That's also ok, I consider them "scars from battle". Work towards fixing whatever you can and accept whatever you can't. We're all perfect with our imperfections.
- This is for the ladies: there will most likely be significant loss in bra size. Don't worry about that. You might feel disproportionate for a while, but give your body time to adjust.
- Self-image: in my case my self-respect has increased so very much. I avoided having my picture taken before. I love it now. I feel stronger than ever, physically and emotionally, and I felt this inner-strength developing. I take better care of myself. Also my sex drive has sky rocketed since I feel much more desirable.
- Take progress photos. The differences you see in them will keep you motivated.
- Treat yourself when you have done really well. Buy that fancy shirt or dress when you have lost a size. For example, I am treating myself with a new tattoo next week (which also has the purpose of covering up a rough patch of very stubborn cellulitis).
- Last but not least, try to have fun with it and pat yourself on the back when you've done well.
P.S. I am so damn scared for posting this with the before and after, even if I should be proud.
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