I (F18; 5‘5/1,66 m) lost 50 lbs (23kg) since October 2018 and went from 180 lbs (~82 kg) to 130 lbs (~59 kg). I initially lost 22 lbs (10kg) over 6 months, gained back 11 lbs (5kg) in the next 6 months bc I didn’t really care about it and then lost 18 kg since October 2019. In the following I compiled my top 11 tips for weightloss that I discovered over the course of my journey. They are in no particular order, but the last point is what I would consider the most important one.
1. CICO for the win
No matter what diet you follow, keto, paleo, just eating whatever – the most important (actually, the only important) thing is being in a calorie deficit. I never tried to follow a specific diet, I ate whatever I wanted, but I counted calories every day. If I wanted chocolate, I ate it, but I always kept the calories in mind. What I love most about the CICO approach is that you don’t have to cut out any food that you love. You will find that you will start gravitating towards healthier food anyways over time, because you can simply eat more salad than burgers. It also helps keeping cravings at bay because I know that I can have whatever food I want and crave, as long as it fits into my calories. It is important to always weigh everything (eyeballing food is something you should only do after you got used to the new portion sizes, and I would recommend to just always weigh)and also to not forget things like oil, etc.
Good resources are r/1200isplenty, r/1500isplenty, r/volumeeating
How to get into a deficit? It’s pretty easy, and it should be the first thing you do before starting out. Calculate your TDEE, subtract 500 cal -> there you have your daily calorie allowance that will help you lose about one pound per week. Additionally you should remember that at some point, you maybe need to lower your calories a bit, since your TDEE gets lower as you lose weight (that is a while down the road though, so nothing you need to worry about at the beginning).
2. Fix one meal
I found this to be very helpful. This actually wasn’t my idea, I once read a comment somewhere on this subreddit, where the poster talked about how this one skinny woman in her office eats the same for lunch every day. I generally eat only lunch and dinner, since I’m not hungry in the morning, and I also like to have a big dinner, so I fixed my lunch. Everyday I would eat the same lunch at around 300 calories, which left me with a considerable amount for dinner and a snack in the evening.
My go to meals were either some scrambled eggs (3 eggs -> 225 cal, 100 ml almond milk -> 15 cal, and then maybe some tomatoes or fruit at the side so that I come out at roughly 300 calories) or overnight oats (50g oats -> 185 cal, 120 ml almond milk -> 17 cal, 1 tsp chia seeds -> 25 cal, plus some honey to make it sweeter, and fruit toppings of choice) The great thing about the oats is that through the varied fruits, it doesn’t feel like you eat the same thing every day, if that is something that would bother you, and it’s also great for meal prepping and taking to work. Both of these meals are low calorie but filling and got me through the day just fine.
3. Figure out your eating/hunger pattern
I found that the best thing to do is listen to your body and work with it, not against it. You can totally succeed working against your body, but it will be unnecessarily hard and you’ll be much more likely to slip up and eventually give up, and we don’t want that. Like I mentioned above, I know I’m not hungry in the morning, so I never listened to the people who preach breakfast as the most important meal of the day (I’m gonna fricking scream if someone tells me that one more time). I rather save my calories for when I’m actually hungry. I also found that as soon as I start eating, my stomach is awake and I start to get hungry. It is easy for me to push back my first meal until 3 or 4 pm, but it is very hard for me to say no to food in the evening, after I started eating. So I try to have all my food as late as possible. Figure out how that pattern looks like for you. Ravenous in the morning but not really hungry in the evening? Start with a big breakfast and have a light/no dinner. Want a big lunch but don’t really care for breakfast and dinner? Eat a big lunch and a light dinner or breakfast.
4. Eat your snacks last
Chances are, you have some snacks you really like and want to eat regularly. Like I said above, there is no need to cut them out and make yourself miserable – portion control is the magic word here. The problem with snacks is that they are typically pretty calorie dense, so the portion will be a small one. What I’d recommend is to not snack throughout the day, but rather save them for the evening, when you are done with all the proper eating for the day. That way you can figure out how many calories you have left and can make yourself a little snack plate, that you eat without thinking about the calories at all, and you also don’t have to worry about going over the budget.
A little additional tip: Weigh out the exact portion you get to eat, and only take the bowl/plate with you. Leave the bag in the cupboard! Not only is it so easy to just empty a bag of chips mindlessly when you have it in your hand while watching TV, it is also very psychologically satisfying to empty a bowl or a plate.
5. Cheat days are helpful
I know that cheat days are a little bit of a controversial topic, but I found them to be very helpful for me. I scheduled one day per week where I allowed myself to eat at maintenance, mostly when something social was happening (going out for dinner or drinks, having a game or movie night with snacks). On those days I would eat just some fruit over the day (or just fast), so that I wouldn’t have to worry about the calories in the evening. This kept me sane, and I don’t think I would have come this far without the cheat days. Cheat days or eating at maintenance/ a little bit over once in a while can also help your metabolism because it doesn’t get used to running on too few calories. You have to be careful though, don’t take this as permission to stuff your face with 5000 calories worth of food, rather take this as a chance to indulge in some food you normally don’t have without having to worry about the calories as much. Still be mindful! And don’t do this more than once a week at most, otherwise it might slow down your progress considerably.
6. Water > Diet Soda > normal Soda
I love water, and I also love soda. But drinking normal soda is one of the worst things you can do. You don’t have a lot of calories, don’t spend them on something like soda! There is nothing more empty than calories in drinks, because they are gone so fast, and you don’t even notice it. Having a little bit of soda every day without realising it could totally undo your deficit. You don’t have to give up soda completely though. Diet Soda is just as good, just without the calories. I drink a lot of diet soda, and while it is definitely not a healthy choice, it is a better choice than normal soda. It helps me keep my cravings at bay when I get to drink something sweet, and I also just like the taste. Cutting soda out is something very good to try and do, but I’d honestly recommend you save that for the maintenance phase after weightloss, because during it’s just one more thing on your already (not so) full plate that can make it all harder. Switch to diet soda to avoid the calories and save the no soda stuff as a project you can tackle once you are in maintenance (if it’s something you want to do at all).
7. Don’t do everything at once
Relating to what I just told you about cutting out soda, it is never a good idea to take on too many things at once. Rather than being helpful, it will just overwhelm you and make you more likely to give up. Don’t try a massive deficit, going from completely sedentary to working out hard 6 days a week and cutting out every single unhealthy food completely. If you do that, I promise you that you will fail. It is not a question of if, rather of when. But that doesn’t have to be the case. We are trying to build sustainable habits and lifestyles here, so start out slow. Cut down on portion sizes, lower your calories day by day until you reach that 500 cal deficit, start to incorporate more movement into your day, like a little bit of walking. Take things one day at a time and do it as slowly as you need to. There is absolutely no shame in taking all the time you need. The most important thing is that you do something.
8. Eat slowly and drink water
Now, when you actually sit down to eat, a very good tip I can give you is to eat slowly. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to realise that you are full, so try to give your brain that time. Also, it makes it feel like you are eating a lot more, and who doesn’t like that? Try to cut off small pieces, really savour each bite, actually taste your food. Also, drink water while you eat. Drink a glass of water before you even start eating. Take a sip after every few bites. This will fill up your stomach really fast, so you’ll feel really full soon. And I recommend to stop eating as soon as you feel that fullness, no matter how much food you have left on your plate. Put the food back into the fridge and go back to it when you feel hungry again. I usually eat several small meals a day (or rather lunch and dinner, but because of drinking and eating slow, I never finish it in one go), and each time I feel full because I eat slowly and drink a lot. Sure, I get hungry faster because I didn’t actually eat that much, but it comes out to the same amount of calories and I feel like I ate all day, which is very nice. Also, this way you can make sure you get lots and lots of water, without having to force it during the day if you don’t feel thirsty.
9. Exercise helps, but is not necessary
Like I said, the calorie deficit is the most important thing. And trust me when I say, you can’t outrun a bad diet. It is way easier to eat less instead of trying to burn off the calories afterwards. You probably already heard it, and it’s true: weightloss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. When you are just starting out, don’t try and force yourself to workout, especially if you hate it. Focus on your diet, on eating right and in a deficit, and start out with low effort movement like walking. I didn’t start working out until I was already in a healthy BMI range, I lost most of my weight through diet alone. Exercise definitely helps with creating a bigger deficit though, which especially helped me with my last few pounds, and when I start with maintenance, it will allow me to eat even more. Don’t try and force yourself to exercise if you absolutely dread it just because you feel like it’s what you have to do. It’s something you can also incorporate later in your weightloss journey, when it’s actually easier to start out because you aren’t carrying that much extra weight anymore.
10. 10k steps is a concept worth considering
As of posting this, I am on my 55th day of walking at least 10k steps every day. I make sure to always hit that goal, no matter what I do that day, even if I feel like shit, if I binged, if I'm busy, if I haven't worked out, etc. And I think that setting such a goal is one of the best things you can do. Sure, the 10k is a pretty arbitrary number, and you can honestly just choose any other number (like, if you never wak, maybe 5k would be good, or if you have an active job, 15k is more suitable), but the concept itself helps a lot. Setting such a goal for yourself makes sure you have a small win every single day. Imagine this: Your goal is 10k steps. You have a great day, and hit 15k, so you can then be proud of yourself bc hey, you absolutely crushed your goal! But the next day you feel like shit, stay in bed until 2pm, can't manage to drag yourself to the gym, but you can to convince yourself to put on a podcast and walk just enough to hit 10k steps. After that you can lay back down, and even though you might consider the day a bad one, you still have this one thing you can be proud of.
Some small additional tips:
- eat off of small plates/bowls -> takes less food to make them look really full, and it really helps mentally to be able to clean off a plate
- freeze your snacks -> this works especially great with grapes, but I also tried it with gummy bears. It forces you to eat it slowly, and I find the flavours to be more intense
- if you have trouble with making the right decision, try to ask yourself the question: what would a healthy person do? You don't need to be that person to make their decisions, but it will help to bring you closer to actually be that person you want to be
- always ask yourself - Are the calories really worth it? This mostly applies to 'cheat food', but I found that there are actually just a few types of sweets/junk food that I really really like, so I try to not use calories for foods I don't truly love
- try to have a salad with your meal -> it doesn't have to be a huge or complicated one, but it fills you up additionally, and it makes sure you get some greens in daily. (My favourite salad dressing: 50g plain greek yoghurt (30 cal), a little bit of mustard, a spritzer of apple cider vinegar, and some chicken broth powder, the whole thing comes out to not even 40 cal and is enough for a pretty big salad)
- don't be afraid to ask for help - there are a lot of support groups on the internet, like this subreddit, and there will always be at least one person happy to help you
- don't be afraid to ask for professional help - for some people, they have issues that go way beyond 'I sometimes overeat', and if you notice that you can't do it alone, there is absolutely no shame in seeking out professional help. You are not weak for acknowledging you can't do something on your own.
11. IMPROVISE – ADAPT – OVERCOME
Now, my last and most important tip. Take every single thing you hear and read with a grain of salt (this post as well!). Don’t expect something to work for you, just because it worked for someone else. There are a few universal truths, like CICO and that broccoli is healthier than chocolate, but it pretty much stops there. Don’t let anyone tell you that what you are doing is wrong. Make sure you get sufficient calories (at least 1200, and that only if you are a short woman), and stay in a reasonable deficit, but it does not matter at all how you achieve that. Don’t force yourself to eat breakfast just because some people say it’s super important. If you can’t function otherwise, sure, it is important for you, but that doesn’t apply to everyone. Don’t cut out foods you love just because people bitch about them, don’t force-feed yourself foods that make you want to throw up just because they are healthy. Don’t think you have to eat one meal a day if you feel better on five small ones, and don’t let other people tell you that eating just one meal a day is a bad idea if it works for you. I could go on and on about this, but it is so important to find WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. Look out for tips, look out for recipes and so on, take notes and then think about how you can incorporate these things so that they work for you. If you can cut out sugar completely and feel great with it – amazing! If you try it and fail because it doesn’t work for you – don’t feel bad and try something else. Weightloss and a healthy lifestyle is something that stays with you for life. If you can’t see yourself doing something for the rest of your life, don’t even start it. I never even considered doing keto or anything of the sort because I knew I love carbs. I tried cutting out snacks and it made me binge and feel miserable, so now I have them in moderation.
So those were my ten top tips. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I try to answer as best as I can. I wish everyone who is just starting out or is in the middle or the very end of their weightloss journey the best of luck, and I know that all of you can do this. Weightloss is simple, but it is not easy, and you should never be too hard on yourself. You will slip up at some points, but the important thing is to never stop getting back up and to never stop trying. Take it one day at a time, remember to always take pictures and measurements because scales can be deceiving, and remember to celebrate every single win, no matter how small. Every single pound lost is an achievement and something to be proud of, whether you have to lose 10 or 100 lbs. You can do this, and I believe in you J
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