Some background, feel free to skip if you want to. (:
During my teenage years, I was growing like crazy and therefore had a crazy metabolism. I was "that guy" that could drink 2 liters of Coca-Cola and eat pizza everyday and still be skinny as a stick. Then adult life hit and my metabolism slowed down to a normal level. It took some time before I realized I was actually overweight after having struggled with being underweight for most of my life. But that realization was really hard, since being skinny had become such an integral part of my identity.
When this realization hit, I went on a completely insane crash diet where I lost around 30-40kgs. I felt like shit and my motivation mostly came from self-hate, but I did it! "Yay"! At least so I thought, because of course I gained most of it back in the coming years, because I failed to realize that what I'm looking for is a lifestyle change that is sustainable for me, and not a one-time quick fix to my problems.
Since then, I've been back and forth between gaining weight during my "fuck it, eat whatever I want" periods and weight loss periods, constantly trying to repair my relationship with food and exercise, and trying to find a path to a healthier living that works for me.
I am now somewhat at a place where I have a healthy relationship with food, don't have huge cravings anymore, and actually enjoy exercising. So I picked up a few tips and tricks along the way that worked for me, that I figured I could share with everyone. (:
(Small disclaimer; These are things that have worked for me. If you feel like you 100% disagree with some of these points, that's totally fine. Everyone finds their path to a healthier living, and everyone needs to find what works best for them.)
#0: Start small. Start with changing ONE thing in your lifestyle until it becomes a habit. Remember, you're trying to build habits that should hopefully last the rest of your life, changing too much at the same time can feel overwhelming and make you wanna say "fuck it" and go back to what you did before. Implement one change in your life for a few weeks (or as long/short as you feel is needed) until it just feels like a natural part of your life. Then find the next thing you want to change, and implement that. (:
#1: Think about the "why" you're trying to lose weight. It can seem obvious, you might think "I wanna lose weight because I'm overweight". But I have found, for me, thinking about how I motivate myself makes a real difference in the way I approach my weight loss. For too long I was fueled by self-hate, standing in front of the mirror, thinking to myself "You're fat and ugly and unworthy of love". It "worked" for short periods of time, but is in no way a sustainable option, neither physically nor mentally. Now, instead I try to think of it as "I wanna be healthier. I wanna eat more nutritious foods so I feel more energetic and happier". On days where I have consumed tons of nutritious foods and exercised, I feel so good! So I try to take mental notes of that and think to myself "I wanna feel this way all the time!" and try to motivate myself that way. For me, in the long run, it's been much easier to stay consistent this way, trying to remind myself everyday why I'm implementing these changes.
#2: Cut out liquid calories. I am not saying "Never ever have a beer with your buddies". Of course you should do that, if the opportunity arises. But making a habit of drinking water to your meals at home or at work instead of Coca-Cola or another soda/calorie-dense liquid can go a really long way. Liquid calories aren't that satiating compared to other forms of calories, and having most, if not all, of your calories coming from non-liquid sources will make you feel fuller and will let you eat more good foods. (:
#3. Eat more protein. I'm generally not a fan of diets that tries to categorize macronutriens and calories coming from that group as a whole, and tries to paint a picture of them as 100% "bad" or 100% "good", like some diets do (like LCHF that tries to eliminate carbs or low-fat diets that tries to eliminate fats). There are really good carbs/fats/proteins and there are less good carbs/fats/proteins. What works for me is not restricting any macronutrients, but rather just try to eat the best of them I can get. Try to eat good carbs and good fats. However, I do try to consciously eat more protein, because of (mainly) three reasons; 1. Compared to the other macronutrients, generally they have the highest satiety per calorie, meaning I feel much fuller on a high-protein diet, which (at least partially) eliminates my cravings for other things. 2. Generally speaking, compared to the other macronutrients, the body burns more calories breaking proteins down compared to carbs/fats. 3. It helps the body to keep, or even build(!), some muscle, which brings me to my next point;
#4 Don't underestimate muscle loss. During my first few periods of dieting, I used to think to myself "Well, I don't have much muscle anyway, so it doesn't matter if I lose some during my weight loss". Well, let me tell you, after a long period of dieting in unhealthy ways, the body can start to do really scary stuff. Sure, I was in no means muscular before starting, but starting to lose the few muscles I had, I felt so damn weak. It's hard to explain, but even though I was thinner, I felt heavier. Simple things like going on a walk started feeling really heavy and nauseating. It is not fun. And on top of that, less muscle = lower basal metabolic rate, which means I would have to lower my calorie intake even further to continue seeing the same "progress". Not setting out to try to at the very least keep the muscles I had at the start came back to bite me in the ass big time after a while. Especially if you feel like you don't have much muscle to begin with, you should be wary of losing them. Don't repeat my mistakes. (:
#5 Walking is underrated! In some circles I've seen people not look at simply walking as a "valid" form of exercise. Well. I think it is. Even just 10-15 minutes a day can make a difference! Walking burns fat. It doesn't burn fat as fast as, say, running, but scientific research shows that proportionally walking burns a higher percentage of fat compared to breaking down muscles, which is a good thing. Just taking a 10-15 minute walk everyday can lead to big differences in the long run, both health-wise and from a weight loss perspective.
#6 Lifting weights is underrated! Well, again, muscle loss is a real thing you should be aware of. Depending on what specific diet you're on, scientific research suggests it's actually possible to even gain muscle and lose fat at the same time (google body recomposition for further info on this). More muscle = higher basal metabolic rate. The way I see it, lifting weights isn't as much about burning calories/fat as walking is, but more of a future investment. It keeps me from losing muscle, and I might even gain some. That way, I can eat more once I start approaching my goal weight and can begin eating at maintenance again. And personally, I think it's fun. And it feels good having other goals besides just "lose weight". (:
#7 Measure your progress in more than one way. The number on the scale, while a decent approximation of fat loss progress, can be really bad if used in the wrong way. The number on the scale also measures muscle mass and water mass. Maybe you drank tons of water the day before your weekly weigh-in, which is a good thing, but the scale says you gained weight. You might have lifted weights really intensely during the week, and have gained some muscle and lost some fat - great! - but the scale says it's "bad". The scale is notoriously misleading, so I would recommend having other means of measuring your progress, and maybe having other goals besides fat loss that contributes to a healthy living. For example, I have a goal that at the end of the year, I want to be able to do a pull-up. And being able to do a push-up with my chest touching the ground. These indirectly contributes to my fat loss, since it makes me more motivated to exercise. Also, in addition to weighing myself weekly, I take pictures. Actually, these last few weeks I haven't seen much "progress" on the scale, but my pictures shows tons of progress. I look thinner and more muscular. (:
#8 Don't cut out meals, optimize them! Again, coming back to the notion that you want to build a new lifestyle that is going to last the rest of your life, not a diet that you will eventually be "off". Let’s look at it this way - I love tacos. I wish I could eat it everyday. I can't imagine a life without tacos. Well, eating it the way I used to, with tons of cheese, creme fraiche, nuts and in excessive amounts is not really an option if I want to eat it everyday and lose fat. So I looked at it, optimized it a bit. Slightly less of the calorie-dense stuff, slightly more veggies, slightly smaller portion sizes. Added some beans and some other stuff that is nutrition-dense and makes me feel full, and voila - this is now what I eat almost everyday. Honestly it's not less satisfying than how I used to eat it before, just a different kind of satisfying. Bottom line is this - Of course you don't want to live the rest of your life without your favorite foods. Who does? Find a way to fit it into your current meal plan. It can be done. If it's a really calorie-dense food, it can still fit, just in smaller portion sizes. It can always be done, in some way. (:
#9 Don't undereat! It might feel a bit counterintuitive at first, if you eat less, it means more weight loss, right? Well, it’s not that simple. After some point, if you decrease your calories more, the resulting weight loss will not be proprtional to the larger calorie deficiency you’ve put yourself in, instead the body will start to lower the energy requirements/shut down what it deems to be “non-essential” features in your body. You will lose slightly more weight, sure, but you will feel like shit and your body will start screaming at you to eat something, which will make it harder for you to stick to your plan. On top of that, it will ruin your metabolism in the long run. There are scientific papers that suggest that this metabolic adaption can last up to seven years in some extreme cases, so if you want to be able to eat “normally” once you’ve reached your goal, your best bet is to simply lose weight at a healthy, steady pace. I’d say generally not more than 1kg/2 pounds per week. It will take longer, but it sets you up for success in the long run. (:
#10 Yes you can! To anyone reading this, no matter what your experiences or background are, if you’re hesitating if you actually can achieve your goals, then the answer is; yes. Some people have medical conditions which will stop them from progressing in the same way other’s can - and that’s okay. Everyone has their own journey and needs to find their own path towards their goals, and everyone’s path is valid. What works for you, works for you. This list is just a bunch of things that worked for me. They might not work for you. They might work wonderfully for you. Sometimes life might feel unfair for you. You might have come from a home that didn’t promote healthy eating habits. You might have tried and failed numerous times to do changes to your life. You might feel like the change you want to make just can’t be done. That’s okay. Just realize that you have control over your own life. You have the power to do the changes you want to make. Anyone wanna stop you? Fuck them. Your health is always the most important thing, and it’s solely in your hands to treat your body the way you want to. (:
Well, anyway. I've ranted for too long now. What are your weight loss tips? (:
