How I lost 15kg…
If you’ve clicked on this blog post thinking you’re going to get a magic answer about how to lose fat, well you were right. The answer lies within this blog post…
January 2017 was my turning point, I’d probably spent about 8 years yo-yo dieting after going from a size 8 to a size 16 in the space of about a year and a half (first year of uni, wish somebody had told me what a calorie surplus was then) I had gradually gone from a size 14-16 to a size 12 and sat at a comfortable size 12 for around 4 years. Now a size 12 is an absolutely healthy size to sit out, however I had a very small frame naturally, tiny wrists, a small waist and small shoulders. So for my frame I looked overweight and I carry everything on my stomach, face and upper thighs. I felt incredibly self conscious, especially in the summer time. I would not want ANYONE to see my stomach or legs. Wanting to lose weight is such a personal thing to the individual, my life motto is whatever makes you happy, do that. Whatever makes YOU happy. If you're UNHAPPY because of your weight, that is for nobody else to judge. “you look great!” “you don’t need to lose weight!” hearing that doesn’t help. (side note - I’m not referring to illnesses such as eating disorders and body dysmorphia, that isn’t my area of expertise. I’m referring to your everyday person who can’t seem to get a handle on how to manage their weight and is miserable as a result)
Something kind of changed in me between the Christmas and New Year 2016. I had gained a lot of weight over that period, plus I’d been to Rome (YUM) and the photos from that Christmas I could just see I was creeping back to first year of uni Jess. I kind of had an epiphany. I had gone through periods of being healthy and going to the gym but it would never stick. The ONLY way to guarantee failure is to quit. I just realised the time is going to pass anyway and I just need to put in the work. You have to choose your misery, miserable about being overweight? Or miserable because you have to eat slightly less on the days you may feel extra hungry? Choose your misery. I chose the latter. The best thing you can do is actually educate yourself so you don’t end up with an ‘on off’ mentality, I don’t believe in following plans where you have no idea what it is about that plan that makes you lose weight. I wasn’t fully educated at the time, for the first year of my health and fitness journey I stuck to pretty much a fully paleo based way of eating. Meat, fish, eggs, loads of vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds. Even though now I would never promote this style of eating because I believe in an all inclusive diet, it did get me into great habits of basing my meals around vegetables and eating enough protein (something which is king for fat loss, keeping you full, giving you lots of nutrients) this combined with regular gym sessions I had pretty much lost all the weight I wanted to by the end of 2017 (fun fact, i’m still the same weight, I haven’t lost weight on the scale for 3 years but my body shape has changed completely - see my blog about why I lift weights!)
The reality of that year is that, I was eating in a calorie deficit. I had cut out SO many different foods that I was eating less than the energy I was expending and that’s why I lost weight. All ‘diets' are just a calorie deficit dressed up in a fancy way. I could have been eating the same calories in cheeseburgers and would still have lost the weight. Losing the weight you want is one thing but keeping it off and making it an easy lifestyle to live is the whole battle. You have to get tuned in to how much you’re eating and how much your body requires. If you ever see that ‘fitspo’ person on instagram, they have been living a healthy lifestyle for YEARS. It is something which is constant not something you dip in and out of. Some people might think of ‘diets’ as 3 weeks of sheer restriction and think ‘I don’t want to live like that’ you do not have to! You can eat all of your favourite foods and still lose weight if that’s your goal, you don’t need to cut anything out of your diet. Remember that. What you do need to do is manage your food intake how you would manage your finances, spend more money than you earn in a month, you’ll be in debt. Eat more than your body expends in a month, you’ll gain fat. It is really that simple. Tracking calories may not appeal to you, but to get started it is either that or you’re shooting blind and you will struggle to get a handle on your goals.
After that first year where I lost the weight I wanted, I started tracking on myfitnesspal so that I could eat all the foods I wanted and not gain the weight back. I did this for probably a year (not tracking on holidays and things like that - but the majority of the time I was keeping a handle on it). Now, I can literally just eye ball a plate of food and feel so in tune with my body that I just know how much to eat for my body. Personally I feel like i’m in the best place and always wanted to be happy with my body, able to eat all the foods I want without reverting back to my old unhappy self. But it takes time. Put in the time, it’s worth it. That time will pass anyway. Anyone for Pizza?