This post is a response to a comment left on Weird Things I've Noticed on My Weight Loss Journey asking me how I lost weight. As someone who has always been shamed for my weight, I struggle to write about this topic. The most important advice I have for anyone on this journey is, please make sure you're doing this for you. Do it because you want to feel better in your body, because you want to improve your mental health, because you want to improve your physical health, because you want to improve your mobility, because you want to get stronger, etc. Don't do it out of shame, to impress anyone, to compete with anyone, or because society says you should look a certain way. Do it out of love; you cannot shame yourself into self-love. Trust me, I tried.
What finally changed my perspective was getting to the point where I physically did not feel good. I started losing weight to feel better. I also knew I was making a lifestyle change. In the past, I would give up after the first mistake. This time, I had no weight or size goal, which meant feeling better was the only thing I had to focus on.
I began implementing changes slowly over time. First, I increased my water intake using the Hidrate Spark smart water bottle. The gamification was helpful, because I naturally wanted to reach my goal every day and collect all the badges. The alerts and glow reminders prompted me to drink regularly, which eventually meant I was drinking a gallon of water daily. If you're just starting, figure out how much you usually drink and increase that amount little by little until your goal is where you want it.
I also cut back on soda, and eventually stopped drinking it altogether. Don't immediately eliminate anything. Give yourself time to adjust. If you regularly drink soda, increase your water intake first and slowly decrease the amount of soda you drink. This is not an all or nothing journey.
The next thing I did was start moving more. At first, I was very rigid and thought I had to walk loops around my neighborhood. There was too much resistance for me to actually stay consistent with this including weather, fear of being perceived, too many steps to get started, and the lack of friends to walk with me. Eventually, I started walking in place inside, and that removed all the barriers that were previously preventing me from staying consistent.
You can set a timer for a few minutes and walk in place. I started at 3 minutes and did this a few times every day. Slowly increase the length of each session until you can do longer, distance-based workouts. My Apple Watch was great for this, allowing me to set a goal and prompting me to stay consistent. In addition to walking, I also love using Apple Fitness Plus to do dance, yoga, and strength workouts. The motivation to close my rings every day and to keep up my Apple Fitness Plus streak really helped me.
The last thing I did was change my diet. Just like with drinking more water and being more active, I made changes slowly over time. I noticed that getting enough protein at breakfast meant I was less likely to snack throughout the day. When I did snack, I would have only a serving. For example, a serving of cheese balls is 32 balls, so I would literally count out 32 balls. This worked better for me than obsessing over calories. If you increase your protein intake and only eat one serving of snacks, you will most likely take in less calories. If you don't snack much, but you want to improve your nutrition, try to find ways to incorporate more veggies. Veggies have fiber which is very important. If you intend to increase your fiber intake, do so slowly over time. Fiber can make digestive issues, like constipation, much worse.
If your goal is to lose weight, I recommend using the way your clothes fit as a measurement instead of relying on a scale. This is because your weight will naturally fluctuate and if you build muscle, which is what you want, that will add weight to the scale even if you're burning fat. You can take measurements around your chest, waist, and hips to see those numbers decrease over time if you wish. If you decide to weigh yourself, please avoid doing so more than once a week to prevent yourself from focusing too much on natural fluctuations. It is unhealthy to obsessively count calories for the same reason. We're trying to improve our health, not develop an eating disorder or exchange one eating disorder for another.
Lastly, let life happen. It's okay if you gain weight, eat unhealthy foods, and stop working out. Since this is a lifestyle change, you can just try again. What makes this approach so great is there is no end goal. You're just trying to take care of yourself. This is for you and about you.
I hope this is helpful. Sending love to anyone who is also on this journey. You can do it! You are strong and deserve to feel good!