Content Warning: I do talk about counting calories, if this is something that is a known trigger for you please proceed with kindness and love for yourself. If you not in the headspace right now, there is no rush. You can come back at any time.
Everyone’s journey is different. This 6 month journey “worked” for me after years of starting, stoping, starting, stoping. I have done fads, gym sessions out of self loathing, restrictive diets and beyond in order to lose weight.
Why was this time different? I could say I cracked a code. But really all I did was try again. I used all the lessons I learned over the year and this time it worked. The last three years I have worked to make myself feel safe in my environment. , I realized that I had ability to work towards my health goals.
5 Lesson’s I learned in order to lose 25 pounds in that last 6 months.
Understand what good and bad foods mean to you and then shift it.
One of the biggest hurdles for me when it comes to weight loss is eating. I love a sweet treat, I despise restricting certain foods and I would beat myself up mentally if I ate a so called “bad” food. Why is that food bad? Is it the nutrient level? The sugar content? Sure. We can see how certain foods might not fuel our body the same but labelling it as “bad” makes it a negative. I have tried my best to remove labeling food all together. I want to enjoy what I am eating but I have moved towards mindfulness and portion sizes.
Previous me would take a massive helping of a cake at a party because I could. It was a cheat day or I didn’t want to have the discussion with others about watching my calories. (Have people sabotage your weight-loss journey because of their insecurities is another can of worms as well) Now, I have a small slice and I give myself permission to come back for more. Most of the time I eat my small slice, get the delicious taste and then move on. This is a moment by moment situation that you will have to work on each time something like this comes up. That is why weight loss and rewiring your brain is hard. It takes a lot of mental energy.
Manage your emotions with other activities instead of food.
I am an emotionally eater. Happy. Eat. Sad. Eat. Good news. Eat. Bad news. Eat. Stress. Eat. Okay you get the picture. I would celebrate with a massive meal from the drive thru because I handed in a college assignment early. Or I had a shitty day at work and I would say screw it an order way more food than I needed to eat to make myself feel better.
How do you learn to manage your emotions without food. It starts with shining a light on how you are currently using food to sooth yourself. Why do you turn to food to make you feel better. Is it distraction because the neurons in your brain are firing off over the tuxedo cake and how yummy it is instead of ruminating on the stressors in your life? But the issue here is that your brain wants the comfort but it is only for maybe a minute once you swallow your food, or finish your meal you are right back where you started.
This is the time to look at other was to manage stressors. THIS HAS TAKEN ME YEARS AND NOT JUST THE 6 MONTHS. I have used years worth of trial and error to finally stick to habits for 6 months.
My favourite ways to manage big feelings are:
- Walks
- Dancing in the living room
- Shaking your body out
- Journal all those thoughts
- Drink a glass of ice cold water
- Have a cold shower
- Hold onto an ice cube as you walk around
- Curl up under a weighted blanket
- Put on your favourite song that is upbeat and joyful
- Or put on a song you can scream cry to
Just get the emotions out of your body before you turn to food. This will take time. You will turn to food now and again. You will have to have the mental energy to talk yourself out of eating the entire bag of M&Ms so tomorrow you can have a “fresh start” – this takes a lot of courage and discipline to accomplish. But you can do it. I believe in you and now it is time for you to believe in you.
Counting calories does give a perspective shift but doesn’t need to be strict
I always tried to count calories as a way to watch what I ate. However, I would restrict myself so I could never last more than a few days. I was trying to fit 1200 calories in when that is the amount most toddlers need in a day. This was about 7 years ago and I didn’t try calorie counting again until 2021 (four years ago) and it worked for me. Why? Because I did not let it control my meals. I simple imputed my meals in the app to see where my calories landed. I also gave myself a calorie range so I wasn’t terrified of “going over” and ruining my progress. Not that one meal a few hundred calories over would “ruin” anything.
Now, I don’t need to put my meals in my calorie counting app because I have the understanding of what my main weekly meals are calorie wise. I still use my calorie app because I know my “eye ball” of peanut butter will slowly start to creep up over time.
Use calorie counting as way to see where you are with food. Learn what calories certain staple meals are around and then don’t stress the rest. Sometimes I don’t count certain items. Like a spray of the oil can on my pan – don’t need to track that. A handful of grapes! Nope, I’ll just eat it. Going out with friends at a restaurant. I can ball bark the meal and let the rest be.
Hitting a 7K step goal is enough exercise if you are currently sedentary.
Walking as your first form of exercise after doing zero exercise for months if not years is your best bet to seeing lasting results. I was averaging 1500 steps a day for months. I work from home, I write, crochet. I always joked that “I sit for living” because I do. However, I know that the long term effects of sitting are things I do not want to deal with later on in life. I started small. I managed 3k steps and then 5k steps and now I am almost 6 months of 7000 or more per day. 7000 is my minimum.
The best thing about walking is that you can do it around your coffee table, go down the street or if you have time drive to a local park. If you want to invest in a walking pad go right ahead.
Affirm your desire on an energetic level.
The affirmation I started with almost a year ago is “I feel safe in a smaller, stronger body.” I repeated this to myself for months before I started taking action because my body needed to align with my goals.
You cannot hate yourself out of your habits. The biggest step in any journey but especially weight-loss is accepting that your body protected you. The food soothed. The curling up on the couch, the missed workouts, all protected you in a way that was required for you to get here. You can be upset at past you for putting you in this situation now but at the end of the day – she needed your current body to survive. Thank this body. Thank her for getting you here. Thank her for protecting you over the years but ask her to leave. It is time for a new body to prosper. You can create your own affirmation that aligns with your health goals or use mine above.
Lastly, I want you to remember that what works for one person might not work for you. I – like many women – have struggle with my weight since middle school. Is it unfortunate that so much our time is focused on our bodies. Yes, but it is also okay for you to want to change your body. To feel stronger, healthier. To simply show yourself that you can stick to the routine you told yourself you would.
Here is my 75 Medium Recap and Summer Challenge I did if you would like more details on what sparked it all.
Your dream life is an accumulation of your small daily actions. Happy creating!