“This year I
am going to lose weight” That has always been my New Year’s resolution. It went
the same for more than five years until I finally made it. It took me 4 months
and I will be sharing the gist on how I’ve accomplished it. I am not saying
this will work for everybody, but this is the method I’ve used to reach the
body I’ve only been dreaming before. The following are just the main tips I’ve
accumulated through experience and through researches I’ve done.
First, I
studied how our body works. I checked my weight, which is 67 kg or 147.4 lbs.
Then I listed my weight goal which is 57 kg or 125.4 lbs. That means I would
need to lose a total of 10 kg or 22 pounds. Scientifically, an ounce of fat is equivalent
to 3,500 calories. So I would need to create a total deficient of 77,000 for me
to lose 10 kg (3500 calories multiplied by 22 pounds). That is not possible to
do in just 1 day. No one could lose weight in a healthy way if you’re going to
do it quickly. It should be gradual. I checked and decided to create a
deficient of 1,000 calories every day. I assumed it would take me at least 77
days to lose 10 kg, or about 2 and a half month. I started creating that
deficiency in 2 ways. First, I cut off 500 calories in my food intake then
second, I burned 500 calories through exercise. In order to start cutting off
500 calories in my food intake, I checked first how many calories I needed
online. There were calculators available online to check for your daily calorie
requirements, it differs with everyone since it is based on your activities, age
and gender. There are a lot of calorie calculators online which you can freely
use. I personally liked the ones found on these links;
After
checking your daily calorie requirements, you should start listing every food
that you will take. In my case, my daily calorie requirement is 1,600. I
started keeping a food diary, and started taking notes of the food I eat and their
equivalent calories. This is very crucial to my weight loss. An android app
helped me achieved it. It is called Noom Coach and it can be downloaded for free
through Google Play Store. Other application that has the same function is MyFitnessPal.
I think both apps are available in Android and iOS platforms. You will just have
to check them out. If you don’t have access to any Android or iOS devices, I
created a list of foods and their equivalent calories on this separate article
(List of Foods and their Calories).
There are foods that might not be listed in any of those apps I’ve mentioned.
Whenever that happens, I will just search it online or I will create a list of
the ingredients used and check each ingredient’s calories. I
always make sure I don’t underestimate the servings/grams/weight of each food I
enter. Most of the time, I would enter 20 % more weight of the food I listed on
my food diary. That is one major part of weight loss but listing the food you eat isn’t enough. You have to make sure
you will create a deficient/ negative of 500 calories on your daily calorie
requirements. So, since my calorie requirement is 1,600 calories, I cut off 500
calories from it and that makes my food intake down to 1,100 calories. I eat,
listed what I eat and when I reached 1,100 calories, I stop eating any more
foods for that day. That’s what I do. It is not that easy. You will get cravings
and you will slack on discipline and eat way more than your allotted calories.
You don’t have to feel sad and agitated over this. It is ok to go beyond your allotted
calories, you just have to get back on track the next day and stick to your plans.
What you eat
comprises 70 % of your weight loss. It is not enough to eat just anything as
long as it is within your calorie requirements. You have to carefully choose
your food. Being engaged in a weight loss routine doesn’t mean all you have to
eat are low calorie food like pure vegetables and fruits. That would make you
feel weak and might not be able to move and engage in activities or exercise. It is a must to eat a lot of protein rich
foods. Boiled egg whites, grilled chicken and tuna are my staple sources of
protein. I still eat foods rich in carbohydrates and fat like rice and fried
fish in moderation since I still need energy to engage in exercise or activities. I stay away from cooking oils, tea, coffee, milk (and milk based products),
beef and pork. I eat more fibers and
drink more water.
It is
important to consume a lot of protein as they help you build more muscles and
burn more calories. It helps you control your cravings and helps you not to
feel hungry easily. I still eat rice, half a cup of it every lunch. I eat
carbohydrates as it serves as my fuel for my brain to work well. I just eat it
on a very limited portion. I still eat pizza and cake when I crave for them. I
just make sure I will only eat them once or twice a month. I munch on oranges
and apples whenever I am craving for something to eat and whenever I go hungry
in between meals. Lastly, I drink lots and lots of water as it also helps
decrease your cravings. Make sure you will not skip meals and that you will
still eat at least three times a day. Skipping meals will only strike your
hunger hormones up and will make you eat more than your calorie allowance. You
can also try zigzagging you calorie allowance but I will discuss it on a
separate post.
Let us switch to the second part of weight loss which is exercise. At first, I started doing Zumba or Hip Hop Abs for 30 minutes in the morning and then jogging for 30 minutes in the afternoon. I was doing that routine for a month and then I switched to HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) on my second month. I was doing HIIT for 80 minutes every day after I came home from work. HIIT especially those from FitnessBlender were very effective. When I started doing HIIT 5 times a week, I immediately saw the result both in how my dresses fit and what I saw on the weighing scale. I will be discussing the routine more on this post (link) and will share my tips, tricks and review on this new hype.
I remember
weight loss as a very hard process. I can almost compare it to going through
hell, of course that is a bit exaggerated. Going through such hardship will
make you value the result more. Seeing how the scale’s digits move downward brings
me an unexplainable bliss and inspires me to continue moving forward. You
should start this process with motivation. Have a goal which is SMART (specific,
measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time- bound). There were times I
will stray away from discipline but I always make sure that won’t pull me out of my plan.
I will tell myself that it is ok to commit mistakes and I will just get back on
track and move forward. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Little by little, even
with some mistakes, you’re going to reach your goal, just don’t quit on it
easily. And for the final tip: look for pictures which shows you and your body
when you were slim. Keep it in a place where you can always see that picture
and remind you that once, you were sexy and that it is not impossible for you
to have that figure again. Put some quotes which reminds you to never give up.
Keep fighting!! Cheers to a better us.
