Why HELLO there. So nice to see you again. If you hadn’t noticed, I went under a major social media hiatus for the last year basically. Now, while we all need unplugging time, this year’s hiatus was MUCH NEEDED. Trust me. My life has totally shifted in every way possible since last year and I’m so excited to share with you the exciting changes that have taken place. I think there comes a time in all of our lives where we undergo a massive self-reflection period, and for me, that was 2020.
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I don’t know how your 2020 went… but mine was a hell of a ride. Between the pandemic that has affected all of us and our feeling of normalcy, I was dealing with a lot of personal/ family/health issues. It was challenging but certainly made me stronger. I lost a lot in 2020, or so I thought.
I moved out of my childhood home I’d grown up in for 19+ years (that was an adjustment, to say the least), my father was and is still battling a lot of issues with his health (undergone 7+ surgeries and at one point we thought he was going to lose his eye due to an incident at work, it’s a long story), my first serious relationship came to an end, I was completely lost and confused as to what to do with my life, I was incredibly out of shape, and so on… I could keep on this depressive list but let’s shift gears, shall we?
My point in being vulnerable and sharing with you these challenges in 2020 is to instill a sense of reassurance and confidence within you. If you are currently going through a storm, a loss, unhappiness, whatever it may be, trust and know that it is only temporary. We all encounter these harsh seasons of life – but how we come out of it is entirely up to us. Now, you could decide to let whatever challenges you’re facing shatter you. OR, you could completely shift your life and become the best version of you possible.
Which do you choose? I chose to become the best me I could be.
Before:
After:
SO, now that I shared my 2020 life story with you, let’s dive into how I lost 50 pounds in the last 5 months and TOTALLY changed my entire life… for the better!
1. Switch up workouts and pay attention to what your body responds to.
For quite a while, I was working out and never noticed any changes. Actually, exercise has been an important part of my life forever! Even during this time in my life where I was gaining weight, I was working out. But, I kept gaining and gaining… This goes to show how important your diet actually is. You could work out all you want, but if you drink a bottle of wine a week and eat crap food, you’ll never see change.
I started to finally see my weight going down once I implemented different variations of workouts (alongside the healthy eating, of course). So instead of doing the SAME 20-minute jog every day, switch it up! Start doing HIIT (High Interval Intensive Training) where you walk 1 minute, sprint 30 seconds, and repeat. Or go for a walk in the morning and a jog in the afternoon. Try to spice it up and add in different elements!
For a while, all I did was weight lifting. Once I implemented HIIT cardio, I really noticed a difference. Here’s a couple of my favorite workouts:
- 1 hour on the treadmill (10 minutes at 10 incline and 3.5 speed then 10 minutes at 15 incline and 3.0 speed) Put that incline UP on your treadmill and just WALK. Thank me later. It burns so many calories!
- Taebo workouts at home! This was GAME CHANGER. Such a great way to burn fat all around and lose weight at a rapid pace. You can search up Taebo on Youtube and find a TON of free videos.
As I started incorporating new workouts, I monitored my progress and my results. If I wasn’t responding to it after a couple of weeks, I’d increase the intensity or try something else. So switch it up and keep testing things out! There is no one-exercise-fits-all here.
2. Meal replacing at least 1x a day.
I know some people are against this concept, and I totally respect that! With all due respect, I think when it comes to weight loss and your health journey, it’s completely up to you and what works for you. I know based on my own experience, I’ve never been a big breakfast person anyway. I don’t feel like eating a meal right away when I wake up, so instead of going empty-handed, I started incorporating protein shakes.
The same goes for lunch, if I ended up having a snack or fruit for breakfast, I’d grab a protein shake for lunch. I always replaced at least 1 of my meals with a smoothie or protein shake. I felt like my body best responded to this, I felt more energized, and overall saw results. One of my favorite easy to grab protein shakes are the Pure Protein packs at any major grocery store! They’re low in calories, super filling, and affordable!
3. Cut out the ALCOHOL.
I know, I KNOW. You do not want to hear this. But you need to. If you’re reading this, you most likely want to lose weight and finally see results. I want you to ask yourself how much you consume alcohol right now, and if the answer is more than you should, this is one of the biggest barriers to your weight loss. Man, I’m going to get REAL with you guys in here, prepare yourselves! I wasn’t ever much of a drinker… until last year.
I don’t really know what happened, but before I knew it, alcohol was a daily thing for me. I began having a glass or two of wine each day to relax and escape the stress/worry in my life. That glass would soon turn into 3, sometimes 4. While I wasn’t a raging alcoholic, it definitely became a daily routine for me. This was when I really noticed the scale go up. Cutting out the alcohol was one of the most detrimental parts to my weight loss, I do so much better without it. Now that’s not to say you can’t enjoy a drink every once in a while! Right now, I like to keep it occasional. I definitely don’t make it a daily habit anymore, and that’s made a huge difference for me and my body.
4. Finding a passion and a purpose.
When I was gaining weight and at my unhappiest, I felt no passion or purpose in my life. When I think back to those times, I ate out of boredom. I almost looked at food as a form of reassurance. A huge shift for me when it came to over-eating and boredom eating was when I finally started to analyze & pay attention to my interests.
After being so all over the place with my career, jumping from different industries, and trying new things, I realized one common factor among them all. In some form, all my previous job roles entailed some form of digital and social media marketing. That’s when it hit me, and I started to dive into all things social media marketing! By doing this, my mind was occupied and I had no time to think about grabbing a snack out of boredom. So find a hobby, find an activity, find something that TRULY lights you up inside.
5. Daily affirmations and reminders to stay consistent. See the bigger picture.
Whenever you are setting out to achieve a goal, it can be disheartening when you don’t get results right away. A lot of us want that instant gratification, and I know that was a common struggle of mine when it came to weight loss. You have to want that end goal bad enough and instill trust that it’ll come. Know and believe whole-heartedly that you WILL reach your goal and you WILL feel amazing.
A big tool I utilized to do this was meditation! I started incorporating a 10-15 minute meditation every night before bed and that did a lot for my mindset. If you don’t do this already, I HIGHLY urge you to give it a try. There are tons of free meditations on Youtube and Spotify! I began adding these into my morning routines too, and I love them to this day. Definitely something everybody should do. There are lots of benefits for your overall health & mindset.
6. Portion control and grabbing fruit or vegetables as a snack instead of chips.
In the last 5 months, I really started to pay more attention to the portion size of my meals. Alongside that, whenever I felt hungryish (when you’re kind of hungry… but not really) through the day I’d grab some vegetables or fruits to snack on instead! Whereas the old version of myself would get the quickest and easiest thing from my pantry like chips or crackers, by simply replacing that with a bowl of carrots, an apple, a salad, I noticed a huge shift in my weight & overall energy through the day. When you’re serving yourself a meal, actually analyze the amount of food you are putting on your plate and listen to your body. As you’re eating, be more attentive as to when you feel full.
And there you have it! These are the key pieces that played a huge role in my 50 lb weight loss the last 5 months. I hope the honesty and transparency here can help anyone who may be seeking to lose weight and feel their best! The main thing I’ve learned in the last 5 months is that you have to listen to your body, everybody is different and everybody responds differently. So instead of focusing on what that Instagram model is doing, listen to your intuition and follow your gut.
If you notice a certain food makes you feel more satisfied and full, keep eating that, as long as it’s healthy of course. If you notice a certain workout really breaks a sweat and leaves you feeling awesome, keep doing that! It’s an endless journey of listening to your body and pivoting as needed. There were a lot of times in the last 5 months were I felt as if I’d hit a plateau or stopped seeing results, but patience is a virtue, my friend. Stick to the plan, keep trial & testing new things along your journey, and the results shall come.
Overall – I wasn’t simply seeking the weight loss for vanity points. I truly was in an unhealthy place physically and mentally. Incorporating these lifestyle changes have not only gotten me weight loss, but also to the most powerful and clear mindset I’ve ever been in!
I’ll see you guys back here next time. Don’t worry, lots of content coming! I had to step away to get my shit together if you couldn’t tell. 😉
