How I Lost 15 Kilos (33 lbs) in 6 Months and You Can Too

 

Are you overweight?

Are you tried of being overweight?

Would you like to lose your excess and become a healthier person?

I lost 15 kilos (33 pounds) in 6 months and you can too.

I am not going to sugar coat it.

It took commitment and a lot of hard work. But it was achievable.

I feel healthy, slim and totally amazing!

If you are serious about losing weight -really serious – you can achieve your goal too.

I realise that there is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach to weight loss. You have to discover what works for you and then work at it. Daily.

But here’s how I did it:

Step One-FACE THE MUSIC

My journey really started in February 2016, when I went clothes shopping with my mother. I really wanted to try on some dresses.

Not good. I looked like a beached whale.

My mother tried to be positive. But I knew how I looked.

When I returned home I gathered up the courage to step on the scales.

89 kg was staring back at me. I had never seen that figure on the scales before.

I was the heaviest that I had ever been in my life.

I knew deep down that I was overweight but had put my head in the sand.

I didn’t want to get on the scales and face the truth.

I knew that I was the heaviest when my hips gave me pain while lying on my side as a result of bloated stomach.

I knew – when my back gave me trouble.

In order for me to change I had to face the music.

Get on the scales.

Find out the truth.

Take my head out of the sand.

Step Two -ANSWER THE WHY?

Don’t skip this step – it really is crucial to keeping you committed.

Yes, there will be times that you want to give up and this step will give you clarity.

• Why do you want to lose weight?
• Is it for health reasons?
• So that you look good in certain clothes?
• So you wouldn’t feel so bloated?
• Are you doing it for yourself or your partner?

Here’s the BIG question that really did it for me-

How would I feel if in a year’s time and I was still the same size?

That was the clincher question for me.

I had tried numerous times over the past 18 years to lose weight.

I did not want to go over 90 kg.

I did not want to be the same size or more at the end of the year.

Something had to change. Something had to happen this year.

I decided that this year I was going to conquer my weight issue once and for all.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for you to have clarity on the WHY.

Before you even start your weight loss journey you need to know why you are doing it.

The real reason why. The deep down reason.

This was my conclusion -The pain of staying where I was at 89 kg was more unbearable than the pain it will take to lose it. That is the place that you need to get to.

Step Three- FORM A GAME PLAN

After I had made the decision and gained clarity on the big WHY. I had to work on the HOW.
How was I going to achieve this – once and for all.

I didn’t want to just lose the weight – I have done that before. I wanted to lose it forever.

I wanted never to be overweight again. I wanted to change to a healthier lifestyle.

This was a long term view – for the rest of my life kinda thing.

The thing is – it took 20 years for me to get to this point. It isn’t going take a couple of weeks to get it off.

Especially if I wanted to stay slim and healthy.

So what was needed was a change in lifestyle habits.

Habit No. One- Exercise.

To be healthy our bodies need to move.

Don’t try to talk yourself out of this one.

It is essential for our health that we exercise. It also burns calories!

If you need convincing watch this youtube video from Misty Mountain Health Retreat on the importance of exercise-

I chose walking. It’s free. I looked at my calendar and worked out when I could fit in at least 3 walks a week.

I gave walking a top priority.

Even if I had to wake up earlier to do it. I made it important.

To lose weight and to gain health. After a couple of weeks I noticed a difference.

Walking or any exercise shapes your body in a way that just counting calories can’t.

Habit No. Two -Logging What I Ate.

I fired up My Fitness Pal and entered in my weight, height and goal to discover what my daily calories should be.

This became my daily target. No glamorous diet plan. Just plain calorie counting.

I think this was crucial to actually making the weight loss a life time result.

My mind was being renewed as I made good choices.

Once I knew how many calories in a chocolate brownie I was able to arrange my eating to accommodate it while still losing!!!

The Bible does say that the truth shall set you free.

Of course the method I chose – counting calories on My Fitness Pal and walking – may not be the method that you will chose.

You may want to do weight watchers and attend a monthly class for accountability or you may like swimming or squash over walking.

We are all different.

The key is to stay committed to the overall goal of losing weight and gaining a healthy sustainable lifestyle.

Habit No. Three- Keeping Track of Progress.

I started to set weekly targets.

A number that I wanted to see on the scales each week.

I tracked this on My Fitness Pal and in my journal.

Now that I am getting closer to maintenance I have monthly weight goals.

Journaling was where I discovered what worked and what didn’t.

I tracked how often I walked, my weight loss and my average daily calories.

What you can measure you can manage.

Habit No. Four -Visualize the End.

Every night, before I went off to sleep, I would imagine what it would be like to be at goal weight.

What clothes I was wearing. How healthier and fitter I would be.

What sort of activities I would be able to do. Walking up stairs without puffing.

I would imagine myself in a slim fitting dress.

As a woman thinks so is she.

Keep the end game in sight.

Don’t lose sight of what you are aiming for.

Don’t lose sight of the why – why you are doing this.

In a nutshell these are the 3 steps that I took –

Face the music
Answer the Why?
Form a Game Plan – along with new habits

Tell us about your journey in the comments below: