How a Simple Dietary Change Resulted in Weight Loss and How I Did It

I went from active and eating well in high school to inactive and eating like a slob in college. I didn't think my weight would change so easily but it did. I would work out and eat healthier snacks but nothing changed, my weight kept growing. It wasn't until recently that I found my trigger. Sodas. It didn't dawn on me how much soda I drank in college. I was spending money on cherry cola and sprite from the campus machines like clockwork. I continued to drink sodas regularly after I walked away from college and my weight continued to climb. I felt sluggish and my mental health took a drastic nosedive. I'd go from not eating much to binging and it was at that moment that I realized how close I was to developing an eating disorder so I knew I had to make a change. I started with sodas and cut them out drastically with the exception of Sprite when I'm sick. Here's how I began my journey to being healthy.

At the start of this year, I made the decision to put my health first. I started eating fewer sweets and cutting down on sodas. I made the change from dairy milk to almond milk. This isn't a perfect journey by any means because I'm not a perfect person and have slipped up a few times. However, I always try to jump right back into eating right. I eat more greens and limit my intake of red meats. That wasn't a hard decision seeing how I prefer poultry and seafood over beef and pork anyways. I drink my weight in water (it's not really my weight in water but it's a lot of water.) I try to opt for fruit and yogurt instead of candy and processed sugary snacks. Again, I'm not perfect and have made my fair share of slips but I'm trying. I try to eat breakfast every day, eat a well-balanced lunch, and make sure that dinner is my smallest meal. I'm not a picky eater so veggies and healthy foods aren't a turn off for me. I actually love kale and spinach. So eating healthy isn't a hard thing for me. Eating is. I don't have much of an appetite but I know I need to eat more to keep my metabolism going. So I have to remind myself to eat. It's a chore.

Getting healthy and working out is a personal choice which means your personal fitness journey isn't going to pan out the way a fitness guru's journey would. Don't feel bad if their diets and workouts just don't work for you. The truth is our bodies are different so we're going to have differences when it comes to getting healthy. My brother for instant can eat anything he'd like and not gain a pound. It's actually hard for him to gain weight, yet I joke that I gain 10 pounds just looking at a cupcake. I can't expect his eating habits to work for me. I have to sort this out for myself and discover what is so unique about my body. For example, I tend to gain weight the more I stress out so keeping my anxiety down has been a task I've tackled and so far have succeeded at. Also I carry my weight in my stomach so I try to do some sort of cardio a day to try and help burn that fat. It's a lot of work but in the end the payoff is worth it.

Last thing I want to remind you is that your goal should never be about vanity but rather your health. I tell my friend this everyday. Getting healthy/fit isn't just about your looks. It's about how you feel and your health. That should be your number one goal on this journey. Better health. Also be aware that with muscle development your weight scale wise might go up. Muscle weighs more than fat so its normal. We also bloat daily and especially on hot days. I notice my hands puff out more during summer. So if that scale is a few pounds off don't freak out about it. Your measurements are going to be where the real truth lies. Keep that in mind.

So getting healthy is a journey full of bumps and road blocks. Some days you might feel like giving up, but the journey only makes you better. Both physically and mentally. Don't give up, push through, and remember that you are a warrior and this is just another battle you can win.