How to Lose Weight

Losing weight is super hard, even if you want it really, REALLY badly. I have been yo-yo dieting and starting and stopping exercise programs for two years. In that time I didn't lose weight. I put on 60 pounds. Now that I am 85 pounds overweight, I realised that I needed to properly start my weight loss journey. I am going to give you all some great top tips for dieting, exercise, and motivation.

When you're hungry, you're probably just thirsty.

I know that drinking water is definitely something that I struggle with. Water doesn't have the greatest flavour but I am not a fan of flavoured water. My mum always said to me when I was younger that the reason I am hungry is not because I actually need to eat food—it's because my body is dehydrated. I never believed her so I never ever drank more water when I was "hungry"—I ate more.

A couple of weeks ago I decided that it would be a good idea to drink more water. After I worked out my weight I did an online calculator where I worked out the amount of water I should be drinking per day: 4.4 litres! Now that is a lot of water, and more than I could ever dream of drinking in one day. So I worked my way up. Currently, I am sitting at 2.2 litres of water a day. I know I can do better, but I know that drinking water is going to help a lot when it comes to losing weight.

Eating bad foods and exercising to make up for it WILL NOT help you lose weight.

I hear about this a lot, and I must admit that I used to do this often. I would eat whatever I wanted during the day, go over my calories by 1000, wasting it on chocolate and sweets. When it came to the evening I would exercise and burn 600-900 calories a time. I always wondered why I never lost weight so would eat whatever I wanted and not exercise at all. It was a vicious circle.

Now I know that the healthiest way to lose weight is to eat right and exercise accordingly. I always say to myself—and to my boyfriend, for that matter—that it is 80 percent in the kitchen, 20 percent in the gym. Sometimes I still can't get my head around this properly but I am trying harder, eating more greens, and cutting out more processed foods.

Eating under 1000 calories a day will not make you lose weight safely.

I know some people who think that eating under 1000 calories every single day is perfectly fine. I have tried to tell them it wasn't good for them, but they never listen; then wonder why when they go to the gym they have no energy!

Food gives you energy. Eating under 1000 calories a day can absolutely not give you enough energy for the day, or enough nutrients to keep your body working like it should.

Another thing is, when you don't eat much and go to work out, you don't actually end up losing any weight. This is because you are using up fat stores to give you enough energy to exercise. As soon as you eat again, your fat stores are filled again!

The Truth

In the really early days of my weight loss journey, I always made excuses not to exercise, or to eat that chocolate bar because "I will just burn it off later." I realised a couple of weeks ago that making excuses for not eating healthily or exercising won't help me lose weight. I know I need to lose weight and my plan is to lose as much as possible before Christmas.

But now I also know that it is going to be tough, and I am going to want to give up and make excuses not to do it. I just have to remember the reason I started and what I want to gain.

My journey won't ever end. I am now on this journey for life.