that big Aha moment
All of my other blogs in English are a bit old. So I've decided to write something new for today. Some thoughts and perhaps some ideas. I've been talking about plateaus, nutrition, net calories, candy, exercise and all that jazz. So what's left to talk about? Well the change of mindset. For those of you who have lost a bit of weight maybe remember when you had that big "aha" moment? It's that moment when you know you will make it.
When you begin your weight loss journey, you will most likely ask yourself: How did I end up like this/here? The answer to that question is very simple, but is also the hardest question you'll ever ask yourself during your journey. But it's very important to want to find out what went wrong. Because when you know why you are overweight it will be easier to fix it. There can be tons of reasons why, not all of them are related to food.
I'm going to tell you what happened to me. Before I started losing weight I was in deep denial. I thought that I didn't eat enough food and that's why I gained weight, because my body was starving. Oh, was I wrong? I used to eat, what I thought was, a healthy tuna salad with like 1 dl of mayo in it! (1 dl is roughly a little less than half a cup for those of you not using dl/l). To every meal I had a lot of sauce, like this amazingly tasty bearnaise sauce. Yeah, it contained 700 calories per 100 gram.
People always told me that counting calories was annoying, hard, never worth it and useless. So I never tried it. Sure, I read the labels on the stuff I ate, but what difference did that make since I didn't know exactly how much I ate?
Well, to continue, I wanted to lose weight but I didn't realise that I had to change my way of eating. That was my big revelation. Once I started counting calories I had already started making more healthy choices. So, for fun, I counted one of my "regular" days and it was a big shock. Not only did I over eat, but I also had no consistency of my eating. Some days I could eat 3000-4000 calories and other days I barely ate 1000. So I was right in a way, I didn't always eat as much as I needed. But it's kind of brutal going from 1000 calories to 3000 calories in 2 days.
A typical denial day for me would be
THEN
Breakfast - none
Lunch - Big King XXL meal with hot cheese dip: 1574 calories.
Dinner - Taco quiche with a bit of salad: 1600 calories.
Snack - 200 grams of chocolate: 1100 calories
Total: 4274 calories
NOW
Breakfast - Oatmeal porridge with apple/pear 300 calories
Lunch - Whole grain sandwiches or a healthy bar roughly 200-300 calories
Dinner - a well balanced meal (most of the time) roughly 500-600 calories
Snack - Fruit, nuts, sometimes chocolate maximum 300 calories
Total: 1600 calories
It was not until then that I realised what I had done to my body. Suddenly everything became so clear. All my "if you don't eat enough you will gain weight"- talk made me look like an idiot, when I clearly, most of the time, ate enough.
It was like a veil had been lifted from my eyes and those rose tinted glasses were gone. If I wanted to lose weight I had to change my mind. I had to change it about nutrition and about food in general. At first I was convinced you could eat anything as long as it was withing my daily calories. And sure, for some time it worked. But when I found out I wasn't as healthy as I would've thought, I realised it's not just about losing weight. It's about a new life, a life style change. That's when I had my second aha-moment.
Before you reach this point, you will question why you are gaining weight. But the answer is usually simple. There can be medical problems in your way, of course, it can be inherited. But if you don't know, then check it up. I thought I was obese because I was big boned or because it was impossible for my body to lose weight. 32 lbs lighter I realise it's not impossible. It's hard and it gets even harder, but it's not impossible.
So if you're on the way to losing weight, take a tip from someone who has been where you are now. Ask yourself this important question: Why am I like this? And don't give up finding out the answer just because it's hard. It will be hard, it will hurt when you realise it. But it's only after that, that you can make the change. And I know some of you may think "there's nothing wrong with having a few extra pounds". No of course not, but if you're reading this, I'm assuming you want to lose weight to feel better about yourself, to feel healthier, prettier or whatever reason you have. I'm not here to hate or judge. I'm here to help you.
You were born to feel good about yourself!
When you begin your weight loss journey, you will most likely ask yourself: How did I end up like this/here? The answer to that question is very simple, but is also the hardest question you'll ever ask yourself during your journey. But it's very important to want to find out what went wrong. Because when you know why you are overweight it will be easier to fix it. There can be tons of reasons why, not all of them are related to food.
I'm going to tell you what happened to me. Before I started losing weight I was in deep denial. I thought that I didn't eat enough food and that's why I gained weight, because my body was starving. Oh, was I wrong? I used to eat, what I thought was, a healthy tuna salad with like 1 dl of mayo in it! (1 dl is roughly a little less than half a cup for those of you not using dl/l). To every meal I had a lot of sauce, like this amazingly tasty bearnaise sauce. Yeah, it contained 700 calories per 100 gram.
People always told me that counting calories was annoying, hard, never worth it and useless. So I never tried it. Sure, I read the labels on the stuff I ate, but what difference did that make since I didn't know exactly how much I ate?
Well, to continue, I wanted to lose weight but I didn't realise that I had to change my way of eating. That was my big revelation. Once I started counting calories I had already started making more healthy choices. So, for fun, I counted one of my "regular" days and it was a big shock. Not only did I over eat, but I also had no consistency of my eating. Some days I could eat 3000-4000 calories and other days I barely ate 1000. So I was right in a way, I didn't always eat as much as I needed. But it's kind of brutal going from 1000 calories to 3000 calories in 2 days.
A typical denial day for me would be
THEN
Breakfast - none
Lunch - Big King XXL meal with hot cheese dip: 1574 calories.
Dinner - Taco quiche with a bit of salad: 1600 calories.
Snack - 200 grams of chocolate: 1100 calories
Total: 4274 calories
NOW
Breakfast - Oatmeal porridge with apple/pear 300 calories
Lunch - Whole grain sandwiches or a healthy bar roughly 200-300 calories
Dinner - a well balanced meal (most of the time) roughly 500-600 calories
Snack - Fruit, nuts, sometimes chocolate maximum 300 calories
Total: 1600 calories
It was not until then that I realised what I had done to my body. Suddenly everything became so clear. All my "if you don't eat enough you will gain weight"- talk made me look like an idiot, when I clearly, most of the time, ate enough.
It was like a veil had been lifted from my eyes and those rose tinted glasses were gone. If I wanted to lose weight I had to change my mind. I had to change it about nutrition and about food in general. At first I was convinced you could eat anything as long as it was withing my daily calories. And sure, for some time it worked. But when I found out I wasn't as healthy as I would've thought, I realised it's not just about losing weight. It's about a new life, a life style change. That's when I had my second aha-moment.
Before you reach this point, you will question why you are gaining weight. But the answer is usually simple. There can be medical problems in your way, of course, it can be inherited. But if you don't know, then check it up. I thought I was obese because I was big boned or because it was impossible for my body to lose weight. 32 lbs lighter I realise it's not impossible. It's hard and it gets even harder, but it's not impossible.
So if you're on the way to losing weight, take a tip from someone who has been where you are now. Ask yourself this important question: Why am I like this? And don't give up finding out the answer just because it's hard. It will be hard, it will hurt when you realise it. But it's only after that, that you can make the change. And I know some of you may think "there's nothing wrong with having a few extra pounds". No of course not, but if you're reading this, I'm assuming you want to lose weight to feel better about yourself, to feel healthier, prettier or whatever reason you have. I'm not here to hate or judge. I'm here to help you.
You were born to feel good about yourself!
What a great blog Dawn. You're so honest and non-judgemental, offering great advice for those who are trying to lose weight. I've been really interested in seeing your weight loss journey and will continue following. Well done! xxx
SvaraRaderaThank you, Alisha :) I'm glad you read it ^_^ I mainly post my blogs on my weight loss site, but I figured, why not share it with you wire guys as well :D Hope you're good ^^
SvaraRaderaHey. I found you via Google image search for 'Weight loss motivation pictures" and found that guilded framed pic. Good on you for such great changes. I started the journey to lose weight this year [i was 400lbs] and have lost 36lbs so far. Always looking for ideas. If you have Facebook, i started a little weight loss group where we encourage each other. I think its a closed group, but my FB name is Sharron Le Strange if you're interested in some like minded people offering support :o)
SvaraRadera