Weightloss story from @metamorfittie
I started a new job in 2011 and had gone shopping to buy some smart office wear. I quickly realised that I didn’t fit into any of the sizes available in the stores at the time. I went online to order size 22 trousers and when they arrived, I could’t get them over my thighs. I realised then that I had to make a change a lose some weight. I was 24 years old and I refused to wear the same dress size as my age.
I initially lost 7lbs by just calorie counting and limiting my intake to 1500 calories a day. I was already a member of the gym but started going more regularly. After two weeks, I adopted a ketogenic (very low carb and low calorie) diet which put my body into the state of ketosis. This meant that my body was using existing fat stores to burn energy and resulted in a quicker weight loss. I lost approximately 12lbs a month for the following 6 months. I was also going to the gym 4 times a week and aiming to burn 400 calories each visit.
As I went back to a more normal diet, I intensified my gym routine. Since 2015, I have been exercising every single day, aiming to do at least 60 minutes of cardio in each session. I mainly do high intensity interval training, circuit training or aerobic routines. I always include plyometric moves like burpees, jumping lunges and squat jumps. I also do weight training twice a week and two toning classes a week. I mix my routine between working out at home (videos are on my Instragram) and attending gym classes such as Les Mills Grit, Les Mills Body Attack, Legs Bums and Tums, Totally Shredded and spin.
I changed my eating habits by cutting out junk food immediately. I opted for foods that are lower/low in carbohydrates. I also monitor and track all my food intake. I did this by starting to use an app called MyFitnessPal. This allowed me to enter all my exercise and food for the day. It also works out my macronutrients so I can see the breakdown of my food intake in terms of carbs, fats and protein. MyFitnessPal also works out you desired calorie allowance depending on what your goal is (e.g. maintenance). I found that tracking calories really educated me about the types of foods I was putting into my body and also allowed me to compare that with my expenditure. It quickly makes you reconsider your choices when you see that a muffin is more calories than a healthy lunch of chicken and vegetables. Even during maintenance, I continue to use MyFitnessPal as I never want to get too relaxed with my intake and let things slip again.
My starting weight was 19 stone/121kg/266lbs. I don’t weigh myself often now because I think it is very easy to get caught up in the scales and become unhealthily obsessed (this is something i struggled with after losing weight). I tend to take regular measurements and also gauge gain/loss based on how my clothes fit. Based on the last time I weighed myself, I would estimate being approximately 11 stone/70kg /154lbs
My initial transformation took 9 months in 2011. However, I gained some weight and was back to a size 14 in the first quarter of 2015. I went back down to a size 8/10 within 5 months of that. I did this by adding extra exercise sessions to my routine. I started doing a cardio circuit every morning at home before work, whilst still doing my four evenings a week at the gym. I also cut back on my carbohydrates again, keeping my intake to 50-70g of carbs a day.
The hardest part of my transformation was not using food as a reward. It wasn’t until I started to restrict my intake that I realised how much I relied on food to make me happy. It was also the main source of my social events. My ketogenic diet was very restrictive so I often opted not to eat out with people. I found that I had very few social activities to choose from after that as almost all events revolved around food and/or drink. Not being able to make a calorific meal, have indulgent three course meals or to get my favourite take aways was a real struggle for me. I overcame it by forcing myself to find other ways to cheer myself up or to occupy my time. I took advantage of the Orange Wednesday offers and started going to the cinema every week with a friend. I would also paint my nails a different colour every few days to feel special. I also spent the time making my own low calorie recipe book by doing online research. I was dieting with a friend of mine at the time and we both booked a holiday to Morocco for the Summer. I had called my weight loss mission ‘the year of the bikini’ because I had never worn one. Once the holiday was booked, it gave me the motivation to stick to the diet, resist temptation and social pressures so that I could get my summer body in time. And in July, I wore at least four different bikinis like I had promised myself.
My health is so much better than it used to be. I used to have terrible stamina and was known for complaining about having to walk anywhere. Now I make it my mission to be as active as possible, especially since I have a sedentary job. I gained more confidence and was able to go out more and started dating. Losing weight gave me a sense of self worth that I didn’t have before. I made decisions to end toxic friendships (some of which became apparent with the more weight that I lost) and to put myself first. I had always seen myself as the fat friend, the one who guys were never attracted to and the one who was lucky if people wanted to be seen out in public with me. Losing weight changed that for me and I realised that I didn’t need any one else to make me feel special or beautiful. I had always been confident in my personality but I had now given myself a body to match that.
My family were very supportive of my weight loss journey and were incredibly proud of me when I reached my target weight. Even now, my mum still shows pictures of me to her friends or anyone who mentions that they want to lose weight! My dad was also one of my main champions. When I lost weight, he bought me a large number of clothes as he knew I’d have to get a whole new wardrobe. My best friend at the time was so supportive of my journey and adapted her own needs to meet mine. She would go to the cinema with me every Wednesday and always made sure she had eaten before seeing me so I wouldn’t be tempted.
