I am now realizing that losing weight is a lot harder than I thought it would be. When I was in high school and joined the tennis team, I quickly lost around 20 pounds. All I did was play tennis and drink more water. Didn’t change my diet or anything. So, when I put back on the weight (plus a lot more), I thought that as long as I just get active again, then the weight will come off easily. Not a problem. This finna be a breeze! (HaHa Davis voice)
Spoiler alert: It was not a breeze. It quite actually was very far from being a breeze. Once I realized how much weight I gained over the last few years, I tried working out a little bit more but wasn’t losing a significant amount of weight. I had a lot of people telling me that I looked like I was losing weight, but the numbers on the scale said otherwise.
Like, I would lose like a few pounds in a couple of weeks, then I’d skip a few days of working out, then gain it all back. There was one time when I was on a roll, worked out almost daily, and lost nearly 20 pounds in a month. Then I got sick and couldn’t work out for about a week, and I gained back about 10 or 15 pounds. I got so discouraged that I just stopped trying after that.
Currently, I’m still trying to be as active as possible, and I’m maintaining my weight. I haven’t lost much weight, but I also haven’t gained a lot either. At least now I know that once I reach my target weight, I’ll just have to keep doing what I’m doing now to maintain it.
I’ve always heard that your diet has a lot to do with losing weight, but I figured I didn’t have to change my diet to lose weight because I’ve done it once before in high school. I was a super picky eater and hated dieting, so I still ate junk food and was able to lose a bunch of weight just from being active. Why couldn’t I do it as easily now?
I learned firsthand from my sister and her husband that your diet plays a huge role in losing weight. My sister lost over 50 pounds, and her husband lost over 100 pounds by exercising and changing up the way they ate. They went on a keto diet, cut back on sugar and carbs, and started being more mindful about the food they bought. Since all I ate were sugar and carbs, I knew that wasn’t going to be easy for me.
Y’all, I tried every possible loophole that I could think of not to have to change my diet. I tried eating all the same foods that I used to, just less of it. I tried intermittent fasting. I just wasn’t dropping the pounds like I wanted to, and it was so discouraging that I gave up again.
Luckily, now I’m beginning to expand my food palate and try new things. I still won’t eat anything just yet, but honestly, I’ve come such a long way. Instead of saying, “I don’t eat this,” or “I don’t like that,” I admit that I haven’t tried it yet, so I don’t know if I don’t like it. I think I’m such a picky eater because I’m somewhat of a texture person when it comes to food. If it looks like I won’t like it, then I won’t eat it. And if I do try something new and think too much about it while I’m chewing, I’ll gag as I’m eating it and won’t want to finish it. I’ve been like this all my life, and I don’t know where I get it from. Everyone in my family likes to try and eat everything!
The good news is that after trying salmon for the first time a few months ago, I ended up liking it a lot! I now have one healthy food that I can eat regularly, and that makes me happy. I also tried broccoli for the first time, and I’m not a fan. It’s too bland for me. There’s this brand of low-fat Greek yogurt called Two Good that I LOVE! It’s low in carbs and sugar, and once I put a spoonful of monk fruit sweetener in it, it tastes amazing. Since monk fruit is a natural sugar substitute with 0 calories, I get to enjoy some extra flavor without it being unhealthy! That makes me incredibly happy.
There are some foods that I refuse to give up, like pizza and cereal. You couldn’t pay me enough money to stop eating those! Fortunately, I’ve learned that there are healthier alternatives. I’ve been buying cauliflower crust pizza a lot lately, and I’m researching some cereals that are low on carbs. So far, I found two brands that I’m interested in trying called High Key and Magic Spoon. If you’ve tried either of those brands, let me know what you think of it!
The downside is that both High Key and Magic Spoon are super expensive, and I think I have to order them online. For whatever reason, I’ve never been a fan of ordering my food online. I prefer picking it up at the supermarket. For the sake of my health, I might just have to suck it up and order some of that cereal online to try. I’ve also stopped drinking regular milk and tried almond, soy, oat, and coconut milk. Almond is my favorite, and I’m currently buying that to eat with my cereal. Soy, my second favorite, will be my go-to once I eventually move in with my boyfriend. Since we don’t see each other every day and he has a nut allergy, I’m drinking as much almond milk as I can before I’ll have to give it up.
Although it’s not much, I feel like I’ve made some improvements with my diet. I just need to keep trying new things and learn to portion my meals. The next new thing I need to try is a salad. I’m just worried about the leafy greens being tasteless. I’d probably eat all the fruits or chicken in the salad and leave the greens.
For now, my weight has been fluctuating by like a few pounds, and I’m grateful that I’m not gaining too much. I’m moderately active and exercise a few times a week, but my crappy diet is what’s killing me! I’m now being more mindful of what I’m eating and checking the nutrition facts of anything I pick up and working really, REALLY hard to cut back on the carbs. I even have a bunch of recipes saved on my Pinterest.
I started getting serious about losing weight last March and thought by now I would be at my target weight. Little did I know that my body isn’t what it used to be like in high school, and working at a sedentary job isn’t helping me to be as active. So yeah, losing weight isn’t as easy as I thought! For now, I’m trying not to stress too much about it because I know I’ll get discouraged and give up if I’m not reaching my goal fast enough. The goal isn’t even to be skinny anymore. I just want to feel healthy and not be out of breath when I walk up the stairs. And I want my knees to not hurt when I bend down! For now, I’m trying to exercise so I can feel good and release stress, and the weight loss will be like a bonus. I’m also very, very, very slowly trying new foods and finding healthier alternatives for foods that I like but aren’t the most nutritious. Please pray for me, y’all. 🤦🏿♀️
Also, since I’m not as intimidated about going to the gym anymore (read about how I got over that fear here), I planned to get a gym membership at Planet Fitness! Then COVID happened. So, while we wait for all this nonsense to calm down, I bought a bunch of different exercise equipment to use at home. I now have 5lb weights, resistance bands, and booty bands that I work out with every so often. I miss the elliptical and the stationary bike, but those will have to wait. For now, PopSugar Fitness and IG influencer workouts will have to do. Not that I’m complaining, because they’re tons of fun! I even got a Fitbit to track how much calories I burn during a workout.
I also feel like with all the exercising I’m doing, I’m toning up more than I’m losing fat, which is another reason why I think I’m not losing a lot of weight. Most of the home workouts that I’ve done include squats and lunges, so I’ve built so much muscle in my legs. And honestly, I really like it! I think my legs look amazing, and now I don’t want to lose the muscle I’ve built.
So, yes, I haven’t been doing the greatest on my weight loss journey, but I have learned a lot. I’m not too obsessed about reaching my target weight anymore. All I want is to be under 200 pounds and to feel healthy and confident. Getting rid of my back rolls and neck fat is also ideal, but I won’t obsess about it! As long as I have a man who loves my body the way that it is and I feel healthy, that’s all that matters. Thanks so much for reading!
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Yours Truly, Tasha B. 