Wednesday Weigh-in: The Other Journey

A hair journey isn’t the only journey I’m on. For about 12 years now I have been on a weight loss journey as well (Who isn’t these days?). I have always been overweight all of my life but it wasn't until I was in my 20s that I decided to do something about it. At an all time high of 267lbs, I researched and gathered information on weight loss. It wasn't easy deciding what would be right for me. There are so many different fad diets out there. But I didn't want to diet. I wanted to change my life. Yay for Lifestyle change! I was able to successfully lose 80lbs the first go around and 70lbs after gaining most of the weight back. That journey still continues today and it has been a very difficult struggle this last go around.

Through my trial and error, I did learn something crucial about weight loss and myself. Through my ups and downs I learned what works for me and what doesn’t. 

What Doesn't: Going cold turkey and replacing all the bad junk for good food & eating 100% clean. 
What Does: Counting calories. 

As tedious as it is, it works for me. It wasn’t easy at first and I didn’t grasp it right away. It took some time to get used to being limited to a certain amount of calories everyday. But let’s even go back a bit further. Before I even started counting calories, I looked for serving sizes on the back of the label and ate according to that serving size. It worked for awhile but when I plateaued, I learned that the serving on the label may not necessarily be the serving of calories that you’re getting.

The Food Scale.
This is when a food scale becomes handy. I bought a food scale and then started weighing my food. It was then that I was able to see all the extra calories that was lost in translation before weighing my food.

The bigger picture of counting calories eventually led me to eat smaller portions of food. I was then able to look at food and grab smaller portions rather than big. I eventually ditched the scale and counting. This is how I maintained a healthier weight for almost 2 years before gaining all of those 70lbs back.

The reason why I am back to losing weight again is because, like our hair journeys, I let go of the basics and let free will completely take over. Especially during the time when I needed it most (About 3 years ago, I had a surgery and was placed on a medication that made me gain a lot of weight). Getting back to the basics will help me and hopefully help others lose the weight and keep it off for good.

P.S. The weight in my picture is not today's weight. I'm actually a pound lighter.