I don't like putting a picture of me in my bra out in the open, but I think it will help make a point. I've lost 16 pounds so far in 4 months, and I really want to tell you how: diet change. It is truly ALL about the diet, and somewhat about the exercise!
At the beginning of the year, I was struggling. I weighed about 154 pounds, more than I have ever weighed. I had a knee injury for over a year that prevented me from doing any cardio, I had tore my oblique in yoga, and I had pinched my sciatic nerve in a cycling class. Basically, I was falling apart! Because of this, I got pretty depressed that I couldn't exercise and I started eating like crap.
When this year started, I knew I had to change. I tried cutting my calories but didn't really change what I ate. I was starving all the time trying to eat 1200 calories and was losing weight extremely slowly, if at all. Over spring break, my mom had me watch a documentary called Vegucated. It is about people who live a vegan life and why they do it. I can honestly say that this documentary changed my life. After that video, I made extreme changes to my diet.
What I did:
1) Gave up ALL meat cold turkey (ha)
2) Stopped eating eggs and most dairy
3) Started eating more clean than I was before (much more grains and vegetables!)
Is that it? Yes. That is all I did. I did still eat fish though, so I'm not a true vegetarian. Literally, within two and a half months, I dropped 13 pounds without even trying. I didn't count my calories, protein, or carbohydrates. I just ate less processed crap and no meat, eggs, or most dairy. That is all it took for me to drop the weight.
Amazingly, after about three months of this diet change, my injuries actually started to heal. I really couldn't believe it. When I got home from college for the summer, I actually jogged for the first time in almost two years! A combination of raw foods, healthy foods, and weight loss all started to work together and heal my stubborn knee. I couldn't be happier!
You can do it too.
Dealing with weight is a pain in the booty, but you can easily manage your weight and feel better about yourself by eating better. And you will feel better. You will have much more energy and will even feel positive about life.
I know everyone is different, but from my experience, this is what works:
1) Give up meat, especially red meats and processed meats. There is ample evidence that red & processed meats are plain terrible for your health. If you do not believe me, feel free to do some of your own research! I support this. If you do decide to give up meat, though, make sure you are taking a multivitamin to get adequate B12, calcium, and iron.
2) Start getting rid of the dairy. Dairy is full of calories and fat. Low-fat dairy has added sugar to make it taste better, according to Dr. Oz. Plus, most Americans can't even digest it properly. If you get gassy from dairy, it's because the dairy is literally sitting in your intestines, fermenting, because you lack the enzyme to digest it properly. I do have the occasional cheese, but I am in love with soy milk. I put it in coffee, cereal, and everything else. It tastes great and it is a light drink.
3) Eggs are icky. Okay, I know this could be my opinion alone, but I hate eggs now. They taste weird to me and they are kind of gross if you think about what they really are. But that is my personal opinion and you don't have to do this. Steer clear of egg yolks though - maybe just one a day - and stick to egg whites because they are much healthier for you.
4) MORE vegetables and fruits. Most people do not get any vegetables, and the others think that loading up on fruit will take its place. Wrong! Vegetables are so important. They contain so many nutrients that our bodies need. If you aren't eating vegetables, you might feel full, but your body is starved nutritionally. Make an effort to eat more of these. Of course, fruits are great too, but you probably don't need as much as you think. Check this out to see how much of each you need, and stick to it:
5) Clean eating. Make an effort to eat CLEAN, as in no processed foods. Processed foods contain harmful chemicals like acetone and aspartame that wreak havoc on your system. I believe that my body was too busy ridding itself of cholesterol and chemicals to even have time to work on healing my injuries! Give your body the break it needs and eat clean.
Resources:
1) Films about food I have found useful:
*Vegucated (on Netflix)
*Food, Inc.
*Fat, Sick, And Nearly Dead (on Netflix)
*Hungry For Change (on Netflix)
I also read a few books at school that were useful to me, but I can't remember their names, so when I am back in school I will update about these books!
Overall, I am sure that this post is controversial, but this is what has worked for me. With a not-so-good metabolism, I think that 13 pounds is a lot to lose. I did plateau at 13 pounds, so the other 3 pounds were lost by exercising and watching my calorie/sugar/fat intake!
I really encourage you to do your own research and figure out what might work for you! Good luck!
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