How I Actually Lost Weight - The Process

Intro

My journey began with a simple decision. Which was I needed to "get in better shape". I was already going to the gym but my training wasn't tailored towards being athletic. I quickly found out how unfit I was after playing a 5-a-side game after 4 & 1/2 years out. After 30 seconds I was out of breath and right at the end I pulled my right hamstring. An experience that'll never be forgotten. In this blog, I'll break down in 3 major sections how I lost weight.

Disclaimer: I'm not advising any fellow individual reading this to copy the methods used. This blog has been written to display the techniques I employed during this difficult endeavor. 

Training

I've always been against cardio. However due to football being a high-intensity sport. I had no choice but to introduce cardio into my training plan. Let me tell you now, I would never go back! Cardio has been one of my powerful tools for losing weight.

Instead of driving to work, I would walk there & back which totaled an hour give or take. Instead of using cardio to solely lose weight. My goal was to increase my baseline fitness levels and as a result, I lost weight. I stopped lifting weights completely for about 3 months and only resorted to pushups to keep my physique. I was doing about 100+ per day. During this period I was burning 1000+ calories every day, which left me in a calorie deficit of well over 200 calories every day.

Nutrition 

I didn't necessarily change what I ate too much. I wasn't eating super clean food. I used to have cheat meals twice per week & I cut that down to once per week sometimes I wouldn't even have a cheat meal. My shopping bill has come down significantly which is great because I can spend that disposable income on personal development.

I also stopped completely filling up the fridge & buying unhealthy snacks. This stopped me from having temptations and throwing away all my hard work for the day. I also keep my fridge & cupboards fairly empty now. Not because I can't afford food but it's another tactic that helped me to stay on track. Late-night snacking is a killer of discipline. 

Drinking water was a savior in my books, I elected to drink water when I was thirsty. That's for two reasons. the first reason is that water has no calories in it, the second reason,  I wouldn't choose juice or alcohol is because it leaves you craving more which will end up being calories. 

Yeah, you can say water is boring, it's bland but you don't realize how valuable water is until you really need it. But what you don't realize is that our muscles are made up of about 70% water. So in reality you do actually need it more than you think.

My Habits

To make sure I was going to succeed I employed Intermittent fasting where I stopped consuming food after 18:30 at the latest and started eating again at 09:30 the next day. This prevented me from late-night snacking. I would also get between 5-7 hours of great sleep. All of this integrated very nicely because when I went to sleep my body wasn't digesting food so it could actually focus on resting rather than digesting.  What do I do when I'm hungry? Drink 2 glasses of water & the hunger disappears!

I drank no alcohol (not a drinker anyway). Most importantly I didn't weigh myself every day. I can't stress enough the importance of setting a goal with target numbers & a deadline. A goal without a deadline is just a dream.

Overall, my weight loss transformation has been a life-changing experience. It's taught me the importance of taking care of my body and has given me a newfound appreciation for what I'm capable of. If I can do it, so can you!