How I lost 60lbs…
**I think I legally have to start this by saying I am no professional or health advice giver.** I’m just here to tell my story in hopes that someone can take something away from it
I was visiting home in spring 2022 for the first time since moving away for school. My niece, Elena, missed me so much (I swear she did okay!) that she ran to me as I entered the home we shared. After she showed me what her grandma did to my room, she pointed to the mirror. I saw the reflection of the both of us and she was enamored of her reflection. Smiling from ear to ear, happy to see what she was seeing. Then murmured “como tio danny”. My mom jokes that I passed down my charm to my niece as she loves to look at the mirror like I always did, and still do I guess. What I really meant to show her was something that took me years to discover and has taken much more time to unravel: Self Love.
After graduating High School, I almost immediately started gaining weight as everyone does. I felt like I lost control of scale as it kept rising. The breaking point should’ve been when my doctor told me I was 5 pounds away from being diabetic. But the real moment of truth was when I felt so lazy to get out of bed every morning with no direction. I was losing an internal battle.
So here’s how I “won” and lost 60 pounds
Steps
I got my first job where I was working on my feet all day. Naturally, I got more than the daily recommended 10,000 steps a day. Calories were being burned non stop everyday. This made it alot easier to be in a caloric deficit. However, I was snacking a lot throughout the day as my body needed to maintain itself. This was all before I learned what BMR was. (My average step count for the year of 2019 was 8,484)
Food
Working in a grocery store, I got exposed to alot of food culture. I was inspired to try recipes every week. My go-tos were always chicken thighs. Back then, I was more concerned about calories than macros. Unintentionally, I actually got a lot of protein in. Especially when I was trying keto and thought carbs were evil (THEY ARE NOT). In essence, yes I was eating a lot less, but it was too much less.
Exercise
I was influenced that the fastest way to lose weight was intense cardio. So I hit the treadmill almost religiously. I started off small with walking, then jogging, then running. I integrated HIT workouts to make it a bit more fun because just running for an hour was boring. Weight lifting was very light as I, and you probably hear a lot of this, “wanted to lose weight first then build muscle”. Boy did I find out.
Discipline
When I went to the gym after an 8 hour shift to go for a 3-5 mile run, it wasn’t because I was motivated. It was because I had to if I wanted to achieve my goal. This discipline kept me in the gym and out of bed. I didn’t rest as much as I should’ve. Almost everyday I was pushing myself to the limit. Again, not healthy, your body needs REST.
After losing all that weight, I felt so accomplished. Life felt worth living again. However, it was all a curtain. Little by little, weight started coming back. I adapted to a lifestyle that wasn’t sustainable. Everything I did was short term fixes. Weight fluctuates and so does BMI. I gained weight after that original journey, then I lost some again, then it came back, and now I am trying to lose body fat and put on some muscle. Health is a lifelong journey with countless obstacles. My goal is to continue finding a lifestyle that promotes healthy eating, exercise, and self love.
As of now, this looks like:
Continuing to getting steps in
Eating a protein and fiber rich diet (there are no unhealthy foods, just an unhealthy diet)
Drinking a lot of water to promote hydration and increase metabolism
Buying into routines with complete faith of the outcome
Growing up, I was always lost in the world of storytelling, mostly through movies. The idea of “what-if” was so encapsulating. Dreaming for a future. I always dreamed of where I could be. However, I had little to no motivation to get there. But through this next health journey, I’m not relying on motivation or even discipline, because those go away in a day or two, but rather Purpose. My purpose to fill my life with love and loved ones requires me to be in good health to enjoy it. My north star gets me out of bed every morning wanting to control my own story.
