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How I Lost 10+ Lbs.

By 10:02 PM , , , , , , , , , ,

I've gotten four different inquiries about how I lost weight lately, and I've decided to outline all that I did in order to lose the extra pounds. Please keep in mind that I'm in no way a nutritionist and what worked for me may not work for you. This is just how I personally lost weight.

A year ago I was around 114-117 lbs. and while I wasn't exactly overweight, I was this close - less than an inch! - into overweight territory.

I changed my diet around late last year for reasons other than weight loss. In fact, I didn't even expect to lose weight so much as just get the result I needed for my skin. With that said, here are some things I did that inadvertently caused weight loss:

Eat clean. It's a cliche, I know, but that's what worked for me.  For about a month or two, I stopped eating anything with sugar and dairy in it & minimized my *bad* carb intake. That meant I woefully bid adieu to ice cream, pizza, chips and chocolate (unless it's dark chocolate!). I also became paescetarian earlier this year, which I feel, helped hasten the results. Basically, I ate lots of vegetables, nuts, beans and fish. Don't get me wrong, I did NOT eat a salad every meal (I'm not a salad person unless it's Greek/Mediterranean salad). Just because you're limiting your diet doesn't mean you have to settle for tasteless food. When I went out, I opted for restaurants with a wide variety of vegetable dishes (vegetarian/vegan restaurants are always great options!). When I'm cooking for myself, I relied on Google to give me a myriad of vegetable recipes.

Early this year, I've re-incorporated sugar & dairy back into my diet though I try and only eat sweets about 2 to 3 times a week. I kept up with being paescetarian though, and I haven't felt better! It's a straightforward dietary change - all of the wonderful benefits with none of the calorie counting & extra expenses.

Drink lots of water. When I say lots, I am not being hyperbolic. I try and drink at least 3 liters daily by having a water bottle at work and drinking tea ever so often. I also try to drink at least three glasses of water when I go out to eat - one before eating, one during meals and one after the meal. I drink so much water that my boyfriend has taken to occasionally teasing me about being the cause of California's drought! But oh, the rewards on all aspects of my health are so glorious!  Some of you may have trouble drinking that much water on a daily basis so I'd recommend adding fruits in your bottle of water - lemon, strawberry and oranges are a few of my favorite water additives.

Green juice. When I first started cleaning up my diet, I was also making fresh green juice and drinking it first thing in the morning. I do it on & off nowadays, though I still try to drink green juice at least thrice a week using a Nutribullet. I chop and prepare my ingredients the night before and just blend away in the morning. My favorite vegetables to juice are spinach, kale, cucumber, zucchini, celery, carrots, squash & radish. I also put in chia seed or cinnamon from time to time. For about two months, I've skipped putting fruits in my juice, which meant it's as gross as you can imagine. But remember, it's your juice so you can put whatever your heart desires in it. Just make sure that the proportions have more than 70% vegetables!

Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! While you can avoid exercising for weight loss, you'll definitely miss out on all the goodness that a regular exercise regimen offers. I've been running 5-9 miles a week and do the occasional yoga. Yesterday, I tried a new kickboxing routine that pretty much kicked my butt after only 10 minutes (the session was 30 minutes long!). I am typing up this post while feeling as if my body is trying to murder me. And yes, being the kind of person who likes the challenge, I'm excited to do it again tomorrow!

Set little goals. While setting long-term goals are beneficial as well, what really helped me be more disciplined were the small challenges I set for myself. I challenged myself to drink green juice everyday even though I'm almost always on the brink of spitting it out. I challenge myself to skip the Kinder chocolate bars and eat a handful of almonds instead. I challenge myself to run an extra mile instead of settling for two. I challenge myself and my body, and always feel all sorts of bliss when I succeed.

You & I both know that everything I've mentioned is all over the internet. I didn't give you anything new. BUT I firmly believe that what matters most is not the tool so much as your mindset. Think of your new weight loss goal as a means to show your body some love. You only have one body, and it's imperative that you do your best to care for it.

I am currently at 100-103 lbs. but I have a looooooong way to go. I aim to be the healthiest and strongest that I can be. I am excited to push my body to its full potential and be surprised by what it's capable of. 

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