3 things I’ve Learned About Weight Loss

I have spent the majority of my life daydreaming about being thin and in shape. Way back in 3rd grade I was bigger than my classmates, and by high school I was certainly what a circa 2000 person would consider “fat.” 

When you grow up overweight, you end up romanticizing what it would be like to be thin for years. Not just years, but decades, really. And let me tell ya, that can be dangerous! You are put in the position of being completely unprepared for what happens when you actually do manage to thin out. You think life magically gets easier once the weight is gone, but unfortunately that’s not really the case.

Now that I’m on the other side of a 60 lb weight loss, I know the truth about life after weight loss. And I’m here to share it with you now, so you can be prepared. Here are 3 things I’ve learned about weight loss: 

Helpful tip: I have created a Life and Fitness Planner which will result in weight loss when used in conjunction with Noom or MyFitnessPal, and any food tracker for that matter. It’s an awesome weight loss tool to help you reach your goals. Learn more about that here. It might be the missing piece of your weight loss puzzle.

1. Keeping the Weight Off is Work

We are all familiar with the image of a skinny girl sitting down and enjoying a burger and shake without a care. And even more familiar with the intense feeling of envy that comes along with seeing it. I was always so jealous of that skinny girl. I assumed that was how she ate all the time. That she was one of the “lucky” ones who could and would feast on burgers, fries, nachos, and every other food I adore, without gaining an ounce. 

Don’t get me wrong, I do know there are people out there who are either blessed with good metabolism or genes. These people exist, and they might have a slight advantage over the majority of the weight losing and weight maintaining population out there. But the reality is that almost everyone who is thin, or fit, is putting in the effort behind the scenes. 

Who knows, now that I’ve gotten to a healthy weight, maybe I’m the girl that people look at enviously as I enjoy a burger and a shake “without a care.” I wish! But, alas, a lot of planning went into eating that burger. Like, A LOT, a lot. I evaluate my calories for the entire month, both before the burger and after. I manipulate the numbers and create a way to eat the burger without also gaining weight. Because at 36 years old, there is no way I could sit and eat a burger and shake willy-nilly, whenever I felt like it, and not pack on the pounds. 

Don’t assume a thin person eating junk food eats junk food all the time. If they did, they wouldn’t be thin. I know from riding the weight loss/gain roller coaster for years that keeping weight off is a lot of work. 

You can’t just diet to lose weight then go back to eating how you did before. Well you could, but you would gain all the weight back. So mentally prepare yourself now that the way you eat to lose weight is essentially how you’re going to need to continue eating to maintain your weight loss. If you are miserable and hate your diet, then you better change things up. I can help you find the right weight loss method and way of eating for you to not only get results, but to get them comfortably and enjoyably. 

2. Maintaining your weight is a huge victory

I’ve lost 68 pounds, but I didn’t do it overnight. It took me 5.5 years of losing 10 here and 20 there. The only way this 68 pound loss was possible was by the magic of weight MAINTENANCE. Maintaining my weight was my secret weapon over the course of my whopping 68 pound loss. 

I know we all like seeing drops on the scale, but maintaining your weight is a huge victory. If you manage to keep your weight steady between losses, rather than putting the weight you lost back on, your losing phases, over time, will add up big time! Instead of spinning your wheels, weight loss will occur, slowly but surely.  This route is much less excruciating than taking 1 step forward, then 2 steps back, when you’re on a weight loss journey.

It’s time to change your mindset regarding weight maintenance. It is a blessing in disguise. Sometimes it takes a bit of a stall to finally gain the traction to move forward. Weight maintenance, brought upon by bumps in the road, diet breaks, or whatever, is normal. It’s all part of the journey. The sooner you not only accept it, but see it as a powerful tool for your weight loss tool belt, the sooner you can use it to your advantage. 

Not gaining weight is just as worthy as losing weight. Maintenance is progress. It’s a good thing, and will help you get where you want to go in the long run. 

3. Loving your body won’t necessarily come with a number on the scale. 

Looking at my body, after losing 68 total pounds, it is not silky smooth like that of an air-brushed model’s on the cover of a magazine. I have loose skin on my stomach, my arm skin sags, and I have stretch marks. At first I HATED that these things plagued my smaller, “new” body. 

I hated it so much that my discontent sent me spiraling for a full year! I gained about 7-10 pounds back before recommitting to my weight loss journey. During that year I regulated my expectations, zeroed in on my weight-loss “why,” and reevaluated my goals from being about having the perfect body of my dreams to more meaningful pursuits. 

Only when I did that was I able to move forward. I took off the 7-10 pounds and, through dedication and consistency, I have finally reached a new low on the scale! And there are no signs of stopping anytime soon! If I had properly managed my expectations from the beginning of my weight loss journey, I would probably be at my goal weight by now. I needed that time to reset mentally and prepare myself for the rest of my journey. No regrets. But I hope my experience can help prepare you better for any disappointment you might encounter down your own path. 

If you are only losing weight for a perfect body you will be sorely disappointed. Shift your “why” to something more powerful and meaningful than that. Things like better performance at a sport, to be a healthy role model for your kids, or wanting to have more confidence are great motivators. Whatever your motivation is, just make sure it’s not all about your physical appearance. This will help you go further, faster.

Those are the three main things I’ve learned about weight loss over the course of my 60 pound weight loss journey. Have you lost weight and kept it off? What valuable lessons have you learned? Let me know in the comments.

If you need any help on your own weight loss journey, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me in Mom’s Kids. I’d love to offer you the support and camaraderie you need. Losing weight can be a long and lonely journey, but with friends and accountability it becomes a lot easier.  And remember to  checkout my awesome weight loss tool to help you reach your goals. Learn more about that here. It might be the missing piece of your weight loss puzzle.