So I’m sure you’re all here because of my title (a year and a half ago I was clicking anything with the words “weight loss tips” in them). I’ve been thinking about writing this post for awhile, but I’ve hesitated because for one, this story is quite personal, and two, I don’t want to come off as self-righteous. The truth is, what I did to lose 30lbs might not work for everyone, so please take these weight loss tips with a grain of salt 🙂 However, if you’re like me and you’ve decided it’s time to make a change, then I think these tips are gonna be just what you’re looking for!
*This post contains affiliate links. All content and opinions expressed are my own.*
A year and a half ago…
April of 2016 was when I made the decision to change my life. I was 172lbs, the heaviest I have ever weighed, and I was feeling pretty shitty. Not because of the number staring up at me from the scale, but because of the way my body felt. I have a medium frame, I’m tall (5’8″), and pretty lanky. The extra weight I was carrying left my body feeling bogged down. I was suffering from acid reflux (something I had never experienced before gaining weight), and I know it sounds crazy, but I even felt like I walked differently due to the extra weight in my thighs. At this point, I knew I had to make a change, if not to lose weight, then to make sure my body felt right!
Making a lifestyle change.
When I started my weight loss journey, I knew it wouldn’t be enough for me to just cut out carbs or count calories. I’d tried the fad diets before, and they work for a minute, but as soon as you stop them, the weight comes right back (plus 5 extra pounds!). The thing about fad diets is that, in my experience, they don’t teach you how to live a sustainable, healthy lifestyle. Sure, you can lose 25 pounds by cutting carbs, but after you’ve reached your weight loss goal and you introduce carbs again, what do you think is going to happen? If all you’ve done is cut out an essential food group to lose weight, and you haven’t made any other changes to your eating habits or exercise routine, you’re just gonna gain the weight right back. Since I had watched this happen with myself and my friends and family, I knew in order to successfully lose weight and meet my fitness goals, I was going to have to change not just my diet, but my lifestyle in general.
Weight Loss Tips
- Become informed about what you’re putting in to your body. I don’t mean you absolutely have to count calories, but you do need to know what’s in the food you’re eating. The app I use to keep track of my eating habits is called My Fitness Pal, and seriously you guys, this was life changing for me. Just by keeping track of the food I ate made me realize what I really could live without. It made it SO much easier to cut out unhealthy food, because the app told me exactly how much I should be eating in a day if I wanted to reach a certain goal by a certain date. Knowing this has also made it easier for me to incorporate healthy eating habits in to my day to day life, even when I’m not tracking or trying to lose weight.
- Ask for help! The very first thing I did when I started my weight loss journey, was hire a personal trainer. It’s expensive, yes, but just by purchasing 10 lessons (a total of $500.00, almost a third of the cost of having one grande soy vanilla latte a day for a year), I was able to establish a workout routine I knew I could continue after the sessions were over.
- Celebrate small victories. I can’t stress this enough! One thing that really helped me was to set small goals for myself. In the beginning, I told myself I wasn’t going to buy any new clothes until I got down to 160lbs (I’m a shopaholic, this was difficult LOL). This helped me to focus my energy on reaching a small goal, that way it didn’t seem like my progress to my goal weight was taking forever.
- Give yourself a break. One of the hardest things for me to do is workout when it’s cold. Apart from the fact that I have a bum knee, the cold weather just puts me in hibernation mode. I’ve tried and tried to force myself to be as physically active in the fall and winter as I am in the spring/summer, but it just doesn’t work for me. So I’ve learned to give myself a bit of a break and only work out 3 times a week instead of 5-6. During this time, I just focus on maintaining my current weight, instead of trying to continue to lose. Plus, who wants to be dieting during the holidays? #NOTME
- Understand that changing your life takes time, it’s not going to happen over night. This is seriously so true. The pictures in this post were taken in March (11 months after I started my journey) and June (14 months) of this year. In June of this year, I was 156lbs, which means I had only lost 16lbs total. However, it was at this point that I was feeling really good, and I realized the eating habits and working out were not only enjoyable, they were easy. I had successfully changed my lifestyle in a positive way, and I started seeing the fat literally melt off after that. Between June and September, I lost an additional 16lbs and I have visible ab muscles. Yeah, VISIBLE ABS!!! It’s literally all about patience and dedication you guys, I can’t stress this enough!
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Sorry for writing a freaking novel you guys LOL. I just had a lot to say on this subject, and it’s a topic that is very important to my heart! I hope you enjoyed, and please share any weight loss or fitness tips you may have in the comments below!
xo,
B
Photos by Rachel Cossette
Dang girl, you look good! I’ve been on a journey myself, my starting weight was much higher than yours and so far I’ve lost 65 lbs. I’m still going! I feel better every day! 🙂
WOW that is AMAZING Sam! Good for you! So glad you are feeling great and journeying to a happy and healthier you 🙂 🙂
I really enjoyed reading this post Brittany, you look incredible! You’re absolutely right, fad diets don’t work long term. I lost 23kg in the past year by drastically reducing sugar (I haven’t had a fizzy drink or juice in that time) and I feel amazing! Well done you, such a great achievement.
Thanks Caroline, it means a lot that you took the time to read and comment! Cutting out sugar is such a simple but effective weight loss tactic! So awesome that you managed to not have soda, that’s so hard for me!
You look amazing! I, too, am embarking on a lifestyle change journey. I’ll be referring to your tips for encouragement.
Thanks Amanda, and good luck babe! xo
You look amazing! Way to go! And also, mad legging game, girl!
Aww thanks Meaghan!
Dang girl, you look amazing! I am also trying to remind myself that no one is an overnight success with weight loss. Congratulations, I know that was a lot of hard work!
Thanks girl! It means a lot! xo <3
Thank you for sharing these tips! I’m at my heaviest and know I need to make a change. I need to remember that results don’t happen overnight and I really do have to celebrate small wins!
So so true Jenna! I think we feel better even when we just lose a small amount of weight, but it’s hard to remember that that feeling is as much of a win as the weight loss!
Ahhh you look amazing, congratulations!! This is so inspiring, it’s so great to read a success story and hear how you did it 😀 gorgeous blog too! xx
elizabeth ♡ ”Ice Cream” whispers Clara
(I would love to follow each other on bloglovin if you like! :D)
Thanks so much Elizabeth!!! Followed you on Bloglovin babe 😉
I am also on a healthier lifestyle journey, I am using MyFitness Pal. I have 10 pounds to go, doesn’t sound like a lot but it’s hard especially since I’m 62 and dealing with hormonal issues.
MyFitness Pal is so helpful! I can imagine it would be difficult to lose weight when there are health factors going on. Keep at it though girl, you can do it if you set your mind to it! xo
Thanks for sharing your tips! You look amazing! I just started my weight loss journey-finally lol. I’ve been struggling for the past three years, but decided to stop making excuses. If I don’t make a change, it’s not going to happen. I’d love if you check out my blog, I’m sharing my journey as I go along and maybe we can even
be internet buddies 🙂 Xoxo
Love your blog Jenny! I didn’t see a subscribe option, but if you add one please let me know, I’d love to continue to inspire each other and keep each other motivated!! Followed you on IG though from @blistblog 😉 xoxo
Great athletic wear and congratulations on taking control and changing your health.
Thanks Elise! <3
I love all of your tips so much! They are all SO true. Nothing happens overnight but it’s great to make long term life changes like this. I’m also loving ALL your workout gear! 🙂
Thank you Mallory! I wear mainly Adidas and Nike, they’re my fav 😉
Wow, this was SUPER encouraging. I weigh about 170 now and have just decided I have had enough. It does take time and giving yourself a break so I am trying to just keep going!!
Good for you Ruth! I’m so happy this has been helpful, I feel like we need to keep encouraging each other and building each other up so we can reach our goals! Thanks so much for reading, and good luck! xoxo
Awesome progress chica! 30 pounds is nothing to shake it! Losing weight can take so much dedication and planning!
Thanks Cat! I’m so happy I’ve made the changes I did, I feel like I’m living a happy and healthier life in general!
“Give yourself a break” that is one of those things that we all really forget, I feel like. I know I personally forget it and then get really hard on myself when I do. This is something that we need to remember is okay.
Yes, so true! We are too hard on ourselves, we need to remember to treat ourselves with kindness, we’re only human!
You look amazing!
Congratulations on loosing 30 pounds! and best of luck on your journey
Thanks so much Lauren!! xoxo
Good for you girl! I’ve noticed in your pictures that you’ve been going through a transformation. You look great, keep up the excellent work! I’m using My Fitness Pal also and I absolutely love it ❤️
Aww thanks Tiffani! Isn’t it the best app? So freakin’ handy! <3<3
Thank you for sharing, girl.
I’m 170 down but I gained back from stress and a new job. Stopped going to the gym too. I’ll be focusing on taking care of myself again, thank you!
Give us a quick breakdown of daily meals and one of your workouts? You’re killing it.
Holy crap that’s amazing! Ugh, I know how you feel though, at the midpoint of my weight loss I gained some of the weight back, it’s so easy to do! That’s a great idea for a post, I’ll definitely put something together and share it soon!! <3
You look really good, great job. I need to get in the right head space and go on with it. I guess I’m going to give up carbs and sugar for a while.
Thanks Joan! Cutting out a lot of sugar definitely helps, my body feels a lot better when I limit the amount of processed sugar I eat! xo