Lost 30 lbs in 3 Months?

This is a story that I can recall like it happened yesterday. The truth is that it actually happened several years ago. But the reason why I can remember it so vividly is because it was so impressively unbelievable. So I bumped into a friend outside of a gym. She was a nice girl that I knew from high school. She struggled with her weight basically her whole life. I hadn’t seen her for about two years and when we bumped into each other, I didn’t even recognize her. Embarrassingly enough she had to remind me who she was because she looked so different.

I told her she looked great. I was really curious so I asked her what she had been doing in terms of her health and weight. She proceeded to explain to me how easy it was losing the weight. She actually lost 30 lbs in a little less than 3 months! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How can someone who has struggled with weight their whole life suddenly lose the precise amount of weight desired in such a short amount of time? Well, I took away four major principles from the conversation, and have remembered them ever since.

1. Dieting Overhaul

We talked about dieting for just a short while. For her, it actually wasn’t so much about all the good foods that she was leaving out of her diet. It was more about focusing on the bad foods getting taken in. I think the first step for anyone planning to lose weight is exactly this. Have a good idea, or even make a mental list of what you can no longer eat. This should be your first concern. Worry about new and healthy foods that you weren’t previously incorporating into your diet after you’ve first mastered knowing what you shouldn’t have.

[box type=”note”]Simply by cutting out many foods and drinks containing lots of sugars, fats, and the dreaded empty calorie, she quickly noticed her body starting to shrink just because of this alone. [/box]

Then adding new meal ideas and other essential foods that promote good health came next. Foods high in fiber, vitamins, low in fats, and low in preservatives were her main focus. When the only types of foods you eat are nutritionally of value, you’ll start noticing body fat changes very quickly. What’s even better is that you’ll feel these results as she further explained. They are accompanied by high energy, high performance, and even a higher state of mind (or mood). So the diet alone was a huge contributing factor in her brief, yet super effective weight loss journey.

2. Surprising with Exercising

Exercise was basically the other half of the equation. But it wasn’t just some exercise here and there. And at the same time, it wasn’t brutal killer exercise either. So then what was it for her? Simply, it was regular, consistent, and repetitive exercise on a constant day-to-day basis (sometimes even 7 days a week). This obviously isn’t the most reasonable route to take for most, but this frequency in exercise probably played a huge role in calorie reduction in her diet.

She went on to further explain to me that the whole process was actually a lot easier than she initially thought. She just wasn’t getting it before and not really understanding what actually needed to be done. It’s all about the actions that you take, not so much the planning.

Before, there was cheating, inconsistency, and a lackadaisical attitude where she was just hoping for the best with what was put in. It’s good to be hopeful she said, but it’s better to have hopefulness coupled with realistic expectations. With exercising, it’s more about just doing with less and less of the thinking. That was a crucial mindset that she adopted that helped her achieve the remarkable success that she did.

3. Super Schedules

I think organization is an important component in almost all facets of our lives. In health, the more organized the better. See my old friend realized it was about a lifestyle change altogether. Organizing her goals and breaking down her schedule into smaller increments that were outlined in great detail for her ultimate weight loss goal was what I think did it for her. Now I don’t exactly remember what it was because it so complex and detailed, but I do remember it was well thought out and carefully, and strategically near genius.

She just had this powerful self-realization, and decided that changes must be made either now or never. Once the planning was set in place, it was a test of will, might, and determination to see whether or not she was going to fully go through with it or not. And because she was completely consistent with her planned schedule, it did happen for her.

4. Leaving the Old, Embracing the New

Many overweight people today struggle with this principle. Starting a new weight loss regime from scratch is all about moving forward and forgetting about the past, and sometimes even where you are currently. See something clicked for her; do you know what it was? I think it was that she blocked out where she was, and where she had been physically speaking, and only cared now about where she was going to take herself from there on out. After all, she’d been there her whole life.

Dwelling on the past can be a negative influence in our present lives in a variety of forms especially when we’re being subconscious with our weight. But after countless failed attempts at losing weight, it finally all hit her like a bag of bricks. What I thought was even more refreshing was that her overall demeanor had changed. She now seemed more energetic, happy, and enthusiastic.

[box type=”important”]See the reason why I wanted to share this story is because it’s real advice coming from a real person who used to be overweight. Also, this is years ago well before I started even writing about dieting, exercise, and overall health and wellness. It’s just an awesome true story that I thought needed to be heard again. Where better a place than the internet and via Hive Health right?[/box]