How I lost 10 pounds and gained it all back plus more
The motivation
I was looking in the mirror trying on my bridesmaid dress for an upcoming wedding (one of the upcoming weddings. I was in two back to back) and I HATED what I saw. The dress fit, but it was totally uncomfortable and there was this bulge of fat poking through where my flat abs were supposed to be. I just can’t let this happen I thought. And it was then that I committed myself to lose weight.
I had two months until the first wedding and three months until the second wedding for which I wasn’t so concerned about because the dress already hid my bulge. My strategy was to start with a diet. Also, coincidentally, I was a recent graduate at the time still without a full time job so I was teaching about 11 fitness classes a week plus some of my own workouts. So on top of my restrictive diet, I was working out at minimum 12 hours a week.
No sugar
My first course of action was a 21 Day Sugar Detox. Absolutely no added sugar for 21 days, that included natural sugar like honey and sugar substitutes like Splenda. That also included a restriction on fruits. I was only allowed either one green apple or one green tipped banana a day. As you can imagine, this eliminated many other food groups for their naturally occurring presence of sugar including dairy and many carbs. So clearly I had to learn to be creative with my food intake. Here are some examples of food items I consumed:
Tuna straight from the can
Nuts
Lightly seasoned chicken breast
Ground beef or turkey
Eggs
Unsweetened almond milk
Steamed vegetables
These are just some examples. I was committed and never cheated. Oh, this also included no alcohol. Yikes, I know. I actually did not drink any alcohol for about 60 days at least. I do recommend cutting out alcohol if you are serious about losing weight and limiting alcohol at any time certainly doesn’t hurt.
Despite the fact that I went hard, I wasn’t seeing immediate results. I thought weight would come off instantly with this dramatic change in diet, but it still took some time. That’s when I decided to move forward with diet #2.
A caveman could do it
To continue moving towards my goal, I decided to follow the Paleo Diet. For those not familiar with the Paleo, or “Caveman” Diet, the premise is to eat only foods that were available to cavemen during paleolithic times. Hence the name. Basically that means no processed foods. Only natural foods that hunters and gatherers had access to. Staples of this diet include meat, fish, eggs, most fruit but especially berries, most vegetables, and healthy fats like nuts and oils. As I said, processed foods like junk food, baked goods, etc are eliminated but other “off-limit'' foods also include corn, potatoes, legumes including all beans, peanuts and peanut butter, all soy products, all grains, and all dairy.
So again, I had to get super creative with my diet. It actually was interesting because I got to experiment. For example, when I wanted something sweet, I learned how to make “nice cream.” Basically it’s just frozen fruit, bananas work really well, blended either by itself or with a little almond butter and/or unsweetened almond milk. Well cavemen didn’t have freezers or blenders you may say. But I wasn’t outside cooking my meals over a stick fire either. The diet allows you to use modern amenities to prepare your food. I also did not actually go “hunt and gather” my food. Although farm fresh, organic food is certainly preferred, but again at the time, I was a recent grad and didn’t have a full time job so funds were limited.
The results
I lost so much weight, I had to switch dresses with another bridesmaid.
I really enjoyed going back to the basics, if you will, and eating clean and natural did help me feel a lot better for the most part. I did of course start to see the weight drop off. And it dropped off fast. It was noticeable to everyone. I dropped so much weight that when it came time for the wedding, I had to switch dresses with one of the other bridesmaids for her smaller size. That was not my intention. My intention was just to look better in my dress. I lucked out that hers was a little too tight or I would have been holding up my strapless dress all night. As you can imagine, this made me feel AMAZING. Especially considering that I was the only single person in the bridal party and had to walk in to the reception by myself. I’ll never forget hearing the DJ announce.. “And ALL BY HERSELF, Bridesmaid, Audrey!” But I didn’t care, because everyone noticed and commented on how much weight I had lost.
The Pros & Cons
So I lost weight, dropped a size, and looked and felt great for the weddings. Where’s the problem you may ask. Even though I had exceeded my goal, just like with any diet, there were pros and cons for me.
Pros:
Less processed, more natural foods
Learned how to get creative with my cooking and baking
Experimented with new foods
Tried something new
Fat loss allowed me to appear more toned
Cons:
Following a trend or fad diet
Bad acne - I mean real bad. My face hurt it was so bad
Lifestyle Amenorrhea
Possible loss of nutrients
Fatigue and irritability
Why it didn’t work:
Unsustainable. It wasn’t a sustainable lifestyle change for me. I like eating dessert and drinking alcohol on occasion. I want to chow down on a burger once in a while, bun and all. What’s even more important to highlight is that I actually became less healthy. I experienced amenorrhea for about 3 months meaning that I didn’t have enough fat or nutrients in my body to menstrate. This was likely caused by my low caloric intake and my excessive exercising (even though it was my job). This is scary for a woman my age and definitely not healthy as it could have led to other major complications.
Temporary. I didn’t start this diet thinking that I’ll do it forever. I knew it was temporary to achieve a short term goal, fitting into my bridesmaid dresses and looking hot for the weddings. The problem with temporary food restrictions is when you start eating those foods again, you can experience negative effects. For example, when I started eating carbs again I didn't do it in a way so that my body could re-adjust and thus I gained all the weight and fat I lost twice as fast. When I started a full time job, just after the first wedding, my new work pants were loose everywhere and needed a belt for sure. Just a couple months later, I avoided those pants because the closure dug into my skin and the material rode up in between my thighs. It wasn’t a good feeling to know that what I had accomplished disappeared so quickly.
Key takeaways:
When compared with the first time I lost weight and successfully kept it off, the biggest problem I experienced this time was the temporariness in my goals and my plan. It’s not uncommon to want to lose weight for a big event or a major vacation. The problem with this kind of plan is that you go hard to look amazing and then dive right back into old habits even harder. When you consider the long-term consequences, it makes much more sense to work on your goal and create a plan for no reason other than for self-improvement, because you want to for your health, and not just to look good for someone or something. When I lost 25 pounds, I didn’t have a temporary goal. I wanted to lose weight for good. In the past, I felt like I had to totally restrict myself or I wouldn’t accomplish anything. But what I feel the most accomplished about now is becoming more self-aware and learning about myself.
