how I lost 20 lbs in 2 months
Disclaimer: This is what worked for me! I’m obviously not a dietician or fitness instructor. Attempt all of this at your own risk.
Do you feel like you’re doomed to weigh the same forever? Do you feel out of control while eating sometimes? Do you want to cry when looking in the mirror? I felt the exact same way before developing healthy eating habits and an exercise routine over the summer. I’m 5′7 and weighed 136 lbs from the time I was like 10 all the way up to 17. I got a job at a shitty fast food restaurant in high school, stopped playing sports and got all the way up to 190. Went to college, got slightly more active, and stayed at 185ish for about 4 years.
I started this being not active whatsoever and ate whatever was around. Now I’m 160 - only another 10 lbs from my goal weight. I took about a two month break of actively trying to lose weight due to school starting up again (final semester of college thank god) but I’m heading back to the gym tomorrow to start it up again.
So basically I’m gonna drop what I ate a variation of every single day and my exercise routine and some tips.
Part I - Food
Food will make or break a healthy lifestyle. One unhealthy meal won’t make you fat, but one healthy meal won’t make you skinny. The key is to have accessible meals that are small and packed with good nutrition to keep you as full as possible. The days where you’ll have the most difficulty with this are days when you’ll forget your breakfast/lunch at home.
Examples of breakfast…
(1) Jimmy Dean Egg Delights English Muffin - this was a favorite because it’s made with whole grains, turkey sausage and egg whites. These are all healthy and yummy alternatives to fatty regular sausage and unhealthy white bread. 250 calories.
(2) Scrambled eggs and (1) piece of wheat toast - This is what I would buy at work if I forgot my lunch at home. Still nutritional and delicious, but not ideal because of yolks. Also, where’s the fruit? About 260 calories.
(½) cup of oatmeal with (1 thicc) tbsp of peanut butter, along with cinnamon and blueberries - Oh man I ate this one for the longest time! The key to eating peanut butter is to stop eating brands like JIF or Skippy. They’re loaded with all kinds of sugar and other ingredients you don’t need. Find peanutbutter (or your favorite nut butter) that has only 2 ingredients: nuts and water. You won’t miss the sugar and it’s way better for you! I gravitated towards Smucker’s Natural Creamy Peanut Butter because it’s less than $4, even though it had some salt in the ingredients as well. About 260 calories.
(1) boiled egg, (1) plum, and (1) oatmeal cookie - Not my favorite to do because it involved baking oatmeal cookies and I am lazy. The oatmeal cookie recipe was basically wheat flour, applesauce, coconut sugar, cinnamon, almond milk, olive oil and baking powder. The whole batch lasted about a week. About 190 calories.
I typically ate breakfast at 9 a.m. every weekday. Every breakfast was accompanied by a big, hot coffee with half and half, or if I was at home, my favorite Nut Pods Original creamer. Coffee is an appetite suppressant and aids with helping someone focus, so drinking that in the morning with a relatively low calorie breakfast was a great way to start the day and help me focus on work until lunch time. I usually get hungry at around 1 - 2 and bust out my lunch.
Examples of lunch…
(2) pieces of wheat bread with a handful of spinach leaves, 2 pieces of ham, mustard and a cup of unsweetened applesauce on the side. Have water or sparkling water on the side. Easy to make when running out the door because you overslept. About 400 calories.
(2) pieces of sunflower seed bread, (2) pieces of ham, (1) piece of swiss cheese, (1) low fat Babybel Spreadable cheese, handful of cherries. I ate this the longest because it made me feel like a faerie eating various fruits and cheeses with bread in the woods when I was actually sitting in a cubicle. About 350 calories.
After lunch I would stay at work til 5:30/6, then head to the gym and work out. I’ll cover my (simple) workout routine next but I’m going to skip to dinner for now.
Examples of dinner…
Eggroll in a bowl with ground turkey or tofu instead of ground pork/beef is heavenly and guilt-free
Sopa is a Mexican dish my boyfriend’s dad makes pretty often so I decided to take a crack at it. You can truly make this dish however you like it. I added diced chicken, whole wheat pasta spirals, and tons more spices and veggies than the recipe linked did. This stuff is amazing and lasted me like 2 weeks.
Veggie spaghetti. Heavily inspired by Sarah Hawkinson’s famous spaghetti. I recommend watching her video and adding any types of veggies you think would be best. My tip for staying health-conscious when making spaghetti is to boil a little bit of pasta every meal so I’m not tempted to eat a ton of the protein pasta.
Rotisserie chicken and fruit. Like I said, I’m extremely lazy and some days after working out I just wanna inhale protein and carbs.
Bag of popcorn. Not recommended but sometimes the laziness surpasses “rotisserie chicken and fruit” lazy. Orville Redenbacker’s Naturals Lightly Salted popcorn is where it’s at.
Most of my days would end anywhere from 800 - 1000 calories. Coupled with my exercise routine, I was well below my recommended calorie intake. I had tried to stick to the recommended calories for someone my height in the past with no success. This is what worked for me.
General tips on food…
Only drink unsweetened drinks like water, unsweet tea and sparkling flavored water. Don’t use a lot of sugar in coffee, and make it dairy free if possible. I know I feel like a whale after ingesting dairy and I’m not even lactose intolerant.
Are you on your period and need chocolate asap? Unsweetened dark chocolate bars (70% cacao) and chocolate Halo Top (320 cal for the whole pint - worth it once a month if you’re dying) are your best friends.
If you’re going drinking with friends avoid sweetened drinks like margaritas or heavy drinks like beer. Stick with vodka sodas.
My only snacks were popcorn and fruit and even then I didn’t eat them that much. Get out of the habit of snacking, as well as eating big meals.’
On the weekends I would stray from the meals listed above a little! I would eat the same breakfast, camp out at a cafe and read for about 6 hours and have a lunch of a big mocha latte and 2 macarons, then have a small bowl of pho for dinner. Replacing a good lunch with coffee isn’t ideal, but I made sure not to overeat during dinner time to make up for it! Portion sizes is such a huge thing to be mindful of. Always get a smaller portion than you think you will want, focus on the taste of the food and how your body feels, and you’ll be sure to not overeat. Be content, not full.
Part II - Exercise
I initially started working out because I don’t want to get into the habit so many people have of going to work in an office all day then go home and sitting some more. This was partially easy to do because I worked in an office that had a fully furnished gym so it was easy to just move from the office to the gym at 6 p.m.
I have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) so I workout to keep that in check, as well. I’ve found that making my body so exhausted it can’t literally vibrate in anxiety is a good way to make life bearable.
So here’s the machine’s I use…
Manual treadmill - my absolute FAVORITE machine of all time. Relatively new technology, and absurdly expensive to purchase for a home gym. (They’re like $5k!) The gym had a few and you burn soooo many more calories on this machine versus a traditional electric treadmill, and it doesn’t make my knees ache the way a treadmill does. Be prepared for your calves to burn like Hades for the first few weeks if you take on my exercise schedule.
Elliptical - nothing makes me sweat like a pig more than the elliptical with a cranked up resistance. I always make sure to alternate between propelling myself forward with my arms and my legs to ensure I’m getting a tough workout in.
Stationary bike - the one where you can lean back and pedal away while reading a book. There’s nothing like finishing a stressful day at work, listening to some Stellamara and reading a good book while exercising. This is my favorite machine for non-exercise reasons because I can read for hours and justify it because it’s healthy.
Aaaand that’s about it. I hear conflicting arguments of how weight lifting is better for you and you burn more weight and blah blah blah but I just prefer cardio and these machines worked for me really well.
Here’s what my typical exercise schedule looked like…
Day 1
2 mi on manual treadmill
2 mi on elliptical
Day 2
2 mi on manual treadmill
∞ mi on stationary bike (I don’t keep track because I’m reading but it’s usually upward of 7)
And alternate through every weekday. On average I would burn 500 - 700 calories per day.
General tips for fitness…
Find something that you can seamlessly incorporate into your daily routine. The goal of working out should, in part, be about incorporating a healthier lifestyle. Working out shouldn’t trigger and “Ugh I gotta workout I guess” mentality because you’re basically guaranteeing yourself to fail later on, especially if the only person motivating you to workout is yourself. Tell yourself, “I went to [school, work, other mandatory activity], now I’m going to go workout because that is my schedule.” and stick to it. Before you know it your body will be craving exercise and the schedule will be easier to maintain than ever.
Listen to your body if something hurts. Treadmills hurt my knees, ankles and hips a ton. That’s one of the main reasons I switched to the manual treadmill.
You don’t need to buy a new wardrobe to workout in, but find clothes that are suitable for the activity you’re doing. Since I only do cardio, I stick to leggings, a fitted tank top and Nikes made specifically for running. Footwear is extremely important when working out!
Find something that drives you to work out. For me, sure working out is fun, but it’s mainly my excuse to read. I feel so guilty when I read - I feel like I should be cleaning, doing homework, hanging out with my boyfriend, etc. But when I work out the world goes away and I can finally enjoy the story guilt free. Maybe you feel that way about watching shows or listening to podcasts - give it a try! Your brain will associate the two activities and it’ll help you not only crave exercise, but you have an excuse to enjoy the activity as well.
The most important tip I can offer throughout all of this is to not weigh yourself for the first month or so. Weighing myself constantly was always my downfall when I tried dieting and exercising before. I’d either get impatient and give up, or get complacent and tell myself I could skip the gym or eat poorly because I saw results. Give yourself a solid four weeks to put in the time and sweat five times a week and completely change your eating habits. Your body will grow stronger and you’ll feel yourself grow more confident. You’ll have done such an amazing job that when you step on the scale at the end of the month you’ll never want to go back to your old way of living again.
Remember that weight loss is a journey and everybody goes at their own pace. Not eating/regurgitating food/binging isn’t the way to achieve your goal body long-term. Developing a healthy way of eating and a manageable exercise goal is - and if I can do it, I know you can too :)
