Going to the gym, expensive supplements, yo-yo dieting, learning from countless resources and journals, going to a nutritionist I did it all and none of them really worked. Until around last year, I started simplifying everything and stopped thinking about the word “ weight loss”. I didn’t really stress about it much and I am proudly losing 60 pounds off as of now. I still have more to go though.

Last year, I managed to lose 57 pounds in 7 months since the first time I started this journey but when I was living again at my old place, I started eating outside a lot, snacking and doing little movement. As a result, I gained a few more pounds back. It became a lot more intense when my biological dad passed away and a dozen other family problems that challenged me early this year. Just like I always knew, my first choice of coping was food.

It took me a while to finally lose 60 pounds off after some initial gain. I started realizing that it was my coping mechanism that needed to change. So, these past 3 months, I eventually found a better coping mechanism whenever I am in a bad mood or feeling stressed. In the past, I used to eat my pain away because that was the coping that I used to know until I changed that habit into something more positive. Whenever I am stressed or angry, I would simply find something to clean than eat.

Intermittent fasting has definitely been my go-to although these days I don’t do OMAD (one meal a day anymore), I am swapping it with 13 hours fast. There’s not really much change in the way I eat other than I eat a lot of eggs these days. My typical breakfasting meal is egg wraps with cheese and coffee although there are days when I let myself a little loose and that involves eating what my mom cooks.

How I did it, well mostly....

My dinner can be anything but lately, I am making 3 boiled eggs and sometimes a little snack time like today, I got an almond croissant for my desserts. I am a snacker so instead of eating them at night, I am having them during the day before my workout. If I am still feeling hungry at night, I would eat one or two boiled eggs and that would fix my grumbly stomach. I also don’t really count calories but to roughly estimate I eat around 1200-1500 calories a day for the past 3 months.

What I eat, workout and other stuffs

Do I workout? Well yes except now I am a lot more consistent with it and don’t really stress it out. I got a workout mattress and some weights to help me with it at home. When I feel like it, I would go for a swim although these days, I prefer to workout at home than going for a swim. I also workout for an hour except Saturday and Sunday which are my rest days.

Do I get bored with the food I eat? In the past, yes but these days I find that I really love eating eggs, chicken breast and I can eat them forever. So, I just simplified the food that I eat. I don’t really care much about rice but I am a sucker for tortillas and bread. I don’t eat instant noodles anymore because I get so used to making them on my own.

Do I eat vegetables and fruits? Honestly, I don’t care much about them but I am trying to add some vegetables at least once every few days. I am a little picky with my veggies but I like anything that’s crunchy like raw salads or sometimes I make salads like this, that combine vegetables and fruits.

Long life battle of self-image issues and confidence

While my weight loss isn’t really crazy, it’s a personal journey of mine that took a long time. I fixed my body image issues, my relationship with food, my childhood trauma, and my confidence. I used to think this picture below was a landwhale/overweight until I experienced what a landwhale truly is. I didn’t really know much about how to tone my body then and wasn’t really into fitness or aestheticism as today. But that’s okay! I’ll be at my healthiest weight soon.

I also used to have low self-esteem despite being at my lowest weight. Strangely I had more confidence when I got fat and overweight. I eventually find that weight has nothing to do with confidence. I used to be a goofball and trust me, I never cared if someone called me ugly until something happened that ruin my self-esteem, now I am okay with like showing my face and being a goofball and a lot less serious

Now, I am okay with whatever is said on the scale but at the same time, for the sake of my health and aesthetic, I definitely prefer to be at my old weight. I’ve still got a lot to work but let this be a reminder of my journey battling self-image issues and how I eventually overcame it.