5 Realistic Lifestyle Shifts That Helped Me Lose Weight (65 lbs)
Weight-loss does not have to be a life-sucking cycle.
Our society praises quick transformations to a fault - leading to the celebration of 30-day transformations that only celebrate who can restrict the most calories in the shortest amount of time. This is extremely unrealistic and unsustainable for the average person.
The truth is, your body cannot healthily function on 900+/- calories a day for an extended period of time. In most cases, on top of being severely malnourished, you’ll feel so hungry that you’ll end up breaking your diet, binge-eating, and gaining all of the weight you lost back on (or even more).
As tempting as it is to answer the calls of the highly restrictive, low-calorie fat diets that constantly flood popular media, it’s important to remember that these tactics create an unrealistic narrative for weight-loss as they fail to teach you how to maintain the progress you’ve made.
At face value, they kind of normalize yo-yo dieting as they welcome you to return to them once your jeans begin to fit too snug again or the scale number begins to increase a few weeks following the completion of your challenge or diet plan.
Weight-loss doesn’t have to be a stressful, never ending cycle. Healthy, maintainable results is possible without all of the fluff circulating.
Will it take more time? Definitely.
Do you have to put in the work? Absolutely.
Will it be a difficult journey? Anything meaningful will push you out of your comfort zone.
Nevertheless, with the time and energy you invest in sustainable weight-loss, you also pick up skills and habits to help you maintain your progress over the course of the rest of your life.
If you’re not sure where to start, below I’ve shared 5 realistic habits that helped me lose weight.
*Please note: these habits alone may not result in direct weight-loss. Rather, it’s important to view them as habits to support your overall healthy lifestyle. At the end of the day, again, weight-loss focuses on being in a caloric deficit (whether you choose to achieve that through eating less, moving more, or a combination of the two). These habits are shared from my own personal experience.
Build up to dedicating at-least 30 minutes of purposeful exercise a day
This does not necessarily mean that you should sign up for a gym membership, hire a personal trainer, or purchase a workout guide right away (or at all). Don’t pick something just because it is advertised for helping you to lose weight (especially if you only want to do it to lose weight but don’t enjoy it). Pick a form of exercise that you enjoy and would enjoy continuing to do over an extended period of time. Any movement that is more than you usually would do is progress!
Some examples of purposeful exercise:
Weight-lifting
Dance class
Sports (basketball, volleyball, baseball, hockey, etc.)
Yoga
Just Dance on the Wii or Switch
Walking/Running/Biking Outdoors
Hiking
Swimming
Rock climbing/Boulder
HIIT Training
Participating in your favorite group fitness class
Before joining a gym, I used to go on 1-hour hikes with my boyfriend and our dog about 3-4 times a week. This really helped me get my foot in the door for exercise without it initially feeling like exercise. Then, once hikes felt like part of my weekly routine, I added 15 minutes of morning yoga to my morning routine (and did this for about a year). And when I was finally ready to take exercise seriously, I joined a gym and fell in love with lifting weights.
Although I began my fitness journey realistically, in 2019; I did take little steps from 2017 up until then to build endurance and balance through shorter spurts of exercise.
Increase your N.E.A.T. throughout the day
N.E.A.T. stands for non-exercise activity thermogenisis and focuses on any non-purposeful activity you do throughout the day. This could be your activity level at work, your steps throughout the day, or even hobbies or activities you do for fun.
What many people forget is that calories are burned all throughout the day (not just during exercise). Because calories are our body’s energy currency, we naturally expend energy by simply living and going about our every day life. The less sedentary you are, the more energy your body needs to make you move and function.
When you increase your non-exercise activity, you’re increasing the calories your body burns.
Some examples may include:
Walking/Commuting to work/school instead of driving
Working an active job where you’re moving or on your feet more
Parking in the furthest parking spot from the store to get extra steps in
Walk your dog at least once a day
Plan more date nights that involve standing or movement
Buy a standing desk or sit on a balance ball chair for your office
Spending an hour a day doing house work or gardening
Some of my favorite ways to increase my N.E.A.T. include parking a few rows away from the front door of the gym, daily walks around the block with the dog, and weekly dates to the farmers’ market to browse local produce and treats.
Stop drinking alcohol regularly
While having a couple drinks every now and then won’t hurt, regular and/or excessive drinking can lead to excessive calories (and a very unhappy liver).
Did you know that 6oz of Sangria can add up to 200-300 calories, after factoring in the juices and fruits added in? And blended frozen drinks can add up anywhere from 500-900 calories?
I used to leisurely enjoy drinking with friends, but once I factored in how many empty calories I was consuming, I realized it really didn’t align with my wellness goals. I’ve never really been one of those people who associated alcohol with “fun”, to begin with.
I never have alcohol in my home (Yes, even wine! Surprise, surprise!)
I order water when we’re eating at restaurants.
I no longer go on vacation or cottages with friends who need alcohol to have “fun”.
When I do have alcohol, I cap at 1 drink (which only happens 2-3 times a year).
If you’re an avid drinker, this habit may feel daunting - and that’s okay! You don’t need to cut alcohol out, cold turkey. Rather, focus on taking small steps that add up:
If you usually order 5 drinks out with your Girls on Friday night, order 4 this week. Then 3 the next. Etc.
Or if you usually have a glass of wine every night, aim for one less night each week.
It’s the small actions that add up to one another that are more meaningful and are more likely to help you sustain results.
Increase your water consumption
On the other hand, hydration is important to me. I drink roughly 2.2 L of water every single day.
Staying hydrated is important because it helps regulate your body temperature, keep joints lubricated, prevents infections, delivers nutrients to cells, and keep organs functioning properly.
Sometimes, when we’re craving foods or hungry when we just ate, it may just be a sign that you’re dehydrated and need to drink some water.
Being properly hydrated prevents overeating while reaping all of the health benefits!
If you currently drink almost no water throughout the day, aim for 1 bottle (usually 500 ml) a day. And once that feels normal within your daily routine, add an additional bottle (500 ml). And so forth until you have about 2 L of water.
Know what & how much you eat
Portion control was a huge factor in my weight-loss journey. While I don’t measure my food to count calories, I’m always pretty mindful of what foods I choose to put on my plate and how much I decided to plate and eat. I have a pretty good idea how many calories are in certain foods and how to use that to my advantage!
This was groundbreaking for my journey because weight-loss is primarily based on energy (calorie) balance within the body. When we eat in a surplus, we gain weight. When we eat at a deficit, we lose weight.
If you have no idea how much you’re eating, you have no idea if you’re in a surplus, maintenance or deficit.
This is NOT to say “eat as little as possible” because this can create a really problematic relationship with food, eating and your body.
Rather, it’s important to understand what eating at maintenance looks like for YOU. Then SLIGHTLY (I mean it, don’t cut it too small or else it will feel less enjoyable) reduce and/or adjust your portion sizes.
For example, I used to eat 4 eggs (286 calories + 25 g of protein) with breakfast every day. Overtime, I’ve brought it down to 2 eggs + 3 egg whites (194 calories + 23 g of protein).
These were 5 lifestyle shifts that really helped me lose weight. I hope they were helpful to you and inspired some lifestyle shifts that you could potentially incorporate within your own life.
