When anyone see the before and after photos of a body transformation, the thought that almost immediately comes to mind is how did they do it? The reality is that between those two photos being taken, there is a painstakingly long and arduous journey. A journey with peaks and troughs, there are many plateaus and moments where you’re avalanched beneath a snow storm of doubt and without the gratification of immediate results, it’s so very easy to give in and revert to type and return to the habits of the past.
Particularly on social media, there is very little credence given to the tussles that go on within, the battles of will and the torment of inner turmoil. People say trust the process and that success will come but if there are no indicators that the positive change you want to see is in fact round the corner, that’s why so many people begin these journeys but don’t see them through. This is not a criticism or a means of gloating, I was in the same boat.
There are shortcuts but they were wholly unhealthy and in hindsight, I do regret some of the choices I made. Here, you’ll read about some of those choices I made and the lessons that can be taken from my experiences.
Liquid Dieting
When I first set the goal of losing weight, I was coming from a place of ignorance. I had no guidance nor did I seek any assistance, no nutritional advice was given nor any external help provided. If I had received some, this journey would’ve been a lot more straightforward. In truth, at the time, I was too embarrassed to ask.
Instead of identifying my maintenance calories and sustainably looking to steadily lose weight by knocking a hundred to two hundred calories off every day, I was drawn into the vicious cycle of weight loss foods. Rather than establishing a healthy strategy to cause a gradual drop in weight, I instead existed on a crash diet consisting of three Slimfast shakes and a small meal a day.
The use of the term exist is a deliberate one, it was not a happy existence. In hindsight, there was so much lethargy and unnecessary self sacrifice in pursuit of a weight loss goal. Whilst supplementary shakes have a place in one’s diet, to use it as a means of meal replacement is neither worthwhile or advantageous.
Pursuing too much too soon
The term crash diet is used to describe a severe drop in the amount of calories consumed for a short period of time. To many, myself included, it was an extremely attractive proposition as a short term fix to what was a long term problem.
However, it comes at a cost – both physically and mentally. Not only is there a continual feeling of sheer exhaustion from a shortage of fuel, there are mood swings and you become erratic and easily irritable, it doesn’t lean towards a sustainable means of losing weight or contributing to a healthy state of mind.
More often than not, and it was the case with me as well, the weight lost through such a drastic lifestyle change was immediately piled back on as the regulation of portion size when reverting back from a severe caloric deficit was extremely difficult to manage.
Mistaking discipline with guilt
Within my household to this day, there is a running joke that chocolate bars and eggs from Easter would still be sitting there come my birthday the following April, the reason being that I was so disciplined that I could resist the temptation and allure of some milk chocolate flavoured egg. There would be occasions where I would be sat around the table with my family whilst they tucked into a takeaway and I would eat simply nothing or a small meal prepared for myself.
Whilst for a time I was proud of how disciplined and determined I was to better my life by focusing more on my health, the shine of that badge of honour dulls by the day when I reflect on what was I doing.
I was conflating discipline with guilt. The reason why I deprived myself of chocolate and takeaways and various treats was that in my mind, it would derail all the hard work and progress that I had made up to that point. I was of the belief that any slip up and I would revert to my old ways. The reality of the matter is the odd takeaway or some chocolate isn’t going to drag you further away from your goals.
Obsessing over calories
The final discussion is one which splits opinion and one which I will talk about in a standalone post, however, it can be briefly addressed here also. Counting calories and understanding what you are putting into your body is undeniably effective when you’re pursuing a weight loss goal.
However, I found myself becoming obsessed with calorie counting. I would weigh low calorie vegetables such as cucumbers and tomatoes to know precisely how many calories I was consuming with each meal.
I would even elect to have a takeaway or go out to eat at a place where I knew the nutritional information was available, and would feel uncomfortable when eating from or at a place where the nutritional information wasn’t available.
I can even recall occasions where I would be flustered and frustrated if my weighing scales weren’t working and I would feel like I had lost control over what I was putting into my body, reflecting on this, it was clear that this behaviour was, if not marginally abnormal, extremely unhealthy.
Particularly early in my pursuit of losing weight and in the midst of my phase of crash dieting, there were many evenings where I would be noticeably hungry. However, I was of the belief that I had to remain disciplined and stay within the remits of my daily calories allowance.
If I crept above the number for any reason, I was of the belief that eating would become an excessive habit and I would pile the pounds back on that I had worked so hard to lose. Rather than taking the healthier option of listening to my body and acknowledging that, in fact, I did require a further meal or more food, I instead fell deaf and would just drink water and go hungry for the remainder of the day.
The scar tissue still remains, I still to this day count my calories but I like to think it comes from a much healthier place. There is no longer an obsessive need to count calories and I am not as meticulous or fixated on what I am putting into my body, it was more counting macro nutrients as part of a wider fitness regime.
Conclusions
What can be reading above is my experiences on an anecdotal level and on many occasions, I have reflected upon some of these decisions and wished that I had done things differently. Making the first steps to take control of your own life and seek to better yourself in pursuit of the best version of yourself is one of the bravest and most noble decisions that can be made.
The lessons to be taken from the mistakes that I have made is that moderation is needed. Counting calories and maintaining in a caloric deficit are near enough essential in pursuit of weight loss, but it has to be done in moderation.
If there was one thing I would want you to take from reading this post it would be this, taking a single step in the right direction deserves plaudits and acknowledgement. However, unbeknownst to a previous version of myself, it does not have to be a journey in which continual self sacrifice and depriving yourself of certain foods and experiences is a necessity.
It doesn’t have to be like that, rather than it being a necessary evil and part of a means to an end, gradual progression and healthier choices can and are just as effective as the dangerous drastic measures, and for the betterment of your own health, both physically and mentally, it is better to avoid taking the shortcuts.