40 pounds in 6 months

I'm 28 years old, 5'7" and have lost 40 pounds in 6 months. I started at 205 lbs and now weigh 165. I achieved this through walking, hiking, occasional weight lifting, and of course counting my calories. My normal routine now is to walk about 5 miles a day, and when i get home stretch, do some yoga poses and do about 15 minutes of strength training.



I think I owe most of my weight loss to counting calories. I've tried low carb, blah blah blah different diets, and none of them work long term. I now eat whatever I want, as long as it fits into my calorie goals. I find that snacking is not good for me. I pretty much eat 3 square meals a day, drinking flavored sparkling water when hungry between meals. The only thing I ever snack on is sliced cucumber with lime and salt, fruit, or raw veggies like tomatoes and carrots. I shop at trader joes and buy their frozen and refrigerated entrees. Tamales, burritos, curry, small pizzas, greek orzo salad etc. For breakfast I eat two eggs with a tortilla, or oatmeal. For lunch and dinner I have trader joe entrees with less than 400 calories each. At the end of the day I usually have calories left over, and will treat myself to a cookie, almonds, yogurt, or wine.

I never feel like im starving or depriving myself. At first this was difficult, and I found the thing to get me through it was the trader joes sparkling waters. I would drink two a day and the bubbles filled my stomach and helped me make it to my next meal.

Find a place you like walking. A nice trail, the beach, a nice neighborhood or wherever. At first I went hiking with a friend every morning. Two months later I moved to a beach city, so now I walk on the beach or the strand. Its beautiful and I get lost in my thoughts and music. I hate when I go a day without walking now. You have to find your happy place!

I hope this helps someone out there! I feel so much better now, and will continue to lose more weight. Its so easy now! My main pieces of advice are to count your calories, walk at least an hour a day, and drink sparkling water when hungry! Good luck.