My journey to a healthy life. This is my progress:

thelastnightingale wrote: »

Great work - not just on the weight loss, but that flexibility. I'm in awe of your yoga skills!

Thank you! With practice and consistent workouts I feel like I can achieve pretty much anything. :-) It's certainly a new feeling in my life.

xojenbrassardxo wrote: »

You have no idea how much I needed this today! We have pretty much the exact same "before" body shape and I've just re-started my journey. This is motivating me so much right now, you're story is amazing!

Thank you so much! It's hard at the beginning but when you start seeing results and crushing goals, it becomes addictive. Hang in there!

1MADGIRL wrote: »

Wow you look amazing. I really needed this. I have a slightly higher BMI rate but want to look like your after photo. I had no idea it was achievable in just 3-4 months!!!
What would your best advice be for someone trying to start out?

Hi!
As you said "3-4 months" you probably saw a progress photo from 2018. I look much better now. :-)
You could read the complete thread as I usually mention what I do (nutrition/workouts).



- clean eating
- weight and introduce everything in MFP
- 25% calorie deficit (this applies to your TDEE)
- workout 4-5 times a week, 75% strength/resistance and 25% cardio. In the rest days do yoga/stretching, preferably for flexibility
- eat you daily calorie goal
- hit your macros goals too (I advise 40% carbs, 30% proteins and fats)... after I increased my protein intake in March I saw big changes
- take monthly photos for progress comparison
- plan and prepare your workouts, your meals, everything (I plan and register my meals 4-5 days in advance and I prepare the workout schedule for the entire month
- be organized and don't compromise
- don't let your body go into routine... change the type of workouts and/or intensity monthly
- allow yourself an indulging day per month
- don't impose to yourself absurd restrictions.. eat just about anything but the healthy version and in small portions (I eat daily something sweet but it's usually protein pancake, protein bar, protein shake, fruits)
- learn to be disciplines because you won't feel like working out every time
- cook delicious and diverse meals, this way you won't crave for what others are eating
- drink plenty of water (2-3 liters)
- try to stay in contact with people that have the same fitness goals (the support and motivation matter a lot)
- read and learn about everything (I've learned so much about sport and nutrition in this journey... people are simply to lazy to search, learn and apply)
- set a few major long-time goals and many little ones (they will give you a confidence and motivation boos when you'll achieve them)

I have a couple of YouTube workouts and I create my workouts schedule with them.
For Beginners:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLDdBvG_9ls2Y-y1qamXXotLrJwCYriikC

Also the Female fitness - Women Workout app (28 days full body challenge) was great in the first 2 months.

For intermediate:



For those interested, here are a few rules that I follow for a healthy nutrition:
⚠️ I eat 3 main meals and 1-2 snacks (2 if I'm waking up at 5AM).
⚠️ Breakfast and lunch will be richer and something lighter for dinner.
⚠️ Fruits and homemade healthy sweets will be eaten in the first half of the day. 200-300g of fruits (carbs & fructose = sugar)
⚠️ Eat the meals rich in carbs in the first half of the day. Chose complex carbs like rolled oats, brown rice, wholewheat pasta, potatoes, musli, wholewheat bread etc.
⚠️ I often hear about 'not eating after 6PM'. I call *kitten* on that. If you have 3-4h before going to bed, you can eat at 11PM with no problem. That's dependent on your lifestyle and the time you go to bed. Imagine having dinner at 6PM and going to bed at 2AM. I'd be starving and unable to fall asleep.
⚠️ Have a balanced diet. Nothing must be eliminated 100%, not even sugar (I'm the proof... everything is perfect but I found out that I have low blood sugar. You can eat a little maybe with your morning coffee. I don't believe in reducing a macro nutrient very low (like 10% carbs for the keto diet). I do believe that if you want to gain some lean mass and define your body you'll need 2g of protein/kg body weight.
⚠️ Hydrate well! At least 2L/day. That does not include teas, soups, infused water etc. They are all digested but the water goes straight into your blood (immediate hydration).
⚠️ Plan and prepare your food. Don't eat bland food. Try new recipes! Cook, chose tasty and healthy options, meal prep a few days in advance. If you have a sweet tooth, make sure that you have desert 2 times a day.
⚠️Eat daily vegetables (raw, steamed, baked, boiled and occasionally sauteed).
⚠️When you feel hungry, your body wants nutrients, not empty calories... so eat white bread, white rice, white pasta etc only occasionally. There's no need to mention that you must not eat chips, biscuits and such, right?
⚠️Don't impose absurd restrictions to yourself. That's not sustainable. If there are things that you love and want to keep eating, find their healthy replacements. I still eat ice cream (made of frozen fruits, yogurt and sweeter), sponge cake and many pancakes. You want to enjoy your new lifestyle.
⚠️Have an Indulging day per month and be all in. Eat anything, as much as you want. But eat very clean the rest of the month.
⚠️Workout! Otherwise you'll get skinny fat. And I don't want to hear that you don't have time. Most of us don't have time but we make time. 1h, 3-5 times a week is fine. Don't overdo it.
⛔NO to soda and juice... even fresh juice must be consumed with a limit of 250 ml (lots of sugars) YES: water, unsweetened teas, fruit infused water, black coffee. You can have a smoothie or diet soda from time to time.
⛔NO to potato chips and oil fried peanuts. YES to all raw nuts - they have healthy fats! Almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecan nuts etc.
⛔NO to fried foods. YES to baked/boiled/steamed foods.
⛔NO to store bought fruit yogurt, YES to make your own with fresh fruits. You can also throw some chia seeds or oats in the mix and make a snack out of it.
⛔NO to cold cuts like sausages salami etc YES to traditionally raw-dry low fat meat (like they have on the country side)
⛔NO to sugar (well.. 95% of it), YES to natural sweeter
My most efficient tool in this journey was the Myfitnesspal application. Counting calories made me realize how huge my portions were...

This is it for the start. :-) Good luck!

I have a new personal best: a 6 min 25s wall sit. Look at my face expression when the legs gave in! Hahaha my thighs were ON FIRE! 😂

1MADGIRL wrote: »

Thank you so much for replying. I'm trying. I'm hoping this will become a habit

You're welcome. If you'll do it long enough, it will become a habit (that's the way our brain works). Be patient and don't give up. :-)

Thank you, Kevin!