There’s always a dress lying in our closet that we want to fit into. But how? Don’t think of giving it for alteration, haha. Rather give yourself 3 months to make some lifestyle changes and believe me you won’t regret your decision.

Born and Brought up in a Punjabi Indian family undoubtedly means that I am a food lover 🙂 who used to consume a lot of calories and fats in my diet. I have never been a size 0 in my lifetime, not even size 6. And the situation worsened post pregnancy when my baby couldn’t get even 1/7th of those extra pounds I packed on during my pregnancy. All I was left was those 33 pounds to lose with hypothyroid (A gift of pregnancy), yikes. I could manage to lose 5 pounds in 2 years after following some fad diets, losing some and regaining some. This is the determination level I had until that one day that changed my life and there’s no looking back.

A very dear friend who always admired me, told me that I should do something to reduce my weight as I don’t look good anymore. That was a turning point which led me change my lifestyle. So here I am sharing some tips that I followed to lose weight.

1. Lose Weight Slowly

As I mentioned in my other post Summer bodies are made in winters losing weight gradually doesn’t pressurize you much and we still can achieve our goals. By targeting to lose 1 pound or less per week you can eat enough to fuel workout performance. I used MyFitnessPal app to track my calorie consumption and consumed 1200 calories initially according to my weight and type of activities. This app calculates the calories you need to consume in order to lose weight according to your weight, activity and the amount of weight you want to lose per week.

2. Fiber Up Your Diet

Exercising alone won’t do the job, you must eat a clean and healthy diet rich in fibers like oats, brown rice, fruits and vegetables. Consume a lot of vegetables as they are rich in fiber. They will keep you full and have less calories. Vegetables like cucumber, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots are healthy and low in calories. You can also look for foods that are high in volume and less in calories to satiate your hunger.

3. The Harder the Workout, The Better for Burning Fat

This may seem counter intuitive, but the more efficiently you perform a cardio session, the less effectively it burns calories. If your session feels easy, that means your body has adapted to it, and it requires less energy to accomplish the task than before when you weren’t as good at that activity. You can also take 2 days workout break per week if your body has adapted to a workout so that when you resume, you put more energy in that workout. Target at least 10,000 steps every day. Do some strength training once or twice a week to build more muscles as muscles burn more calories.

4. More Protein, More Fibrous Carbs

Protein is the most important macro nutrient for building muscles as muscles burn calories. It is essential to include more protein in our diets if we are planning to lose weight. It also makes us feel full, so we will be less hungry and eat fewer calories. Being a vegetarian, I didn’t have much high protein options, so I opted for protein supplements for the major protein intake. Don’t forget to drink lots of water with high protein diet.

Carbs provide us energy for workouts so we cannot completely eliminate them. Reducing carbs in our diet makes us look leaner but a minimum of 40g of carbs are necessary for bodily function. So don’t stop eating carbs as it will make it hard to sleep. Rather substitute the carbs that we take normally with some fibrous carbs which are healthy and good for losing weight. Make sure to include carbs post-workout, because they play a role in reducing muscle breakdown.

5. Add a Fat Burner to Intensify Your Workout

I have always been a coffee lover so I start my day with a black coffee. Caffeine is said to be one of the most effective fat burning ingredient. That doesn’t mean it alone can trigger weight loss without proper diet and exercise. Including caffeine before a workout can provide the kick needed to intensify the workout. But don’t exceed more than 3 cups of coffee a day as it might end up in insomnia.

6. Cheat Your Meals

For a person like me who had to compromise a lot on my taste buds, cheat meal was a boon 🙂 It means eating more calories and carbs on some days than other to maintain the metabolism. I used to cheat meals after every 10 days to trick my hormones and it kept me going. When you eat fewer calories than you are burning, the body slows down its metabolism to be more efficient, and you will stop losing weight. Cheat days tricks the body to shift the metabolism higher by introducing more calories for a limited time. Cheat meals also stave off cravings thereby preventing you to stop midway.

P.S My Hypothyroid is cured due to the lifestyle changes. I lead a healthy lifestyle and have more energy now.

Sample Diet plan for 1200 calories:

Vegetarians can substitute eggs with 1/2 cup cottage cheese

I lost 27 lbs. in a year by following above lifestyle changes. If I can do it, then so can you! If you liked my post then do drop in your comments.

You can also shop my post below:

Stay fit, Stay healthy!

XOXO