how I lost 90+ lbs (without dieting or working out much)

Feb 15th, 2019

You are probably here because you have been following along on my weight loss journey for the last while & you want to know how I did it. I received SO many questions & I thought that a post would be the easiest way to explain what has been working for me & the things that attribute to the 90 lbs that I have lost in the last 2 years.. simply because the things that HAVE worked are definitely things I would have scoffed at a few years ago because of how outrageously simple they would have seemed. It is worth mentioning that in the past, I was the person that literally bought into EVERY single diet fad/trend that I have ever heard about. As I write this, I feel compelled to go through my pantry right this second and pull out every product that I might still have kicking around that I have tried in hopes of finding that one thing that would help me lose weight (and keep it off) while being able to be a part of a sustainable lifestyle. Brace yourself.

over $5000 wasted

I literally wasted thousands of dollars. This is not even close to showing how many other things I have invested in and used up completely. Believe me when I say that I was that gullible girl who fell for every fitness ad on Instagram, I bought in to most of the weight loss/fitness related multi level marketing companies that all my friends seemed to be jumping into. While I can't say that I didn't have success with these products to some degree, nothing really seemed to stick. Either the cost was too high (Isagenix) or the weight came back almost immediately (It Works/Those Crazy Wrap things) Not to mention, some of the products were just gimmicky, unhealthy or just plan crap. Looking back now, I literally was like the "guinea pig" of all the fad/trend diets. For that I paid dearly, not only with my wallet but I also feel like I put my body through the wringer with this approach.


So now you know what didn't work for me. So here is what did, and I have a feeling that you will find these surprising (I know I sure did)

So this has been the most surprising of all. I found out about DietBet through Instagram about a year & a half ago. I decided that I would check it out & I ponied up $35 as my bet that I would lose 4% of my current body weight in order to get my money back as well as splitting the pot with all the other winners. Full disclosure, when I saw that the "pot" was over $200k, it absolutely helped motivate me every day to be more mindful of my eating & actually got me working out again. That $35 investment, although small in the grand scheme of how much money I have literally WASTED on so many weight loss programs, "magic pill" type supplements & meal replacement shakes.. it was just enough to make sure that I was checking in every day to make sure I was on track to losing 4%. When the game had ended & I had hit my goal, I was very excited to see what my share of the pot would be. Even though for that first DietBet I did think that my winnings were going to be a a few hundred dollars, I was not unhappy after learning that I had doubled my money invested & ultimately losing 10 lbs was the bigger reward. I have continued to do DietBets each month, and so far have turned that $35 into $516 & I have lost 43.4 lbs since starting DietBet. If you have never tried DietBet, and want something that will provide accountability & hopefully spark your competitive side, I definitely recommend giving it a try. (I am not sponsored or endorsed in any way by DietBet & if you join my DietBets or any DietBets I do not get any sort of financial kickback or anything, this is truly something that has worked for me and I will continue to do them every month to keep me aligned with my goals until I no longer have 4% of my body weight that I can lose)

diet bet

Eliminating Sitting

Apple Watch/FitBit/Smart Scale/MyFitnessPal:

adaptogens

"a $35 investment turned into over $500 & I continued to lose weight"

I feel like I could do an entire post on this alone, but for now I am just going to give the quick and dirty explanation of why sitting for long periods of time is bad for our health & completely counter intuitive when it comes to losing weight. Put quite simply, our bodies are meant to move. Unless we are sleeping, we should be moving.The more we move, the easier it gets. If your job keeps you sedentary, then you need to find ways to incorporate movement into each hour of the day to combat the negative effects. My job involves a lot of computer work, so I designed this standing desk from Ikea furniture in order to work comfortably.  I am working on a silly & fun little video for anyone who needs tips on how to stay moving when you are stuck at a desk job.

Smart wellness tech can be a secret weapon if you make a habit of using these tools to help you be mindful & aware of your dietary intake, your movement/activity & lack of movement.




Aria Smart Scale - despite popular opinion to not weigh yourself every day, I have found that observing my normal fluctuations in weight through the month & even the day help me stay in tuned with what my body is doing. Also, it helps me discover if certain foods or behaviours are helping or hindering my progress. This scale automatically sends my weight & progress to MyFitnessPal every time I step on.

Apple Watch/FitBit - 10k steps per day. This is an unchanging daily goal. Even if my schedule does not allow for a workout that day, at least I know I am getting in a minimum of 10k steps per day.
Apple Watch/FitBit - I track all my workouts through my watch & it is automatically synced to the MyFitnessPal app which will adjust my calorie goal to reflect my activity levels

MyFitnessPal - I track my food, water & alcohol intake through the app. I have not been following a diet whatsoever, I pretty much eat whatever I want BUT I do try to keep it within my caloric limits set by MyFitnessPal.
Apple Watch stand reminder - If I have been sitting for longer than 15 minutes, my Apple watch gives me a gentle reminder to stand up & move.

The only change I really made as far as dieting/supplements go was incorporating adaptogens/adaptogenic foods into my daily routine. Because of the amazing success I have had I have been putting a lot of time & research into adaptogens in order to become knowledgeable on the why & how adaptogens/foods with adaptogenic properties are literally my secret weapon to weight loss and positive changes to my overall health. I need to point out that, I do not believe in the "magic pill" or "miracle supplement" approach to any product, food or vitamin. However, I personally have experienced dramatic results & noticeable effects from most of the adaptogens I have tried. I will be doing a very thorough & researched post about this soon but for now I will list a summary of what I have tried & the corresponding results I have experienced personally with each.

Maca Root - the real superhero behind finally being able to lose weight. I learned that mana root can help balance hormones as well as regulate metabolism & this was paramount in being able to actually lose weight. I noticed an increase in energy as well as reduced appetite. I use the capsules and add the powder to my smoothies every day.
Ashwaganda - I experienced a better ability to manage stress, reduced anxiety levels & better sleep.
Rhodiola - I noticed a huge impact on my mental acuity, alertness & overall felt more focused.
Turmeric - I noticed a visible reduction in inflammation in my joints & that was enough for me to stick to adding this to my smoothies (even though the taste of it is quite awful)

vee

xoxo


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wellness, balance, health, lifestyle

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