Woman Loses Almost Half Her Body Weight With Three Simple Changes

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If you surf the Internet much, you might have seen the amazing journey one woman documented on her webpage. “Amanda” was 26 years old and weighed 222 pounds (100 kilos). During the course of a single year, she lost an amazing 88 pounds (40 kilos) and achieved an astounding transformation. Amanda took a photo of herself every month to prove that she was actually losing the weight she claimed.

When you look at these photos, her body transformation is certainly amazing, but you can also see she looks happier and perhaps even filled with more self-esteem in every picture. She begins to look more confident and pleased with her results.

On her webpage, Amanda admits that her weight loss voyage took place in her mind as well as her body, and that it resulted in a positive emotional investment. She is now trying her best to help and encourage others who want to lose weight, but she emphasizes the perfect beauty of individuality.

How did she do it?

It’s easier than you might think. Amanda did not go on any fad diets or fasts. She didn’t work with a personal trainer. She didn’t starve herself, and she didn’t run a marathon. Amanda simply applied three changes to her life and took on a gradual weight loss approach.

Change #1: She Consumed a High Protein, Low Carb Diet

Eating a high protein diet is perhaps one of the best ways to lose weight. Research shows that eating a diet rich in protein can prevent obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, as well as keeping LDL cholesterol (that’s the bad cholesterol) levels low. Most people don’t consume enough protein, and if you are trying to get rid of that oh-so-stubborn belly fat, eating more protein is the key.

Why did this work?

Since our bodies find it harder to digest protein, it stays in our system longer and our bodies work harder to metabolize it. This will leave you feeling fuller and burning extra calories. Also, eating protein forces your body to burn fat, not muscle. The amino acids in protein are used for building muscle — they can’t be stored as fat, and as a result you will look more toned.

Consume plenty of complete proteins. We call protein complete when it contains all nine of the amino acids that are needed to build muscle. Some of the best sources of this are:

Quinoa
Skinless poultry (such as chicken or turkey)
Eggs
Hemp seeds
Buckwheat
Seafood
Pork
Lean beef
Low fat dairy ( milk, yogurt, cheese)

Most people should eat between 0.5 grams and one gram of protein per pound of body weight each day. If you are more active, go for the one gram. If you are more sedentary, go for the 0.5 grams.

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2. She Controlled Food Portions

This doesn’t mean you have to starve — one of the great things about a high protein diet is that you feel full most of the time. But when you are hungry, you will simply distribute your food in a healthier way. This takes a bit of practice, but it’s mostly a matter of habit. For example:

Limit yourself to three meals and two healthy snacks each day
Eat slower to allow time for your brain to register that you are full
Use smaller plates to trick your brain into thinking you are eating just as much as before. You might also want to try using blue plates and glasses as studies have shown that, for some unknown reason, people who eat off blue plates eat less. (This wasn’t a trick Amanda used, just a suggestion from us.)
Share appetizers with friends rather than eat a full meal.
Immediately ask for a doggie bag and cut your meal in half.
Increase your servings of vegetables and fruits (not fruit juice, however)
Read labels regarding serving sizes. Many cereal bowls hold two cups of cereal, but the manufacturer says that a 100 calories serving is only three-fourths of a cup.

Also, keep in mind that just because you are served a large portion does not mean you must eat it. Many of our mothers taught us to get the most for our money or that we should eat everything on our plate to not be “rude,” but those days have passed. Eating as much as we could was something we needed in 1915, but not in 2015.

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3. She Did Moderate Exercise

Note that this says “moderate exercise.” Amanda did not train for a marathon. She did not try out for the Olympics. She didn’t join a running club or work out at the gym for two hours a day. Amanda simply engaged in moderate exercise for 30 minutes each day. She probably did her research first.

One study divided men into three groups. One group was told to do no exercise. The second group was told to engage in some type of exercise for 30 minutes a day. The third group was told to engage in high intensity exercise for one hour every day. All the men were instructed to not change their diets.

It was the men in group 2, who exercised for 30 minutes each day (most men chose to do cycling or jogging) that lost the most weight. Researchers believe that this is because the men who were doing intense exercise were hungrier so they ate more. They also would feel tired, so they probably rested the remainder of the day.

This means that 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day is a good middle ground to take when trying to lose weight. This isn’t enough exercise to make you terribly hungry and force you to eat more, but it is enough to burn extra calories and tone muscles.

In addition to this, you might want to try taking small steps every day to burn extra calories. These don’t take much time or effort, but all those little extra calories burned will add up. Imagine that if you only burned an extra 50 calories each day through little things such as taking the stairs instead of the escalator or walking the length of the parking lot rather than parking close to the door. This means you would lose about one pound every six weeks or so without even trying. This would be in addition to the weight you would already be losing by following the steps above.

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We just have three little tips you might want to consider when trying to drop a few pounds.

1. Water Down that Juice

Most people love their fruit juice. Who doesn’t? Fruit juice is sweet and nourishing, it’s true. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really fill you up the way the whole fruit does, and it is loaded with a natural sugar called fructose, which can lead to unbalanced blood sugar levels. If you love juice, you can still get the flavor but begin to cut back on the calories and sugar by only filling your glass halfway with juice, and then filling the rest with water. Over time, see if you can cut back to a quarter glass of juice and three-fourths of a glass of water. It’s simply the taste that you are accustomed to, and you will be surprised how quickly you get used to the way this tastes. Plus, you will love your new waistline.

2. Get Pickled!

Well, not that way …we mean eat more pickled foods! Sometimes referred to as fermented foods, eating foods that have been pickled is a fantastic way to help drop some weight while supporting your immune system and gut flora. Try adding some pickled foods to your daily diet. Try some sauerkraut for dinner, pickles for a snack, or take up a glass of kombucha after lunch.

3. Don’t Skip Breakfast

You hear this all the time “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” That doesn’t make this statement any less true! Be sure you eat some protein every morning for breakfast, such as eggs on whole grain toast, or a vegetable smoothie, or some nuts in your oatmeal. Eating protein for breakfast will help prevent those mid-morning cravings for donuts and coffee. Eating breakfast will help to stop you from making poor food choices later in the morning because your body is starving for some energy.

References:

Edition.cnn.com

Ajcn.nutrition.org

Hsph.harvard.edu

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