5 Things I Wish I knew Before Starting My Weight Loss Journey
When it comes to weight loss tips and advice, I have a lot of insights to share. One of the biggest tips I have is to just start.
You’ll never feel 100% ready. You’ll never have all the answers. But that should never keep you from starting. Start small and learn as you go. Many of the lessons you will learn will come from the mistakes you will make.
I lost over 90 pounds, and while I have had much success in the process, I also made my fair share of mistakes (and I continue to make them). Today, I am sharing the 5 things I wish I knew when I was getting started with my journey. I hope my mistakes can help people on their own journey.
Our experiences are unique, and these lessons may or may not apply to you. However, I do think it’s important to share what I learned along the way. This is mostly specific to weight loss, but could be applied to any fitness journey.
1. The Process is Not a Punishment
Weight loss takes a lot of self-discipline, but also self-forgiveness. It is important to let go of the resentment you may feel about your past self. Who you were when you got off track has nothing to do with who you are now.
You have an opportunity to show up for yourself, and you should find a way to enjoy it. If you aren’t enjoying it at all, then something needs to change. I’m not saying that every day should be happy and perfect. No, not at all. This is not an easy process. I’m just saying that overall, you should be liking the process. If you feel like you’re punishing yourself, you aren’t going to want to stick with it. On the other hand, if you’re feeling inspired and empowered, you’re more likely to stick with it. I also talk about this in last week’s post about staying motivated throughout your journey.
2. Weight Fluctuation is Normal
Don’t get so fixated on the scale.
Seriously. The scale is only one objective measure of progress. It doesn’t take changes of body composition into account. You could be losing fat, but building muscle. Maybe your weight isn’t moving, but you lost an inch off your waist. That’s progress.
Also, are you feeling better? Are you more energized? It is so important to find other benefits of working out and eating better beyond weight or aesthetic changes. For example: better sleep, increased alertness, etc.
How often should you weigh yourself?
Honestly, this is different for everyone. For some people, every day works just fine for them. For others, tossing the scale is the answer.
All I will say is that if you choose to weigh yourself frequently, avoid overthinking. It is perfectly normal for your weight to fluctuate up to a few pounds for no obvious reason. There are a number of explanations, but few should be of any concern. Honestly, I wish I had weighed myself less. I would have been less stressed if I had just enjoyed the process more.
3. You Have To Stay Flexible
Yes, make a plan. Yes, have every intention of sticking to it. However, no matter how solid your plan is, life does sometimes get in the way. And that’s ok.
Sometimes you don’t get the chance to meal prep. Or there’s a special occasion and you get off track for a day or two. Or maybe you end up staying at work longer than planned and don’t have time to get your workout in. Life happens, and you need to know how to work with it.
If you really want to make sustainable progress, you need to make this a sustainable process.
I wish I had allowed myself to be more flexible. Whether that meant always having a meal ready to eat at home, or being better about packing snacks. Also, I wish I had been more mindful of the fact that I was going to go to restaurants with friends regularly. Or my mom would bring home a new flavor of Oreo (that obviously, I had to try). At first I really thought I could make a plan and stick to it 100%, but unless you’re preparing for something very specific, it’s not usually necessary to be so strict.
So yes, the more prepared you are, the better. But the more prepared you are for things not to go as planned, that’s even better.
4. It Takes Time to See Significant Progress
You may see initial progress pretty quickly. But if you want to see dramatic changes, you need to stay consistent for a long period of time.
It took me about 3 months to really see a lot of progress, and maybe another 6-10 months for me to see truly substantial progress. The timeline really depends on where you’re starting from, what your goals are, and how you plan to get there. Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t made a complete 180 within a month or two. Even if you aren’t making progress at the pace you were hoping, that doesn’t mean you should give up.
If you give up, that's the only guarantee that you won't reach your goals.
Every day you show up for yourself, you’re one step closer. I really wish I knew this sooner, but I’m so happy I stuck with it despite feeling impatient at times.
5. People Will Treat You Differently
When you start making substantial progress, not only will you notice it, but so will everyone else around you. People will probably treat you differently, which has its positives and negatives.
Overall, I must say that people have been absolutely incredible.
I had no idea just how positive and supportive people would be. I am so flattered that anyone would care about my story. When I first posted my progress, it was mostly just for accountability. People have been so amazing, which has been such a heartwarming surprise.
Now, for the negatives, it is very telling to see how much nicer people are to me now.
I don’t get the dirty looks I used to get. I don’t remember the last time someone body shamed me on the internet. Weight stigma is very real, and I knew that well at my highest weight. You really never forget how terrible people are to you when you are overweight. I’m still the same person and I should have always been treated the same, but I wasn’t. That’s something I could’ve ever been prepared for until I actually experienced it.
So yes, when you dramatically change your body composition, people notice, and people react. It has its pros and cons. But if you’re doing it for yourself, other people’s opinions shouldn’t matter much.
I’m sure there are still many lessons I have to learn as I continue to progress.
Now, I want to hear from you. If you’re in the process of any sort of fitness journey, what has been the biggest surprise so far? What are you learning from it? I’d love to know.
