My Journey to Weight Loss

In my 27 years of existence, I never worried much about my weight. When I was still in college, I was able to remain on a 115-lb scale, effortless. I realized somehow that stress, inadequate sleep and minimal food intake keeps me within that number. A typical college student’s life (or stressed student’s life rather). That holds true even when I was still a bum after graduation, preparing for my board exam. Again, I blame it for stress.

So came when I was already working for an IT company. Though it wasn’t my first job, this is where I started to gain weight. Never worried that much because all the while I thought that I was just able to strike a good balance between my work and my personal life (read: minimal stress). Three years passes before I realized that my scale reads 10 pounds more of my “Ideal’ weight”. I stand 4 feet 11 inches so I was considered over-weight.

Two weeks ago, I started my weight-loss diet. Unlike following other diet fads such as South Beach diet, I based my diet on simple Calorie-deficit principle, or food calorie counting.
This is where your required number of calories daily is computed based on your age, gender, height, current weight and level of daily activity (i.e. sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, very active and extremely active): There are many free calorie counters available online, such as fitwatch

My estimated number of calories needed to maintain my current weight is 1816. Since my goal is to reduce my weight, I’ll be taking off 500 calories daily. That means I can only consume 1300 calories in a day, spread in 5 small meals, or burn the excess of 1300.

Odd as others may consider, but I took pains knowing where my calories will come from. Yes, I started counting calories. I never believed in diet pills or other cereals promising me of weight loss. What I like about this diet is that I can take anything I want, as long as I know how much I am actually taking in, and burning out at the same time.

So I decided to reduce my simple carbohydrates intake, especially white rice. Unlike before where I cannot leave the house without taking rice as my breakfast, I motivated myself to eat oatmeal or whole wheat crackers with tuna, or hard-boiled egg. I also make sure that I will never be tempted to eat rice for snack (yes, I am such a sucker for rice before). So my rice intake is limited during lunch and dinner. I do not believe in No-carbs diet. Every human needs carbohydrates to fuel us up everyday. But as much as possible, take complex carbohydrates instead of simple carbs. Complex carbs need more energy to break down, hence more calories to burn.

I also increased my intake of fruits and vegetables, limit eating processed meats and even noodles. Way back, I usually eat pancit canton with rice. I was surprised that one serving of pancit canton contains 270 calories, pairing it with 1 cup of rice (240 calories) equals a whopping 510 calories. And I was just talking about my usual snack then.

To maximize my weight-loss program, I bought a figure twister disc so I can do some cardio even if I am at home, and cannot go out for a walk with my dogs. I also bought a pair of 2-lb dumbbells so I can add some resistance training in my routine. I was informed that building more muscles helps you burn more fats faster.

And so to measure the outcome of once-I-thought was a silly idea, I made sure I have a bathroom scale. Guess what? In 2 weeks, I was able to shed 6 pounds off my weight. I just need to exercise some more (at least 1 hour daily) to make my way back to my ideal weight *fingers crossed*, while keeping my current diet.

You can also use an online journal such as Dailyplate to track your progress.