I feel like such a winner! Wait, a LOSER! I lost 26 pounds since September and I feel great! I still have 25-30 pounds more to lose, so I can't stop now, but now that I have come this far I know I can do it!
The thing I learned the most throughout this part of my weight loss journey is that it doesn't happen overnight. I started out slow and some weeks got frustrated when the scale didn't move. But I found that focusing on day to day and week to week, all of those small losses add up! If I would've started the competition and my personal weight loss journey by saying I had to lose 25 pounds by December, there is now way I would've done it. I honestly didn't think I'd lose even 20 so I am incredibly happy with my results, but it really helped not to focus on a huge goal but just go week by week.
That is why this competition helped me so much. Even though I wasn't losing weight FOR the competition, it really helped to have a weigh-in each week and someone to report my weight to so that I was held accountable. I always knew that I'd have to weigh in each week so I focused on my results each week rather than looking at the big picture of a huge goal.
So my advice to anyone trying to lose weight - take it one day and week at a time and the results will build up! Your results may not be noticeable at first, but 3 months and 26 pounds later, you will feel great! :)
Also, I do owe a lot of my loss to the Atkins diet. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone and frankly I hated it for the first few months until it became habit for me, but it really made a huge difference in how I eat, stabilized my blood sugar, stopped a lot of my cravings, and has given me a reason to avoid processed foods and sugary foods! Eggs can get boring (that's mainly what I eat since I'm not much of a cook), but I get filled up faster than before and don't get hungry as often, so I do recommend this lifestyle if you have issues with carbs and yo-yo weight. It is definitely a lifestyle change and eventually I will add in fruits and whole grains when I have lost all the weight I need to and move on to the maintenance phase, but obviously it's not something where once I decide I'm done losing weight, I can go back to eating pasta every night and sugary desserts and breads. That's where all the weight can come back on after dieting. This is definitely not a quick fix, but a way of living.
I am happy with the fact that I am eating healthier than ever before and losing weight, and I am determined to stick with this lifestyle! Thanks to everyone for your support, and especially to my cousin who started the Biggest Loser competition and encouraged me throughout the past 3 months!
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