I lost over 60 lbs during the Pandemic and Here’s How
2020 was grim, but some good came out of it for me. I was able to take some time to improve myself. I started making serious lifestyle changes with diet and exercise that transfigured my physical health and as result lost over 60 lbs.
I knew I was overweight, the mirror reminded me every morning — thank you mirror for the reminder. I’d been battling with being obese for a few years, but struggled to find time nor energy to work on it.
I took this opportunity of isolation/quarantine to work on my body. I’d been working on my mental health and career, but longed for a 160-degree change — so working on weight was inevitable. Exercise and diet was the next step to completing the optimal me I was building.
I believe before implementing a big change in your life it requires thought time — a dissection process of figuring out your purpose and mission to develop the goals.
For a few weeks, I journaled my eating habits — what I was eating vs. what I needed to change. I read health blogs, researched scientific studies (Harvard Healthy, Mayo Clinic, etc.), and extrapolated tips to formulate a new healthy lifestyle. After going over all my data, I pulled together a plan.
My basis was to make it simple. I stood on this pretense,
Do what you can do and be consistent
Keeping this in mind carried me through the ups and downs of this process. It kept me going through the down periods when I wanted to quit. I guess you can say this was my mantra.
A Change in my Eating Overall
Before the pandemic, I ate out more than half of the time very unhealthy fried and processed foods. Since the restaurants were on a hard lockdown in March, I was forced to cook which was a blessing.
I began cooking every meal. I was able to see what was being put in it which was starting to make me conscious of what I was putting in my body.
I started cutting my portions in half and making lighter meals baking instead of frying.
Sugary filled pastries and expressos were replaced with nutritious protein shakes for breakfast and lunch. I cut down on sugar and caffeine which was a toxic mix. I experienced caffeine headaches and felt lethargic for a month, but it soon went away. Afterward, I felt a surge of energy.
Instead of eating sweets to satisfy my sugar cravings, I had fruit, nuts, and non-dairy yogurt.
For dinner, I ate salads filled with fish and vegetables. I looked for salad recipes to gain ideas. I was no big salad eater, so I put in ingredients I knew I liked. I was making lifestyle, long-term changes and did not want to revert to the unhealthy pilate I was eating prior, so it was important to make the tastiest, healthy salad I could conjure up.
Making it fun
One of my favorite salads was the garlic-thyme shrimp salad. I added spinach, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, tri-color peppers, avocados, multi-colored peppers, yum! I wanted my salad to look like a tropical rain forest, full of color. I made it my own little creative game by choosing a color palette each day and used vegetables to match those colors. It was fun trying to match up purple, green and orange veggies, but surprisingly it turned out delicious. The game distracted me from missing the foods I ate before. I tricked my brain into liking the more healthy food choices I was eating — I am so glad I found something that finally worked on my own terms.
A Different Protein
Out of my assessment, I discovered I was not eating enough fish. I needed more Omega-3 in my diet to counter the depression/anxiety. I felt I was eating too much beef and chicken full of antibiotics and other additives-so I temporarily stopped eating them both. I wanted to give my system a rest and cleanse it of meat overload. I chose fish as my protein. I was a part-time pescatarian. I ate every kind of fish in the sea, rivers — I am literally “all fished out”. I narrowed it down to three I loved which were salmon, cod, and shrimp. I ate shrimp for most of that time, until realizing it was raising my blood pressure. I ate it sparingly and leaned more on salmon and cod more regularly for my heart’s sake.
It was important to select healthy foods that taste good, otherwise, I would not keep this up for long. I was exploring and developing this strong interest in my health. I became my own nutritionist and was getting to know me inside out.
Cut out the Salt
I cut out the salt and used healthier non-salt seasonings like turmeric, thyme, cumin, and garlic powder. Did I say cumin? Oh, how I loved cumin. It has this unique flavor that quickly replaced salt. It transformed my fish into a restaurant-worthy palate. I like combining it with thyme and lemon giving it an island flavor.
After a couple of months, my taste buds were reset not to crave the heavily salty and fried foods I’d indulged in before. My body had adapted to the change around mid-July.
No Mo’ Diary
I’d been a non-compliant lactose intolerant individual for a long time, ignoring the rejection to the diary because of my love for it.
If your body is rejecting something, listen to it. It has no other way of communicating to you other than through ailments and pains.
I went non-diary like a champ. This was not easy, but once I began adding alternatives like vegan cheese, (I was already drinking milk alternatives)I soon forgot about it. My favorite vegan cheese is Violife “just like Smoked Provolone slices.” It tastes just like cheese and melts with a familiar texture. I’d found peace with letting dairy go and my body thanked me for it.
- I’ve now lost 40 lbs.
Dessert Facelift — Going Gluten-free
I gave up anything with gluten in it because this was another signal my body was sending me. I was still having some digestive issues like bloating after eating gluten-rich foods. Once I eliminated gluten, it was like deflating a tire — my stomach went down, tremendously. I stopped eating bread of any kind or anything with flour in it. I struggled but found alternatives to feed the longings for my floury favorites. I went back to my southern roots and started baking. I searched gluten-free recipes for chocolate chip cookies and butter cookies, as these were big favorites of mine. Surprisingly, they turned out really good and had the texture of a flour-based cookie. Gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe HERE
Making this change saved my diet because I was almost about to just die without having at least one cookie.
As a sweetener, I used maple syrup and sometimes made my own homemade applesauce. Homemade applesauce receipt HERE
Using these alternatives cut down more than half of my sugar intake. I was feeling better and not as sluggish. My taste and tolerance had lessened and I no longer craving it as strongly as I had before. I was winning!
Another way I curbed the sugar cravings was by drinking tea. I developed a love affair with tea that turned into a full-grown marriage. I drink green tea every day and several times a day. It is jam-packed with antioxidants — age-defying nutrients and supports a healthy immune system.
My favorite brand is Twinnings and Taylors Harrowgate tea. Both brands are a high-quality UK brand I absolutely love. Twinnings has a Jasmine Green Tea that goes well with my daily dose of collagen powder in the morning.
Intermittent fasting — my way
I changed my eating schedule and tried intermittent fasting around August. It took some getting used to and found the standard times did not work for me.
So I did what I could do and was consistent and created my own schedule consisting of 17:9. I ate in a 9-hour window and fasted for 17 hours. It was a schedule I could stick to. I was no longer waking up at midnight overeating. I began eating at 10 am and closed down the kitchen at 7 pm.
It was becoming easier to make these changes because of the discipline I was forming in my daily routine. I cut out so many calories with intermittent fasting and it has strengthened my endurance to workout, walk long distances, and to stand on my feet longer.
- I was now 50 lbs lighter
Supplement Power!
I’d read and researched the type of vitamins that would help me with my physical health and wanted to get started to evaluate the impact it would have on my weightloss journey. Some of the results were instant and others took a little longer.
I started simply with gummy multi-vitamins. I didn’t really see too much of a change until I began the spirulina. This was my holy grail of vitamin supplements. Spirulina alkalized the body and pushes out toxins. As it was taking out the bad, I was adding in more good. I started adding collagen powder daily in my morning tea. My skin looks 10 years younger, dark spots began to disappear. I felt like the transformation of Bella in Breaking Dawn from frail human to badass vampire! My body was getting a full makeover and I began feeling like a new person.
For lunch I made protein shakes with PBFit protein powder, spirulina, oat milk, and a banana. It became my wake me up shake and was very filling.
Since I was working from home and was getting little sunlight, I began taking Vitamin D tablets 3 days per week.
After these superpower vitamins/supplements, I felt brand new, it had awakened everything in my body. I had more energy to start my mornings at 5 am to meditate/pray, exercise, and write. I was transforming and people were beginning to notice. Friends, family, and neighbors all told me how great I looked and how much weight I’d lost.
My list of vitamin superpowers!
Multivitamins — Gummy vitamins
Amandean Collagen Peptides Powder (now using Marine Collagen)
Spirulina Powder Organic — USDA Certified
PBFit All-Natural Protein Powder
Every change I made was researched and tried for at least 30 days before continuing. I am very careful about what I put in my body. It is very important to read the labels, reviews and research the company of the products you consume.
Exercise
I am lazy in the morning and had not exercised in a long time. I was not at the fitness level to do a Jillian Michael’s workout and avoided her at all cost. I needed something low impact gentle on my injuries.
My lower back pain and Achilles heel limited me from doing HITT types of workouts. Jumping and running were not activities I could do, so I did something simple and light — I marched/walked in place.
Every morning I got dressed as though I was walking outside and took this very seriously. I marched/walked starting out for 5 minutes. It was simple and I didn’t feel pressure to work out at a fitness level I could not perform. I did what I could do and was consistent — remember the mantra.
I walked in place 6 times per week, slowly increasing the time from 5 minutes to reaching 30. After a few months, I made a slight change to my routine to fit in strength training with resistance bands. My schedule looked like this:
3 days per week — (MWF), walk-in place — 30 minutes
3 days per week (Tues, Th, Sat), strength train with resistance bands — 7 different movements — 15 reps / 3 rounds
It wasn’t stressful and harsh on my joints or back. I continued this all year and it became something that was necessary and not optional.
I started watching virtual nature scenes on YouTube twhile walking to prevent boredom. I chose scenes that were in places I plan to visit like the countryside of England. The videos gave me the distraction I needed to walk longer and at a faster pace, raising my heart rate.
Two of my favorite virtual nature scenes:
Walk by the Sea — Devon, England HERE
Ancaster Lake Walk, English Countryside HERE
- I lost over 60 lbs
The time of isolation was an incubator of monumental change. Taking small, stress-free, sustainable steps were key to losing weight — resetting my body. This was part of my Plan-160 Degree to Change Me. Since then, I’ve made more changes and still losing weight. I plan to write an update of where I am and what’s next.