The Blueprint I Used To Lose 14 Lbs In 2 Months After Years Of Failing To
Without dieting or starving myself
I was stuck.
Overeating every day, having no energy to exercise, rapidly gaining weight, and intense self-hatred.
I gained a whopping 60 lbs in 3 and a half years.
So dear reader, trust me when I say that I know firsthand just how damaging weight gain can be to your physical and mental health.
There’s nothing worse than being unfit and overweight. Being unhealthy bleeds into every area of your life. Nothing feels good.
I must’ve tried at least a dozen times to lose all the weight I’d gained. I failed every time.
Here’s how I’m finally succeeding.
Stop waiting
I stopped waiting. Waiting until I hit rock bottom, waiting until I felt ‘ready’ to change, and waiting until I finally felt like exercising.
Waiting for the right moment is just disguised procrastination.
You lie to yourself, you fool yourself. You think that:
I’ll get my shit together when I finally get sick of myself. I’ll change tomorrow. I’ll start when I feel motivated.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
Start before you’re ready.
Action influences mood. You don’t need to feel like doing it, you just need to do it.
Motivation is an unreliable source. Discipline is far safer option.
Act before you feel ready. It’s much easier to keep going than it is to get started. So just start.
Force yourself. You’re never going to feel fully ready.
Quit being soft on yourself. My mantra is:
How I feel will not dictate what I do.
Think about your death
We think that death is a destination we get to at the end of our lives.
No. It’s happening every day.
Every day that passes brings you a little closer to your last one.
So you’re dying every day. That should determine how you live.
Ask yourself:
If I continue on my current path, what will my life be like 5, 10, 15 years from now?
My answer scared me.
I’d be obese, disgusted with myself, and lead a deeply regretful life.
How do I want to feel on my deathbed?
That’s what I’m optimizing for. That’s the filter I use for every action of mine.
The future me’s life is entirely in the hands of the current me.
If I continued eating, drinking, and smoking the way I was, my life would be objectively worse in every way.
I hammered this thought into my head until I had no choice but to stop what I was doing and change.
It’s not supposed to feel like hell
You don’t have to spend hours at the gym and eat a super clean diet to lose weight.
Don’t get me wrong, those things are undoubtedly good for you. But to lose weight — you don’t necessarily need to be that good.
I made it simple for myself. Instead of obsessing over eating healthy or grinding through dreadful workouts, I asked myself a question I picked up from entrepreneur Tim Ferris:
What would this look like if it were easy?
Calories in calories out. That’s all. I could do whatever the hell I wanted as long as I was in a calorie deficit every day.
- A weekly workout regimen of strength training and cardiovascular workouts in the form of playing sports
- I could eat whatever I wanted as long as I didn’t overeat or go over my daily caloric limit
- ‘What gets measured gets managed’. I tracked everything I did.
My food intake was tracked by using a kitchen scale to measure how much I’m consuming. A smart weighing scale to weigh myself every morning. And my Apple watch to track how many calories I’m burning through my workouts.
It’s not supposed to feel like hell. Ask yourself: what can I do to make this process easier for myself?
What are the negotiables and non-negotiables?
A calorie deficit, for example, is a non-negotiable for losing weight. But eating salads? Completely negotiable. Exercising — non-negotiable, but what form of exercise you do is negotiable.
Actually sit down, take out a book, and ask yourself these questions. Or better yet, put your answers in the comments section of this article. Let’s keep each other accountable.
Weight loss starts from a place of self-awareness.
The best pre-workout supplement in the world
A good night’s sleep.
I started sleeping as much as I could.
This is not only conducive to fat loss but also to my mental health.
When I started prioritizing sleep and waking up well-rested, I felt happier and more energetic.
This meant that I could workout harder and longer than ever before.
Before, throughout the years of my weight gain, I wasn’t getting enough sleep. I’d stay up or wake up early for work and feel tired throughout the day as a result. No wonder I didn’t feel like exercising — I was exhausted all the time.
If you can, wake up without an alarm.
I’d gone my whole life thinking 7 hours was enough for me. When I started going to bed at a reasonable hour and woke up without setting an alarm, I was finally able to see how much rest my body actually needs (9 hours in my case).
Work hard, play hard, and sleep harder.
No pre-workout can give you more energy than a good night’s rest.
Putting it all together
Here’s a quick 5-step plan for you to follow:
- Stop waiting and force yourself to start
- Think about how your life would be if you continued on your current path
- What kind of exercise would you most enjoy (or dislike the least)? Do more of that
- Track everything: food, exercise, weight, and sleep
- Sleep as much as you can, being well-rested makes everything else so much easier
Take care of your body, it’s the only one you’ll ev ever have.
Enjoyed this read? You’ll love this article then 👇🏻