One Woman's Weight Loss Journey: Losing and Regaining 40 Lbs

The Journey Begins

When the Reddit user 'joschatz' saw a picture of herself after completing a half-marathon in May 2014, she realized it was time to start a real dedicated diet. The photo was what spurred her to use the Lose It app to log her food and a schedule of four runs a week. She referred to her daily food logging as the hardest habit to start, but she methodically shed 40 pounds over the course of a year.

Breaking Up and Gaining Weight

Joschatz broke up with her girlfriend of five years in June 2015 when she had reached her goal of weighing 146lbs. However, since then, she has regained 10lbs due to happy weight gain. She's been trying to get back on track with a happy and healthy weight loss plan since then. Her ultimate goal weight is 135lbs, but she currently only aims to get back to 146lbs.

Tips to Stay Motivated

Joschatz found that it was hard to continue to stay motivated even after hitting her goal weight. However, she has a few tips to help get out of the slump. She advises that other people trying to lose weight should track their progress. She noted how fun it was to look back at her weight loss and see how far she had come. She also recommends slowly building the habit of logging food to make it easier to keep to the calorie limit. Lastly, Joschatz found that breaking up her fitness routine, switching between cardio and bodyweight strength training, made it easier to stick to her program.

The Importance of Appropriate Diet and Exercise

Joschatz started with a diet plan of 1,500 calories per day and no exercise. Later on, when she added running, she made sure to include indulgences like a blended drink or a small bowl of Doritos, bringing her calorie intake close to what she had burned. This helped her keep her calorie deficit under control. Lastly, she commented that she started lifting towards the end of her weight loss journey to help with toning her arms, back, and shoulders, and recommended that others should too.

Final Thoughts

Joschatz's story is an inspiring one of being able to lose weight using simple methods like logging in food intake and keeping a consistent running schedule. Her journey also underscores the importance of tracking progress and developing appropriate exercise and diet plans. It's an excellent reminder that anyone can achieve their weight loss goals if they put their minds to it.