I cannot thank y’all enough for the sweetest of comments on my first post! It’s surreal. I also got plenty of questions on how hard this journey was and if I’m still on the weight loss bandwagon or if I am trying to maintain. SO many questions on how long it took to reach a place where I became happy & confident with how I looked, how long did it take to build muscle and get stronger. I am going to try to answer all or at least some through this post. Please at all times, keep in mind that I am no expert on this and I am here to only share my journey and possibly to help people working through that journey or wanting the same.

We now live in a world where giving a timeframe to everything is the norm. It is no longer the quality we look at for the most part. It is a race and a race where each one has to win to feel good. I strongly encourage to get out of that! NOW! Giving yourself a timeframe for the long run? SURE. But putting 21 days or 2 months of timeframe to lose weight for some occasion is purely torturing yourself mentally and physically. It is setting yourself up for failure from the very beginning. For instance, it took me 9-10 months to eventually wear or dress the way I always wanted to. So, it all takes time. Patience is the key. According to a study conducted recently, the chance of regaining your weight back is 80%!! Boy! , all that struggle and sweat! That is depressing! Maintaining your ideal weight is all about what you do at the gym/wherever you workout and for how long can you keep the pace.

So, How does one regain back that weight? Let’s look at some of the most obvious causes –

1. Slowly start to revert back to old habits – That’s so easy, right? Binge watch your favorite tv shows and pizzas! Or as easy as getting comfortable on the couch so you order wings and finish that last bottle of beer and then slowly find yourself doing that everyday cause hooray! I am celebrating losing 10 pounds! It is easy to get comfortable, easy to choose that life cause who in this world wants to cook every damn day after work? Then on the other days, happy hours! Saying a NO every so often is difficult. Old habits are easy. You formed those without really paying any attention and since you lost a few pounds, hugging them back without paying much attention is easy!

MAKE conscious decisions. MAKE those decisions cause you want to be fit, want to fit into those pants/dress, have more energy or cause you simply want to look good. Whatever may be your case, but remember why you made that decision in the first place! A simpler way would be to get most of your grocery on Sundays. Buy veggies. Good for your skin and overall health. Start with fruits, move to veggies and salads then move to eggs/protein and simple basic items like avocado oil, garlic, salt , and black pepper.

For instance, an egg sandwich. Poached or boiled, sunny side up or crispy however you like them and then some spinach and there you have a healthy tasty dinner. I always have chickpea pasta in the pantry so I make a big batch of pesto and then top it with spinach and eggs for lunch.

For breakfasts – Mostly smoothie or oats. Rarely do I play around with breakfasts cause I want it to be nutritious, tasty and I cannot spend more than 5 minutes on it since I mostly cook and workout in the morning. I add ¼ cup of zucchini or spinach or sometimes both to my smoothies ( recipe coming soon ) and voila! I know I am having a healthy start. I like overnight oats not only because they are dreamy creamy but also cause I just have to grab my cup and head out the door and not have to worry about cooking/cleaning.

For lunch – chickpea pasta with mushrooms homemade pesto or simple lentils and rice with a mix of cucumber and tomato salad! None of these take more than 20 minutes to make. I could go on here but my point – I CHOOSE to take care of what I am eating than having to crib that I don’t have the time to know what’s good to eat and what’s not so hence I have to sit in my misery and PRAY that I lose someday somehow!

2. Metabolic rate slows down when you lose weight because you need fewer calories to maintain new weight – The first claim made by the so-called “detox tea” and many similar teas and products is that it can increase your metabolism and hence “burn calories” at a faster rate by merely being a couch potato! You cannot and should not do that to yourself ever! Such false claims are the reason why many people opt for going the easy way, even if it’s doing more harm than any good honestly and that leads to people falling prey to such cheap products. Why do you want something that you have no clue about? Do your research before you jump on to these cheap, silly false ideas. Would it not be better to do that research while you are walking around a park nearby? Or on the treadmill? Or while you are climbing those stairs that hurt your calves but not really when you are busy reading something? HA!

3. Obesity promoting environment – Yes, this wonderful age of smartphones can be a curse sometimes. How can we make humans lazier? Let’s get everything delivered to them. Let’s have one remote in the house that works from switching on the lights to the smart TV to temperature control. Let’s get them to Binge watch tv for hours. HUGE problem my friend. This no activity routine can cause serious weight gain and it’s not going to bring any good to your mental health either. Move around, just around the house or take your dog for a walk or put that banana bread to bake or boil that pasta. Just do squats if nothing! Your mental well being is also just as important. Walk 15 minutes around trees in the morning every day for 10 days and tell me if you don’t think that does not change your mood the 11th day. That’s how you build a habit. You work on something until it becomes part of your routine. Pick a sport you like. Get to know your liking and build/find a community that you can join and do things together. Running is liberating to many people, find out if it is to you too!

4. Restrictive Diet – Let’s skip breakfast /or lunch and have juices for dinner. God! How are you going to LIVE? You can do this for a day or two, sure. But it’s all going to hit back. Plus, it is the cruelest thing you could do to yourself. Nothing’s easy here, we all have learned that the hard way in life. We all have work, family and other priorities in life. If you’re going to torture yourself this way by cutting down food straight up, it is only going to create havoc around you. Hangry much? With a full stomach, you can exercise more, stay fit and feel happy about accomplishing that one goal you always wanted to. Give yourself more options. Make a list of foods that you are going to eat when you workout and when you don’t. You’re giving it what it needs on rest days/active days.

5. Stress – Be prepared for a few setbacks. Be prepared to gorge on vacations. It will not set you back by 20 pounds! 3-5 give/take will not derail you from the path. Sometimes its water retention, sometimes you slack cause you are on vacation! Stressing over it means sleeping less which means eating more! Do you see the cycle? Happiness is SO SO important. The whole point of living, if you ask me. Life is not just these numbers on the scale or getting that validation from people or job satisfaction. It is about choosing happiness in most of the situations. If it makes you happy ( losing weight) work towards it by all means. Give it your best shot. Don’t stress over a couple of pounds. You are living and loving! You can easily lose that once you’re back from that well-deserved vacation. High-stress levels can increase your levels of cortisol, which is a hormone released in response to stress and you do not want that going up.

These are the MAIN reasons, in my opinion. I was and still am careful about how I approach each day. Yes, I eat healthy for the most part but NEVER do I ignore my cravings. I, for instance, try to understand the WHY to all these feelings and cravings. Questioning your choices regarding food or situations in life always helps us to understand why we chose A over B and if that ultimately was a good choice for us. We do that ALL the time except when needed! For instance, have you been craving dessert mostly in the evenings? Feeling hungry mostly after 5 pm or so? Question yourself if you are getting enough protein throughout the day if your hunger pangs are all set for 6 pm or post. I highly recommend getting your blood glucose level checked too once in a while. I use the Accu Check monitor at home and it has helped to see the spike followed by the rush down and its consequent effects.

Having said that, do not regret eating doughnuts or cupcakes once in two weeks or so! It is all about the proportion. I workout 6 times a week and on Sundays, I rest with just maybe 1-2 miles of walking. Strolling if I may be honest. I can do that now cause I am not trying to lose anymore. If I do, that is great but all I am focusing is on building more muscle and maintaining. IF there are days I do not feel like working out, all I tell myself is to get my butt to the gym and then we will see from there! Believe me, I have never gone back home once without a workout. I now eat whole wheat flour maybe twice a week, rice every alternate day and pizzas on Friday is a ritual. I have worked hard to be where I am now. I have always been a foodie so I do try new dishes out so I can recreate them at home in a healthy-ish way.

So, keep your focus on your overall well being. First, make it a habit to get some work out in every day. Release the stress, take deep breaths and meditate to find peace with what you could and what you could not achieve today. Second, Don’t justify your wrong eating habits with your schedule. If you have time for Netflix, you have time to make eggs and quinoa for dinner. Lastly, stick to your goals and make sure your goals include being happy with yourself at the end of each day. Stay motivated!
Follow me on @bammbi101 for simple, easy and healthy meals to get some inspo!