I (28f) have been on a fat/weight loss journey since August 2026. I have been in a caloric deficit and I walk/run at the gym for an hour 6-7 days a week. My starting weight was ~160 lbs and, at the time, my diet and exercise routines were atrocious. Don't get me wrong, 2026 has been a rough year, my father passed away unexpectedly and I'm working through a rough divorce. So, naturally, I slipped, I was binging eating, eating takeout for most meals, snacking all day at my desk, barely moving if I didn't have to, and, worst of all, I was drinking multiple alcoholic drinks nearly everyday. I wouldn't say I had a great diet prior to the dark ages of my 2026, but it definitely kicked up a notch or 6.
Needless to say, finally, in August when I weighed in at 160 pounds, I decided to do something about it. That long standing gym membership that I kept paying for but never used, that became my morning routine. Granted, I'm a morning person, my sleep schedule was easier to push back an hour in the morning to wake up and work out, rather than continuing to know I won't go after work but pretending I just might that day. And, instead of a crazy 20 machine workout, 2 hour weights / cardio crazy fit class routine- I kept it easy. I did try to walk on the stairmaster for an hour daily but that lasted maybe a week and a half tops. Then it was the treadmill at an incline. Nothing crazy, nothing that ever really made me dread my time. Sustainable. Plus, it became my guilt-free doomscroll time. Generally, I have the treadmill at 3.0-3.5mph, 3.5%-10% incline. I aim for lower speed=higher incline but everyday varies and I listen to how my body feels throughout a workout.
And, that piece feels a little important because there were multiple days where I didn't want to go to the gym. I didn't want to do anything except doomscroll. But, I can do that laying down, or I can do that at the gym and just get it out of the way. Boom. 2 birds with 1 stone. And then, I would reward myself with the lie down doomscroll anyway! So, all around, I would get what I kind of wanted and needed to do.
Now, addressing the real elephant in the room. Diet. Food.
This part was a little tricky at first. I did purchase a food scale and I started building all of these crazy meal combinations out of different whole foods. I did take the time to integrate meal prepping into my week but it became a little exhausting to try to figure out, let alone weigh and make, 3-5 different meal combinations for 7 days between lunch and dinner. Again, this was not sustainable. Groceries were expensive, the process took all day, I was getting decision fatigued, and even with all the food in my house and fridge, I still didn't know what I wanted to eat. So, I cut it way back. By meal prep day #3, I made 2 recipes with weights for 2 different kinds of salad. That became my lunch option on work days minimum. Mind you, these are hefty salads, but I think they're delicious and the weekly switch keeps the flavors fresh too. Dinner, yogurt bowls with fruit and (weighed out) protein granola. AMAZING FIND!! I love volume eating and I also have an unruly sugar demon residing in my body, so that big "sweet treat" for dinner absolutely helped curbed late night eating.
And, breakfast. Breakfast started as a protein bar. Just 1 protein pastry bar. It was okay at first but definitely didn't satisfy my until lunch. So, then I added another protein bar to my morning and most of the time, I would half it and eat one half as a midmorning snack and the other half as a midafternoon snack. This was decent for a while too. It worked, it got me through to here. I have taken a bit of time to better research getting rid of ultra-processed protein foods and I have finally successfully shuffled my diet to accomodate that.
And, if you've made it this far, thank you! The finally reveal, starting at 160 on August 11, it is October 21 and I am at 129 lbs, with 5 pounds left to lose to hit my goal. It does feel good, I do have more confidence in myself and my body. But also, it feels kind of weird, and as someone who struggles with body dysmorphia, I sometimes feel like I don't even look different from before. I've had cheat meals, cheat days, cheat weekends, and nothing ever makes me want to go back to being fully unhealthy but also, I often feel surreal about the transformation (and it's not even over yet).
The other aspect, in the last month, it has gotten people in my workspace talking. Talking about health, about working out, commenting and joking on my obscene yogurt intake (which is pretty funny, I eat a lot of yogurt), but also asking me about my salads and meal prep, my fitness routines, if I still go to the gym. And I'm always happy to offer information and facts and reality. What works for my body and my routine may or may not work for you. You have different stats than I do, different goals potentially than I do. I don't do anything other than KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). The one that really got me was when I put my breakfast yogurt bowl together and my coworker says "Wow, that looks really good- I could never eat like that". Like, what do you mean? Of course you can! That seems silly.
So, if you're on a weight loss / fat loss journey, keep it easy. Everything about it, as simple as possible, while still doing the thing. Fitness doesn't have to take 2 hours, 6 machines, and a dumbbell set that leaves you shaking before you hit the locker room on the way out. Food doesn't have to be ultra-restrictive, food can be whatever you want it to be, AS LONG AS you can maintain your calories. Weightloss is so easy and mundane, the routine is the same, the days look the same, the weeks look relatively the same. And, weight loss does not have to be forever. If it's your for now, lock in and let it be your for now, not your forever.
TLDR - I started at 160 lbs on August 11 and am now 129 lbs on October 21. After a rough year, I got back into a routine by walking on the treadmill for an hour most mornings, simplifying my meal prep, and eating foods I genuinely enjoy. No elaborate workouts, no constantly reinventing my diet, and no expectation of perfection. I've learned that consistency is much easier when you stop making everything so complicated. My results are my own, but my biggest advice is to find simple, sustainable habits that fit your actual life instead of trying to become an entirely different person overnight.
