18-year-old reveals how she lost 18 kg with on-and-off gym, lifestyle changes: 'Ate anything my body craved…'

In a Reddit post, an 18-year-old detailed her weight-loss transformation, which included cutting out sugary snacks and following a consistent workout plan.

Weight loss is not a linear journey; it requires significant lifestyle changes that can help you lead a healthy life. In a Reddit post shared on August 10 on the r/Fitness_India subreddit, an 18-year-old girl shared her transformation journey, which required commitment and realistic decisions.

18 kg weight loss in 2 years

According to her, she weighed 85 kg (approximately 5 feet 4 inches, 167 cm) at the beginning of her weight loss and managed to lose 18 kg over two years, with on-and-off gym training ‘mainly because of her studies’, and now she weighs 67 kg.

In the Reddit post, explaining that though she wasn't consistent with the gym, she got results through lifestyle changes, she wrote, “Started this journey at 85 kg, and I'm now down to 67 kg. It hasn't been a straight line, lots of on-and-off phases with the gym, but consistency with lifestyle changes made the real difference.” Here's a look at her before and after transformation:

Diet and workout plan

In fact, she focused on eating home-cooked meals, added more protein (eggs, paneer, dal, chickpeas, and chana), and kept portions in check rather than following a strict diet plan.

Per day, she aimed to consume approximately 1,600 to 1,700 calories, and her protein intake target was at least 100g per day. She did not follow a specific diet plan and ate everything made at home, plus a protein source of her choice.

Meanwhile, for her workout routine, she followed the following plan:

Strength training: Four times a week, focused on cardio only for 2 days, with Sunday as her rest day. Almost all of the exercises were 3 sets of 20 reps each, or until failure. Here's the split that she followed through the week:

• Monday: Legs
• Tuesday: Chest, shoulder, and triceps
• Wednesday: Abs and cardio
• Thursday: Legs
• Friday: Back and biceps
• Saturday: Abs and cardio
• Sunday: Rest day

What actually worked

According to the 18-year-old, the following are the list of lifestyle changes that actually worked for her during her weight loss transformation journey:

• Portion control helped her get where she is right now.
• When she began, her sole objective was to lose some weight and become as skinny as she could. However, over the past 2 years, she changed her lifestyle entirely. She explained, “Rather than obsessing over calories, I ate anything and everything my body craved for as long as it was within a limit. I drink around 3 litres of water a day without even thinking about it; it has become a habit.”
• “One of the major things we miss out on is adequate rest and sleep; your body needs to recover and improve,” she wrote, stressing rest and sleep as an important factor in weight loss.
• Regarding cardio, incline walking helped her immensely. “I used to follow the 5-5-5 rule, i.e. 5 minutes on 5 incline 5.5 speed, 5 minutes on 10 incline 5 speed, and 15 incline 4 speed for a 30-minute cardio (two cycles of 5-5-5) session followed by 30 minutes on the elliptical. It gives a slow burn, but it's so worth it,” she explained.
• Lastly, she cautioned against depriving one's body of the nutrients it needs. “There were days I would starve myself to death and then find a higher number on the weighing scale the next day. Your body is more than the number that's on that scale. Do home workouts when possible, but move as much as you can,” she added.

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