Additional Support
Hi Stranger,
How are you today? How is life treating you?
I promised you a follow-up article about some more tips.
1. Let’s talk about body pictures. Does that make you feel uncomfortable? It certainly made me. I honestly hated taking pictures of my body, clothes on or off, it just wasn’t really me anymore but I did it anyway. Why? I knew one day I could get my shit together again and use them as inspiration and proof of how far I have come so, my advice is: take those damn pictures, you will thank yourself later.
2. Measurements, again uncomfortable...yet so necessary. Why? Well, you may not always lose weight and see it on the scale but you may lose inches/centimetres. I would suggest checking your measurements once a month, keep a journal
3. The fantastic scale. Don’t let it have power over you! Check your weight at the beginning of your journey, once again, keep a log. Remember, you shouldn’t weigh yourself every day! Try every two weeks and once your weight loss starts to kick in, try once a week ( I try my best to stick to two weeks, it’s mentally healthier ). Always log your weight, simply to prove yourself your strength and progress and if you have a smart scale, remember what I mentioned in the previous article.
4. Be silent! Yeah, you’ve heard that right! Do you know how it’s like when you announce something to someone and then that person keeps asking you all over again, putting pressure on you, making you feel like your progress is slow or even ‘invisible’? I know from experience, some people deliberately pretend that they can’t be observant. Let your actions speak for themselves. Be your own supporter and friend! You can do it, your motivation needs to be intrinsic, come from within, that’s the only way to achieve your goals!
5. Positive affirmations: write a short list with positive thoughts that you will repeat out loud every day. Start appreciating yourself more, be there for yourself even if nobody else is... I like to listen to some affirmations on YouTube, just lay in bed, headphones on, let the magic happen. ‘Unlock Your Life’ has great videos, you might want to check them out.
6. Sleep. Remember when I was writing about my insomnia? Well, anxiety plays a huge role in my case, sometimes it still affects me but trust me, I am sleeping a lot more and better now. Someone sent me a message some time ago and suggested that I should try some supplements to boost my serotonin and dopamine. I bought some that contain melatonin too and I take one before going to sleep. I can’t guarantee that they are indeed working but my sleep is deeper and longer and I do feel better. I usually get around 7 hours of sleep but sometimes even 6 and rarely 8+.
7. Water intake. I can’t even explain how important water is for our bodies. After you wake up, try drinking a glass of water on an empty stomach. I am so in love with water, sometimes I wake up during the night to drink more. Try drinking at least 2L in a day! You can add lemon and some mint leaves if you don’t like the ‘plain’ taste but please, drink it!
8. Keto and ketosis. You should know that ketosis doesn’t exactly feel great, especially at the beginning. There are some side effects if you cut carbs drastically. In my case, the first month of keto, I didn’t track my macros so although I thought I was eating around 20g of net carbs, I was definitely wrong so being in ketosis didn’t hit me so hard, just fatigue and some headaches.
9. Hair loss! Oh my god, it’s true. I wrote about my concern maybe in May and I thought it was just all the stress after losing my job. Probably being stressed is influencing my hair loss but losing quite some weight plays a bigger impact. I read about it and apparently it’s called Telogen Effluvium. Fluctuation in the BMI (Body Mass Index) causes physical stress, which signals the hair follicles to move into an inactive stage. Basically, your body is confused! I have tried helping it with biotin supplements and in less than a week, boom, cystic acne back on my face! I am currently using a shampoo and a conditioner that are supposed to help a bit, both contain biotin and keratin. I can’t say I am seeing results so any advice/suggestion is highly appreciated.
10. Collagen Peptides, I have started taking it like two weeks ago. I am hoping to see some improvements with my poor hair and maybe with skin elasticity. Although I am 21 years old, after losing 15 kg and I will still lose maybe 7 more, I have to try to keep my skin elastic. Collagen is turned into collagen peptides through the process of hydrolysis (why you'll often hear these called "hydrolyzed collagen" or "collagen hydrolysate"). In order for our bodies to reap the benefits of collagen, it must be broken down into these amino acid chains so we can absorb it through our digestive tract and into the bloodstream.* Essentially: If it's not hydrolyzed, it's not useful. Bless the internet for that explanation! I do think it’s making me a bit bloated and even my breasts are a bit swollen and painful to touch. I will keep reading about it because knowledge is power.
11. Boobs! Ladies, if you have and like big breasts, I might ruin that for you... If you aren’t lucky enough to lose more weight from other parts of your body then, your breasts will become smaller. I have lost 10 cm so far... I am not happy about that but I cannot control it.
12. Mood log: it can be annoying but it’s a great idea. Keep a small notebook and write how you feel after you wake up and before you go to bed. It’s an easy way to keep track of your mood changes, you can write how you feel during the day too and it doesn’t have to be a long phrase.
13. Keep your food diverse but always do your research. Many things are healthy but moderation is key. A product can be considered healthy and still be high in calories/carbs/fats/protein. You may choose to track your macros or just to eat a certain number of calories in a day but remember, weight loss=calorie deficit!
I think that is all for now, I am writing this at 1 am and I do feel tired, in a few hours I need to be up, post this article and I have such a busy day ahead.
I hope I managed to be quite explicit and these tips will help you.
Remember to keep believing in yourself.
You can achieve whatever you have in mind, you just have to believe!
Take care!
