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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

The Guide: How Criss Lost Weight

This guide has been two years in the making. Two years' experience of trial and error, sorting through what's fact and fad, battling with body dysmorphia, and coping with my abrupt and dramatic change in lifestyle. Despite all of this experience, though, I still don't feel like an expert on weight loss, health, or nutrition. I'm not a doctor, and I have not personally conducted any scientific studies. With that said, all information posted here has been carefully researched and double-checked to ensure it's factual, up-to-date, and proven by the people who are doctors and scientists. You will find no misconceptions or fad diet posts here.

Another important thing to note is my perspective on weight loss and health, and my belief that they are two completely separate things. I believe BMI is a load of cock, that one's weight isn't always indicative of one's health, and that even if someone's health is poor due to their weight, it's still not my or your place to criticize them or their personal life choices. I do not believe in body-shaming of any size or shape.

With that said, I do like to put my personal weight loss story out there in a non-obtrusive, guilt-inducing way, for those who do want to lose weight in a healthy manner. With all of the misinformation out there, I think it's a positive thing to want to show people that weight loss doesn't mean being miserable, depriving themselves of food, exercising until they puke, taking pills or supplements, or hating their bodies. For many people- myself included- a healthier lifestyle seems too complicated and confusing. I personally grew up a completely sedentary, nerdy child, who subsisted primarily on fast food, ramen noodles, and microwaveable food. I didn't eat vegetables and didn't even understand the concept of a calorie. I was feeling the unhealthy side effects of all the junk I was putting into my body, but when I thought about change, it seemed too overwhelming because of all the contradicting information out there. I didn't know how or where to start, because it was a lifetime of bad habits I had to break.

This guide is for all of the people out there who feel like I did.
Did you know studies show somewhere between 80-95% of people who lose weight gain most or all of their weight back within two years? Why do so many people struggle to lose weight, and then when they finally succeed, struggle to maintain? I can tell you the answer to this from personal experience: it all depends on whether or not you see your weight loss as a diet, or a result of a lifestyle change and healthier habits.

Years and years ago, I used to daydream about losing weight, and would paint this picture of weight loss in my head: I would suffer by eating less, eating bland food, and by sweating my butt off at the gym to "punish" myself for being fat. I would somehow magically wake up skinny overnight, and then I could resume my old bad habits and go back to "living" again. I imagine many others have the same idea of dieting, and as a result, this is why so many people fail before they ever start, or gain it all back after losing it.

The most important thing about weight loss, and the key to your success, is how you see it. Losing weight successfully means you can't ever go back to "normal." You have to change up what normal means to your mind. Most people who fail at weight loss do so because they saw their weight loss as a result of a diet. Diet is a very bad word in my mind, and has a negative connotation for me. I've since learned that diets do not work; lifestyles do. And there's a reason I stress calling it a lifestyle change and not a diets. Diets just aren't maintainable. We're human. Even now, after one year of weight loss, and then another full year of maintenance, my food quality ranges from healthy and wholesome to, "Ooh, is that CAKE?" Remember this: too much restriction can be just as bad as too little moderation. The best "diet" is the one that is balanced and maintainable for YOU. If that means cake twice a week, then have your cake!


Despite the complicated fad diets and fitness magazines claiming otherwise, studies show that weight loss occurs when you consume fewer calories than you burn. Not what kinds of calories, or when the calories were consumed. Just calories. Calories in; calories out. "Wait, what does that even mean?,"  you frantically ask. "How do you know how many calories you burn? How many calories should I be eating? Criss, this is so complicated!" No, calm down, and I'll explain.

You burn calories in everything you do. Talking, smiling, eating, pooping, sleeping. You burn calories simply by existing! To find out how many calories you burn a day simply by existing, you need to find out your BMR- your Basal Metabolic Rate. This isn't how many calories you need to eat a day to either maintain OR lose weight; this is simply the base number of calories you'd need to stay alive lying in a bed all day in a coma. Click here to find out your BMR!

Cool! Now you know your BMR. That's only step one. Let's next determine how many calories you need to maintain your current weight where it's at. Go to this link to find out your maintenance weight! (And bring out your handy calculator.) At 5'3, 25 years old, and 132 pounds, my BMR is 1407. I'd consider myself lightly active, overall, so according to the chart, I'll multiply my BMR base number by 1.375. I get 1935. That's how many calories a day I need to maintain 132 pounds. Need help finding yours? Post in a comment and I'll try my best to help you.

Okay, and now the reason you're here: to find out how many calories a day you need to lose weight. This one is easy: If you want to lose weight, subtract 500 from that maintainable number (not the BMR, but the bigger of your two numbers). That's IT. That's your number. If you go below it, don't go below 100-200, and not every single day. For example, at my current weight of 132 (as of writing this post), my maintenance level is 1935. If I want to lose more weight with my current activity level, subtracting 500 from 1935 yields 1435. 

Things to keep in mind about BMR:
Your BMR changes often, based on your age, current weight, and most importantly, your activity level. It needs to be adjusted often. I didn't eat nearly as few calories when I first started my weight loss journey, and then there are some times where I am literally playing World of Warcraft all day long (don't judge me!), so I'll eat fewer calories because I am sedentary. I go through phases where I am really, really active, or really, really not active. You have to be the one to judge your own activity level, because only you know what you are doing all day. Please also remember that being active can also mean on your feet all day at work, taking care of children and housekeeping, and even shopping! The lowest level (sedentary) means basically lying in bed or sitting down almost literally your entire day, everyday. 

One important note: don't try to calculate your calories burned through machines. Those machines grossly over-calculate your burned numbers. If you feel like you are really, really active, then add another 100-200 to it or reassess your maintenance weight by going up a notch in activity levels. At my current weight, I generally stick with 1200 on nonactive days and 1400-1500 on active days, and don't bother trying to figure out an exact number burned. It's really hard to know how much you burned, since so many factors go into how many calories you burn doing every little thing. Don't over-think it!

Be careful, too, with how low you dip your calorie deficit. You might grow impatient and want to speed things up by decreasing your calorie intake, but it's actually counterproductive and can hinder your results. Besides that, it makes you weak and tired, and your body won't have the nutrients it needs to sustain itself. You might be losing pounds on the scale, but when you starve yourself, your body feasts on muscle too.  If you have a lot of weight to lose, losing weight too quickly can also result in more loose skin that you'd have if you had paced yourself better. Remember that there's no finish line in this; it's a journey to a healthier lifestyle on which you've embarked. 

Don't fret too much over excess calories. One pound of body weight equals 3500 calories, so eating an extra 500 calories per day will result in one pound gained in a week. One pound. So when you inevitably eat something you think you shouldn't, and gain water weight on the scale the next day, don't freak out. Unless in one day, you managed to consume 3500 excess calories, you did not gain as much weight as you think.


Let's talk about food specifics. If you're like me, you're used to eating convenient, processed junk food. Fast food, packaged food, frozen food, and sodas, aw yeah. Wait, no! That's terrible for you, and it's not even because it's probably high-calorie; it's because it's full of chemicals, sodium, and unnatural ingredients that hate your body. Lots of these things are even pointed at as causes of cancer, including sugar-free, "low fat" products aimed at the dieters. Yes, that's right: those "alternatives" to your favorite meals are actually just as bad or worse as the real thing.

One thing to realize about being healthy is that calories are not the most important thing here. Yes, eating too few or too many calories can cause weight loss and weight gain, but that should not be your primary focus. If you actually just swapped your regular eating habits for eating whole foods instead of packaged junk, you'd actually lose weight without ever having to track a calorie. In fact, a lot of people prefer to not ever count calories, because it can incur dangerous, obsessive thoughts. Yes, if you ate nothing but McDonald's everyday, but stayed 500 calories below maintenance, you'd still lose weight. You won't be getting the nutrients you need, though, and you'd be putting a lot of sodium and chemicals in your body. You'd probably be hungry still, since their foods are so calorie-dense for such a small quantity of food, which means you'd be more inclined to over-eat. You'd probably be tired and not feeling at perfect health, and your digestive system might hate you for it.

Well, cool, but that doesn't help you, right? What sorts of things should you eat, then? Preferably anything that isn't frozen or that comes in a package with a long list of ingredients! As they say, if the list of ingredients is longer than 10, it's not "real" food. Veggies, fruit, meats, fish, and nuts are generally what I eat. If you like to cook, you can really experiment with things! Personally, I still don't cook a lot, but I've learned a few things along the way, like how to make a healthier pizza or grilled cheese sandwiches.

"But what about macro-nutrients?," you'll ask. "I was told if I eat over 50 carbs, I'll never lose a pound!" Contrary to popular belief and bro-science, eating a certain amount of any macro-nutrient doesn't yield more or less weight loss, according to reputable studies. That doesn't mean eating a certain amount of carbs is silly, but it does mean that low carb won't affect your weight loss. I personally try to reduce my amount of carbs to mostly natural carbs like the kind you find in fruit and vegetables, simply because they make me hold more water weight. It doesn't make me lose more weight, but it helps me with my bloat problem. As long as you're primarily sticking with whole foods, there's not really a right or wrong answer to this. Just try not to get too extreme with things!

As for when to eat, it's been proven that your metabolism doesn't actually speed up when you eat more often or what time you eat, which is a common misconception. Eat when you're hungry, and if eating small meals often helps you not over-eat, then that's what you should do!
I'd recommend not weighing yourself daily, because like calorie counting, it can incur obsessive and dangerous thoughts. It can be especially destructive when you aren't realistic about the number you see, because so many things can affect it. The number on the scale is never a true representation of your body weight and body fat percentage. How recently you've pooped, how much sodium you've consumed the last few days, how much water you've consumed, how dehydrated you are, how much you've exercised, if you're PMSing, etc; all of these things can affect your scale number.

Speaking of water weight, it's a tricky, fickle thing, and I hate it. Ever drastically change your eating habits and find that you're losing A LOT of weight immediately, and then it slows down to a normal pace? That's water weight. Your body is usually holding onto a lot of it, which can really affect your scale number and even your tummy measurements. If I eat something that's really high in sodium, for example, I can "gain" as many as five pounds and two inches in my waist overnight. Fortunately, as you might recall, you have to eat 3500 EXTRA calories to put on a single pound. You might think it's due to your wonky metabolism causing you to gain five pounds overnight because you had that chocolate cake and those salty potato chips, but really, it's just bloat. Drink extra water and exercise, and bam, your weight magically goes back to the number you expect.

You can really help reduce your water weight by drinking more water, primarily! It seems silly, but if you're dehydrated, your body actually holds onto the water. The more water you drink, the less water weight you'll hold. It's also good for weight loss, because it can help flush out toxins and aid your digestive system, both of which affect your scale number.

Another reason why putting so much stock into your scale number is because if you're exercising, chances are you are gaining muscle as well. Granted, if you're a female, chances are you aren't actually putting on as muscle as you think that quickly unless you're eating well over what you're eating to lose weight. But strength training can cause your muscles to retain fluid as well, so while it might seem like you're gaining 3-10 pounds in two weeks after starting weightlifting, yet your measurements aren't showing it, it's because your muscles are retaining water to repair themselves. It's normal and expected, since it's part of the muscle-building process! That's good.

If you need something to gauge your progress, take measurements and judge by how your clothes fit you. You might be surprised at how they contradict your scale number!

When it comes to weight loss, there is nothing more upsetting to me than the wealth of misinformation that makes people believe they need to consume some sort of weight loss "aid" or supplement in order to successfully lose weight. A lot of the products are unhealthy and full of dangerous chemicals that can harm your body, and many of them in the past have caused lawsuits because they did turn out to harm people. Even with that knowledge, people still risk their health and take these pills and drinks because they are overwhelmed by weight loss and just want the magical solution without changing their habits. 

Maybe taking the drinks will increase their metabolism and cause them to lose weight while eating pizza. Let's just say that your best-friend-for-like-ever, Kaywinnit, just lost 60 pounds while drinking Pluxus Slim, but never changing her eating habits. Yay, Kaywinnit! Kaylee reached a weight she finds good and healthy, so she stops buying and paying for that extremely expensive drink that caused her to lose weight, and continues eating the same way she's always eaten. Months later, she's realized that she's put all of her weight back on! Why's that? Because Kaylee was never taught anything about her body or her health, and never looked at her eating habits. It was never about changing lifestyles or being healthier for her. Worse is that Kaylee probably feels worse afterward, and thinks that she's doomed to never lose weight.

Fad diets too can be unhealthy. What's worse is that you'll look at magazines or infommercial s, claiming you'll lose inches off your belly if you only eat whatever they're trying to sell. All that does is perpetuate the wealth of misconceptions and poor information out there, and make people feel more overwhelmed when they try to sort through what is true and false. 


Another problem with popular and perpetuated ideas of weight loss is that exercise on its own can make you lose weight. Unless you're running multiple miles per day or a training athlete, a nonathletic person's exercise isn't enough to negate excess amount of calories derived from poor eating habits. As they say, abs are made in the kitchen; not in the gym. That doesn't mean exercise isn't helpful in weight loss, because it can certainly aid your weight loss! It can burn calories, increase your metabolism, make your body run better and increase your overall health, and help you gain muscle you might lose from eating at a calorie deficit. But it's not totally necessary, either, and there's no need to get extremist about it unless you just really, really love exercise. I actually didn't really get into fitness until I had lost most of my weight, and I wouldn't call myself fit by any means. I lift weight three times a week for about 25-40 minutes a session, and sometimes play Dance Dance Revolution/In the Groove because it's fun and because it's the only cardio I can stand. That doesn't sound too extreme, does it? There's just this big misconception that you need to exercise in order to lose weight, and you have to be extremely obsessed with it. You don't have to go that often or that long!

One thing to keep in mind about exercise is the idea that you can spot reduce areas you don't like by exercising certain areas, which is very false! Where you gain or lose fat is totally dependent on your genetics, and exercising certain areas or eating certain things won't change that. However, let's say that you've got flabby thighs you want to be sturdier (which was my problem). You can't "replace" fat with muscle (they are two different things), but you can gain muscle underneath to make it look firmer, which the definition of what most people think "toned" means. That also debunks yet another myth that lifting weights when you're trying to lose weight results in you looking "fatter." Nope!

I won't tell you what exercise you should do because everyone's goals are different. Some people just want to get their bodies more active; some want to get super fit. You have to find something that suits your needs, interests, and lifestyle. With that said, if you're looking into weightlifting, I did write a guide aimed at women interested in weightlifting, simply because there are just so many misconceptions regarding women, muscle, and weightlifting.


What people don't tend to tell you about weight loss would be the emotional side effects of your body undergoing a transformation, or how to cope with all of the reactions of the people around you. It's tough, because you're going to have people from your closest friends to your co-workers coming up to you, and giving you unsolicited opinions on your body. Some will tell you that you don't need to lose weight, or that you're looking too thin. When you encounter people who tell you these things, try to be firm about letting them know it's your life and not their place to criticize. Only you know your body and your eating habits. 

Some might also indirectly insult you by making you think you are better after your weight loss, but remember this: your self-worth isn't determined by your weight or your measurements. You are the same person before and after, and anyone who makes you think you are more or less because of your body shape or size needs to be removed from your life. Even after you lose weight, your weight will fluctuate the rest of your life, so basing your self-worth on something as flexible and fickle as your weight is dangerous thinking.

Sometimes it's also hard to also cope with not seeing your progress because your mind takes a while to catch up with your body. It's hard, too, when you see your progress, but you get so intent on chasing perfection that you want to speed up the process. These things are dangerous thoughts to have, and I recommend joining support communities to help deal with them.


•Start learning to love your body now. If you can’t see anything good about yourself, weight loss will not make you feel better. Instead, as you get closer to your goal, you’ll get depressed you still aren’t “perfect.” You can love yourself while seeking self-improvement.

• If you are losing more than 2 pounds a week, with the exception of water weight initially, then you are losing lean muscle. Muscles that keep your body alive. The only exception is when you first change your eating habits, you might lose a larger amount due to water weight.

• Don’t reward successful weight loss with unhealthy, processed food. What you’re doing is creating a bad relationship with food, and you are confusing your brain. Isn’t it counterproductive to gain weight due to excess unhealthy foods, to cut out unhealthy foods in order to lose weight, and then when you lose weight reward yourself with the very thing that restricted your progress in the past? This is my biggest tip: when you tell yourself “NO CHOCOLATE, IT’S BAD FOR ME,” you want it more. You put it on a pedestal, and you think about it more and more. And when you finally cave in, you’ll binge. That’s why I don’t restrict in my diet; I moderate. I want a soft taco supreme from Taco Bell? Okay, I can have it. I’ll look up the calories online to calculate into my daily calories, and if what I eat is more than I normally eat, no big deal; it's just a single day. If I’m going out with friends, I’ll fill up on something healthy like broccoli before going so I won’t overeat at the restaurant. If I’m eating something at home, I’ll eat it with a side of something healthy so again, I won’t overeat.

• If you're tracking calories, use calorie counting tracking sites! The Daily Plate is my favorite site to track.

• MEASURE YOUR FOOD. I can’t emphasize this enough! You may think that spoonful of peanut butter is one tablespoon, but it’s twice as high as the spoon and spilling over all the sides. You think you’re eating a certain amount of calories, except you’re over-estimating your portions. Get a food scale and some measuring cups. It’ll be the best weight loss decision you’ve ever made, I promise!

• Take LOTS of pictures during your journey! If you are less motivated when you look at them, then take them and put them away in a folder on your computer. Wait until you’ve lost some weight and THEN go back and look. There were times when I didn’t feel like I had made much progress at all and wanted to quit, but when I would go back to my older pictures, I would see how much progress I had actually made. You might surprise yourself!

• Find ways to be held accountable. If that means writing down things in a personal little diary nobody else sees, go for it! If that means tracking your activity on Fitocracy, starting an anonymous weight loss tumblr to track food, making a bulletin board and putting stickers on it for everyday you were active, or to even publicly talk about every success and trial on your personal facebook, go for it! Know what makes you tick and what will help you stick to it better.

• Find a partner! Losing weight was a lot easier when I had friends to do it with. Don’t have friends in person who will talk weight stuff with you? Find people online! There are loads of communities out there.

• Food is not the enemy. Repeat with me: food is not the enemy. Food is not bad. Eating food does not make you fat. Food is fuel. Fuel gives you the energy to get through the day, and to work-out. Working out is nice. Therefore, food is nice.

• Got off track for a day? Did it start with a single donut and end with a whole box of pizza? That’s okay! Hey, guess what? You’re human, and so am I. Nobody can be expected to be perfect everyday. It’s okay to indulge your cravings sometimes! Enjoy the hell out of that pizza and don’t let the taste of guilt make it not worth it. Start over tomorrow and don’t let it weigh you down.

• Exercise is not a punishment for eating bad or for being "fat." Exercise is about being healthy and rewarding your body with healthy activities. If you are miserable with your current exercise, find something that doesn't make you miserable!

• Try to be realistic about your expectations of your body. Even when you reach your "goal," you still aren't going to be perfect, because nobody is. Be happy with your body, regardless of its natural shape, fat you think shouldn't be there, stretch marks, and even loose skin. We're human.

63 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is amazingly helpful and you have definitely inspired me Cristyen!

Anonymous said...

This Is so helpful. Thanks

Cristyen said...

You're welcome, guys! :) I'm so glad it helped!

lisi said...

This is amazing and very helpful! Thanks Criss!!

Cat Cook said...

Brava, Criss! I have to say, this is the first weight loss guide that actually made me happier as I read through it. Managing to write about weight loss while promoting both health and positive body image is so, so wonderful, and I think it's definitely a skill many health and fitness writers/enthusiasts unfortunately lack.

Cristyen said...

Catherine, I know! It's a hard thing to do, and apparently a very unique perspective to have. I hate that it's deemed okay to hate or shame bodies to "motivate" one to lose weight. You shouldn't hate yourself, because all you're doing is setting yourself up to hate your body at all sizes. :(

SqueakyCleanInsideOut said...

This is a great guide for newbies :) Concise and says it simply. Thanks for making it! I'm sure it'll help many people <3

Doll said...

Another note on carbs is that YES they don't really aid with weight loss but they most definitely DO have to do with FAT loss/gain.

Lower carbs means you're not adding fat to your body, and higher carbs means you are. Sticking to the carbs you get from healthy fruits/veggies is A-okay. But things like bread/cookies/etc can easily hinder fat loss if not left to moderation.

And this nonsense of "carbs are energy!" is exactly that, nonsense. The best energy for a person comes from healthy fats such as from non-processed butter, coconut oil, fat-rich veggies, nuts, etc. And they DON"T make you fat despite their deceiving name. Which brings me to my next happy note; I really like that you warned people of the crappy lies that is all things "low fat". "Low fat" is a load of crap. Fat doesn't add fat to the body unless you're the same species as the fat. Are you a cow? No. So you're not suddenly going to absorb the fat content.

What adds fat to the body is again, carbs and sugar. Sugar turns to carbs and carbs turns to fat in the body. :)

This is a nice guide. You did well to touch on very important points that not a lot of people talk about.

Doll said...

Oh oh oh, and thank you. I don't think I mentioned it in my above comment. THANK YOU for giving people a happy and well thought out guide.

You touched on a lot of things most don't even know about and it is good to see someone actually taking love and care into the information they are giving people.

You really make it realistic and positive instead of like a never ending nightmare. It is instead a never ending happy lifestyle meant to bring joy and health. SO again, yay. Good job. :)

Anonymous said...

This is awesome!

A quick question though. Does your net caloric intake need to always be at or above your BMR? For example, say your BMR is 1430 and the amount you need to maintain your weight is 1930. If you adjust your diet so that you take in 500 less calories, reducing your intake to 1430, and then you exercise to burn another, say, 200, reducing your intake to 1230, is that something to avoid? Should you, instead, adjust your caloric intake and exercise enough to be no less than 1430 (even though you could technically go as low as 1200)?

I've always assumed this, but often people discuss a reduction in caloric intake separate from exercise and it seemed that the exercise bits weren't included in the dieting numbers. Hope I got it right. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

my bmr is 1526.05 :0 could you help me?

Jame (@jameane) said...

Great post! Thanks for the helpful advice as I am working on my health and weight loss too.

Danielle said...

Thank you so much for this, it's amazing. Definitely bookmarked it! Thank you for all that you do. You are such an inspiration and I look up to you so much!

Anonymous said...

I think you have an amazing outlook when it comes to body image and how to approach weight loss. I lost a lot of weight a couple years ago and... like you stated above - got too comfortable thinking I was 'safe' now and gained essentially all of it back XD; Currently feeling discouraged and upset that I let myself get back to this spot. Im going to take away some key points from your report that jumped out at me and give this a shot again :)

drewba said...

Hey Criss,

Loved the Blog, Totally agree with your thoughtd and process for weight loss, I used to be 160kg (352 pounds) and have shed got down to just below 130kg, (285 pounds)and still going, doing the very things you describe in your blog.

I just reached a point in my life where I saw some photos and and thought Holy Shiznit you are HUGE! it was more then just one experience like that though that force do to do something about it.

And as you say it wasn't a diet that did it, though that was a start, i used weight watches online to help me track calories and exercise in the beginning but I've since given that up because I have made lifstlye changes and am not just on a diet any longer. I'm at the gym 3-4 times a week as well as playing basketball (which I always did just not nearly as well as I can now!) and while I haven't complete conquered the bad eating demons, I've made great changes that are much healthier then my past self.

Keep up the good work and spread the word of how to loose weight properly!

Cheers,
Drew
your nee Aussie weight Loss buddy!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this post! You're a total inspiration to me; I'm just starting out in my weight loss journey (I'm your height and abut 170 lbs so getting to where you are is my ultimate goal) and there's so much conflicting advice out there that it gets pretty overwhelming. This is super informative and well thought-out and incredibly helpful. Here's to getting healthy! :)

--Emily

Anonymous said...

Loved this post! Interesting fact about the word 'diet', its Greek origin actually means prescribed way of life-we've just corrupted it over the years!

Kelly-Anne said...

BEAUTIFUL post, Criss! <3
I'll be sharing it will all of my friends.

Colleen said...

Could this be more helpful? No, no it could not! Criss you are so amazing!

Carolyn said...

I think the biggest part that resonates with me is that exercise is not punishment for being "fat". Most days, I make myself lie to myself outloud. I force myself to say, "Yay! I get to work out today! I get to go running!" And while deep down I know I'm still kind of dreading it, I focus on the positive and it's never as bad as I initially think it will be.

Anonymous said...

Thanks...

No encuentro las palabras para darte las gracias en tu idioma, asi que lo haré en español.

Muchas gracias por tu post, es la forma mas facil y sencilla de buscar bajar de peso, yo llevo ya unos meses en el camino para bajar de peso de manera saludable, cambiando mi estilo de vida, no ha sido sencillo y en ocasiones me he visto con intenciones de perder la batalla, sobre todo porque he tenido problemas hormonales que no me permiten bajar de peso tan rapido como yo quisiera, pero mis fotografias de antes me han ayudado a continuar.

Gracias por ayudar a gente que como yo busca estar saludable y en forma. :D

Lindsay said...

I lost about 60 lbs myself 2 years ago and have spent the last year hating myself for not being able to lose more. Going through a significant body change makes it a public affair. People want to talk to you about it. I felt like I was a failure because when I stopped losing weight people were asking me about if I was still trying. Reading what you say about the social side effects really puts some things in perspective. Thank you for this.

Anonymous said...

well put, Chriss, This is fantastic and you really laid out everything for people looking to get into a healthy mind set for weight loss. I hope lots of people take this advice and use it, they';d be amazed at what they can do with only small changes in habit!

Alaynna

Caroline said...

Fantastic post :)

Camilla said...

Criss you're such an inspiration! I saw your before and after pictures and i've read everything you write, and it gives me so much hope! I'm 94 kg atm, with a BMI of 31 (i know its not accurate, but its a rough guideline, and deff too high!) and i've been battling with my weight the last 10 years or so. Signed up with a local gym tonight and booked an appartment with a personal trainer, gonna do it with my boyfriend and hopefully we can get where we want to be together!

I just want to be healthy... Well done hun!

Katherine said...

It makes me so sad that the ads under this post are for diet pills! Targeted advertising can be such a failure sometimes.

Cristyen said...

Katherine, oh no! I actually have ads turned off so I didn't see what they were showing. I'll have to go and figure out how to edit what sorts of ads are shown.

christina said...

This is perhaps the best guide to weight-loss that I've ever read. Thank you for taking the time to support so many people. You are a fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Although I think this is a very helpful guide, I'd like to point out that her method will not work for everyone, as everyone's body is different. That being said, I tried to work with the TDEE-500 and working out a little model for three months and saw very modest progress. Then I started eating TDEE-15% and working out more, and I have seen great leaps in progress. I net my BMR every day, and I have a lot of non-scale victories such as no more headaches while exercising, no more feeling hungry or deprived from eating 1500 calories a day, and I feel better about myself when I exercise more. (Nothing absolutely crazy, just 6 hours a week).

Dasha said...

was that a Firefly reference? :)
Excellent guide. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for writing out your journey and giving helpful tips on how to lose it, lose it for good, and lose it in a healthy way. You've come so far, and I really hope I can find that strength within myself to just go for it! Thank you.

Stephanie E. said...

I really appreciate this post - I'm four weeks into calorie counting and this whole weight loss thing seems so daunting because I know it will be slow-going. But, your journey makes me hopeful and I'll definitely be bookmarking your site for future reference & inspiration. Thanks!

Aimee said...

I assume since you don't count the calories you burn (with a heart rate monitor), you don't eat back your exercise calories?

claudia said...

My bmr is 1719.1 Can you help please.

Anonymous said...

You're very inspiring and have taught me (and a lot of my friends) the meaning of a healthy diet- scratch that- lifestyle. :) Thank you! Love from Turkey!

Anonymous said...

The 500 that you subtract from your total accounts for exercise and diet. If you burn his 500 a day for a week, it totals to a pound loss. So as long as you're burning 500 calories or less in exercise, eat 1430

Anonymous said...

Honestly Cris, you are fabulous! Like this is great. You should write a book. I'm not heavy by any means but i could stand to lose maybe 10-15 pounds, and it was really bothering me, but i eat healthy, i exercise regularly and this post has made me see that those 10 or 15 pounds really don't change anything about me, whether i lose them or not they aren't going to magically make me more confident and that i should love myself because i am beautiful just the way i am.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed this! It makes losing weight appear attainable and makes me more open to a slower, healthier approach to weight loss. It also allows me to relax a bit on how I view food and myself when I don't make the best choices. I think everyone, mostly women, struggle to appreciate the body they live in and this encourages loving yourself even when you make poor nutritional decisions that with the right attitude can easily be addressed. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

I am the same person who wrote ye above comment (Christina). How do you feel about juicing and about cleanses?

ukiss9 said...

Awesome blog, good points! That was one of my biggest peeves about trying to lose weight , was all the contradictory information out there...it was like " well this book says to do this, but this article says that that is bad, and i should do this instead" so i was left thinking, ...i don't know what the heck i should be doing?! So frustrating, and i've also been led to feel like, unless i look like a super model, i am not worth anything, by people close to me, and of course by society as well. Movies, music videos, catalogs, everywhere, all those stick thin photoshopped girls i kept seeing made me feel miserable and hopeless. It was like, I'll never be able to get that thin, so why bother, because if im not that thin, then i'm not good enough. I applaud you for what you've done, and the inspirational blog. I wish more of the world, and women would realize weight doesnt determine someone's worth. Thank You!

njweiner said...

Criss,
I just wanted to say thank you so much for having a blog that boasts "winspo" not "thinspo" you give people the tools they need to love their body and lose weight for themselves. I wanted to ask for your help, though you don't know me so I feel strange doing this.

I am going into my senior year of college. When I began my weight loss journey (January 1 2012) I was 217 lbs. I am now 186lbs. But, now it seems like the scale won't budge, and I am stuck in a rut. It is my dream to be able to reach my goal weight *130-140, by the time I graduate so that I have a healthy lifestyle and self image when I am off in the "real world" Do you have any tips?

Anastasia

Anonymous said...

You help me so much, thank you! :) You are very beautiful, too. My idol ^^

Unknown said...

The best ones to eat are organically grown ones as then you can eat the healthful skin as well as the cucumber itself. If you can only find commercially grown ones be careful to peel off the waxed skin, as this contains insect repellent, chemicals and wax.

Lose Weight

Sian said...

LOVE IT :) thank you
well done too
I have lost a stone so far [after medication I had to be on made me almost double in body weight from 7-8st to 14 :( ] this blog is so encouraging <3

Unknown said...

you're one of the best blogger who have inspired me so much. truly inspirational criss! i hope to read more entries on your blog!

Cesci said...

Congrats! You look fab in all these pictures! Keep up your war on body I age! Make everyone love their bodies :D

Daniel said...

This is awesome :)

Unknown said...

i love this.

Unknown said...

I find this information pretty much interesting. But considering the fact that I really love to eat, and I am not that thin, not really that fat either, but I am quite conscious about my belly. I am doing some work right now on hot to remove belly fat and this could be one of the main factors.

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to say thank you for posting this it really has given me the guidance and courage to start losing weight!

Unknown said...

I found this through a friend on Facebook that had been looking at your page and words of wisdom. I can't thank you enough for writing this and sharing your journey with everyone. I have been "planning" my own weight loss journey for some time, but each time I finally pluck up the will to do it I become overwhelmed and don't even try (or only work at it for a week) Thank you for your insight and it's proof that it is possible without fads and surgery. I made a promise that this year was the year I was going to really work on losing and keeping it off. Hopefully by my twenty-sixth birthday in November I can have some good news to share :)

Ashley Davis said...

There are steps to do for a person to have the fast way to lose unwanted fats in their body but be reminded that once these were taken there'll be no stopping now. As we all know, keeping the body in shape takes a lot of effort and discipline.

Eve Manifold said...

I would add something to your tricks:
Reward yourself with smaller gym clothes so you would be motivated to exercise, exercise and exercise - and lose weight to fit into those clothes. That's what my mom does, and it works all the time, specially if you're the kind of person who wouldn't want to waste money on clothes that are "too small" for you.

Alice Muramats said...

As they say experience is the best teacher. Well, you had your experience in weight loss and you've learned a lot of lessons! Thanks for sparing us the trouble of trying to relearn them.

Anonymous said...

Some foods don't say how many calories they are, like meat. How do you know in these situations?

Sidney Clark said...

We are now teaching our kids on proper nutrition to keep them as healthy as possible. Eating a lot of fruits and vegetables instead of junk foods is what we are enforcing them.

Unknown said...

This is a great site, I love what you are doing! This is also something I feel very passionate about, instead I channeled it into a food blog to show people eating nutritiously can still be playful and fun! I have lost 65 pounds, but got more to go still! The journey and struggle doesn't end, but it does evolve.

Jillian Anders said...

being healthy and eating what is right, is never an easy task for us especially those who are aiming to lose and reduce their weight. I think, one important thing we, should consider in pursuing this kind of drive is to encourage and have the discipline to ourselves that we "MUST" do this to become whoever we want us to be. This way, I think, being physically fit wouldn't be that hard for us.

tzahanul said...

In theory everything sounds nice. But how do I adapt to the new "way to be" when all the food I can afford is junk food? And I don't talk fast food , I refer to soup in a cup and stuff like that , because I represent a mix of lazy and low budget. Also , the main problem would not bet what do I eat when at home , because I can cook a stew or something , but when on the road, what do you consider as good food? I mean , I am 10kg's fatter than I should(I am a short person , 1.74m) , but I never go down and thus my main body looks fat ( not the legs , not arms). So how can I go down 10kg's when my life is not that sedentary?

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Claire B said...

I'm starting today and I hope I get to my goal in the future, thank you for sharing your experience.

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