How I Lost The First 17 lbs And Kept It Off

Losing weight can be tough, especially if you grew up a foodie like I did. I was overweight for the majority of my life, up until my early 20s when I started eating healthier, working out, and wearing corsets for waist training. Throughout my 20s, I kept my weight in the range of 120-130 lbs, and corseting always kept my hourglass shape.

But in my late 20s I started dating my husband; we went everywhere, and ate everything. That’s when my weight started to slowly creep up on the scale, but I didn’t really care. I was happy, dating the man of my dreams, and soon to be engaged! My weight was not something I was paying attention to; I mean, I kept weighing myself daily, but I didn’t care to change anything.

But after we got married my weight kept creeping up! I remember weighing myself one day, and the scale staring back at me with big bold numbers that read: 168.

I was mortified, and ran to my husband, crying, demanding we change our lifestyle immediately. Enough was enough. Changing my diet and lifestyle was the only way to kickstart my weight loss, and I’m so glad I made the decision.

I started cooking again, eating out less, and walking between 5,000 – 8,000 steps every other day.

The weight was coming off very slowly. I guess my body wanted to see if I was going to stick with my new lifestyle before it decided to change.

But once I started dropping the first few pounds, I decided to up the ante and lock TF in!

The following details are what I did to lose the first 17 lbs. I want to make it clear that I am not recommending any of this. I am simply sharing with you, dear reader, what I did to lose the first 17 lbs. For general information on healthy weight loss and maintaining weight loss, the CDC’s guidance on losing weight is a good place to start.

How I Went From 168 lbs to 151 lbs

10k steps MINIMUM daily: I honestly swear by this! Sometimes all at once, or I’d break it up. In the AM I would do about 90 min, then in the evening when the UV was a 3 or less, I’d go walk outside. Sometimes my step counter would get up to 15-20k steps!
Dieting 800-1600 cals daily: I was counting calories when I went down to 151 lbs. I switched on and off with counting calories, and I definitely noticed that I lost weight faster when I was counting. I’m sharing this because it’s what I did at the time, not because I’m recommending an 800-calorie diet.
Eating with my corset on: I would do my best to eat while my corset was on, and I would either just loosen it up a bit, or leave it how it was. There were times, however, when I took it off completely to eat.
Re-feeds on weekends: I would eat about 2000+ cals a day (Friday & Saturday, not always Sunday), like pizza, ice cream, etc. But I decided to stop this because it defeated the purpose of losing weight during the week. I would gain water weight from all the sodium and have to start “all over again” on Sunday/Monday, and try to lose what I gained over the weekend. It’s very self-destructive, and I no longer do this.
Taking Miralax: TMI bathroom talk! I was getting a bit constipated because some days I wasn’t eating enough. I started using Clearlax at night before bed (it’s Miralax, but the Amazon brand lol). My body was getting used to the effects of my AM espresso, which wasn’t doing the bathroom trick anymore. So sometimes I’d need to drink Clearlax before bed, then in the morning I’d add about 4 oz. of coffee to my two shots of espresso.
Eating protein 80-100g daily: I was drinking two of the Fairlife protein drink from Costco (you can get it on Amazon, too!) which has 30g of protein each.
Eating a boring diet:
- meal 1:
  - 2 hard boiled eggs, cut up cucumber & cherry tomatoes
  - OR instead, 1/4 cup oats w/ berries & sunflower butter
  - coffee/espresso mixed with chocolate Fairlife protein shake
- snack:
  - banana & another protein shake
- meal 2:
  - chicken breast w/ tortilla, salsa & veg, usually green beans (sometimes I’d add cheese or sour cream, but I’d measure everything!!)
  - OR instead, nonfat greek yogurt mixed with fruit & honey
- snack: Lesser Evil popcorn Himalayan Gold, or I’d have fruit
- nighttime snack: protein shake and/or cheese stick

What I Learned About Sustainable Weight Loss

I realized that I could try any diet I wanted and work out as hard as I could. But if it wasn’t something I would be able to keep up with once I lost the weight, there was a pretty good chance I’d gain the weight back–which has happened to me multiple times.

Constant and Consistent Weigh-Ins

I weighed myself when I first woke up, after I went poop, and again in the evening. Why so much? To get used to my fluctuating weights. Some people fluctuate around three pounds a day, while others only 0.3 lbs. I fluctuated around 1-2 lbs. during the day.

For example, I’d be 158.4 in the morning, then after my coffee, drinking water, and using the restroom, I’d be at 158.8 lbs.

Then in the evening, I’d be 159.2 lbs. And again the next morning I’d be back down to 158.4 or 158.2 or 158.8 depending on my water and sodium intake. Or I would drop down to 157.8 or 157.6 if I did my 10k steps and stuck to my diet.

I know people say not to weigh yourself all the time because you can get obsessed, and it might not be good for your mental health. But I’m okay with being obsessed with myself. I want to know my body from the inside out! I want to know the effects my body has when I tweak things here and there.

Why I Wanted to Lose Weight

For skinny privilege, duh!
To be able to fit into the clothes again and not rely solely on leggings and sweaters. (I didn’t want to buy clothes after my weight gain, I felt that would have been a waste of money, because I wasn’t planning on staying that size.)
To not feel so tired all the time–being heavy kept me lethargic and craving constant naps
To lower my cholesterol–it was really high at my last check-up
I’m 5’2” and I “should” weigh in the 110s or lower
Body image–I’m not into the “big butt” look anymore, and haven’t been for a while. I just “dealt” with my big butt and hips, because I guess I figured I’m stuck with them (I’ve had saddlebag hips all my life)
My hips were hurting, and I associated the discomfort with carrying more weight
Less unwanted attention from creepy guys; I noticed a certain type of attention when I was heavier that I didn’t particularly enjoy
Sick and tired of dresses and skirts riding up
Chafing, from my legs rubbing together all the time
My arms made me look bigger than I was
Better physical connection with my husband; I felt heavy and uncomfortable

Workouts

At first, I was doing bodyweight exercises because the pump I got from weight training made me feel like I looked bulkier under my body fat. I wanted to lose some of the fat first.

What I Was Doing Initially

Daily abs: planks, crunches, leg lifts, standing bicycles
Daily bum: donkeys & doggies, standing side leg lifts
Daily arms: Push ups and tricep extensions

What I Added Later

After a few months, I started incorporating very light weights with the same exercises. For arms, I added 5-10 lb dumbbells, and for legs I used 20-30 lb dumbbells. I did 15-25 reps, 4-5 times for each exercise.

Corset Training

During the initial phase of my weight loss, I started taking online classes for senior supportive services. I was on my laptop for eight hours a day. This brought on neck aches, back aches, and headaches. And so I decided not to wear my corset until my classes were over.

I wasn’t really wearing my corset as often as I used to (20+ hours daily). But I still wore it to bed (7-8 hours). Once I started losing weight and my classes were finishing, I decided to start waist training again. I did it at a much slower, reduced rate, 5-6 hours a day, as well as during sleep. If you want to read more about my overall corset waist training lifestyle, check out Corset Waist Training Lifestyle: My Story and Why I Still Do It.

Now I’m not saying I lost the first 17 lbs perfectly, nor am I telling you to do it this way. Everyone’s body is different, and while some of these weight loss ideas might work for you, others might not. Either way, if you’re on your weight loss journey, I wish you the best. You’ve got this!!

♡, S