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By: Suzanne Kvilhaug

Sometimes I’m not that passionate about talking or writing about weight loss anymore. I think it's mainly because it feels like such a long time ago when I started the journey. But then somehow I’m reminded of how different life can be if you’re unhappy in your own body and if one thing I say helps one person get to their weight loss goal, it’s worth putting my experience and perspective out there. Since an estimated 45 million Americans diet each year and spend about $33 billion each year on weight-loss products this is something many people continue to struggle with. Even with the birth of the body positivity movement, you can still be proud of your own body yet want it to feel and look different eventually. My personal preference is being smaller. It just has always been that way and it seems like it always will be that way. With that said, I was mindful about being as confident and happy as I could be when I was on the heavier side. I really never thought I’d get to where I am now and it still takes me by surprise when someone makes a comment about how I’m really skinny. I think if you’ve ever gone through a period in your life where you felt overweight, you almost can’t believe it’s not a part of your existence anymore.

One thing that seems to be all too common is the idea that if you really want to lose a lot of weight, you’re going to have to give up a lot. I never found that concept to be true and although it wasn’t always easy, I was conscious about enjoying the process and making sure I did so in a healthy way that was true to myself. Here are 7 things I personally found that I did not have to give up in order to lose weight.

Days where you don’t exercise

I was never going to be that person at the gym every single day dedicating a different body part to work on Monday-Sunday. I think I thought about setting up that structure once and then got honest with myself and stopped before I even started. No matter how well it may work, it’s not for me. A whole session at the gym dedicated to my core? I’d hop on the treadmill with a magazine about 10 minutes after starting that. Over time my workouts have completely shifted and I was even able to lose the nearly impossible to shed pounds by simply running and walking. No group classes, no personal trainer - just me, myself, and I. As for days off? I definitely have had many. It’s not often that I don’t do something physical but I make sure to have days where I do nothing at all for a mental and physical break.

Feeling genuinely excited about cooking

In terms of being naturally talented in the kitchen, I fall short. After watching my friend who’s a plant-based chef make her breakfast the other day (I’m sorry, HOW did you make it look like that?!), I’ve come to the conclusion that you either have the chef’s touch or you don’t. Even though I don’t, I definitely prefer to make a lot of my meals and I cook often. I knew I would have to if I wanted to both be healthy and slim. If you like to experiment with new recipes, the number of healthy recipes available in blogs, cookbooks, and so on could be in the billions at this point. And these recipes are by no means boring and if you’re fearful that things won’t taste good, “just you wait”. Over time I’ve come to find it’s the opposite of what we were conditioned to think. When I see an unhealthy recipe I associate it with blah/won’t taste good vs. when I see a healthy one I think “ooh la la” - this is going to be real good.

That magical cup of coffee in the morning

Not all but some diets and programs do recommend getting rid of coffee if you want to lose weight. No way Jose, I’m keeping the cup of joe in my routine and that’s that. One thing we humans got right in my opinion is that nature gave us coffee beans for a bit of daily morning bliss. I’ve had one cup of coffee every morning for as long as I can remember and I’m more on the side of thinking that coffee in moderation is good for weight loss.

Eating a whole lot of fruit

Nothing hurts my plant-based heart like when someone thinks they have to eat very little fruit to lose weight. When it comes to eating whole fruit, it is almost impossible to consume enough fructose to cause harm. Fruits contain large amounts of important nutrients, including fiber, vitamins, minerals, and various antioxidants and plant compounds. One of the last things you should fear when you want to lose weight is fruit.

Going out to eat and really enjoying the experience

Can not even tell you the last time I ordered a salad somewhere. Not to say some salads don’t look appealing but they’ve never felt exciting enough. Zzz! I prefer hot hearty meals and even as a vegan who’s looking to stay slim, I can find options that fall under that category at a decent amount of restaurants. If you’re someone who loves to go out to eat for the whole experience, it’s still possible.

Basing your meals on your mood

I feel like there should be sad background music playing in videos of people meal prepping and placing the same super healthy thing in containers. If you don’t mind planning meals then all the power to you but if you’re someone who would rather make food choices based on your current mood, you can still make healthy things on the fly. I learned that having a decent amount of healthy ingredients on hand allows you to make exactly what you want without sabotaging your efforts.

Sweets that hit the spot

Maybe I thought I’d never lose weight because of my preference for sweets. I don’t have an over-the-top sweet tooth like I used to but it’ll always be there. At least one sweet a day is pretty much mandatory for me and I never ever run out of healthy options or feel deprived. The key has been to replace the old-fashioned sweets with more modern and vegan ones. Cutting out regular flour-based and dairy-based sweets and replacing them with things that include ingredients like plant-based milks, oat flour, and maple syrup has made all the difference in the world for me. And if you do decide to use an established program to lose weight, Nutrisystem’s plans come with tons of healthier versions of your favorite sweets and snacks, like cookies, ice cream bars, and cupcakes.

Starting off with a mindset that you’re going to be entering a world full of deprivation, rules, and misery in order to see that magic number on the scale is going to be counterproductive. By learning intuitively what works best for you and checking in with yourself to make sure you aren’t sacrificing your happiness and wellness, you’ll have a general strategy that can lead you to big results.

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