The Only 3 Things that Worked for Me

Hi all! Long-time lurker and first-time poster. My entire adult life, I've wanted to lose ~20lbs. I've always been active and relatively normal-sized, but my "dream body" was always still just out of reach and never seemed attainable. However, since about March of this year, I finally made three critical changes that truly transformed everything. Now, two weeks shy of my 30th birthday, I'm where I've always wanted to be. Thought I'd share in case they're helpful to anyone else! These were the ONLY three things I changed, and they made all the difference.

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1. I changed my mindset around CICO. I've always counted calories, but I used to think of calories in as "My BMR is ~1,500cals, so I should try to go below that." I shifted my thinking to be "My BMR is 1,000cals, so I CAN'T go above that." I don't know why, but this mentality worked so much better for me. I was lying to myself, but I eventually believed it!
2. I cut out added sugar (and fake sweeteners) as much as possible and focused on protein in every meal/snack. I've tried all kinds of "diet" changes over the years - intermittent fasting, keto, paleo, etc., but nothing worked (or stuck long enough to work). However, once I cut out added sugar (I used to eat a lotttt of Nutella) and focused on making sure I was getting some protein with every single thing I put in my body, I found myself snacking far less often and feeling super satisfied. I never deprived myself of anything - If I want my nightly mug cake, I make my nightly mug cake - just with added protein powder to it. I also found that after about a month of cravings, I eventually didn't even want anything sugar-y anymore.
3. I drink a gallon of water every day. No exceptions. I chug it even when I'm full. I go for my water bottle as soon as I feel hungry. I drink a tall, cold glass every morning before I do anything else. I promise, it's key!

I hope this is helpful to someone out there! Thanks to this community for always giving great advice when I've been lurking in the past :)

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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/prmanm/the_only_3_things_that_worked_for_me/