Losing 20 Pounds; How It Feels

By Brooke Bradley

    I lost 20 Lbs, and I feel a lot different than I did when I was 20 lbs heavier so here are a few things I've noticed. At first, the weight loss was unintentional. I felt stressed and overwhelmed all of the time at the beginning of the year because it was a big change from middle school. I was so stressed with all the new people I completely lost my appetite for the first few weeks. When someone said something about me losing weight. I realized I wanted to lose weight on purpose because I knew I could do it much faster and my quality of life would improve. I’ve always gained and lost weight easily, so I would say that it’s been easier for me than most people.  I started researching diets when I was in 6th grade.  I was on Keto for a year before giving up, and I felt miserable. Since then, I've gained a bit more knowledge than the average person about diets. Keto is a fad diet meaning it’s not sustainable for the long term and the only reason it works is because you are eating less calorically dense foods and less in general. When I started my new diet in August I felt the weight just melting off of me. I didn't do much exercise besides having my step goal go up from 6000 to 10,000. I started walking more and doing a calorie deficit, meaning I’m burning more calories than I'm consuming, therefore, burning fat. As I lost weight, I noticed none of my old clothes fit, and I had to start wearing belts and my younger sister’s clothes. I started seeing the effects before others noticed my weight loss. People didn't start noticing until the 15 lbs mark. Which was slightly discouraging, but what mattered was consistency. It didn't matter if I was sick or if my parents were having fast food for dinner I stayed with counting calories.

    So what was the big realization in the beginning? I was shocked at how many empty calories I consumed in soft drinks and sauces. I’ve always loved ketchup and Dr. Pepper, but the calories tend to add up quickly, so I started limiting my cokes to one a week and made them all diet. As for ketchup, I just put much less on my food than before. Another struggle was sweets. I love chocolate, and I tend to crave it so I had to learn self-control when it came to only grabbing a piece instead of a whole bar. Overall, the pros far outweigh the cons. It was hard in the beginning, but thinking of it as a lifestyle change instead of a self-punishing diet helped. I’m much happier and more active now. I get along better with people in life and people overall are nicer. I honestly can say I don’t regret a single thing about it because I’m so much happier. I'm getting along better with my family, especially my younger brother. I used to be so exhausted and lethargic at the end of the day. But now I try to be more active and play with my younger brother all the time instead of being mad and grumpy all the time.