For most people, losing weight is a difficult task. Some manage to lose three to five pounds, but when they relax even a little, they rebound with five to six pounds, making their weight resemble a yo-yo, continuously caught in a vicious cycle of weight loss and rebound.
I managed to go from 132 pounds to 102 pounds in just three months, and after losing weight, I maintained my figure without rebounding, achieving my ideal shape. Many people ask how I did it—whether I took some weight loss pills or found a shortcut with meal replacements.
I don’t have any shortcuts to share; instead, I followed the underlying logic of weight loss, reasonably creating a caloric deficit to promote a decrease in body fat percentage.
Now, I would like to share my weight loss insights, focusing on both exercise and diet, hoping you find something useful.
Weeks 1-2,
In these two weeks, I lost about 6 pounds.
In terms of diet, I eliminated snacks, learned to eat healthily, and gradually adjusted my eating habits. I chose low-calorie and lightly processed foods to create a caloric deficit for my body.
I only ate three meals a day, drank a cup of warm water before meals, reduced the intake of staples by half, increased my vegetable intake, and stopped eating when I was about 80% full, controlling my daily caloric intake to between 1500-1600 calories.
In terms of exercise, I insisted on walking briskly for an hour each day, divided into two 30-minute sessions, which gradually improved my cardiovascular function, effectively increasing my metabolic activity and promoting calorie burning.
Weeks 3-6,
During these four weeks, I lost about 10 pounds.
In terms of diet, I followed the meal plan of the first week and implemented the 5+2 intermittent fasting plan every Monday and Thursday, controlling calorie intake to 800 calories on these days. My main starches were whole grains, and vegetables made up half of each meal. All food was primarily cooked by steaming or boiling with low oil and salt.
Example meal plan for fasting days:
Breakfast: a cup of black coffee + one boiled corn + two boiled eggs
Lunch: one steamed sweet potato + a portion of boiled seasonal vegetables
Dinner: one cucumber + a piece of pan-seared chicken breast
In terms of exercise, on fasting days, I walked more than 10,000 steps daily; on non-fasting days, I combined brisk walking and jogging for an hour.
Weeks 7-10
During these four weeks, I lost about 11 pounds.
I followed a 16+8 intermittent fasting plan, completing three meals within eight hours and fasting for the remaining sixteen hours, only drinking water and keeping daily calories under 1500.
Specific meal plans for the three meals include:
Breakfast: 1-2 boiled eggs + a cup of whole milk + 2 slices of whole grain bread + 100g of apple
Lunch: 100g mixed grain rice + 100g steamed fish or chicken breast + 200g stir-fried seasonal vegetables (such as lettuce, kale, baby bok choy, water spinach, and watercress),
Dinner: 150g of corn, sweet potato, or potato + 250g of broccoli stir-fried with carrots + 100g of poached shrimp or boiled chicken breast
In terms of exercise, I alternated between strength training and aerobic exercises every other day. On strength training days, I scheduled a set of squats, knee push-ups, and lunges, performing each movement 15 times for 5 sets to strengthen muscle groups. On aerobic exercise days, I arranged for 15 minutes of jumping jacks or jumping rope, in 2-minute sets.
