Attempting to lose weight this time around, I decided to jump on my computer to do a bit more research on weight loss. I had already known the basics such as, calories in and calories out; however, I wanted to do a deeper dive on why I had failed in the past. Whenever I tried losing weight in the past, I would basically starve myself, not track calories, and not have the best eating habits. This resulted in binge eating episodes where I would eat an endless amount of calories. I have always struggled with binge eating my whole life, but that is a blog for another time.
This time around, I did research on my eating habits. Not just what I ate, but my environment when I ate and how much time I spent eating. I learned that a distracting environment and way of eating my food could be a trigger for my binge eating episodes. A distracting environment mainly included watching Netflix or doom scrolling on my phone while I ate, but could also be a conversation with a friend or co-worker. To counter this, I canceled Netflix, YouTube Premium, disabled social media, and deleted all applications on all my devices. I decided that for the sake of my health, I would not be using any of these applications again until I saw results.
In addition, I decided that chewing my food more would help my brain with processing my eaten food. Before this, I was practically inhaling my food. I would chew just enough to pass my food through and then just swallow. I decided to chew all my food to tiny bits and pieces before swallowing.
Next, I decided to be more disciplined on my calorie tracking habits. Prior to this, I had only worried about tracking my protein intake, but I let God take the wheel when it came to calories. Since I was consistent with my weight lifting, my only focus was on getting stronger. I figured that as long as I hit my lifts and ate enough to support recovery, I'd be fine. But in reality, I was often overeating without realizing it. Sometimes I wouldn't even track my protein, assuming my large meals covered it. And while I was hitting my protein goals most of the time, I was still consuming way more calories than I needed.
So I made a change. I began accurately logging everything I ate even the oils I cooked with, the sauces I used, and the random handfuls of snacks I’d grab throughout the day. I started meal prepping more intentionally and weighing my food to get honest about portion sizes. This new level of awareness gave me a sense of control I hadn’t felt before.
Another big shift was my vegetable intake. For most of my life, veggies were an afterthought. But now, I made it a priority to include vegetables in every meal not just for the nutrients, but also for the volume. Adding things like broccoli, spinach, lettuce, and kimchi helped me stay full and satisfied without going over on calories. I found that when I built my meals around lean proteins, high-fiber carbs, and a big serving of vegetables, I didn’t feel the urge to binge as often. I felt nourished and in control.
With these changes in place more mindful eating, better calorie tracking, and a diet rich in whole, nutrient-dense foods I started seeing real progress. Slowly but surely, the weight started coming off. No crash dieting, no starving myself. Just consistency and discipline.
So far, I’ve dropped 30 pounds gradually, over several months. The scale moved slowly, but for once, I didn’t feel rushed. I knew this time was different. I wasn’t just losing weight I was building a healthier relationship with food, with my body, and with myself.
And I’m still going. This journey isn’t over but now, I’m not just hoping for change. I’m creating it.
