5 Tricks that helped me lose weight

I was always a bit more on the chubbier side – not very surprising, considering that I am only 5’2. Because of my little height my body needs much less energy (calories) than someone taller, but my appetite can easily match the appetite of a 6’2 guy. So it’s a bit hard for me to stay in shape. When I moved to Scotland for my Erasmus Exchange the “Freshers Fifteen” (this is a joke in British universities, that every Fresher gains approximately 15 lbs after moving to university) hit me hard.

My 15 were much closer to 30 and I realised I had to make drastic changes. Just a quick note beforehand: Losing weight is actually quite “easy”. To lost 0.5 kg you need to “save” 3500 calories. That means if you eat 500 calories less than your TDEE (calories that your body burns on a daily basis) for a week straight, you will lose 0.5 kg. This equation is somewhat easy. The difficult part is following your calories and then sticking to your new diet to keep the weight off.

1. Count your calories

If I could give only one tip to anyone, this would be it. It’s also super easy to do when you use an app like YAZIO (which is the one I like to use) or MyFitnessPal.

2. Stay Clear of Liquid Calories

Those add up so easily, without you even noticing. Also do not forget about “tiny” things, like the milk in your coffee.

3. Try to follow the 80/20 rule

You will crave sweets and all kinds of junk food, so just allow yourself to eat them – but in moderation. I for example have an incredible sweet tooth. So I just have some chocolate with my coffee in the afternoon and some kind of dessert after dinner to curb my cravings and to prevent a binge.

4. Aim for pre-packaged foods

I think this one might be a bit controversial, especially because I try to be as eco-friendly and zero-waste as possible. But here it is: buy pre-packaged food – especially candy. If you have an already opened bar of chocolate in front of you, you’re much more likely to keep on snacking than you’re to rip open a new bar of chocolate.

5. The Classic: Meal Prepping

I don’t pre-cook for the entire week, but I like to take ten minutes before going to bed to lay out the majority of my food for the next day. Furthermore, I also like to make sure that I leave some wiggle room for an unplanned snack.

Weightloss is a very individual matter! Please don’t ever starve yourself in order to lose weight!