How I Lost 11 Kilos In 5 Months: The last year has been a hard year for everyone. Personally, it really affected me. Being stuck at home due to the lockdowns and having many restrictions definitely made an impact on my weight. I was feeling so unfit and unhealthy. As a result, I let myself go. I started eating more as well as being less active too. I managed to pull myself together and set myself a goal that I am so close to achieving now. With a lot of hard work, I have managed to lose 11 kilos (1.7 Stones) in 5 months which I still can’t believe is real!
It hasn’t been easy but I am so happy I am very close to reaching my goal and I am feeling happier and content. A few people have asked me what I have done to help me with this process, so I thought I would share with you what I have done so hopefully it will be helpful for you too.
How I Lost 11 Kilos In 5 Months
See below 7 things I have done to help me lose 11 kilos (1.7 Stones):
1. Calorie Count Diet
One of the ways I lost 11 kilos was to switch to a calorie-counting diet. This is not easy to do from one day to another so I decided to get the first push that I needed to go in the correct direction. I subscribed to a monthly plan with Diet Chef who work through a calorie count method. This is not an Ad. I paid for the subscription myself. I wanted something easy for me to start with my journey and they were the best option out there for me.
I received a monthly meal delivery with everything I needed for the month, so I had a variety of choices for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. The important part was to determine the number of calories I was going to eat per day. After checking my BMI, they suggested eating 1200 calories per day, this way I was able to lose around 700/800 grams (1.54/1.76 lbs) weekly.
I did this for the first 3 months and then I carried on doing my diet by myself but without this first push, I wouldn’t have been able to do it myself. So this was a massive help for me. I know that a calorie count diet is not for everyone (and I mean in general counting your calories) but if you are happy with this method, I would really recommend it.
2. Be Active
Together with the diet comes exercise. I started this diet in February so as soon as the lockdown ended and the kids were back at school, I decided to do the school runs either walking or scooting. This was very helpful as I was doing this twice a day. After being at home for longer periods of time, being more active really helped me.
I tried to be constantly active. As I said in a previous blog post, even embracing cleaning my flat every morning for a few hours really helped me to burn calories. I also use the Vibrapower Slim 3 for 15 minutes a few times a week as well as choosing different workouts via the Apple Fitness+ App. They have dance, core, HIIT, strength, yoga among others. It is really good.
3. Get A Fitness Tracker
For me, this was so important and a big help during this journey. Different options exist, such as Fitbit, Smartwatch or maybe electrocardiograms with a strap around your chest, wristband, etc.
I was in between a Fitbit and an Apple Watch but after a little research, I got an Apple Watch as I thought it would be more beneficial for me. The last version comes with so many great features, as it not only checks my steps but the calories I burn, measures all the ways I move, and has meaningful health insights helping you focus on your overall health and wellness.
It tells me when I haven’t been active so I know it is time to move around. This is great as sometimes I can be in front of my laptop for hours without being aware of the time. It also tells me to breathe which relaxes me a lot. This has been a game-changer for me.
4. Calorie Count App
At the start, I was making notes of all the calories I was eating manually. I got a notepad and I was writing down the calories every time I ate something. This was time-consuming and demanding.
This changed when I was recommended the Lose It! App. I always like to try new apps so I gave it a go. This App is fantastic because it records everything that I eat so easily. It has a bar code option so I can scan any food that has a barcode and the nutrition information appears in the app with the number of calories. It tells me the total calories I have eaten every day so I don’t have to calculate it myself.
One of the features that I love the most is that it synchronises with my Apple Watch so it also added any calories that I have burnt after any activities that I have done each day, this way it makes the calculations for me and adds more calories for me to eat on that day, so I am never under my 1200 calories I am allowed daily. This is fantastic for me because it helps me not to be hungry.
5. Weekly Weight Tracking
I track my weight on a weekly basis instead of every day, this way I don’t have to stress about checking if I lose weight or not every day. I just know that my weight will fluctuate and hopefully, after 7 days, I will be able to see some results.
So far I have been able to lose weight every week during these 5 months apart from 1 week where I stayed the same. I also add this information on the Lose It! App, so I am able to track my weight progress there too.
6. Have Some Breaks
Birthday break
Another Break – Peruvian Restaurant
Sometimes it is good to have small breaks so you have a little break for a meal but then you carry on with the diet. I have done this 3 times now. My birthday was in May so we went for a delicious Afternoon Tea and didn’t worry about what I was eating. I just enjoyed the moment.
I did the same for dinner out with friends at one of my favourite Peruvian restaurants and I also had a pizza treat on one Friday night. Every time that I have done this, I am always nervous that it would ruin all the progress I have achieved so far but the good news is that it helps with my metabolism. Doing the same routine over and over can get your body to settle, so doing these breaks once in a while actually helps break this pattern allowing you to continue to lose weight again.
7. Be Kind To Yourself
Losing weight can be a hard process and some weeks are better than others, so if you don’t lose enough some weeks, do not panic. It could be too many factors to this such as being the week that you are menstruating or maybe you are not feeling very well. Life is not easy and it is normal to go through ups and downs, so be kind to yourself when you don’t reach those goals for some weeks. This is completely normal and I am sure that the following week will be much better.
I hope these 7 tips for how I lost 11 kilos in 5 months are also useful for you.
What other tips or advice could you add to this list?
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤️
Franca 💋
Good for you! That’s fantastic, I’ve been put on a cholesterol lowing diet so I lost 4kgs in 6 weeks with ease – it’s the world’s most boring diet tho. You can eat a lot, just not anything nice. So there’s that….(I am not a diet person so this doctors orders business is a punishment…losing weight or not!) #KCACOLS
Gorgeous. I am glad you were able to accomplish your goals. I am working toward losing some more too, but a hip/back injury makes it a challenge. Working though. #KCACOLS
Well done! I need to do the same. Diet Chef works for me so I’ll probably do that. #kcacols
Well done, Franca! I love that you haven’t just cut the calories, but also really embraced the exercise part too. You’re an inspiration to me.
#kcacols
Trying loose weight as wheelchair user is difficult, so I am going to try this #kcacols@_karendennis
Well done Franca! I also found it incredibly difficult to keep my weight stable over the winter lockdown. I agree with all your points above and have found my fitness watch to really help me be aware of how active I have been each day. My only other advice would be to find exercise that you enjoy so that it doesn’t feel like a burden. Keep up the good work 🙂 #KCACOLS
Congratulations looking fabulous too. I really need to take action with my weight so calorie counting may be a good option #KCACOLS
Congruatulatons that is such a brilliant achievement and fantastic advice especially being kind to yourself, easy to sapatage at the smallest thing and give in x #kcacols
You look amazing, not just from a weight loss perspective but you look really strong and healthy. Some great tips, I’m just starting my journey to lose 2 stone and seeing that you’ve done it whilst still eating real food has given me a real boost.
Katrina x
#KCACOLS
Well done Franca! And these are great tips. My hubby (who sometimes diets as he puts on weight easily) always says that there are no miracle diets, the basic physics of it is that you need to put in less calories than you burn off. So keeping track of calories and doing exercise is really what works best for most people, IF done properly, not cheating. Good idea to have a few specific breaks from it though, for special occassions, so it doesn’t feel like too much of a burden.
I saw a tweet the other day from a person who pointed out that if we really want to ‘protect the NHS’, we should take more responsibility for our own health, on an everyday kind of basis. So for example eat healthy, don’t drink too much, don’t smoke, do exercise, make sure to rest when needed etc. Not always easy to follow maybe, but a good point well made, I think! xx #KCACOLS
To many fast food takeaways and salt and sugar used in the general food supply in the UK which adds to all the over weight and bad health for profits #KCACOLS
You have done so well and lost weight in a healthy sensible way which has got to be good
Well done, I am on a low calorie diet, reducing carbs too. Lost 1 stone and 1 lb so far in about 3 months. Slow and steady for me.
Congratulations I have a lot to lose but so far have lost nearly 10kg in 4 months.
Well done!
Well done thats amazing!