When I look at pictures of myself two years ago, I honestly don’t believe that this guy was actually me. Don’t get me wrong, I loved myself back then, but I was slowly killing myself every day and I didn’t even know it. I used to eat like crazy, and by crazy I mean Snorlax crazy. I didn’t care whether I was hungry or not, I just ate. Food was just there for me whenever I needed it. I went to food when I was happy, sad, and every feeling in between.
Some people would say life as a teenager in Egypt is fine, but that wasn’t the case for me. It was hard. Really hard. If you didn’t have certain qualities, then you’re a nobody. You had to be funny, cool or fit. I wasn’t any of these things, especially the latter. I was fat, and it was horrible. I was the subject of bullying for many years, and no, that’s not what made me transform myself to who I am now. Bullying was part of my everyday life and I accepted it. What made me snap was something entirely else. One day, the power was out in my neighborhood and I had to climb the steps to my home. Bear in my mind I lived on the sixth floor, so it was quite a journey for me. When I reached my floor I felt like I was literally dying. Literally. My heart felt like it was going to come out of my chest and I thought I was going to pass out. At this very moment I decided to lose weight and utterly change my life. I didn’t want to be that person anymore.
Losing weight is much harder than what it sounds like; you go through extremes to become the person you are now. For me, the hardest part was the beginning of it, I went through excruciating pain to pass the first few weeks. After a long year and a half, I finally transformed. With every kilo I lost, I learned and discovered new tips and tricks. I believe a big part of my transformation is giving back, so I’m going to do just that and let some of my secrets out.
First things first, set your goal
Decide how many kilos you want to lose and in how much time you’re planning to do so. Oh, and don’t go “I wanna lose 10 kilos in five months” or “I wanna lose 12 kilos in a week,” be realistic. For beginners, one or two kilos a week is very, very reasonable.
Man or woman up
It’s gonna be intense and crazy. You’ll definitely lose it in the middle and start imagining chocolate fountains and talking cheesy burgers inviting you to eat them. Don’t be led astray, you can do it, just focus on your goal.
Be your own chef
It is very challenging having to eat healthy food all the time, especially when you work long hours and have to resort to ordering food from the office. You can easily fix that by packing everything you need before you leave your home. Nope, it’s not hard, it’s actually really easy. The trick here is smart packing. What I personally do is pack two apples, three oat biscuits, a tiny Hershey’s kiss (because I’m a human being) for snacks. As for my actual lunch, I’ll let you know in the next point.
What you can have for lunch
For me, lunch is the most delicious, stomach-filling meal of the day, so you better focus right now. Here’s a list of all the food you can eat combined with a piece of grilled chicken, veal or fish for lunch: sauteed vegetables, salad, mashed or grilled potatoes. This looks like it’s not a lot of options, but it’s actually a lot and it should keep you entertained for at least two months.
What you can’t have for lunch
This is literally the hardest part. The list of goods you should never ever eat under any condition whatsoever in this period of time: sweets of any kind, anything that ends or rhymes with cakes, anything made with chocolate, honey, jam, anything fried, anything covered in mayo or ketchup, fizzy drinks, shawerma *cries*, pasta, rice, all sorts of homemade ma7shi. I know, I know, it’s a very long list, but trust me, life doesn’t stop here, and after you’re done with your goal, you can start eating all these delicious stuff back again with moderation. Oh, and for sushi fans, good news, you can eat up to eight sushi pieces a week.
Tea, tea is very important
You have to drink at least three cups of green tea, two cups of anise, two cups of ginger and two cups of mint a day. It looks like a lot to keep track of but here’s the twist, you can mix and match two or more of these herbal drinks together in one cup. They increase your metabolism exponentially, and have helped me a lot.
Hide from everyone
Try to hide during the period of your progress, you of course know how people in our society tend to be envious. Once a tiny progress is seen on you, they’ll start either envying you or demotivating you in a way that’ll let you down, and the last thing you need right now is negative energy.
Work, work, work
Believe it or not, music can help make this whole process easier. I recommend listening to upbeat, fun and feel-good music.
Finally, stop reading and start doing
I did it and so can you. It’s very easy once you get your mindset ready for it, and trust me, the final result is going to make you proud. No one can motivate you but yourself. Take a photo every now and again and to see your hard work pay off.
WE SAID THIS: This listicle helped me a lot, and I hope it helps you too. Good luck.