Weight Loss Stories – Sasha Lost 20 Pounds

Name: Sasha
Age: 19
Family Status: Single
Occupation: Student
Hometown: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Height: 5’5″
Waist: 32″
Starting Weight: 187 pounds
Current Weight: 167 pounds
Pounds or Inches Lost: I lost 20 pounds!

Sasha’s Weight Loss Story!

When did you become unhappy with your weight?
When my Dad told me I looked “the fattest you’ve ever been”.

What made you decide to lose weight?
Realizing that I’ve reached my “high of all time”. Being disgusted by the fact that whenever I bent over, I had 5 fat rolls on my tummy. The desire to show my Dad I could lose it. Finally, doing something about my constant weight hardship.

What were the most important changes you made to lose weight?
Prior to losing weight, I was on a junk food diet consisting of junk meals 3-4 times a day, as well as a ton of sweets (gummies). I simply stopped eating junk and decreased my consumption of sweets. Throughout the weight loss period, I tried many different things like adopting a rigorous exercise regime. I tried Tim Ferriss’ diet, the Calorie Count diet, going vegetarian and lots of others.

What was most challenging about losing weight?
When I was on Tim Ferriss’ diet, the hardest thing was not having any white carbs all week until the cheat day. Cravings for junk food and sweets were and are unbearable at times as well.

How long did it take you to start to see results?
First week.

How long did it take for you to reach your current weight?
1 year and 8 months.

How long have you maintained your weight loss and how do you do it?
I’m still losing weight. My goal is to lose 60 pounds by my 20th Birthday (April 17 2009). After trying many different weight loss methods, I’ve finally decided to commit to being vegetarian, watching my calories and exercising (3-5 times a week, 1-1.5 hours a day, 30-45 minutes cardio and 30-45 minutes strength training).

How has your life changed now that you’ve lost weight?
I no longer hear horrid remarks about my weight from Dad or anyone else, which is fantastic. I now have a wonderful boyfriend who supports my weight loss goals. I feel much more energetic, self-confident and have acquired enormous faith in myself.

How did ShapeFit help you reach your weight loss goals?
To me, reading the weight loss stories is a huge motivation. Whenever I feel like I can’t go on or when I start to get off track, I come back to ShapeFit.com in search of inspiration and I always find it!

Sasha’s Weight Loss Tips!

Weight loss tip #1:
Try to cut out as much red meat from your diet as possible. It has a terrifying amount of saturated fat and is very hard to digest. Stick to poultry and fish. If you want to lose weight fast, go vegetarian or even vegan, but be sure to do it properly. Also, don’t eat past 7pm.

Weight loss tip #2:
Drink more than 3 liters of water a day. Cut out all sugary drinks (soda, juices, etc) and stick to diet sodas, black coffee and green tea. I personally use honey as a sweetener.

Weight loss tip #3:
Try to decrease your consumption of or completely cut out all starch (i.e. bread, pastry, pasta, etc). Same goes for alcohol. It’s fine only in small amounts, like 1 glass of wine a day, since it helps break down fats and aids the heart, but no more than that.

Weight loss tip #4:
Design an exercise regime and try it out. If you don’t like it, change or diss it. If you like it, stick to it. Never stick to an exercise regime you don’t like. That way you’re most likely to fall off the wagon. I recommend doing both cardio and strength training on your workout days. For strength training, make sure to change weights and reps every week to avoid plateaus. In terms of cardio, anything is good.

Weight loss tip #5:
Constantly look for motivation. Trust me, there will be times when you won’t have it. Read weight loss stories, prowl forums, read celebrity magazines, make a personal body image idol, etc.

Sasha’s Weight Loss Eating Plan!

Breakfast:
1 packet of reduced sugar Quaker Oats prepared with water, or 1 cup of muesli with extra apricots prepared with skim milk, or a 2-egg omelet with tomatoes and eggplant. Green tea with honey and lemon.

Lunch:
2 cups of vegetable salad with olive oil and salt, no dressing.

Dinner:
1 cup of any type of grain (rice, pot barley, buckwheat etc). 2 cups of vegetables, salad with olive oil and salt, no dressing or homemade sauerkraut with olive oil.

Snacks or Mini Meals:
Eggs, fruit, samosa, veggie pizza, skim milk protein shake (pre and/or post workout).

Sasha’s Weight Loss Workouts!

Weight Training:

Day 1:

• 1A: Squat
• 1B: Row
• 2A: Supine hip extension
• 2B: Dumbbell push press
• 3A: Rotational lunge
• 3B: Swiss ball crunch

Day 2:

• 1A: Deadlift
• 1B: Dumbbell incline bench press
• 2A: Bulgarian split squat
• 2B: Mixed grip lat pulldown
• 3A: Romanian deadlift
• 3B: Swiss ball lateral roll

Do one set of exercise A, rest for 60 seconds, do one set of exercise B, rest for 60 seconds and so on, like this: 1A, rest, 1B, rest, 1A, rest, 1B, rest, 1A, rest, 1B.

Then do the same for 2A and 2B and for 3A and 3B. 15 reps in each set. Also, check all the exercises and make sure you know how to do them properly. It’s very important.

Cardiovascular:
I personally do 30 minutes on the elliptical machine but you can do anything you want (i.e. treadmill, cycling, etc). Also, make sure you do cardio AFTER weight training, otherwise your muscles won’t have enough oxygen and, therefore, not enough energy.

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