If you’re like most people, you wake up one day and decide you want to lose weight. You look in the mirror and realize you don’t like what you see. You make some simple but healthy lifestyle changes and start seeing results. You maintain these same habits and before you know it, you’ve lost weight and feeling great! You might be curious how exactly did fat Amy lose weight. Was it food, exercise, or a combination of both? Let’s take a look.
The Beginning
If you’ve ever followed the popular blog, Fat Amy, you’ll know that she started her blog in 2010. At the time, she weighed about 300 pounds and looked like this pic (source):
The funny thing about this time in her life is that Amy was actually a healthy weight. She always ate well and rarely, if ever, went on diets. She simply decided one day that she didn’t like the way she looked and decided to do something about it.
Since she knew that making healthy changes in her life was the key to her getting healthier (and since she wanted to help others along the way), she started sharing her journey on her blog. She decided to take on a lifestyle change and focused on eating healthy and getting some exercise. As a result, she dropped about 100 pounds in less than a year and started gaining a significant amount of followers.
The Blogging Life
When Amy first started her blog, she didn’t even think about monetizing it. In fact, at the time, she had trouble finding advertisers since her blog wasn’t even considered a popular one. Now, she makes thousands of dollars a month, if not more, from affiliate sales alone through her blog, Social Media Examiner, and her podcast. She also creates and sells her own branded products like yoga pants and workout gear (source):
While she never felt like she ‘needed’ to rely on monetizing her blog, it allowed her to focus on what she loves most: sharing her experiences and helping people along the way.
The Results
At this point, you might be wondering how exactly did fat Amy lose weight. Was it food, exercise, or a combination of both? Let’s take a look:
Weight Loss
If you’re wondering how Amy managed to lose so much weight in such a short amount of time, it’s probably because she shifted her diet to healthier and more nutritious options. She stopped eating foods with added sugar and started eating lots of vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. So instead of focusing on fattening foods, she focused on eating food that helps her stay energized and full of life.
While this might seem like common sense, it’s not something that everyone does. People who follow fad diets or those who want to lose weight fast often focus on cutting out food that makes them fat. Instead of losing weight gradually, they try to do it quickly by depriving themselves of food. This often results in the loss of a lot of weight that people have to fight to get back. Amy did not go down this road. She knew from the start that it was a road she did not want to go on and avoided it by changing her diet and sticking to it.
Exercise
One of the reasons why Amy was able to lose so much weight is because she made a lifestyle change and got a lot of exercise. She started going to the gym every day and took on a regular exercise routine. She also switched to a more affordable gym membership that enabled her to work out at a place that was closer to home. She makes it a point to mention that she loves going to the gym because it forces her to get out of her comfort zone and do something that she feels is challenging. While this might not sound like a bad thing, many people find that the gym is not the place they want to be when they’re trying to lose weight. Going to the gym and doing exercise is great, but it’s not always the best option. Sometimes you need a break and a walk is just what you need to get back on track.
What About The Rest?
While food and exercise are certainly key factors in weight loss, how much you should eat and how much you should exercise is all about balance. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to weight loss, and you have to find the method that works best for you. For Amy, eating healthy and getting some exercise was the key to her losing weight. She understands that not everyone will be able to do the same, but she also believes that everyone can follow a healthier diet and get some exercise regardless of their size. Ultimately, it’s all about finding what works best for you and what you are able to do.
While there’s no question that losing weight is a motivating factor for people trying to improve their lives, people should not lose sight of the fact that this is a journey and that it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to change your habits and to find what works best for you. While it might be easier to cut out the food you don’t like and to go on a diet, this is certainly not the answer. Instead, it could potentially ruin your health or even kill you. Even people who have dedicated their lives to fitness and eating well know that this is not the easy way to lose weight, and it takes some real courage to put yourself through the change. If you are thinking about making this lifestyle change, give it some time and don’t be afraid to try new things. This is a very personal journey that everyone has to find their own way to, and it’s a path of self-discovery that can lead you to find your perfect weight. You might not always like the way you look, but you’ll certainly feel better than you did before you started this journey. So, be proud of what you’ve achieved and know that you’re contributing to a better world. You should also feel free to share your experiences with others since this is a process that everyone can go through.