I’m FINALLY losing weight!

5 KG

I finally started losing weight. It hasn’t been easy but I’m so glad I’m finally taking this step in my life! For a couple of months now I’ve started counting my caloric intake and although it’s been working, it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that I’ve been taking my weight loss very seriously. I lost a bit over 5 KG already and am determined to lose another 20 KG.

Sakamoto from the anime Sakamoto Days eating soba

Why I got fat

When I look back at my twenties I don’t have a lot of good things to say about it. The only good thing that happened during my twenties was the foreign exchange program I went on to Osaka, Japan during my university days. In hindsight, those were the best days of my life so far (although I am determined to make even better memories in the future).

Once I started working as a teacher my weight gain started. I went from 75 KG to 94.5 KG and if nothing would’ve changed I’m certain I would’ve passed the 100 KG mark. Keep in mind that I am only 170cm tall, so a weight of 100 KG would make me extremely obese. In fact, me weighing 94.5 KG already made me obese.

When I was teaching though, I didn’t give a damn about me getting fat. I didn’t care about anything anymore. I felt horrible all the time and food was the only thing that made me feel good. You see, I was a night eater. When all was quiet and everyone was sleeping is when I would enjoy my secret meals. I loved it! Who cared about getting fat when it felt THAT good?! Not me, that was for sure.

Anime girl working out

Losing weight

A couple of months ago my parents and I decided to start using the MyFitnessPal app again. We have used this app plenty of times before and my dad actually managed to lose a lot of weight using it a couple of years ago. He got fat again too though, and started his weight loss journey weighing 100 KG, also standing 170cm tall. My mom only wanted to lose a few kilos and has already managed to hit her goal. My dad has lost 9 KG which is crazy good!

Counting calories helps a lot. Knowing you’re only allowed to have 1500 calories a day helps you plan your eating habits. It’s very little for an adult male, but hey, it is what it is. I’ll have to make sacrifices to get a healthy body back. Besides counting calories I’m also trying to exercise more. I walk for an hour immediately after getting out of bed and 45 minutes after dinner. That’s 484 calories per day I’m burning by just walking. Even if I eat more than 1500 calories per day, let’s say I hit 1600 or even 1700 calories, I don’t have to feel bad about it. Heck, it’s not just about the calories: walking does wonders for my mental health as well.

Ippo from the anime Hajime no Ippo doing shadow boxing

Vacation: trouble ahead?

Tomorrow I’ll be going on a vacation to Fuerteventura with my parents. I’m looking forward to it a ton because spending Christmas and New Year in the sun is great in my book, but it also scares me a bit. We’re going to an all-inclusive hotel in Corralejo and all-inclusive also means being able to have as much food as you want, all the time. I promised myself that no matter what happens, even if I have a crazy cheat day, I will use MyFitnessPal to log all of my calories. I hope that this will force me to limit what I eat and make healthy choices. Although I consider no weight gain a win, I hope to just continue my weight loss as if I weren’t on vacation. Only time will tell if I actually have the grit to go through with it.

Joe from the anime AShita no Joe doing shadow boxing

My future health goals

I still have 20 KG to go so what I’m going to say now is looking ahead way into the future, but I’ll say it nonetheless in order to keep these promises to myself:

My first goal besides weight loss is getting a strong, fit and muscular body. I am not looking to become a body builder, but I do want a strong body. This means that once I hit a weight of somewhere between 75 and 80 KG I am going to start going to the gym, preferably hiring a personal trainer.

My second goal is even further into the future, which is to get back into boxing. As a teenager I used to do muay thai kickboxing and I was really good at it. I am not good at most sports, but I sure as hell was good at muay thai kickboxing. This time around I want to give boxing a try. I have always preferred boxing over kickboxing, even when I did muay thai myself. I still remember winning my first real match: I have never been more proud of myself.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!