u/BehindTheS3ea — reddlx

Over the past couple years my weight has been slowly creeping up. I’m a 21 year old 5’5” male and I’ve usually been around 140lbs but a busy school schedule, bad diet, and health issues have caused my weight to get up to 165lbs. That is the heaviest I have ever been and seeing that number a month ago made me realize I have to change something.

I have gone to the gym since I was 17, but I’ve never been consistent about it until now. But I have always really loved going to the gym and found that it helps me a lot. So a month ago I decided I was going to make the necessary lifestyle changes to lose weight and build more muscle. Diabetes runs in my family like crazy and while I get my levels checked regularly and have never been even pre diabetic, the idea of developing the disease scares the shit out of me. On top of that, I want to spend my 20’s feeling confident and good about myself. I want to build healthy habits now so I can maintain them throughout my life.

So I started by reducing my calories to about 1500-1700 per day. I did have some “cheat” days where I ate at maintenance instead but I never went over. I also started going to the gym consistently at least 3 times a week. I did have some hormonal issues that were a factor in the weight gain so I got those corrected with the help of my doctor, but it was ultimately my own habits that led to the weight gain. I’ve started choosing healthier foods such as fish, chicken, quinoa, Greek yogurt, fruits, and veggies. These are all foods that I absolutely love so this wasn’t really a difficult change for me. I’ve always been really picky about drinks and have pretty much only drank water my entire life and I don’t drink coffee so I think that also helped. I had to learn to tell myself “no” when I wanted to keep eating but knew that I had already met my calorie goal for the day. This was a hard thing for me but it’s getting easier.

I have lost 5lbs in the first month by making these changes! I am feeling so much better everyday too! My energy level is much higher and my stomach issues are almost completely gone. I used to get stomach aches almost daily and I’ve found I am not dealing with that anymore. I am so pleased by my progress so far! My next goal is to do more strength training and start working on building muscle.