I Lost 40 Pounds in 2 Months Without Going to the Gym and This Is How
If you want to lose 20 pounds in a month, it's time to change a few of your habits. Laila Torah is a social media influencer who shares about everything from fashion and beauty to weight loss. In a recent viral video, she details how she dropped 20 pounds per month to lose a total of 40 pounds. Here is everything you need to know about her weight loss journey, including the top 5 things she did to lose weight.
She Offers 5 Tips on How to Lose 40 Pounds in 2 Months
"Today I'll be talking about my weight loss journey and how I lost 40 pounds in two months," she says. "So in this video, I'll be giving you guys five tips on how I lost 40 pounds in two months."
She Always Felt Chubby Growing Up
She starts with a "quick history" of her journey, explaining that she "always felt like the chubby one" growing up. "I always felt like the biggest one in the group, and I feel like I became very conscious of this from an early age because I'm a twin, and my twin was much skinnier than I was."
She Was Insecure Through Her Teens
"This insecurity continued throughout my teens, and I just remember on so many occasions wanting to go out and trying on so many clothes and feeling so fat and ugly and everything I put on that it literally just made me not wanna go out and just stay at home," she says.
She Lost Weight, Then Gained It Back in College
"So in my teens, I actually managed to lose a lot of weight, and I was so happy I finally reached my body goal, but I did it in such an unhealthy way that it was not maintainable," she continues. "So by the time I got to the end of my university experience, I put on all the weight that I had lost and more so in 2019."
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She Weighed 183 Pounds
"I graduated from university, and I remember stepping on the scales for the first time in years and seeing 183 pounds. Now that is a lot of weight, especially for someone of my height, being five foot three, and carrying 183 pounds is just way too much," she adds.
She Knew She Had to Make Some Changes
"So from then, I knew I needed to do something about it. I needed to change my diet. I needed to exercise. I needed a major lifestyle change. This was so hard for me to do because, for years, I had created a lifestyle of just eating junk all the time, not exercising, and just being super lazy, to be honest," she says.
She Started Her Journey During Covid
Then, in 2020, during the pandemic, everything changed. "I know Covid had such a negative impact on so many people, including myself. But if I could take one positive thing from Covid, it would definitely be my weight loss, and it would allow me to lose 40 pounds in two months," she says, getting into the five tips that allowed her to lose weight.
Tip 1: Change Your Diet
"So the first tip is to change your diet," she says. "Changing your diet, I believe, is the most important thing when it comes to weight loss because there is absolutely no point in exercising and your diet staying the same because you're really not gonna get any results. So changing your diet should definitely be your priority."
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You Don't Have to Cut Out Food Groups
When all the restaurants shut down, she went onto social media and "found so many healthy accounts and learned how to make quick and easy and healthy meals," she revealed. "You do not need to cut out any of the food groups. All the food groups are just as important as each other. It's just about portion sizes and portion control."
Tip 2: Count Calories
"So that takes me nicely to my second tip, which is calorie counting. I highly recommend calorie counting. If you struggle with portion sizes and portion control, you can find out how many calories you're supposed to intake online based on your gender, height, weight, age, and activity level," she says.
She Recommends Using an App
"I would highly recommend doing that because it is different for everyone. So when I was calorie counting, I used this amazing app called MyFitnessPal, and MyFitnessPal allows you to log your breakfast, your lunch, your dinner, and all your snacks in between. And it's just a good way of tracking how many calories you're eating throughout the day and staying within your limit," she continues.
If You Are Hungry, Try a Hot Drink
"Calorie counting can be very, very difficult at times because when you are trying to reduce the amount of food that you are intaking, there will definitely be moments when you are hungry. But in those moments, I found having a hot drink to be very beneficial," she reveals. "It just allowed me to get to sleep so that I would not go over my calorie limit for that day. You won't always feel hungry, I promise you that will change. Your body will eventually adjust and get used to your new portion sizes."
Tip 3: Walking 10,000 Steps Per Day
Her third tip? "Walking 10,000 steps every single day with one rest day," she says. "So that means walking six days a week and on the seventh day, you rest. That was not meant to sound biblical, but we'll go with it.
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You Should Take One Rest Day
"Your rest day can be any day of the week. It can be at the beginning, the middle, the end, whatever day suits you best. If you're feeling super tired or exhausted one day, use that as your rest day, and then the next day, just keep it moving. It is very important to take that rest day because your body does need that time to recover, and you don't wanna put your body under too much stress because stress can result in injury, and then the injury could just stop you from walking altogether," she explains.
She Eventually Made It Up to 30,000 Steps
After a while, walking 10,000 steps "became so easy that I then increased my step count to 20,000 steps a day and then eventually 30,000 steps per day," she reveals. "I know 10,000 steps can be a lot of steps to people who are not used to walking."
A Few Hacks? Break Up Your Steps, Listen to Music or a Podcast, or Talk to Friends
She has a few hacks to make walking easier. "So what I would find helpful and what I would recommend is splitting it and walking 5,000 steps in the morning and then 5,000 steps in the evening. Walking so many steps every day became so enjoyable to me. I found ways to enjoy it, whether that was listening to music or to a podcast or catching up with friends on the phone. Just find ways in which you can get excited about walking," she says.
Tip 4: Cut Out Drinks
Her fourth tip? "Cutting out all drinks," she says. "So that includes juices, fizzy drinks, and alcohol." She claims this "was honestly the hardest step" for her "because I love my juice. I look forward to drinking my juice with my meals. I look forward to my orange juice, my ginger ale."
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It Was Hard, But It Gets Easier
However, it was the ultimate game-changer. "I know you're probably tired of hearing everyone say just drink water, but honestly, it really does work," she says. "Once you make that adjustment, I promise you it is a lot easier. Your body will eventually adjust and just crave water. You just need to be consistent and stick at it."
Drink More Water When You Are Hungry, She Says
"Something that really helped me on this journey was that there were so many moments that I felt like I was hungry, but I was actually thirsty. And you would think that your body can tell the difference between hunger and thirst, but honestly, in moments where you feel like you are hungry, try having a glass of water, and it can make all the difference," she says.
She Says She Didn't Realize She Was Drinking So Many Calories
"Drinking water is honestly key on this journey because I noticed a drastic change in my body weight when I replaced all those sugary juices with just water, which obviously has zero calories. I don't think people are aware that these juices have so many calories in them, so much sugar that they are almost like a meal replacement, and they take up a whole meal's worth of calories. So once you make that change, you will honestly see such great results in your body," she maintains.
Tip 5: Be Consistent
Her fifth and final tip is to "be consistent," she says. "Even when you do not see results. Be consistent even when you are not seeing the results as fast as you would like to see them remain consistent." And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.
