Are you trying to lose weight but don’t know where to start? Kendall Hoyt, a New York City-based content creator, lost 45 pounds and got into the best shape of her life. In a viral video, she reveals how she lost the weight and the “physical steps” she took to get there. She explains that at her highest, she weighed 190 pounds and is now 145 pounds.
Sustainable Weight Loss Takes Time
“Sustainable weight loss takes time. This is not going to be one of those videos. How do you lose 10 pounds in a week? No, no. There is no sustainable weight loss where you can lose that significant amount of weight in such a short time. Is it possible? Probably, is it healthy? No, it is not. Weight loss needs to be gradual in order for it to be maintainable.”
“You need to be in a place of privilege to lose weight. Don't be too hard on yourself. We are expected to live in a system designed to fail. Healthy foods are ridiculously expensive. The cost of living is ridiculously expensive. Access to fitness centers is expensive. Not until I allocated money and time to my weight loss journey did I actually lose weight,” Kendall says in her video.
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Number One: Mental Health
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The first part of the weight loss trifecta is mental health, she says. “This is a key piece to weight loss. So much of it is mental. You have to be in the space to endorse change,” she says. “I'm only the best person I can be when I am prioritizing myself. If that means taking a semester off school, taking a break from work, or whatever you need to do to get your mindset in the right space, do it. Your mind, your body, and your life will thank you.”
She explains that she has always been a people pleaser, and has “been through years of therapy working on this exact thing.” It led her to have a “hyper fixation on aesthetics” and too much time worrying about what she looks like instead of how she feels.
Yoga Was Helpful
“For me, yoga has been a great tool for this,” she reveals. She also started taking an antidepressant and is “the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. I am the most clear-headed I have ever been,” she says.
Other alternatives? “Go out in nature, meditate, journal, read self-help books. There are things you can do to improve your mental health on your own,” she explains.
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Number Two: Food
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The second part of the trifecta is food. “You know how some people say, ‘Oh, I forgot to eat today’? That will never be me. Unfortunately, my mind revolves around food. This was a coping mechanism that I developed in childhood and quickly turned into disordered eating in my adulthood,” she says. “I initially decided that I needed to lose weight. I took a hard look at my life, and I knew food was my biggest problem. I was always binge eating, and I just didn't know how to control myself.”
You Need to Be in a Calorie Deficit
“I knew I had to be in a caloric deficit of some sort to start losing weight. If you're not familiar with what a caloric deficit is, it's when you are eating fewer calories than what you are burning in a day. Depending on your height, your weight, your activity level, that number ranges for everyone,” she says, revealing that calorie counting was a “big tool” for her. “I used the app MyFitnessPal, which is a great tool to enter how much you're eating. You can scan labels, and it automatically adds them to your food log diary. It also gives you great analytics into what you're eating, what you need more of, and what you're overeating. It's a great level set to sort of see where you're at and where you could improve and give you new ideas of what you could eat.”
She Had to Eat Clean, Less Processed Food
“I quickly learned, and I think people don't realize how much we are frequently overeating, and processed foods are so calorically dense. So I really tried to focus on eating clean things that weren't processed,” she says. “I'm vegetarian, so it's very easy to slip into processed foods just out of convenience. But the less processed foods you eat, the better. There's tons of oils and chemicals in processed foods.”
She Eats a Lot of Grains, Beans, Veggies, Fruits and She Started Volume Eating
What foods fill her plate now? “The simpler you eat, the better—things like grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, those kinds of things.
“At the beginning of my weight loss journey, as someone who was prone to binge eating, I was used to eating a lot of food, so I sort of had to make up for the amount I was eating,” she says.
“I had to replace the volume I was eating. Which vegetables are going to be your best friend? I know it might sound gross, but hey, it's honest. I would eat an entire bowl of broccoli and sprinkle some cheese on it, keeping me full. There's little life hacks like that where you can make the vegetables a little bit yummier, but they do fill you up.”
She Started Fasting
“I'd also implement other strategies on how to limit how much I was consuming. For example, if I needed some mouth stimulation, I would chew gum. If I were struggling with overeating, I would decide to fast. So, not eat anything past 9:00 PM and not eat anything before 11:00 AM.”
She Amped Up Her Water Intake
“Another thing, which I know you soda lovers are going to be mad at me for, don't drink your calories. Water's going to be your best friend. I was never a huge soda person, so thankfully, this is pretty easy for me. But if you drink sugary energy drinks or caramel coffees, all those things quickly add up, and you would rather eat a food item than be drinking 500 calories,” she says.
She Also Paid More Attention to Protein and Nutrients
“As a vegetarian, it's hard to stay on top of my protein intake and make sure I'm getting all the right vitamins. So more recently, I've tried to be a lot more on top of that so I can build muscle,” she says.
“Food is very hard. I have so much food noise in my mind all the time, but you can get through it by making healthier decisions. Please don't starve yourself. Have a sweet treat. If you want one completely limiting yourself, we'll just lead to more binging. It's all a give and take. It's all about portions. We all have bad days. We all have good days.”
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Number Three: Movement
“The final category in this trifecta of weight loss that has been crucial for my weight loss journey is movement. For me, movement is the hardest part. I wasn't a particularly sporty kid. I was always the last to finish the mile. I've held a lot of shame and embarrassment for being bad at exercise throughout my entire life,” she says.
Moving to a City and Walking Was “Transformative”
She explains that moving to a city was “transformative” for her relationship with movement. “Now that I live somewhere where not only is it walkable, but I have to walk to get where I'm going, it has increased my endurance and my heart health astronomically,” she says.
“There are tons of parks I get to walk to and can do laps around, and I love it. The secret to movement is finding what works for you,” she says. She recommends joining ClassPass. “Take a bunch of different classes and find what sticks,” she says.
Yoga Is Her Go-To Workout
“What has worked for me has been yoga. I took a few classes on ClassPass about six months ago. I've done it before but never fallen in love with it. But I pushed myself to try a few studios in my area, and I have absolutely fallen in love with it. Not only am I stronger and more flexible, but I also feel so connected to my spiritual side. It is a great mental relief, and somewhere I go to calm down and recenter myself.” And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.
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