Svelt Svetlana – A Determined Woman’s Weight Loss

I get a lot of people emailing me asking for quick tricks for dieting. On the plus side they seem to understand that the 100 days of starvation I performed wasn’t healthy, but they still want fast weight loss.

The rapidity of my weight loss was part of the problem. It makes the body panic and want to store fat, which is one reason why I’d regained 20 lbs in just a few weeks during recovery.

If I had to offer a sound bite about dieting, I’d say stick to what I call the Three Cs of weight loss dieting: Committment, Continuity and Consistency.

If you self-identify as overweight, consider making a change. It’s important that you’re not reducing the amount of food you eat to show how in control you are, but are doing so specifically because you recognize that losing body fat will benefit your health. Make a commitment to yourself to lose the weight… and none of that “starting tomorrow” crap. Once you decide this is necessary, start straight away.

For inspiration, consider Svetlana. A native of Russia, Svetlana found small weight gains year after year had added up until she’d hit an obese 279 lbs. She recognized that this wasn’t healthy and, through determination, decided to do something about it.

When I was a fat teeenager I’d tell myself “if only there was a gym in my town” or “if only I had a trainer”. It was one excuse after another. I could have gone for walks, then runs, every day after school. I didn’t.

Svetlana did. As someone who hardly walked anywhere she started with 1 kilometer walks (that’s extremely brief. If you’re already a bit mobile, you might consider being more ambitious). Soon though she was walking 5 kilometers a day. She kept up her walk when she joined a gym, and started with even more cardio, plus a light weight regimen.

For breakfast Svetlana would have: 2 eggs or a piece of cheese, or porridge, a piece of black chocolate or a spoon of honey, and coffee without sugar.

To keep her energy up mid-morning she’d have a snack of a half pomegranate with green tea.

Her lunch consisted of boiled lean fish or chicken breast, a fresh vegetable salad with vegetable oil, and more green tea.

Later in the afternoon she’d have a handful of shelled seeds, or a green apple, or grapefruit or pomegranate as a snack.

Dinner was simply green tea. I can’t say I agree with this – I’d have recommended a nice big leafy salad with a sprinkling of hemp seeds on it for protein and good omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. This would provide vitamins from the veggies while providing a full feeling to prevent late night snacking.

Still, let’s look at the results of Svetlana’s efforts…

Here she is in October, 2007 at 279 lbs. when she made the commitment to herself to change:

Another shot of the determined woman at 279 lbs:

One month later, she’d already dropped 43 lbs and was down to 236 lbs. Some people would be satisfied with this – but she was determined to get down to a sustainable, healthy weight.

By December 2007, 2 months after making her commitment, she was 215 lbs (-64 lbs). Losing that amount of weight in 2 months is pretty rapid – it’s important to remember that when your body is that overweight, it’s not uncommon to have a spurt of weight loss at the start. If you don’t, don’t get discouraged.

The balanced intake of nutrient dense fruits, veggies, and good protein sources were paying off! By April, 2008 Svetlana was down to 180 lbs (-99 lbs). Notice that while she’d dropped 64 lbs. in 2 months it had taken her 3 more to drop another 35 lbs. This slow-down is completely normal as the body adjusts.

She kept at it, and by July, 2008 she had melted to 152 lbs (-127 lbs)

By August of that year she was half the woman she’d been. At least in literal mass. Svetlana had hit 140 lbs and had lost 139 lbs.

In September 2008 she was down a few more, reaching 135 lbs (-144 lbs)

Seven months later, 18 months after the start of her commitment, she’d reached her final weight of 124 lbs. Total fat loss: 155 lbs