Transformation of the Day: Eleanor lost 30 pounds. This PhD candidate was in a 5 year cycle of losing the weight and regaining it over and over. In February, she decided it was time to change her habits and her mindset to get results. Check out how she took action.
Starting weight: 181 pounds
Current weight: 151 pounds
Height: 5’3.5″
My name is Eleanor T. Khonje. I’m a 28-year blogger and creator of Unraveling the Mind (@unravelingthemind). I am of Malawian origin, and I hail from the great state of Texas. I currently live in Geneva, Switzerland where I am a PhD candidate and a UN development practitioner.
I’ve basically been on what I call the “Oprah Struggle” for the last 5 years. My weight has been consistently up and down. I would gain then lose, and after losing gain again! It’s kind of funny when I think about it because I’ve been on that train each and every year.
In February 2017, at what felt like my highest weight ever, I decided to get my life in control. This time around, I said enough is enough. No more losing weight to be a bridesmaid or to go on vacation. This time, it would be a lifestyle change. I decided to learn how to eat well and what to do to get my body “right” and feel like my very best self.
I was just coming back from vacation mode when I decided to embark on this fitness journey, and changing my eating habits to get results was not easy! 80% percent of the work was focused on what I put in my body, so I had to make a commitment to eat differently. Thank God, I currently live in Geneva, Switzerland, where eating out is sooooo expensive and portions are so small that it is not worth your money.
I had to really start cooking and cooking carefully. I also started using MyFitness Pal and committed myself to a 1200 calorie diet. I was eating things like oatmeal for breakfast, very light salads for lunch and a super light dinner, usually composed of fish. It was easy for me to keep up with this diet as part of my weekly routine, but boy did I struggle on the weekends. For the first 3 months, this plan worked perfectly, and I lost about half of the pounds I’ve lost. Then, I seriously plateaued for some weeks. When that happened, I knew that I had to shake up my diet again. I introduced the very clean chicken breast and broccoli diet. All my friends knew me for this because that was my daily lunch and dinner meal. My breakfast consisted of mostly plain greek yogurt or boiled eggs and tomatoes. Thanks to broccoli and chicken, I was able to meet my goals and go beyond.
In the beginning, I worked out 6 days a week for about 45 mins each day. Those workouts were mostly on the elliptical, as I could not run to save a living soul. As I began to lose weight, I introduced some jogging and running into my routine. After I lost about 15 lbs in the first 4 months, I worked out 5 days a week but intensified my cardio. After reducing my workouts to 5 days a week, I increased my time to about 1.5-2 hours per session. I was committed to burning about 750-1000+ calories in each work out session.
I continue to work out 5 days a week, and my workouts now consist mostly of cardio on the STAIR ERGOMETER and treadmill. I’ll be introducing serious weight lifting into my routine soon. I find that the more that I meditated and challenged myself spiritually and mentally, the more I was able to do physically.
It’s been an amazing 6 months of growth, filled with lots of ups and downs. Weight loss is not easy and demands that you carry a determined and relentless mind. Having lost 30 pounds, not only is my body different, so is my mind. I have adopted the attitude of a fighter in everything I do. Now, I know without a doubt that any kind of success requires consistency.
One thing I’ve learned over the last couple of months is that your body is subject to your mind, which is subject to your spirit. If you feed your spirit the right information, your mind will carry a particular attitude, which will allow you to control your body! It sounds complex, but it’s pretty simple.
Once you settle with your mind what you wanna do, just keep pushing until you do it. No excuses. Don’t let your body tell you that it’s enough or that you can’t do it. Excuses are not for those who want to finish and win the race.
Kimberly says
Inspiring, thank you