Hello! :D Today I have completed my first challenge ever, the 2024 Weight Loss Challenge, and I thought I'd give some hindsight on how journey has been for me.

I started the challenge because I gained quite some weight due to birth control pills and some of my favorite clothes barely fit anymore, so I thought it was time for a change. I come from a completely sedentary lifestyle, I had not worked out at all in over 2 years, and even then it was nothing serious. My diet was also quite terrible, so I changed that as well.

My diet:

I decided to start a diet so I could enhance the weight loss. I don't count calories. I tried, but it made me feel like I was slipping into an ED so I cut that off immediately. Instead, I followed a diet based mostly on veggies and legumes, with a lot of eggs for dinner and some meat, fish and pasta for lunch occasionally. Breakfast consisted on whole bread toasts with tomato and olive oil or cottage cheese, accompanied with a coffee. I did not feel hungry through this diet at all. During the 5 days that I was on vacation I skipped this diet completely, but I had still lost weight by the end of the trip somehow.

The actual workout:

The challenge starts with low intensity but it gets rather hard the last two weeks. However, it definitely allows you to progress along with the exercise. At first I could barely do the warmup withought raising my heartbeat dangerously but that stopped after a few days. I am much stronger and can now enjoy working out. I skipped or moved some rest days which I don't recommend. Sometimes after the rest days the challenge will increase in intensity, so you will really need that extra energy.

Final results:

I started the challenge weighting a bit over 60 kg, and this morning I weighted around 56. 5 kg, which means I have lost 3. 5 kg (7. 7 pounds). I did not take measurements but my old clothes fit again, which I am extremely happy about. I am stronger, I have learnt to eat healthier, and I have adopted the habit of working out in the mornings, which allows me to start my day with a lot of energy. I used to see losing weight as something impossible or extremely hard, and now I can see that it is actually very achievable as long as you stay consistent and don't give up.

Final thoughts:

I definitely recommend this challenge to any beginner looking into starting their first program. It was a bit too long and repetitive for my taste (I started changing the cooldowns with random ones I found on youtube), but with a good diet the results will show up fast and I am very grateful that I decided to start it and go through with it. It may be a bit too soft if you are not a beginner, though.

To anyone reading this, thanks a lot for taking the time to finish my post! If you are wondering if you should start this program, the answer is yes. You won't regret it. And thanks a lot to Chloe for making this possible! I cannot wait to start my next challenge and to continue progressing :)