Hanna Kim
After years of trying to lose weight through restrictive diets that didn't work and left her feeling deflated, Hanna Kim lost 22 pounds in 2021 and has kept it off. She shared the two biggest lessons she learned.
Kim, a 24-year-old YouTuber in Sydney, was stuck in a cycle of trying to lose weight through restrictive dieting, hating the process, giving up, and feeling like a failure. "It was just this endless negative loop," she told Business Insider.
It was only when she started to question why it wasn't working and educate herself on sustainable weight loss that she made progress. She learned that there is no quick fix for weight loss, but making small, healthy changes and focusing on health over appearance makes a difference, she said.
Previously, Kim led a fairly sedentary life, did no exercise, and ate a lot of fried food and takeout. She knew that jumping straight into a 45-minute HITT session would be overwhelming, but wanted to commit to some movement each day. She started by going on a 10-minute walk.
She also calculated how many calories she could eat while remaining in a calorie deficit, the state where you burn more calories than you consume. Experts agree this is necessary for weight loss.
She began to eat within her calorie budget, but she didn't cut out any foods. "I learned that I can be flexible with what I eat, so having a Kit Kat bar is fine as long as I'm within my calorie budget," she said.
Hanna Kim
Kim used to have a negative association with weight loss because it made her feel terrible about herself.
But when she shifted her mindset to see it as an opportunity to invest in her long-term health and forming healthier habits, she saw it as a positive.
"It's a good thing. It's something that can be enjoyable and something that could be fun," she said.
Over time, she grew to love exercise and eating a more nutritious diet because she went in with a curious mindset. "It's something you should wake up looking forward to. What am I going to learn new today? What new recipe can I make today? What exercise is going to make me feel good today?" she said.
She saw the journey as a way to work on herself more generally and find what made her feel good mentally and physically.
Hanna Kim
Kim learned to take things slow and let go of perfectionism by accepting that she won't be able to stick to her regime 100%. By giving herself grace when she did eat more than her calorie budget for example, she was able to keep going on her health journey rather than give up like she had in the past.
"It's going to be a long-term investment, and everything that I do is ultimately going to make a difference," she said.
She found that being consistent was more important than being perfect and she celebrated "small wins" along the way.
