Hanna Kim
Before losing 22 pounds in a sustainable way, Hanna Kim tried many diets but ended up putting the weight back on because she hated the process.
"My perception of weight loss was just so negative," Kim, a 24-year-old YouTuber based in Sydney, told Business Insider. In the past, she would cut out all the foods she considered "bad" and force herself to do workouts she didn't enjoy.
As a teenager, Kim, who is Korean, was also heavily influenced by K-pop — whose stars are often put on strict diets and exercise regimes — and the Korean principle of "ppali ppali," or doing everything as quickly as possible.
Kim wanted to lose fat, and fast. When she didn't, she felt deflated and quit. "It was just a cycle of trying weight loss and then failing at it. Then hating the journey and really being negative on myself. Then wanting to try again and just this endless negative loop," she said.
Things shifted in 2021 when Kim looked into the science behind losing fat safely, and realized it couldn't be achieved quickly but should be part of a bigger goal of developing healthier habits.
"That gave me a lot of, I guess, courage to be more patient with the journey and to realize it's not a short sprint, it's a marathon," she said.
She started to make small changes to her lifestyle and lost 22 pounds in a year. She has kept the weight off for three years and now finds it easy to maintain.
Here are the two simple changes Kim made.
Hanna Kim
In the past, Kim had joined a gym three times but quit after six months because her motivation to look a certain while would eventually wane.
When she started thinking of weight loss as a long-term investment in 2021, she was leading a fairly sedentary lifestyle: eating whatever she felt like, often including takeout, and didn't exercise regularly.
She knew that even a small change would ultimately make a difference, so she started by going on a walk. "I realized, 'OK, if I choose today to go outside for a 10-minute walk, that's still a win in my book,'" she said.
She set herself the goal of moving every day and found workouts online that aligned with her non-perfectionist approach and matched her mood, which helped her develop a love for exercise.
"If I was in a mood to just dance for a bit, I'd search up dance workout," she said.
Hanna Kim
Before 2021, Kim ate a lot of ultra-processed foods, including chocolate and cake, Korean fried chicken, and fast food. At the time, she had no idea how many calories they contained or that to lose weight, a person needs to be in a calorie deficit, meaning they burn more calories than they consume.
When she started her weight loss journey, she tracked her calories with an app to calculate her daily budget, or how many calories she needed to eat to lose weight. The "eye-opening" process enabled her to make more intentional choices.
"If I had 100 calories left, what's going to make me feel good? What's going to give me more energy?" she said.
At the start, she gave herself a leeway of around 120 calories but she mainly stuck to her budget. She also made sure to not demonize or cut out any foods, but tried to opt for lower-calorie versions of her favorite, less nutritious foods.
"It was definitely enjoyable. I wasn't just cutting things out straight away," she said.
Over time, she naturally started to focus not just on how many calories she consumed but the nutritional value of food. She reframed whole foods and fresh produce as treats because of how they made her feel.
"Now that I know the whys behind, 'why do you have to exercise?' 'Why do you have to eat well?' And it's ultimately so that your body can function the best it can," Kim said.
