{"id":94669,"date":"2024-08-31T01:59:27","date_gmt":"2024-08-31T01:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=94669"},"modified":"2024-08-31T01:59:27","modified_gmt":"2024-08-31T01:59:27","slug":"lost-72-kilos-2-years-without-surgery-medication","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/lost-72-kilos-2-years-without-surgery-medication\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;How I Lost 72 Kilos in 2 Years Without Surgery or Medication&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_94670\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-94670\" style=\"width: 1280px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-94670\" src=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/08\/544.jpg\" alt=\"37-year-old Norwegian woman finally discovered a balanced way to lose weight: through counting calories and strength training\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" srcset=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/08\/544.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/08\/544-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/08\/544-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/08\/544-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/08\/544-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/08\/544-155x103.jpg 155w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-94670\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Maria Kirkeland spent over a decade trying to lose weight, but she constantly found herself in a cycle of restricting too much, binge eating, and eventually gaining even more weight. It wasn&#8217;t until the 37-year-old from the Oslo region of Norway learned about calories, protein, and strength training that she began to lose weight sustainably.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I used to eat a lot of snacks, <a href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/best-time-eat-ice-cream-dietitian\/\">ice cream<\/a>, chocolate, high-calorie foods, and then I\u2019d feel awful about myself,&#8221;<\/em> she told<em> Business Insider.<\/em> <em>&#8220;I\u2019d decide, &#8216;I&#8217;m going on a diet. I won\u2019t eat ice cream. I&#8217;ll never eat chocolate again. I\u2019m going to lose weight.&#8217; That would last for a few days, and then I\u2019d give in.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Finding Comfort in Food<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>At age 12, Maria began drastically cutting her food intake after being bullied for her weight. This led to disrupted menstrual cycles, which worried her parents. From that point on, food became her comfort.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I didn\u2019t know how to handle the emotions that came with being bullied and my negative thoughts,&#8221;<\/em> she recalls. <em>&#8220;So, I turned to food for comfort, and that\u2019s when I started eating in secret.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The situation worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic. <em>&#8220;I was deeply depressed. I isolated myself a lot, and I think that led to a terrible relationship with food, unhealthy eating, and rarely leaving the house.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Lose Weight: No More Food Restrictions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Determined to break the famine-binge cycle, Maria took two key steps: <strong>counting calories<\/strong> and <strong>strength training<\/strong>. In July 2022, she downloaded TikTok and began following credible weight loss experts. She embraced a calorie deficit method, which involves burning more calories than you consume.<\/p>\n<p>Counting calories allowed Maria to feel full even as she gradually lowered her intake while losing weight. <em>&#8220;I was never really hungry, which was nice, and I still lost weight,&#8221;<\/em> she said.<\/p>\n<p>Initially, Maria didn\u2019t drastically change her diet, but over time, she started incorporating more nutrient-rich foods. Now, she eats more vegetables, fish, and lean meats. She also <a href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/5-reasons-drink-yellow-tea-every-day\/\">drinks more water<\/a>, cooks at home more often, and consumes fewer processed foods. Despite these changes, she hasn\u2019t completely eliminated any foods from her diet.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>&#8220;I Feel Freer&#8221;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As part of her <a href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/8-morning-habits-melt-belly-fat\/\">weight loss journey<\/a>, Maria first focused on cardio exercises. Later, she shifted to a strength training program while increasing her protein intake.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I started feeling more comfortable in the gym, and I added weights,&#8221;<\/em> she told <em>Business Insider.<\/em> <em>&#8220;Over the past 12 months, I\u2019ve really focused on getting stronger, doing deadlifts, and challenging myself.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>For Maria, physical strength has become synonymous with mental strength. <em>&#8220;As I realized I could push myself and do things that once seemed hard, it brought me so much joy and a sense of accomplishment. I feel freer, and I\u2019m not as afraid to try new things.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.topsante.com\/minceur\/jai-perdu-72-kilos-en-deux-ans-sans-chirurgie-ni-medicaments-voici-ce-que-jai-fait-pour-maigrir-891467\" target=\"_blank\">**&#8221;J&#8217;ai Perdu 72 Kilos en Deux Ans Sans Chirurgie ni M\u00e9dicaments. Voici Ce Que J&#8217;ai Fait pour Maigrir&#8221;**<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>This article first appeared on topsante.com \u2013 Author: Elena Bizzotto<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42697,"featured_media":94670,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[6939,16,2723],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v18.5 (Yoast SEO v20.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&quot;How I Lost 72 Kilos in 2 Years Without Surgery or Medication&quot;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Maria Kirkeland, 37, lost 72 kilos in 2 years using counting calories and strength training. 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