A Woman’s Diet Before and After Losing 50 Pounds

• General Cohen lost 50 pounds and kept the weight off for seven years.
• She did not cut out any foods but ate in a slight calorie deficit.
• Cohen shared an average day of eating before and after losing weight.

For years, General Cohen followed a restrictive and unsustainable policy. fad diet or overeating by having takeout for most meals.

This meant that her weight yo-yoed for years, and every time she lost weight, she always gained more back.

However, on his 21st birthday, Cohen decided to make a change and begin a fitness journey that would be healthy and sustainable.

She ate in a small calorie deficitprepared her meals in advance and made sure she ate enough protein. Most importantly, she didn’t cut out any foods from her diet and was patient.

This resulted in Cohen lose 50 pounds in one year and maintain his weight for the following seven years.

“I made a promise to myself that instead of hating myself for being thin, I was going to love myself for being healthy,” Cohen told Business Insider. “Every other time I tried to lose weight, I tried to do it for a man, for a vacation, for a special event, for New Year’s, and this was the first time I really did it In my opinion.”

Before losing weight, Cohen would eat pints of ice cream in one sitting.

“I would eat very large amounts of food and physically feel terrible afterwards because I lacked a certain amount of self-esteem,” Cohen said. But she’s worked on her mindset and self-esteem and no longer “goes wild with food,” meaning she’s now able to eat just one serving of ice cream, for example.

Cohen, who is now a certified nutrition coach who helps other women lose fat, shared sample eating days with BI, showing how her diet changed before and after her weight loss.

Diet before losing weight

Leaving home for college meant Cohen could eat whatever she wanted, which was a novelty.

She ate out for every meal, which wasn’t difficult since she lived above a cafe, Cohen said.

An average day of meals would be:

• Breakfast: Blueberry muffin or chocolate croissant, with a caramel macchiato

• Lunch: Mongolian-style noodles with meat, vegetables and oily sauces from a food stall

• Dinner: Medium Domino’s pizza and chicken Caesar salad

• Dessert: Pint of ice cream

“Domino’s Pizza was my absolute favorite meal,” Cohen said. “And in college you’re pretty broke, but for $5.99 you could get a medium pizza and for $5 more you could get a salad Whole chicken Caesar, then I would. literally, order this and eat it all. »

Cohen ate large meals and therefore did not snack much except in a social setting. She ate dessert about 50 percent of the time, she said.

Diet after losing weight

Cohen has maintained weight loss following the 80/20 principle: eat nourishing foods 80% of the time and what she wants the other 20%.

She snacks a little more because her meals are smaller, but overall she consumes less, which means she doesn’t gain weight.

An average day of meals now:

• Breakfast: Homemade protein pancakes (protein powder, egg and ripe banana)

• Lunch: Chicken, rice and broccoli; or ground beef, sweet potato and asparagus

• Dinner: Sweet Potato and Ground Turkey Skillet

• Snacks: apple, cup of Greek yogurt, protein shake and/or rice cakes topped with cottage cheese and chili oil.

Cohen keeps her lunches simple because she prepares them in advance, but she makes sure they consist of a protein source, vegetables and a starch, she said. Experts agree that a balanced meal should contain protein, carbohydrates, fats and fiber.

Dinner varies more, but once a week she and her boyfriend eat takeout and once a week they go out to eat.

When she cooks, she likes to make healthier versions of her favorite high-energy dishes, allowing Cohen to maintain a healthy balance.