'I Lost The First 40 Pounds Of My 103-Pound Weight Loss Without Stepping Foot In The Gym'
My name is Tanisha Washington (@nishafitness), and I'm 28 years old. I am a NASM-certified personal trainer and fitness business owner (Better Body By NISHA) in Austin, Texas. After struggling with my weight my entire life, I learned how to make my favorite meals using healthier ingredients and started doing HIIT cardio and strength training.
Growing up, my weight was always my identity. I was “Tanisha, the big girl.” I had a family that showed love and appreciation through food for every emotion. Happiness, grief, celebrations—you name it—food was always involved.
Within my immediate family there was no regard for proper nutrition. We consumed fast foods and fried foods in abundance. My mom, sisters, and brother were all larger-bodied, so I didn't notice my weight at home. In fact, I was on the smaller side compared to my family members. But I was well over 200 pounds in middle school, and the weight continued to pack on into my high school years.
I grew to dislike my appearance and would oftentimes choose to cover up my body. This meant long sleeve jackets in 100-plus degree Texas heat. I tried a few crash diets where I'd eat a protein bar in place of an actual meal, but I would break by midnight on day one. I figured this was going to be my reality and I stopped trying to lose the weight. But I had severe asthma and borderline high blood pressure because of my weight.
During my senior year, my mindset around weight loss changed when I got a summer job at Chuck-E-Cheese’s. I worked 50 hours a week and unintentionally lost 20 pounds.
Other people noticed before I did, but it showed me that weight was something that actually could be lost. I went on to lose 30 more pounds by the time I went off to college in the fall 0f 2011. I had a lot more confidence in college from my weight loss and continued trying to be a little more active.
However, after an unexpected pregnancy in 2013 when I was 21, I began to stress and revert back to a few of my old habits. I gained all of my weight back after the birth of my son Liam. In 2014 I had my true turning point. I was a new single mom with a lot of weight on my shoulders. I had a beautiful bundle of joy to live for, and I knew I had to get healthy for him; he became my why.
I started by educating myself on what a healthy lifestyle really meant.
I didn’t just want to take someone’s word for it and follow a trendy diet. I wanted to actually learn what foods were best for me, and how my body digested them.
I was able to gain an understanding of proteins, carbs, and fats, and which ones were the most nutritious. I stuck to lean protein (chicken, turkey, and fish), complex carbs (red potatoes, sweet potatoes, and brown rice), and healthy fats (nuts, avocados, and olive oil).
I would define my approach as a "substitution method." I would make the foods I craved and loved, just in a healthier way. For example, for tacos, I’d switch flour tortillas for corn tortillas and ground beef for lean ground turkey. For pizza, I’d use a whole-grain crust with turkey pepperoni and veggies.
Here’s what I eat in a day now.
Breakfast: Breakfast tacos made with corn tortillas, egg whites, meatless crumbles, and diced red potatoes, topped with salsa
Lunch: Chicken with chopped salad and curried chickpeas (coconut milk, curry seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic)
Snacks: One to two dark chocolate squares
Dinner: Turkey pasta (whole-grain noodles, spinach, ground turkey meat, low-sugar pasta sauce)
Dessert: Halo Top protein ice cream (oatmeal flavor) with fat-free whipped cream
I lost my first 40 pounds before I ever stepped foot in a gym.
Nutrition really is 80 percent of the battle. When I did begin exercising, I focused on HIIT (high-intensity interval training) three to five days a week. This really helped get me toward my 100-pound weight loss faster.
To tone, I started to incorporate strength training as well. On average, I spent five days a week in the gym and did a combo of HIIT cardio and strength training.
These three changes made the biggest difference in my weight-loss results.
I stopped drinking my calories. I’m a girl that loves festive coffee drinks, but I know they can be a source of a lot of added sugar and fat. Once I began making healthier zero-calorie choices with my drinks and choosing to have more water, it really became a game changer.
I stopped being so unrealistic about how I had to eat to lose weight. Look, I applaud anyone who can honestly live on chicken breast and broccoli successfully for 10 years and be satisfied, but that person is not me. I used to buy into diet culture’s idea of restricting yourself in order to drop weight on the scale, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. The more satisfied I became with my meals, the easier it was for me to be consistent without even thinking of it. I made healthy and delicious recipes and became really good at trying new things.
I stopped obsessing and found passion. I did not count my calories and I did not obsess over the scale (I actually didn’t use it for the first three months at all). Instead, I watched stories of others who had successfully lost weight in a healthier way and found inspiration. I wrote down a plan and prepared, and I always kept my why in focus.
It took me one year to lose 103 pounds, and I've kept it off.
Since losing weight, I have a new found passion in my life that helps me enjoy every aspect of life—from being able to keep up with my 7-year-old to having the endurance to be active on family hiking trips. It all stemmed from the decision to become non-negotiable about the life I wanted for myself and refusing to give up no matter what.
It’s not always a straight path. You’re going to have ups and downs, twists and turns, and even some potholes along the way. But as long as you keep pushing forward each day, there is nothing that can stop you from reaching your goals. Every single day you wake up with a fresh opportunity to push forward.
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