Inga's story

Greetings to all who read these lines, which I write with great joy and satisfaction!

I first opened Ineta`s website more than 10 years ago as a little round, not very mobile girl from the countryside, where the dishes on the table were very satisfying and nutritious and I had to eat what was cooked. I look at the before and after pictures of slender women posted on Ineta`s website and read stories about the experience. I found recipes and wondered how they can lose weight by eating such tasty treats? At that time, I had no understanding of losing weight - to put it mildly - I thought that it was necessary to chew only salad with water. Even then, I was very inspired by what I saw and read on Ineta`s website and I thought to myself - how cool it would be to eat and lose weight like that!

Going into independent life, the weight returned to normal - I wore 38-40 clothing sizes. I felt and looked very good (my height is 1.76m). There were periods when the weight went up a little, but it was within reason, and with a little thought about nutrition and adding a little exercise, I could return to normal. For me, this is the already mentioned size 38-40.

However, for the last 5-6 years I have lived with a fairly large excess weight. The first red light came on when the scales showed 86 kg and the 40th size no longer fit, not to mention the 36th! I thought - it's okay - I'll take a larger size! Here I must fully agree with Ineta that a significant number of kilograms are not "added" in one day - this is more the result of a long lifestyle. At that time, I worked very hard and also started to study at the university - there was very little time, and there was no physical activity in my daily life at all. Sleep also worsened. At home, my cooking was reduced to spreading sandwiches, and eating a lot of sweets.

Then, circumstances developed in such a way that for some time I devoted myself only to studying, but the path, paved with sweets, chocolates, buns, pizzas, and fatty sushi, was so well covered that I didn’t want to jump off it and didn’t want to play sports either. In my free time, while watching the current episode of a series, I really liked to have a snack with all sorts of sweets. 😀 And the result was inevitable - the weight increased exponentially - it turned into numbers starting with 9 ... It was the second red light that came on.

I tried to correct the situation and there was even a temporary weight loss of about 10 kg, but there was no real and powerful motivation and I returned to my old habits. The Covid times when I was working remotely and the fridge was so close didn't help me either. Although I had a scale at home and was aware of my weight, living in comfortable, elastic clothes and not going anywhere, it seemed to me - these 90+ kgs, this is not the end of the world - does not look so bad. But then the spring of 2021 came and after a long break, separate clothing stores were opened. I also had to stand in line and buy myself something beautiful. 😀

Of course, it won't surprise anyone that I had to take a bigger size again, but it wasn't the bigger size that shocked me. The third SOS came on when I put on a size 44. Although I climbed in, it didn't look all the way I wanted. And, worst of all, not how I perceived myself in recent months. I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn't believe it was me. My weight at that time was 96 kg. And that was the moment when I realized to the core that I really didn’t want to be like that. I realized that the next step would be 100 kg. So, what is next? ...

Around the middle of May, I started gradually introducing healthier food into my daily routine. For example, not whole-milk chocolate with a filling in one jerk, but one slice of bitter chocolate with coffee, not 4 crackers with butter, but an omelet with vegetables and whole-grain bread for breakfast, not pasta with rich sour cream sauce, but turkey meatballs with a good portion of vegetable salad, etc. I had an understanding of which foods are healthy and which are harmful because I read a lot and researched various resources on this topic, but I did not count calories (it seemed to me something distant and incomprehensible, and also very complicated). I cooked simple dishes from healthy foods - so to speak, I ate according to my understanding of what is right and healthy.

I also connected the sport - for the first months at home I regularly worked out on an elliptical trainer - I started with 15 minutes and gradually added 5 minutes. I periodically went to water aerobics, rode a bike, and walked 10,000 steps a day (for all those who do not actively exercise or resume after a long break, I recommend starting with a little and choosing something that you like). The weight gradually decreased and by the end of the year, I reached the mark of 78-79 kg. And on these figures, the weight stopped.

Although I figured out what foods to put in my basket, I didn’t have a clear idea of ​​how much of these healthy foods I can eat in order to lose weight, but also not starve. I realized that I can’t cope on my own anymore and I need the support of a professional, so in March of this year, I decided to apply for participation in the Ineta weight loss challenge, since Ineta herself is a great example of how to look on all 100%!

I chose Ineta because reading her articles made a very pleasant, supportive, and human impression on me :) And my decision was right - I lost 5 kg in a month under her guidance. In such a short amount of time, I wouldn't have been able to do it on my own! I can say that losing weight in this way is much easier than on your own because there is an action plan, what and how much to eat. And you can even afford something sweet with coffee! We lost weight in a cool company - like-minded people with similar goals. It was very motivating - I always wanted to see what was new in the chat - how others are doing and what delicious things have been cooked 🙂

In addition, the invaluable benefit of this project is that my menu has become much more diverse, and my culinary skills have been thoroughly honed! 🙂 One of the main conclusions is that if I had to lose weight again from the starting point, I definitely would not do it on my own, because under the guidance of a knowledgeable person, good results can be achieved much faster! Thank you very much, Ineta, for what you are doing - it is great! 🙂

I wish everyone to achieve their goals! 🙂

PS Today, my weight, continuing with the newly acquired healthy recipes, is 71.7 kg! 🙂