I Struggled With Belly Fat for Years. Weight Lifting Changed My Body

For over ten years I had been trying to lose the extra weight I was carrying. I tried several techniques, from fad diets to lymphatic drainage, and even dangerous methods like simply not eating.

But 13 months ago, I decided I was done with going through the same cycle; I would commit to weight lifting and eating enough protein. I had already been exploring the gym community on TikTok, and I had seen plenty of videos showing body transformations using the same process.

At the time, I loved carbs and they made up the majority of my diet. I haven't eaten meat since I was a child, so I didn't have enough protein in my diet. I would include a lot of vegetables, but I was also eating a lot of sugar—sweets, cakes and brownies.

I tried to commit to exercising for a year before I tried weight lifting, but found every time that I couldn't stay consistent

For me, watching so many videos about other people's fitness journeys, seeing how people changed over the course of a year or so, was so motivating. I got to the stage where I really wanted to change the way I was.

During the first two months of my fitness journey, I was doing relatively random workouts—every time I saw one online, I would just copy it. I knew it was a transitional period because I was trying to understand the form and the exercises without the help of a personal trainer, which was really difficult.

The first two months were the horrible part. Initially, I was in pain every day. Sometimes I would have to skip the gym or even work because I was so sore.

Eventually, my body got used to the exercises, but in the beginning, I didn't feel like there were any changes.

For those first months, it was really hard to stay consistent and motivated. At the same time, I was rebalancing my diet to include 50 percent veggies, 30 percent protein—made up of tofu, tuna, or cheese, and only 20 percent carbs, which was causing a few digestion problems.

It was hard to stay committed, but I think I was angry at myself. I had tried so many methods and spent so much money on weight loss, but nothing had worked.

I knew weight lifting wouldn't just make me lose fat for a month before regaining it when I returned to my maintenance in the same way as a calorie deficit, but would increase my metabolism and help change my body for the long term.

The gym was two minutes from my home, and I just forced myself to stay consistent and keep doing my workouts until I noticed a difference, because I knew I wouldn't see a difference in my body for around three months.

After those initial two months I created my own workout based on the exercises I had been trying, but just getting the form right took me around six or seven months.

I took a lot of pictures and videos and became really obsessed with looking at small changes in my body. It was the only thing that could really push me to continue.

In fact, at one stage, I quit for a week and it was only by noticing how my body had slightly changed in comparison to one of my photos that encouraged me to go back.

I didn't do any cardio. I really wanted to start soft, with around 30 minutes of weight lifting using compound exercises and light weights. I believe starting off with cardio, weights, and a change in diet, at the same time, could have been too difficult to maintain at first.

Before I reached six months I had been noticing really slight changes that made me want to continue. Prior to this, I had quite a lot of belly fat, which was really stubborn, and my main goal was to get rid of it.

But after reaching the six-month point, I noticed drastic changes to my stomach area. I think I actually cried because I felt so happy. I had been struggling for over ten years with that area, and seeing it start to go away was a real relief to me.

I felt so proud of myself for staying consistent and for never giving up, even when I didn't see any results.

I feel so much better mentally and physically. I am much healthier and no longer maintain my diet because I want to lose weight. I know that a more nutrient-dense diet makes me a healthier person now and for the future.

For me, consistency is key—if you stick to anything in life for more than three months, it becomes a habit. Sometimes, I don't think about why I'm going to the gym, it's just part of my routine. I also believe that it's really important for mental health to do something for your body daily.

To anyone struggling with weight loss, I feel that consistency is the hardest part because it requires discipline. You have to accept it will probably take a long time.

For me, it's about wanting to do it every day, not just at the beginning, or even for six months. I think that instead of wanting to get rid of fat as fast as possible, you have to be engaged in something that is going to last for a long time.

I hope my own social media videos now motivate people in the same way others did for me. What I post now is always what I would have wanted to see, so I would love it if mine help people stay consistent until they see the result that they want.

Eva "Fitzye" Nour is a fitness influencer who lives in France. You can follow her on TikTok or Instagram @fitzye.

All views expressed in this article are the author's own.

As told to Newsweek's My Turn associate editor, Monica Greep.

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