‘I Calculated My Daily Energy Expenditure And Applied The CICO Rule To Lose 100 Pounds’

From Women's Health

My name is McKenzie Colf (@minimizing.mckenzie), and I'm 22 years old. I live in New York, and I’m a surgical technologist. After struggling with depression, I got on medication and felt like I was able to start taking care of myself. By following a CICO diet and weightlifting and running, I lost 100 pounds in a year.

I have tried and failed so many times to lose weight. I would get discouraged and give up when I didn’t see results quick enough. I also had a food addiction, which was one of the hardest things to admit.

In January of 2016, I had ankle surgery and had to completely re-learn how to walk again. I joined a gym for the first time in May of 2016 and loved it, and I learned a lot about exercise through personal training sessions. But I never stuck with a routine and kept putting on weight. At my heaviest, I weighed 270 pounds.

I hated going shopping because it would make me so depressed. Nothing ever looked good. I was stuck with the clothes that fit, not the clothes that I thought were cute and stylish. I also had no ambition to do anything, and it started to take a toll on my relationship.

I started taking an antidepressant to help my mental health and felt so much better. That's when I chose to turn my life and health around.

I knew I needed to make the change once and for all or else I would probably live the rest of my life unhealthy. I also wanted to have a healthy pregnancy when the time comes, be active with my kids, and set a good example for them. I started my journey on May 1, 2019, when I was 21 years old. I had had enough of feeling so yucky all the time.

I started counting my calories through MyFitnessPal because I’d used this method all the other times I gave weight loss a shot. I knew what to do and felt comfortable with calorie counting. I also paid close attention to my daily macros. I educated myself and adopted the calories in, calories out (CICO) method. It made sense to me.

I also did lots of research on TDEE (or total daily energy expenditure) and figured out what worked for m and my activity level as a daily calorie intake. I chose something that was going to be sustainable for a lifetime. I'm still learning every day! Fixing my relationship with food will be something I do for the rest of my life. I don’t like to say I'm "on a diet." I've simply made a change in lifestyle.

Here’s what I eat in a day.

• Breakfast: Whole-wheat English muffin with natural peanut butter and organic strawberry jam, or a bagel thin with light cream cheese. I almost always have a chocolate Premier Protein shake in the mornings as well.

• Lunch: One of my favorite lunches is a sausage and potato bake that I make. It has white potatoes, Hillshire Farms smoked turkey sausage, bell pepper, and onion in it. I mix it all together and bake it, then I add Frank's Red Hot Buffalo sauce when it's done. I also make a lot of different soups. They’re easy to meal prep and reheat at work.

• Snacks: Clementines, sugar-free Jello, cheese sticks, turkey pepperoni, Built bars, fruit, Popchips, Pirate’s Booty.

• Dinner: Right now I’ve been eating fajita seasoned chicken breast with peppers and onions. I’ll either wrap that in a La Banderita Carb-Counter wheat wrap with fat-free cheddar cheese, light sour cream, and salsa; or I'll replace the wrap with white rice and add the same toppings.

• Dessert: I’ll usually have a Built bar for dessert—sometimes cold, sometimes microwaved for 10 seconds with fat-free whipped cream on top. I also love Halo Top ice cream once in a while.

I also started working out right away.

I went full speed ahead into exercising five days a week. I started doing 30 minutes on the treadmill and alternated between upper body and lower body days. I would just use the machines I was comfortable with at first. At the beginning of 2020, I discovered Mari’s Fitness Guides, and I started doing Resolution Guide 1 in the gym. These guides really expanded my horizons in the gym.

I went out of my comfort zone and used new machines and stepped foot into the free weights zone in the gym. I started to really enjoy weightlifting! I also started running. I signed up for a 5k in April, but it got cancelled due to COVID. When COVID hit, I absolutely hated the idea of working out at home, so I started running outside at a local park.

Right now, I still work out five days a week at the park, and I do walking/running intervals for about three miles each day. I’m very eager to get back into weightlifting in the gym, though.

These three changes have also made a huge impact on my overall weight loss.

• I stayed dedicated. Don't give up! You won’t see results right away. Just don’t quit. It takes dedication to yourself, discipline, and determination to change your life. It will not happen overnight—you have to be prepared to be in it for the long haul.

• I didn’t deprive myself. When I first started I would refuse to eat what everyone else was eating because it wasn’t healthy. Going to restaurants was miserable because it was difficult to make good choices while everyone around me wasn’t. Now, I have a good time, I enjoy the company I’m with, and I don’t stress about eating one meal that's off track. It’s very freeing. Don’t stop yourself from having a good time at family outings or holidays and parties. Just eat what everyone else is, in moderation. Get back on track the next day/next meal. I don't overthink it and II don’t punish myself. It's fine!

• I took measurements and progress pictures. I did not take progress pictures until a month into my journey. Although my body didn’t change a whole lot the first month, I still wish my first progress photos were taken on day one. It has helped hold me accountable and also be proud of my progress.

So far, I have lost 100 pounds, and it took me one year.

Taking a leap of faith last May was the best decision I have ever made. I am a completely different person now. I’m happy, cheerful, and confident. I feel so amazing, and I'm not sluggish like I used to be. I perform better at my job as well. Losing 100 pounds has changed my life completely for the better.

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