Woman, 27, reveals how she ‘BRAINWASHED’ herself to get sober and lose 30LBS after years of feeling ‘insecure’ and ‘hopeless’

A girl has opened up about how she ‘brainwashed’ herself to lose 30 kilos and get sober after years of feeling ‘insecure’ and ‘hopeless.’  

Heather Maldonado, 27, from Austin, Texas, went from 152 kilos to 122 kilos after overhauling her way of life. She detailed how she rewired her mind to make these adjustments in three years in a video shared on her eponymous YouTube channel. 

‘Once I say I brainwashed myself into reducing weight, I do not imply that I strapped myself to a chair and solely fed myself water and [watched] America’s Subsequent High Mannequin. What I did was take motion to lastly decide to my new self,’ she defined. 

Maldonado recalled hitting all-time low through the pandemic in 2020, saying she drank excessively and spent 12 hours a day at her pc between work and gaming. 

‘I used to be obese and thought so poorly of myself that I used to disrespect my physique by binge consuming [and] binge consuming,’ she admitted. 

Her rising hatred for herself additionally led her to push away individuals who cared for her. 

She knew if she continued on that path, she would find yourself alone with nobody guilty however herself. 

Maldonado mentioned her downside was not that she was obese, it was her unhealthy way of life that was resulting in extreme weight achieve. 

She sought short-term rewards and achievement to uninteresting her damaging emotions whereas shaming herself into considering she could not change. 

‘You possibly can’t hate your self right into a physique that you just love,’ she mentioned.

Maldonado defined that reaching all-time low pressured her to look inward and ask herself if this was who she needed to be.   

The very first thing she did to remodel her life was to ask herself what was not serving her thoughts or physique.

After realizing she was utilizing alcohol as a crutch, she gave it up. 

‘Mentally, it was fueling my insecurities. It fueled that tiny voice in my head, the belittling concepts I had of myself, my small self-worth, and it at all times made me really feel like I used to be the sufferer in my life,’ she mentioned.

Alcohol additionally negatively affected her physique as a result of she was consuming lots of of empty energy per weekend along with the tacky, carb-laden meals she would binge eat whereas consuming. 

‘Chopping out alcohol was among the finest life choices that I ever made. It had a dramatic impact on my weight reduction even simply by chopping out these energy,’ she mentioned. 

‘It helped me reprogram my mind and enhance my psychological well being in wholesome methods as a result of then I used to be pressured to cope with my emotions.’

Maldonado mentioned the following factor she did was take actionable steps to retrain her thoughts and physique by undoing all of the damaging self-talk that was holding her again. 

‘It is time to begin introducing new voices into your head that consider in you, which might be telling you which you could obtain it, and that change is feasible,’ she defined. 

She began listening to empowering podcasts, studying self-help books, and subscribing to YouTube channels that promoted the approach to life she needed for herself. 

Maldonado paired this with the bodily motion of understanding on the health club.  

‘Once I was getting my steps on the treadmill, I used to be studying my Kindle. Once I was lifting weights, I used to be listening to a self-help podcast. Once I was sitting down consuming a wholesome meal that I wasn’t so enthusiastic about, I used to be placing on a change YouTube video,’ she mentioned.

She added that she additionally needed to cease specializing in the dimensions as a result of she stayed the identical weight for a very long time.

Maldonado recalled stepping on the dimensions after a month and a half of understanding and altering her food regimen and seeing she nonetheless weighed 152 kilos. 

‘If my purpose was to drop pounds, I by no means would have finished it,’ she mentioned. ‘I needed to give attention to my mindset and shifting that and my way of life. You already know what motivated me? Not trying nice in a bikini, however being terrified that if I continued on the identical path of gaining weight, ultimately I might be so unrecognizable to myself.’

She famous that it took three years of dedicating herself to incorporating small duties into her day by day routine to turn into the individual she dreamed of being. 

Maldonado mentioned the third factor she did was to surrender short-term rewards and practice herself to embrace discomfort whereas she was altering her life.

‘Profitable those that obtain targets have a better frustration tolerance,’ she defined. ‘This implies they’re in a position to tolerate greater quantities of undesirable ideas and emotions with a view to obtain their final targets.’

She shared how she used to bury uncomfortable emotions by watching Netflix, ordering takeout, and taking part in video video games. 

Maldonado admitted she felt misplaced when she give up gaming and stopped hanging out along with her outdated buddies, however she quickly found new hobbies, together with indoor boulder climbing, studying, and skating. 

She additionally began journaling and reflecting on the damaging beliefs she had about herself to assist rewire her mind. 

‘The attention-grabbing factor I discovered is it is by no means the scenario that is the issue, it is our ideas about the issue which might be the issue,’ she mentioned. 

Maldonado gave the instance of how she used to inform herself she was fats and would by no means drop pounds. She discovered to take that damaging thought and reframe it. 

She would now inform herself: ‘I am not the place I wish to be but, however I consider that change is feasible. I consider that it might occur for me, and if I hold making small adjustments, a wholesome mindset and physique should consequence.’

Maldonado has been sober and has misplaced a complete of 30 kilos since she began making these adjustments three years in the past. 

‘It’s a must to assume long-term,’ she mentioned. ‘It’s a must to consider what is going on to be sustainable for you.’