Maria Kirkeland has learned to count on her weight loss method.
The 37-year-old Norwegian woman says she lost 159 pounds in two years, never once feeling hungry thanks to two key hacks.
In 2022, Kirkeland’s decades-long cycle of bingeing and restricting had left her heavier than ever.
“I would eat a lot of snacks, ice cream, chocolate, very high-calorie food, and then I would feel terrible about myself,” she told Business Insider this week. “Then I’d say, ‘I’m going on a diet. I’m not going to eat any ice cream. I’m never going to eat chocolate ever again. I’m going to lose the weight.’ And that lasted about a few days, and then you crack.”
Bullied about her weight since childhood, Kirkeland treated food as a kind of emotional support. And the COVID-19 pandemic only intensified her habits.
“I just sort of lost it. I was very depressed,” she explained. “I got very isolated, and I think that led me to have a horrible relationship with food and eat very poorly and really not get out of the house.”
She decided to change her approach to weight loss by ceasing the starving/binging model and implementing two key techniques — calorie counting and focusing on protein intake and strength training.
Calorie counting
A deep dive into the world of TikTok provided Kirkeland with a change in perspective. She learned from weight loss coaches on the platform that she would need a calorie deficit to lose weight, meaning you’re expending more calories than you’re consuming.
As someone with a history of extreme and restrictive behaviors, Kirkeland was initially trepidatious about calorie counting.
“I was very scared of falling back into the former mindset that I had,” she confessed to Business Insider.
However, she was ultimately able to integrate calorie counting as an informative tool rather than an unhealthy obsession.
“Before, when I’d tried to lose weight, I’d done more guesswork, and I think that led me to undereat, which would then lead me to break because I got so hungry,” she said.
With calorie counting, Kirkeland says she wasn’t militant, taking breaks for holidays and vacations. Perhaps more importantly, she didn’t eliminate anything from her diet, allowing her to satisfy her sweet tooth — in moderation.
Her food choices gradually shifted from processed foods to whole, healthy foods and protein.
Fitness coach Jenna Rizzo recently echoed the importance of staying in that deficit and supporting healthy weight loss with adequate protein: “You have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, and you have to be eating enough protein to make sure that weight you’re losing is fat and not muscle.”
Protein and strength training
Before beginning her latest fitness journey, Kirkeland focused primarily on cardio exercises.
She decided to start a strength training program to build muscle, and to help those burgeoning muscles grow and recover post-workout, she upped her protein intake.
Beginning with weekly bodyweight exercises, she eventually built up to lifting weights. She’s focused on getting strong, doing deadlifts and challenging herself.
Strong in the body has become synonymous with strong in spirit for Kirkeland.
“As I’ve seen that I’ve been able to push myself, I’ve been able to do things that I thought were difficult before, it’s given me such joy and a sense of achievement,” she enthused to Business Insider.
