Why Weight Loss Progress Isn’t Linear And How I Kept Going (30kg Journey, Part 2)

If Part 1 of my diet journey was about momentum, Part 2 is about maintenance.

Losing weight in the beginning feels exciting. The scale drops. Clothes fit better. You feel in control. But after the early wins, the real challenge begins, and staying consistent when real life kicks in.

This month was about routine… At least, I had hoped it was about routine.

Sticking To A Regular Routine

I didn’t aim for perfection. I aimed for a familiar structure. On weekdays, I bought lunch around five days a week, averaging around RM25 per meal. That works out to roughly RM125 a week, or about RM500 a month, just on weekday lunches alone.

Dinner was where I tried to be more disciplined. After all, we don’t move around as much at night. I cooked at home about three days a week. On weekends, I usually cooked my own lunch, but dinner was often with the family, which meant eating out.

For the entire month, groceries for my home-cooked meals cost around RM160 to RM200. To no one’s surprise, cooking wasn’t just healthier, it was significantly cheaper than eating out regularly. 

I wasn’t weighing every gram of food or following a strict meal plan. I simply tried to repeat habits I could realistically sustain long term. Some days were cleaner than others, but consistency mattered more to me than perfection at the moment.

One thing that quietly helped me manage sweet cravings was Pepsi or Coke Zero. When the urge for dessert hit, especially at night, a cold zero-sugar soda took the edge off without adding calories. Is it the healthiest habit? Probably not. But in the bigger picture, it helped me avoid chocolates and late-night snacking more often than not.

Routine helps me to reduce decision fatigue. When you already know what you’re doing most days, it’s easier to stay on track.

Then Chinese New Year Happened

Man…did CNY hit me like a wrecking ball.

Festive seasons revolve around food, reunion dinners, open houses, endless snack trays, and relatives who insist you take second helpings.

This year, my half-sister returned from Australia to pay us a visit, and with her came generous portions of chocolates and sweets. The kind you don’t usually buy that often in Malaysia due to exorbitant import mark-ups. The kind that makes you feel like you should at least try some.

And I did.

Not excessively. But enough.

A chocolate here. A cookie there. A few festive meals that were heavier than usual. It’s never one big blowout,  it’s the small, repeated indulgences that quietly add up.

By the end of the month, the scale reflected it.

The Scale Went Up

I started the month at 110kg, close to going down to 109kg. I ended up at 111kg. A one-kilogram increase.

In the past, that would have felt like failure. I would have seen it as proof that I couldn’t sustain my progress. That all the effort wasn’t working. Another new year’s resolution failed.

But this time, I saw it differently.

It was Chinese New Year. It was social. It was seasonal. And realistically, it could have been much worse. A 1kg gain isn’t a total failure. It’s data.

More importantly, I didn’t spiral. I didn’t decide to “restart next month.” I didn’t binge because I had already messed up. This mindset shift, is progress in itself, I think.

Moving Forward

I’m not trying to “compensate” for Chinese New Year with extreme dieting. That cycle never ends well. Instead, I’m going back to my routine.

Back to predictable lunches.

Back to cooking three dinners a week.

Back to mindful portions.

If I can go through a festive month and only come out 1kg heavier without losing control, that’s progress.

This journey was never about being perfect. It was about being sustainable. And sometimes sustainability looks like gaining 1kg… and choosing not to quit.