14.12.2024

Sydney nutritionist who shed 20kg reveals what she learned

She is now one of Sydney’s top nutritionists, but for more than a decade Lyndi Cohen had been stuck in an endless cycle of diets.

Now Lyndi, who shed more than 20 kilos, has revealed what she wished she had known about extreme weight loss before starting her own transformation journey.

The 27-year-old, once classified as clinically obese, tried 20 different diets and visited four different nutritionists as she struggled to lose weight.

Lyndi only later learned that real, sustainable weight loss doesn’t happen in months or even a year, she told Body+Soul.

She is now one of Sydney’s top nutritionists, but for more than a decade Lyndi Cohen (pictured before) had been stuck in an endless cycle of diets

Now Lyndi, who shed more than 20 kilos, has revealed what she wished she had known about extreme weight loss before starting her own transformation journey

The 27-year-old, once classified as clinically obese, tried 20 different diets and visited four different nutritionists as she struggled to lose the weight

The 27-year-old, once classified as clinically obese, tried 20 different diets and visited four different nutritionists as she struggled to lose the weight

It took years for Lyndi to break a cycle of binge eating things like bread, Nutella, and cereal that began when she was 10 years old and lasted into her early twenties.

‘Usually my binges would take place at home in front of the TV, where I had little control of what I was putting in my mouth,’ she told Daily Mail Australia last year.

‘If I was out with friends I would refuse dessert, but not be satisfied. I would then go home and eat all the things I’d said no to in public. It was so isolating and I didn’t know how to find help.’

By the time she was 21, Lyndi has clothes between a size 8 and 18 in her wardrobe, showing how much her weight had fluctuated over the decade.

Then one day it hit her: ‘What happens if, instead of just eating six diet meals a day and bingeing, I just listen to my hunger?’ she asked herself.

Over the course of four years, Lyndi began to lose the weight – and keep it off.

Lyndi said it was only later that she learned that real, sustainable weight loss doesn't happen in months or even a year and requires a complete lifestyle change  

Lyndi said it was only later that she learned that real, sustainable weight loss doesn’t happen in months or even a year and requires a complete lifestyle change

Ms Cohen (pictured) said she first realised she was slightly bigger than other kids when she was just six

By the time she was 21, Lyndi has clothes between a size 8 and 18 in her wardrobe, showing how much her weight had fluctuated over the decade

It took years for Lyndi to break a cycle of binge eating things like bread, Nutella, and cereal that began when she was 10 years old, and lasted into her early twenties

It was then that she realised how important reprogramming ‘habits and thought patterns’ were to make real change.

‘However long you think weight loss will take – multiply it by 10, then add some. Be patient and focus on your health, not the number on the scale,’ she wrote in Body+Soul. 

Lyndi realised she needed to stop counting the almonds she ate, along with calories, macros, points, or any other kind of food measuring device.

Instead the future nutritionist learned how to embrace whole foods and balance her servings of healthy fats and good carbs with plenty of protein, fruit, and vegetables.

As she made important lifestyle changes, Lyndi also stopped creating Pinterest boards full of skinny celebrities in the hopes of getting ‘Fitspo’ inspiration.

Lyndi realised she needed to stop counting the almonds she ate, along with calories, macros, points, or any other kind of food measuring device in her quest to lose weight 

Lyndi realised she needed to stop counting the almonds she ate, along with calories, macros, points, or any other kind of food measuring device in her quest to lose weight

As she made important lifestyle changes, Lyndi also stopped creating Pinterest boards full of skinny celebrities in the hopes of getting 'Fitspo' inspiration 

As she made important lifestyle changes, Lyndi also stopped creating Pinterest boards full of skinny celebrities in the hopes of getting ‘Fitspo’ inspiration

‘If you’re following lots of bikini models and celebrities on Instagram, it can be hard to not think that that is reality,’ Lyndi told Daily Mail Australia.

Lyndi believes that these pictures of perfectly toned and taut celebrities and Instagram stars can change our standards on what it means to be ‘healthy’.

‘Fitspo sends the message that it’s fine to go to extreme measures to lose weight – so long as you look good in a crop top,’ she wrote in Body+Soul.

Lyndi found it more helpful to unfollow these so-called fitness stars, and develop her own body confidence.

‘We live in a culture where it comes naturally to question ourselves, but it’s important to realise that it’s fine to be imperfect,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
Lyndi had to come to that same acceptance when she found that shedding weight didn’t mean she would lose her cellulite

When the pounds did finally come off, Lyndi also realised that losing weight didn't mean that she would instantly love her body 

When the pounds did finally come off, Lyndi also realised that losing weight didn’t mean that she would instantly love her body

Even after her decade-long struggle ended in success, Lyndi came to accept that losing weight wouldn't instantly make her happy or cause all her problems to go away

'Unfortunately losing weight doesn¿t get rid of your body insecurities. Before working to change your body, accept your body with all of its 'flaws', she said

Even after her decade-long struggle ended in success, Lyndi came to accept that losing weight wouldn’t instantly make her happy or cause all her problems to go away

'At the end of the day, regardless of what you look like, you will still be the same person, with the same problems,' she writes

'Your weight is just a number on a scale or clothing size. It doesn't define who you are. It won't change you...You will still be the same person,' she said

‘Your weight is just a number on a scale or clothing size. It doesn’t define who you are. It won’t change you…You will still be the same person,’ she said

It was the same acceptance Lyndi found when she discovered that shedding weight didn’t mean she would lose her cellulite – or instantly love her body.

‘Unfortunately losing weight doesn’t get rid of your body insecurities. Before working to change your body, accept your body with all of its ‘flaws’, she told Body+Soul.

And even after her decade-long struggle ended in success, Lyndi came to accept that losing weight wouldn’t instantly make her happy or cause all her problems to go away.

‘At the end of the day, regardless of what you look like, you will still be the same person with the same problems,’ she said. ‘Your weight…doesn’t define who you are.’

To find out more about Lyndi Cohen, visit her website here. You can also follow her on Instagram here, and download her Body Love e-course on her website.

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