This story comes from our archives, from a time when FunTastyQ Fit was still called Geneto Elustiil. We keep our older stories available—our product has a long history.
Lembit is a 56-year-old man from Väike-Maarja who has spent most of his life working in agriculture and running a mill. As his business expanded, Lembit no longer had to do as much physical work himself. Over the years, he gained excess weight while working mainly at a computer in his role as a manager. Last autumn brought a major change in Lembit’s life, prompting him to start taking better care of himself. In slightly less than a year, he lost 15 kg. Thanks to healthier eating and exercise, which have now become part of his lifestyle, he likes himself again.
The pandemic has been a stressful time for everyone around the world, including Lembit’s family, and sadly his family broke up. However, it was also an eye-opening moment. Until then, life had followed a familiar routine, and Lembit had not even realised that he might be overweight. Once he was on his own, he found that he did not like himself. “I weighed 95 kg at the time, but at my height (178 cm), my normal weight is 80–82 kg. I set myself the goal of reaching 80 kg.
I wanted to start liking myself again,” Lembit says, explaining what motivated him to begin losing weight.
Lembit discovered the Elustiil app on Facebook. “
When I started using the Elustiil app, my competitive streak kicked in—I logged every meal in the app.” Lembit used to have a big appetite and never denied himself any of life’s pleasures; blue cheese and wine were particular favourites. Once he started using the Elustiil app, however, he made several changes to his diet, with butter being the first thing to go. “I gave up butter because I looked at it in the app and saw that it was completely pointless. I also stopped drinking coffee. Instead, I started drinking juice and really came to love orange juice. I used to have a couple of beers in the evening, but I immediately stopped drinking alcohol every night as well. Another big dietary change was that instead of eating whatever the mother of the family had prepared, I started cooking for myself,” Lembit says, describing the major changes he made to his eating habits.
Canned soups are one very good option that is always quick to prepare and comes with nutritional information on the label.
The Elustiil app can generate a healthy meal plan from its selection of recipes. Lembit partly followed the foods suggested in the meal plan, but as he had become a bachelor, he usually tried to keep things simple. He began preparing simple meals himself and logging them in the app. “The first thing I did was try to switch to foods I could identify using the barcode scanner.
Canned soups are one very good option that is always quick to prepare and comes with nutritional information on the label. They give you all the necessary fats, calories, vitamins and everything else you need. I would definitely recommend that people like me try eating canned soup for a while!” Of course, Lembit was not literally living on a canned soup diet, and when the Elustiil app reminded him, he would go out and buy some greens too. He also started eating more fruit and vegetables, with carrots and oranges becoming some of his favourites.
Lembit does not plan his meals far in advance.
His favourite feature in the Elustiil app is the very first screen, where he can enter his meals and see how much protein, carbohydrate and fat he has consumed. “That was what I liked most because it allowed me to think about what I would eat for my next meal. You can see the amounts consumed over the entire week very precisely and use that information to decide what to have when visiting a restaurant at the weekend,” he explains, describing how he has fitted the Elustiil app into his ever-changing life.
The first 4 months were easy, but then his weight stopped falling.
“I lost 10 kg in about 4 months. After that, losing weight became harder and more problematic—at one point my weight plateaued, and I wondered what to do. I felt hungry all the time, but you cannot realistically live like that. Then I realised that to continue losing weight, I had to start exercising. Exercise allowed me to increase the proportion of fats and proteins in my diet,” Lembit says, explaining how he found a solution to his weight-loss plateau. Previously, he had not exercised at all; the only substantial physical activity he got came from working at the mill.
Now he started exercising every morning. His stomach proved to be the most problematic area, and he found a solution in a workout app called “Six Pack”. “I started using it to exercise every morning—15 minutes at first, then 20 minutes, and by now I have increased it to 30 minutes. We’ll see how far I eventually take it,” he says.
At one point, Lembit suffered a setback in his weight loss. He realised that he had lost his consistency and was no longer logging anything in the app. “
You really need to keep reminding yourself what your goal in life is. The goal is not to die fat. I want to live a full life for as long as possible. That thought should always be ticking away at the back of your mind. Why make life harder and lug that weight around with you—up the stairs and down the stairs!” This down-to-earth outlook helps him remember what matters most in life and motivates him to stay on track.
Why make life harder and lug that weight around with you—up the stairs and down the stairs!
By now, Lembit has achieved his goal. He weighed 95 kg when he started and had set a target of 80 kg. He saw his lowest number on the scale a week ago: 78 kg. His weight currently fluctuates between 78 and 81 kg, and Lembit is happy with that. He is 178 cm tall. Lembit now has his diet under control and no longer logs his meals in the Elustiil app every day, but he monitors his weight and, if it rises, he starts cutting back a little again when necessary.
Lembit has two main recommendations for anyone else thinking about making a lifestyle change and losing weight:
- “Stay strong! I wish you confidence and inner strength so that you can maintain the determination to keep going. It is just like any other kind of athletic training: you have to make an effort. Anyone who cares about their life and quality of life should pay attention to what they put into their mouth.”
- “If you do not have time, you can always get up a little earlier in the morning and do some exercise. 10 minutes is quite enough to burn a couple of calories, and it helps a lot—first, you feel good, and second, you are alert and ready for the day ahead. Morning exercise is the best way to start the day.”
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