• Maria Kirkeland lost 159 pounds in two years by calorie-counting.
• Kirkeland avoided hunger and maintained muscle by eating more protein and strength training.
• She made sustainable changes, like swapping freezer fries for potatoes.

When Maria Kirkeland began the weight loss journey that would see her lose 159 pounds over two years, she initially didn’t change the foods she ate. She just changed the quantities.

By learning about calories — both what different foods contain and what her body needs — Kirkeland, 37, started losing weight sustainably.

Kirkeland, from Norway, never once felt hungry during her weight loss journey, she told Business Insider, and she credits calorie counting with stopping her from undereating.

Over time, Kirkeland changed the quality of her diet as well as the quantity, eating more protein to help keep her feeling full and to maintain the muscle she was building after taking up strength training.

Crucially, Kirkeland was never overly restrictive. She didn’t cut out any of her favorite foods entirely, and she took breaks from calorie-counting while on vacations or over Christmas, she said. This ensured she never felt deprived and was able to stick to her healthy habits in the long run.

Her journey falls against a backdrop of changing attitudes toward weight loss, as people increasingly reject fad diets and seek out healthy, sustainable methods. GLP-1 medications like Wegovy have meanwhile helped to dispel the myth that willpower alone is what determines a person’s weight.

Kirkeland shared how her diet compared before starting her weight loss journey to now, 159 pounds lighter.

Swapping freezer fries for potatoes

Kirkeland said she hasn’t changed her breakfast habits much. Most days, she eats two pieces of whole-grain bread with cottage cheese and low-sugar jam, whereas she previously had the bread with cheese and salami.

At lunchtime, Kirkeland would often buy salads in the work canteen that were heavy on the dressing. Now, she tends to cook at home and take in her own lunches, such as a chicken salad or an omelet.

Dinnertime is where Kirkeland has made the biggest change, she said. Her portion sizes used to be “way out of control,” and she would mostly eat foods from her freezer like large pizzas or half a big bag of fries, she said.

Kirkeland said she’s always preferred lean meats like chicken over cuts like steak, but if she bought ground beef, for example, she used to buy the higher fat pack whereas now she buys the leaner version, she said.

Vegetables made rare appearances on Kirkeland’s dinner plates before she lost weight, whereas now she eats a lot, often alongside lean meats or fish, and potatoes rather than fries.

“I feel like potatoes have been demonized throughout my youth and I’ve just come to the conclusion that is some sort of weird thing from diet culture because potatoes are great,” she said. “They’re not very calorically dense, they’re very filling, they’re very satiating, and they’re so nutrient-rich. I love potatoes. I eat them for almost every dinner I have.”

Small snacks make portion control easier

Kirkeland said she still enjoys something sweet after dinner but tends to buy pre-portioned snacks, like a bag of mini chocolate bars. She used to snack a lot more throughout the day and would often eat a large chocolate bar in one go.

“I felt like I couldn’t have any chips or chocolates in the house because I would always just binge on them between meals or eat to the point where I would replace meals with them. I’d eat a whole bag of chips as a meal, especially on the weekends when I didn’t have work,” she said.

Kirkeland now has the approach of “take what you want but add what you need,” so she might have a small portion of chips but alongside other foods to make a more nutritionally balanced and satiating meal, she said.