I always promised myself I’d give back to /r/loseit, so after 3 years, here it finally is. Throwaway account for privacy.
Short Version: 3 years ago I was 260 lbs with a BMI of 43 (type III obese, stats in flair). I started logging in MFP and targeting 1500 kcal/day. I also started reading and posting in /r/loseit regularly. As you can see from my data, I lost nearly 80 lbs in the first year. In late 2016, a stressful life event occurred and I started eating more, but I continued logging every day. My weight levelled off, then gradually crept up from below 170 to over 180 lbs. The stressful event finally being a thing of the past, I pulled my head out of my a** early this year and started hitting my calorie goals and exercising more regularly. I finally reached a normal BMI, and have almost reached my original goal weight (currently at 148 lbs, goal is 145 lbs). At this point, I’m thinking of a new / ultimate goal weight of 130 lbs.
Obligatory before / after pics:
Long / Emotional Version: As a kid I was into sports, but even then was always a bit oversized and pants never really fit me right. When I got to grad school, I stopped playing sports but didn’t change my eating habits, and ballooned up to 260 lbs. I was in a long-term supportive relationship, but one that was maybe a little too enabling of my eating habits. For other reasons, I broke from the relationship and started losing weight the WRONG way, by extreme diet and exercise. I quickly got down to the upper 160s, got a new boyfriend, and started a new job, all around the same time. But it wasn’t sustainable – I hadn’t learned the right habits needed to keep it off. So, over time, and after marrying the boyfriend and getting a new but stressful job, I ballooned up again – you guessed it – ALL the way back up to 260 lbs! It took 7 years to gain the weight back, so it was gradual, and the husband was supportive no matter what my weight was (although not enabling and always encouraging of healthy eating).
At this point I’m hitting middle age, my job is stable and stress starts to level off, but I’m wondering what the hell life is really all about. I happen across what you might call a hobby, more of a calling, that I REALLY love. I can’t say what it is because it would be too specific, but let’s just say it really makes me happy, and part of the happiness is a feeling that I want to live forever. Clearly, being type II obese is not a way to live forever, I have always known that, I just didn’t care before. (Yeah, it’s kind of dark to admit that.) So I get serious about my goals – I have always been able to achieve anything I put my mind to, and this is no different. I find /r/loseit and read all the advice, start using MFP daily, and regularly read and contribute to /r/loseit to keep my thinking in the game. As you can see from my data, I lost very sensibly for the first year by hitting my calorie goals and exercising intermittently. However, I think what’s most important to note is that, when I hit a rocky patch after that first year (see the “stressful life event” marker in my data), I didn’t let my weight go back to where it was. That’s because I KEPT LOGGING and WEIGHING. Yeah, I wasn’t hitting my calorie goals anymore, but I still made it a point to log every thing I put into my mouth, and weigh at least once a week. I think that made a big difference between what was a period of maintaining & watching weight very very slowly creep up, versus going off the rails completely and gaining it all back.
Eventually the stress abated, and I also became alarmed at my weight going over 180 lbs, which is my borderline back into an obese BMI. So early this year I decided to kick it into gear again, started reading /r/loseit daily again to help keep my mind in the game, and accelerated my exercise routine. I went from what was mostly exercise on machines, to mixing it up with weight training, trail “jogging” which has now become full-blown trail running, and exercise classes after work. Now that I’ve almost hit my original goal weight from 3 years ago (145 lbs was the goal I put down in my flair almost exactly 3 years ago in this subreddit), I am super happy with my body and how I look with clothes on especially. However, as you can see from my progress pics in more revealing exercise clothes, my legs are still a bit large, as they always have been, and I’m thinking of keeping going to an ultimate / reach goal weight of 130 lbs. I’m kind of interested to see what I’d look like at that weight, and if it is maintainable for me. If it’s not, no biggie, I’m totally happy with my body, energy, and life the way it is right now, too.
Advice: I find that I am able to hit calorie goals best when I stick to a routine. My routine is: • morning: coffee with 1 cube sugar + 3 oz 1% milk (yeah, I don’t like black coffee, and this is only 50 calories), keep warming mug with black coffee until awake. • late morning: 2% Fage. • lunch: purchased Greek salad (160 cal) or at-home veg with 1 – 1.5 oz ranch dressing (screw it I love ranch!) (170 – 220 cal). • afternoon snack if needed: orange or apple or banana (60-100 cal). • afternoon desperation if needed: gum gum gum (negligible cal). • dinner: whatever I want but limit portion size, 6 / 7 days it is cooked at home. • evening options if needed: weight watcher’s ice cream (1 or 2 at 80 cal ea), So delicious (150 cal), chocolate treats meted out from my husband (120 – 160 cal), or skinny pop popcorn (100 cal + 50 cal spray-on canola oil, screw it I need it oily!) • alcohol (1-3 days / week): whiskey at 70 cal / oz, typically 2-3 oz either with club soda or in a manhattan (manhattan w/ 3 oz whiskey can be over 300 cal, but is a treat) sorry I just can’t give up alcohol, but I’ve made it work.
I’m not perfect, obviously (look at my data!), but I found things that work for me, and make me feel like I’m still able to enjoy what I eat. I also find it is super helpful to get lots of sleep. I find a direct correlation between not sleeping enough and feeling so hungry that I over-eat. Also, if I get too snacky in the evenings, I started just going to bed early. Are you really doing anything useful with that evening time other than going on reddit or watching TV?
What about loose skin? Admittedly, the first time I lost weight when I was younger, my skin bounced back almost perfectly and my legs looked better than they do now. This time I’m in my mid-40s, so skin is starting to change. From the pics you can probably see some loose skin on my inner thighs, where it is worst. At first, I got a little freaked out about the loose skin, but it did start to bounce back some, and I honestly got used to what was still there and it doesn’t bother me anymore. Also, a nice commenter here on /r/loseit suggested that I should judge myself by 40-year-old beauty standards, not 20s, so I think I’m doing okay. Also, the way I look in clothes is way more important (I went from a pant size 26 at Lane Bryant, to a size 8 Levi’s, or a size 4 trousers at Loft!) Also, the increased attention from my husband tells me that even though I’m not perfect with my clothes off, it’s way more sexy than before.
If you actually read this far – kudos to you and your weight loss goals. I’m happy to answer any questions.
[link] [comments]
from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2NMLyfB
No comments:
Post a Comment