Hello friends! First I want to say I found reddit and this sub later in my progress and it has been a huge source of encouragement. So many fighters on here building a better life for themselves one decision at a time - you inspire me a ton!
I’ve been experimenting with food, nutrition and exercise after discovering IF about four years ago. Since then I’ve started eating mostly vegan with some eggs and fish, and now I do CICO pretty consistently to keep myself accountable. I fast on occasion, especially after a weekend away where I wasn’t paying attention to CICO or overdid it. My process and progress were not linear and it took me a long time to recognize I had to change my relationship with food and make real lifestyle changes to sustain any weight loss and learn how to be healthier. It’s been mostly a solo journey with a lot of encouragement from my supportive husband.
I am currently hovering about 5 lbs above my (admittedly arbitrary) goal weight of 135 lbs. I’ve been 137-141 for the past month and a half, I go down and up all the time. When I hit 140 it feels like the danger zone in terms of regain so I tend to cut calories when I see that number. The main change with the consistency of my weight loss is that I’ve started doing distance running (which I could not do earlier due to injuries that have since healed) and my body wants to eat all the time. I’m eating much closer to maintenance calories most days and really trying to get enough protein which is hard with my diet preferences. Running has become incredibly important to me (huge boost to mental health and energy) and I now feel like I care more about having the fuel for another couple miles than cutting calories for weight loss. I feel really tired on days where I run a lot and also stay in caloric deficit. For reference, my short runs are 3-4 miles (1-2x/wk) intermediate 5-7 miles (2-5x/wk) and my long run days are 10-11 miles (on weekends). I run almost every day now but also do some cross training or one day or rest each week. Working toward a half marathon now and if I am injury free I’ll start marathon training this summer.
So this is the new struggle. I’m pretty happy with where I’m at physically - I fit into a size 4 for the first time since high school, I think I look great, and I feel strong. On the other hand, I carry extra weight in my legs and could still afford to lose that bulk, especially since running is hard on your joints and even a 5 lb difference can be consequential over time. I’m starting to think of weight loss in terms of athletic performance instead of my prior mindset which was more about how I looked. I want to be able to run for many more years. So I don’t know if I should adjust my goal weight, maintain for now as I build up endurance and play with my goal weight later on, take a week off running to drop a bit of weight more easily (I can really cut calories if I’m more sedentary) or any other options. Any advice would be appreciated, especially from other runners! Thanks all!
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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2UzsQws
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