Ok, I know what you're thinking. "This guy lost a whopping two pounds this week? So what?" Well let me tell you what. The two pounds is significant.
You see, I've been big my whole life. I was always bigger than everyone else. 350lbs was my largest at one point. And with the beautiful support of this sub, and my health team, I started my weight loss journey seriously back in the end of summer 2017. A student shadowing my doctor in a checkup visit suggested a health coach for wellness offered by my health insurance. Everything was great. Packets of information on nutrition and motivation were sent for me to read, and I did. Under 2000 calories and 70g fat daily was the established plan. I tracked with MyFitnessPal and had weekly calls with my health coach. Everything was going to plan. The weight was coming off, people were noticing, and I was feeling great. By early March of 2018 I had dropped down to about 315, if my memory serves correctly. But then, I got sick, like, really sick.
Nobody needs the dirty details, but I wasn't eating from being ill and my weight took a huge 5lb drop within a few days, to 310. My energy was gone, depleted. And as luck would have it, March 2018 was the scheduled end time with my health coach. I would've loved to have been able to keep our coaching phone calls up, the accountability is what I attributed my success to. But, this time was what the health insurance allowed, and my coach had other patients to now help. However, the few weeks of not eating properly and consistently as I had broke my routine. I stopped tracking my calories and the weight stopped coming off. And then it never started to lose again.
Months continue to pass, I'm not tracking my calories, and the weight isn't coming down. And as some of you may know, it inevitably starts to go back up. Just a few pounds at first, but then more. Imagine having that success, and then the frustrations of it all stopping. It's enough to drive a person mad. But it's far too easy to become complacent, and I sure did. I was unhappy with the results, but I wasn't putting in the effort. This trend continued on and on, until this Monday. Seeking for the silver lining, I'm happy to report that in my year and a half I only put 12lbs back on to get up to 322.
Now, I'm not sure what exactly clicked for me, or what the kick in the butt was that I needed. But, I just decided, this Monday, I would count my calories, and stay under that 2,000 mark for the day. I reinstalled MyFitnessPal, and tracked everything that entered my mouth as best as I could. I used the bar code scanner for any product that had it and took my best guesses for food that was unmarked. I amended recipes I was cooking to only use the suggested amounts on the nutrition label, instead of eye-balling the ingredients. And on Monday, I succeeded. I finished the day, at my best guesses, around 1,800 calories.
Then came Tuesday. I decided if I can win Monday, I can win today too. Again I tracked everything I could. And when my coworkers wanted to go out to lunch, to a restaurant with no nutritional facts, I broke down the dish into it's ingredients and added them individually. I even overcame my anxiety, and asked a restaurant employee the weight of the meat in the dish to best guess, and he had the exact answer for me right off the top of his head. I finished Tuesday, in the 1,800 calorie range again.
Wednesday, and Thursday, have been more of the same. I'm just deciding to win that day. One day at a time, one meal at a time, one entry to MyFitnessPal at a time. I've successfully stayed under 2,000 calories every day this week. Scanning every label, or being honest and guessing every ingredient I was eating.
Which brings us to today, Friday morning. My doctor always said I should weigh myself in the morning, the same day of each week, after using the bathroom. Today, I brewed myself a cup of coffee, started the laundry, prepared myself, and stepped on the scale. As the title suggest, no more 3-2-2 like I had seen last week. Instead, 3-2-0! I lost 2lbs just by committing to win one day at a time, and meet my calorie goal. I've been hungry along the way, but I'm doing my best to distract myself with a fun activity, or a nap.
So finally, again, 2lbs, so what? But these 2lbs are so much more than that. They're the realization, that I can start weight loss again. That if I can lose, so can you. That if any of us get off track, we can still get back on track. It's not too late. I had the realization this morning, remembering that I want to be one of the major success stories on this subreddit. But for any of those folks who've lost the huge amounts, they started right here at week 1, with their own 2lb weight loss. So please, don't get discouraged. Even if you're like me, and you're in this sub, and you haven't done anything meaningful for a long period of time. Just commit to your plan, stick to it. Be honest with yourself, and get your next 2lbs! That's all this is, is just a daily fight, to win the day, and get your next 2lbs gone. If I can overcome the things in my life, I think any of you can too. And if you don't think so, please contact me. I will do what I can to help you figure it out too!
I plan to stay under 2,000 calories today, and I'm determined to do so. But tomorrow, I'm going to smash some of my fiance's homemade chocolate chip cookies. And then Sunday, I'm going right back to the counting and tracking. One day at a time.
Best of luck r/loseit ! Let's all strive to lose our next 2lbs this next week!
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