TL;DR: Sharing some tips that help me to stick to my weight loss.
Main points:
- do not stress out about food excessively
- log everything
- exercise even if you're not on track with eating
About me - I am a 25 yo female, 173 cm tall, in the slightly overweight BMI category all my life, fluctuating between 80-90 kg in the last five years. Currently 81 kg and dropping slowly.
Eating habits:
· CICO - I calculated my BMR (1500 kcal) and decided to set my deficit to about 300 kcal per day (considering I will not stick to this absolutely every day and it takes about 7000 kcal to lose 1 kg of fat, this should result in an easy 1 kg of fat per month). I log my exercise activities every day and add them to my calorie expenditure through BMR. I subtract 300 and that is my calorie cap for the day (usually around 1700-2000 kcal). I use a calorie tracking app and log everything I put into my mouth (the bar code scanner is really handy for this one).
· I try to follow my hunger cues and when possible I eat when I start feeling hungry. (For example at work, I do not feel obliged to go for lunch when everybody else does. On the other hand, if I have plans for dinner and I get hungry sooner, I eat something small as to not arrive there famished.) This prevents me from eating excess calories and at the same time regulate my appetite so that I do not feel deprived.
· I do not like plain water so I drink a lot of sparkling water or diluted fruit tea. I try to drink at least one big glass during my meal times, which really helps me to feel full even with smaller portions.
· I do not set any food limits and I can eat anything as long as it fits into my calories. (side note: I am a vegetarian for the most part, and I sometimes eat fish.) However, I set my protein to 120 g per day, try to get adequate fiber and I limit sugar, so this usually keeps me from consuming straight up chocolate bars, when I see how nutritionally poor they are. To curb my sweet tooth I reach for fruit yogurt, protein bars, fruit, oatmeal etc.
· I keep it varied and I make sure that I enjoy my meals - not eat something disgusting just because it's healthy.
Struggles with food:
· As I said before, I rarely feel hungry, however, sometimes I do feel the urge to eat more carbs and keep going until fullness (this usually happens in the evenings when I have already reached my calorie limit for the day). I do my best to resist this by distracting myself - I take a walk, watch Netflix, color in my coloring book while listening to a podcast… This can last for a couple of days so I incorporate more carby foods into my diet - e.g. Thai tofu curry with rice, veggie burger with baked potatoes, oatmeal, etc.
· Sometimes it happens that I don't plan well and I get home feeling super hungry. Now I feel like I have to put a really big portion on my plate or I won't be satisfied. To overcome this, I put a normal portion on my plate and I tell myself that if I am still hungry 10 minutes after I finish it, I can go eat some more (for example have that extra cup of cottage cheese).
· Unhealthy snacks offered by people at work - I have one or two pieces if I really want to have some, and I make sure to log everything in my app. Seeing the numbers add up helps a lot to stop.
· Social events - If everyone around me is eating and I really want some, I do not find it worth it to restrain myself the whole evening and be miserable. I make peace with the fact that I am going to go over my calories and I enjoy myself without guilt. I try to log everything afterwards.
Exercise:
· A few years ago, I have found joy in exercise by doing activities that I enjoy and not only for the sake of burning calories. This kept me being active even in through times (months on end) when I was not eating well. I now think of myself as an active person even though my weight has not dropped. Some examples that work for me are below:
· Dancing (zumba, twerk, fit dance…) - The focus is not on getting sweaty but dancing is simply a lot of fun!
· Power yoga - I started at home with Youtube videos and I saw really quick improvements in my flexibility (after about a month of doing 15-20 mins every day). Then I started going to classes and I really enjoyed the challenge. It also feels really good to be more mobile than others tend to be on average.
· Crossfit / strength training - I really like the fact that the focus is on performance not on looks. Being able to do a pushup for the first time in my life or powering through a workout with other people doing the same thing next to me - there is something highly accomplishing about that.
· Walks - I listen to music, audiobooks or podcasts and it really helps me clear my head.
· Horseback riding - I'm not particularly good at it but I have loved horses all my life so learning to ride is one of my dreams come true.
Mental aspects:
· One of the more recent things was accepting that eating for weight loss will never come naturally to me. I have always wondered how come my skinny friends do not seem to share the same obsession about food, how come they do not overeat / gain weight / constantly wish to eat chocolate bars and pancakes. By browsing through Reddit I came to realize that their mentality around food is simply different from mine and even people who lost weight have not been able to achieve thinking like a skinny person. I will always need to count calories and put conscious effort into eating right. Food will always mean a bit more to me than just fuel for my body. And even though it is not fair, there is something liberating about knowing that.
· Accepting that food is not always about pleasure. A lot of the times when I think about food, I am trying to satisfy something more than hunger with it. I do not particularly like the term "emotional eating" but it is true that in the past when I felt full but not satisfied after a meal, I would eat more. I want to eat dishes that I enjoy, but I try to keep in mind that some voids are not meant to be filled by food.
And most importantly...
· I once was on a diet which was working beautifully, but I felt like I could not stray from it even a little bit or I would ruin all my progress. I did not allow myself to have anything that was not in my daily meal plan, I was super strict about sugar and unhealthy food, I did not go out for date nights with my BF or for lunch with my colleagues, I wouldn't go see my family because there would be food… It ended up in binging and a series or panic attacks and mental breakdowns. I stopped restricting because I needed my sanity back and this is when the reality check came. I lost the weight in a month, and it took me over 4 months to re-gain it while eating crap and sweets and not restricting myself. This has greatly helped me with binging because it took the emotional edge off any overeating episodes and greatly reduced the panic and guilt. Losing weight is tough but gaining weight is not that fast either.
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