I have lost 36 pounds in a year, and wanted to share some hope with other people who are also slow losers. And a big thank you to everyone who posts and comments here. This community is so motivating and supportive.
Since June 2019, I have lost 36 pounds, from 229 to 193 after decades of yo-yo dieting. In June, I realized I needed to figure it out for good or I could easily weigh 400 pounds.
What is working:
· CICO, CICO, CICO and the Quick Start approach on this subreddit. In June 2019, I started making little changes week by week: drinking more water, not counting exercise calories, dropping my calorie budget by 100 calories a day, reviewing patterns daily and adjusting. A year later, it’s now a pretty natural way of eating.
· Started tracking calorie accurately in August using a food scale (after seven years of using the Lose it app). Eyeballing calories was incredibly misleading: my “one” ounce of cheese was actually three, it wasn’t two ounces of cream in my coffee but six! A “small” handful of nuts was actually two ounces and a huge calorie count.
· Prior to June 2019, I could easily eat 3000 calories a day (and still feel hungry!!). Now I am averaging 1550 calories a day and NOT feeling hungry!! Not feeling hungry because of: IF (16:8 but not strict); two meals a day; 50% of calories from fat; drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water a day; and a Goldilocks approach to carbs (50 to 100 grams a day) as too many carbs trigger cravings but too few carbs trigger depression.
· I still have treats: dark chocolate, raspberries, an occasional IPA, Halo Top, my favourite burger). However some foods are not worth the calories: store bought baking, fast food French fries, chips, iced-tea, soda, etc.
· Broke a month long plateau in April 2020 (was actually gaining slightly while meeting calorie targets!) by eating at maintenance for a week. Am now incorporating a 2/5 approach while averaging 1550 calories a day.
· Motivation: this subreddit and the Progress pics subreddit; also my before pics, progress pics and keep going pics; taking measurements; looking at the Lose-it app graphs and that steady trend downwards. Any time my clothes get loose (especially slacks) I donate them and get clothes that fit; wearing loose clothes can easily fool me into thinking I have lost enough weight. Holding the weight lost (bags of cat food, flour) has also been very tangibly motivating, especially when I couldn’t really see or feel the initial weight loss until the first 30 pounds was lost. (It was very helpful to know about the paper towel effect!).
· 36 pounds lost is a good start but still a ways to go to reach 60 pounds lost by my 60th birthday in Feb 2021 and then another 20 or 30 pounds to go after that, and be really $%#$% careful about maintenance.
A progress pic https://www.reddit.com/r/progresspics/comments/gxuttu/f5957_229lbs_193lbs_36lbs_one_year_theres_hope/
Wishing everyone good luck and success on their weight loss journeys, at whatever age you are!
[link] [comments]
from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2Ul63Cq
No comments:
Post a Comment