I have often welcomed those who have lost 100+ lbs (~ 50 kg , ~7 stone) to “the club” and joked that club meetings were on Thursdays. I recently suggested that we try out having a regular weekly thread to talk about issues that are particular to those who have lost 100+ lbs, those who are well on their way and those who are just at the beginning of a journey this big.
Welcome back to the Century Club! Each week I will provide a topic of the day that has been on my mind or inspired by previous posts. However you are free to talk about any topics you think might be relevant to current and prospective club members.
Previous topics: Support Clothing The Unexpected Self-image How do you end your journey? What made it click? Loose Skin
Today's Prompt: Breaks
Since most of our journeys will take a year or longer at healthy rates of < 2 lbs/week the idea that "weight loss is a marathon not a sprint" takes on more significance.
So the question today is: Did you take any "breaks" from your process while on your 100+ lb journey?
Personally, I had three classes of exceptions to my process. They all fall under the category I like to call "planned social meals/days". Psychologically I tend to avoid the term "cheat meal" or "cheat day" as I'm not actually winning one over by deviating from my process.
My process was CICO targeting 1650-2100 kcal/day on sedentary days (300-500 kcal below sedentary TDEE at current weight) with up to half the exercise calories my FitBit reported to MFP. (Usually a bit less than FitBit itself reported for the activity alone). The "breaks" I allowed myself were, in order of duration:
- Special Events: Dates, Parties, Family Celebrations, Business Meals. These were 1 meal or 1 day events when I tried to stay below maintenance + deficit (up to 1000 kcal higher than a regular day) so that I would potentially eliminate only one other day's deficit. I logged these as accurately as I could, sometimes overestimating a bit. The only "compensation" after these events was maybe skipping breakfast the next day or having a brunch that was a bit lighter than my usual breakfast+lunch. Since I generally knew when these might occur I would also be a bit stricter for several days before the event to "bank" some extra calories for the event.
- Work travel: My work called for me to be on travel for 1 week every month. This meant predominantly eating out for 5 days at a time, making it harder to log accurately. I tried to keep these weeks close to my plan by a few strategies, but didn't have access to a food scale or kitchen. Trying to get two meals per day from supermarkets so I had a better shot at knowing how many calories I was eating, and also eating only half of my restaurant meals and keeping the rest for a future meal. The "break" part of it was that I would be more likely to have foods I wouldn't prepare for myself (like pizza, burgers/fries, ...).
- Milestones/vacations: My journey was broken into 3 month segments, after each one I would spend a week or so trying to imagine life at that weight for the rest of my life. Giving myself the option to stop losing weight there or to carry on. I didn't necessarily target eating at a higher calorie level, but I did try to try new restaurants, experiment with new recipes or trying to incorporate other foods into my routine that I was missing. I treated my food log more as a sanity check than a target. I measured what I ate to the best of my ability but wasn't as concerned about keeping a deficit. If I came up to maintenance or slightly above for a day or two that's fine.
What about you? Did you take any breaks along the way? How did you manage them? Was it easy for you to get back to your process after the break? Inquiring minds want to know!
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