Started this weight loss journey in June 2018 at 218 pounds/about 99 kg. That's a lot of pounds on my 5' 3.5" frame. I've since gotten down to 150 and hoped to be at 147 before my first appointment with this new doctor today. I didn't reach that arbitrary goal, but I've still been consistently making progress (even lost over 10 pounds since starting stay-at-home in March), so I'm not too upset about it.
But the real victory for me today was with this brand new doctor that I had never seen before. She said absolutely nothing about my weight. Every doctor I've seen since college has remarked on it in some way. Either "you've gained some weight since you were here last," or "you've lost some weight since you were here last!" Or, if it was a new provider, "You're overweight and would benefit from losing some weight."
This is the first time in about 10 years that my weight was completely unremarkable. I never thought I'd be so happy to be unremarkable! I'm still carrying a little extra fat and I will continue to work towards my ultimate goal. But I am so happy for the progress I've made, both physically and mentally, over the past two years.
Some strategies that have worked for me:
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I'm not patient, so when i started, I went all out. 1200 calories a day, 1500 on weekends. It was a huge deficit and I lost 20 pounds in about three months. I then relaxed a little bit because I had a better understanding of my true needs, daily expenditure, portion sizes, etc. It's been incredibly sustainable, even through really stressful times when I decided loss wasn't a priority. I have never "backtracked" in my two years. I've had periods of maintenance, but never gained, and I attribute that to how I managed the first two or three months.
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I love lifting weights, but lifting heavy makes me insatiably hungry. When I'm focused on fat loss, I stick to running, body weight exercises, and light weights. Those activities don't make me hungry. Heavy lifting, swimming, and long bike rides make me so hungry, so I save those for maintenance or muscle-building periods. It makes the mental game easier.
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One day never ruined anyone's progress, so enjoy the pizza or the burrito or the ice cream and learn to manage your calories around it.
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Feeling hungry is not the worst thing. It's ok to feel hungry sometimes. In fact, it's totally normal.
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One ounce of cheese or one tablespoon of almond butter is a lot less than you think it is.
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Lentils are your best friend. Filling with a lot of fiber and relatively low calories for volume.
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Gather data. Weighing every day sounds crazy to some people, but it helps me keep tabs on what my body is doing. I sometimes weigh myself several times during the day just out of curiosity. Peeing every half-hour all morning usually means I'm a couple pounds lighter by mid-day. Our bodies do some weird stuff, and having all that data in the background helps you keep fluctuations in perspective.
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