I stepped on the scale and saw 199.6. I haven't been under 200 in about four years!
30F, 5'9", SW: ~220, GW: 145
Backstory: A tale as old as time-- I was thin and fit in the latter half of high school, I used to play Dance Dance Revolution and such. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 22, so I walked everywhere through high school and college. College saw me staying much the same weight-- I took aerobic dance, fencing, and judo as "filler credits" and was healthy and strong.
Then I moved home, got a license and a car, and it all started to slide downhill. I worked a retail job for a bit and walked a lot during work but my feet and legs would be too tired to do any exercise. Then I got a desk job and, with no exercise habits and a slightly bigger budget, started eating more (fast food, coffee shops, etc.) 2015 was a rough year for me (lost my grandma, my beloved elderly cat, my then-boyfriend-now-fiance's elderly dog, left my job for one that ended up being a hundred times worse), and a depression that I think started genetically started to spiral. I could go to work, but as soon as I got home I could barely muster the energy to shower, let alone cook or exercise.
I've never been one to weigh myself often, so most of my weight tracking before recently was from my paperwork during the scant times I would go to the doctor (I wasn't one for regular Dr appointments either-- both of these have changed :) ) Per that paperwork, I haven't been under 200 lbs in four years! I have a family history of diabetes on both sides, and I was just over the line from healthy to prediabetic in my first physical of my adult life. I started antidepressants and Metformin to improve blood sugar. I managed to reverse the prediabetes, but my weight loss went down to 206 and then back up hovering around 215 lbs over the last four years. I carry my weight very well, so of the few people I've talked to, even my own mother didn't believe I was over 200 pounds. But my body could feel it.
With quarantine, at first I was gorging on snacks and eating whatever I felt like. In April, my fiance and I took up bicycling for my first time in ten years, and I started taking walks outside for a change of pace. I started to feel better and eat better, so I bought a scale and started weighing myself. Then I started back up with CICO. Here's my notes:
-
For my height, I determined that one point on the BMI chart is seven pounds. I'm setting my goal on Fitbit as 7 lbs at a time. Ultimately I plan to get down to 145 lbs (smack dab in the middle of my healthy BMI range), but smaller goals are more manageable for my brain and keep me fresh and excited.
-
I have been extremely selective about who I've told that I'm trying to lose weight. People have noticed and said something positive (NSVs!) but I am not bringing it up to most people. I just don't want to invite other people's tips, commentary, competition, or judgement, so I thank them for compliments and move on. I may make a social media post when I reach my ultimate goal.
-
I have always been avoidant of exercise for exercise's sake (jogging, weights, etc). I am the kind of person who needs to distract myself from the fact that I am exercising, thus the draw to dance, exercise video games, or martial arts. Finding/ getting back to physical activity that feels good not just physically, but mentally, has been critical. I still need to exercise more often, or on a scheduled basis, but any movement is an improvement.
-
no one can really explain how difficult (or critically important!) it is to overcome feelings of really, really, REALLY not wanting to move when you are trying to overcome the draw to be sedentary. It is such a steep uphill battle, and improvement often feels more like "I made myself do it even though I wanted to do anything BUT that, and I survived, and now I feel great and proud!" and less like "Now I love exercising!", at least for me at this point. So many people have shared similar sentiments but it didn't really sink in until I was doing it.
-
Trying to maintain a positive attitude and celebrating gratitude has been huge. About everything. Celebrating small victories, practicing self care regardless of the scale number, telling myself a single day where I went over or didn't move much can be overcome, telling myself "but you'd feel better if you did" or "a little bit is better than none" re: exercise. I try to focus more on strength and health than looks, and as it turns out, they impact each other anyway.
-
It's amazing how much less food you feel like you need if you drink more water. A lighter meal can turn out to be perfectly filling if I drink a full glass of water with it, afterwards, etc. Sometimes a glass of water is all I needed instead of a snack. I also like sparkling water instead of pop.
-
I don't allow myself to buy junk food snacks (especially sweet ones, personally) in anything larger than a single serving. If I have it around the house, I will go after it. This is proven so many times over. If I'm craving chocolate, I will walk to the store and buy a single candy bar, not a bag of mini's. Often times, I'll get put off or be too busy to walk to the store for a Snickers, so I just... don't.
Thanks for reading my novel. Just wanted to celebrate this somewhat anonymously in a place I knew people would understand. Cheers to a healthier tomorrow!
[link] [comments]
from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2Qx43o6
No comments:
Post a Comment