6'1", started around 288 this fall. Finally broke through 250 today, weighing in at 248 this morning (after a four day 250.5 plateau, I lost two pounds of water weight overnight). So far my rate of loss is about 10 pounds a month, although I expect that this will slow dramatically as I approach a healthy weight; already my daily caloric burn has gone from about 3,000 to 2,500, so my deficit is definitely shrinking.
Feel better than I have in a very long time. My current goal is to get under 220, which is technically the BMI line between obese and overweight for my height. However, I don't put a lot of stock in BMI - even when I was a competitive athlete, I never dropped below 210. I looked great then, and I was doing heavy cardio twice a day, five days a week.
I guess my dream weight for my relatively sedentary lifestyle is 200, but even then I will technically be "overweight" on the BMI chart. Mr. BMI wants me to break 180, which would be skin and bones. Once I get below 220, I will probably switch to a body fat % goal instead. Pursuing 15% body fat will probably bring my weight down naturally to its optimum point, anyway, and I won't feel bad about ignoring BMI if I know I have a healthy fat percentage.
After a couple of months, calorie counting and healthy eating have become second nature, and I definitely have a healthier relationship with food. After many diet attempts over the years, the breakthrough for me was realizing that I needed to take a more holistic approach to health. Instead of enforcing a healthy lifestyle through sheer discipline, I started meditating more and reflecting on my psychological relationship with food. We all have different reasons for over-eating - whether it is a stress coping mechanism, self-destructive tendencies, addictive personality, etc. I have come to the conclusion that, if we change our eating habits without addressing the underlying psychological tendency, then that tendency will just find a different outlet. If your negative traits go from causing one type of unhealthy behavior to another (e.g., from overeating to smoking), are you really any healthier?
By looking inwards and really understanding why we over-eat, we can view weight loss positively rather than negatively; by which I mean, instead of moving *away* from bad behavior, we can instead move *toward* positive psychological traits . For me, this meant developing better coping mechanisms. These range from mundane tricks - drinking plenty of water or making tea when I'm stressed - to more sophisticated tools, like meditation, exercise, hobbies, or calling up friends and family for long talks. By changing my relationship to stress, I began relying on food less and less for comfort.
Anyway, don't know if anyone will see this, but it feels good to say it all and reflect. I hope you are able to attain and maintain whatever physical and psychological state is most healthy for you. Always here to talk if you want positive reinforcement. Stay strong and lots of love.
[link] [comments]
from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/39dkiAY
No comments:
Post a Comment