Hi All,
I've been following this sub for literal years, trying to lose weight for most of my life. Always been overweight to obese, yo-yo dieting forever.
Until last year- I went through a bad breakup, from a relationship of almost a decade. I've never been the type to stop eating when stressed, but my devastation from the breakup, as well as losing my job due to COVID around the same time, sent me into a mental breakdown. I ate close to nothing for almost 3 months, and shed 40 pounds. I'm not proud of how I lost the first 40, but I've kept it off since then, but haven't lost more.
Like I mentioned, I've been trying to lose weight my entire life without success, and this is the most weight I've ever lost. It's been about 6 months since the initial loss, I rebuilt my entire life (new job, new home, getting used to being single etc), and I'm trying to get back on track to double that weight loss, in a healthier way. For those who have had childhood trauma like me, abandonment issues, etc, we know that a lot of weight loss and diet is mental and food/binging can be a crutch.
Before, I was forcing myself to eat small meals multiple times a day, when I've always been an IF girl. I always loved meal substitutes due to my hectic job, but thought I had to be nutritionally perfect in order to be worthy of losing weight. I don't crave big breakfasts, but I always thought it was "bad". Last month, something clicked. I can skip breakfast if I want to, and if I want to drink soylent as my lunch, I can.
For the first couple of weeks, I didn't count calories, I ate intuitively. I wanted to see how my body functions when I'm not putting pressure on it to behave a certain way. Here's how it went:
- I wake up, not hungry. Drink a ton of water, and then my body starts craving coffee. From there, I eat a slice of toast, avo, and an egg.
- Lunchtime rolls around, I'm slightly famished, but not enough to want a meal, so I drink a soylent
- End of day, 5pm comes around. I'm hungry, in a comfortable way. I chopped up enough veggies for a few days, pulled my chicken out of the freezer, and put together a simple and delicious large meal. Didn't worry about the calories in olive oil, didn't fret about how much starch I was eating, or the exact ounce number of the chicken. I just enjoyed my meal, drank water, ate until I was full, and finished off with a walk before getting ready for bed. I was feeling regular, had steadt levels of energy, and felt like I was getting more nutrients than I'd had in years.
Did this for a couple of weeks, noticed weight coming off of me, so I decided to log my calories for a typical day in my life. 1,500 calories, right where I want to be to lose 2 pounds a week. I was elated. Been doing it since then, though sometimes I'll have breakfast, or soylent for breakfast, and a sandwich for lunch and a smaller dinner.
The main thing I'm gleaming about is the fact that I've had a realization: it doesn't matter how you get your calories/achieve your weight loss, as long as it's easy, rewarding, and enjoyable for you. I know, weight loss isn't always easy, but it can be if you find what works for you. Counseling has also helped me overcome my issue of food being a mental crutch. I've spent years grappling with the vicious cycle of starving myself, to binge thousands of calories in shame. I've finally gotten to where I'm happy.
Losing weight steadily and most importantly, loving my new lifestyle.
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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2OXL0FW
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