I'm typically a lurker on this sub but I felt compelled to make this post because of all the popular posts I see about "quick" weight loss (I know it's not *actually* quick, but bear with me here.) I see people who started their weight loss journey just a few months ago like me and are already down 15 or 20 pounds, which is A M A Z I N G. But if you're sitting there reading this and you are a *slow* loser like me, or maybe just trying to ease into your lifestyle change, know that you're not alone!
Hi, I'm 28F.
5'11"
SW: (this time) 201.2
CW: 194
GW: 160-170ish (I'm not gonna be too strict about it.)
I've yo-yoed in weight over the last ~7 or so years after ballooning up after high school. My highest weight was 208. In 2017 I got down as low as 175. Then back up to 203. Then 2 years ago back down to 187. Flip flop, flip flop. This time, once I broke 200 after the holidays, I decided to start over. Again. I switched apps from MyFitnessPal to LoseIt! and I pay for the premium. It helped jog some sort of psychological change and I have been MUCH better about logging HONESTLY this time.
My biggest weaknesses are alcohol and logging honestly. While some people have the problem of being too hard on themselves, I'm the opposite. "Oh it's ok, you can eat at maintenance again today...those cheese curds look delicious." This is a frequent thought of mine. And I do not beat myself up afterwards.
So onto the SV. After this past weekend of eating over maintenance, I was sure when I stepped on the scale today that I would be up since my last weight check (17 days ago). Imagine my surprise when I was down .7lbs! Turns out, eating under maintenance during the week will *not* be ruined by one weekend of 1,000 excess calories! Which, duh, but it's nice to see it happen in real life.
I told my boyfriend how excited I was to be down almost another pound, and he asked when I started counting. February 8th, 2021. So it's taken me 2 and a half months to lose 7 pounds. It feels slow to me, but it feels sustainable - which is the most important part of weight loss IMO. Most days I don't eat my goal of ~1,500 calories. Most days I end around 1,700 or 1,800. But that's ok. Because I don't feel deprived of anything and I don't feel like food logging is a chore. I don't feel pressured to work out every day at this stage because I want to WANT to work out, I don't want it to be a big looming dread in my day. I do go on walks with my dogs, I do some yoga, and I have a work out game on my Switch, but it's not consistent or scheduled.
It's just nice to see that even when the progress is S L O W it is still happening as long as I stay consistent and honest with my food log.
And now for what works for me AKA some tips that nobody asked for!
- I log honestly and consistently even if it makes me temporarily disappointed in myself. Lying to my weight loss app benefits no one and only hurts me in the long run.
- I only weigh myself if I *feel* good about myself that day. That way if the number is disappointing, it's whatever because I still feel like I look good.
- I also only weigh myself in the morning, when I am "empty". That way I'm getting the best number I can - I don't care if that's cheating lol (I also used to only measure myself at night, when I was at my shortest!)
- For the ladies - I do not weigh myself during my period. Partly because I don't usually feel good, but also partly because the fluctuations can be "extreme" so why bother.
- I do not eat breakfast. I'm not really doing IF but I don't usually eat after dinner, except I have 2 pickle spears as a bed time snack almost every night. By waiting to eat for the day until after 11am, I feel less hungry throughout the day. I don't know why but that's just how I function.
- I don't really snack that much. I know this is totally different for everyone, but I'm just not a grazer. I basically eat first meal, second meal, and then *maybe* a snack after second meal if I get hungry (stomach hungry not mouth hungry.)
- Speaking of types of hungry, before I eat something I make sure it's actually my body telling me I need sustenance and not just my mouth saying "hey that sounds tasty" out of boredom. This is what my boyfriend and I call "stomach hungry" vs "mouth hungry".
- I always fudge my logging to the high end. If I'm not totally sure about the amount of something I make sure to err on the side of "more". I also like to leave myself a "cushion" on higher calorie days. For example, I don't typically weigh lower calorie sauces like ketchup or sriracha, so if I'm eating that I make sure that the rest of my food totals 1,700 or less to account for "smaller" things that I don't log that might add up. Is this a slippery slope for some? Sure. But it's been working for me thus far.
Anyways, if you read all of that, kudos to you and thanks for listening! Maybe some of you out there are like me and appreciate hearing about someone similar to you.
[link] [comments]
from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/3dyuhms
No comments:
Post a Comment