I knew I had gained weight due to the pandemic but didn't really realize by how much until vaccinations started early this year. I had always thought with my husband being considered an essential worker, he would get it in our family first. Our state considered obesity as a comorbidity, so out of curiosity, I weighed myself sometime in March to see if I could get it with him. Turns out, I had gained 20 pounds and pushed my BMI into the obese category. I am 5 ft. 3 in. and at that weigh-in I was 179.8 lbs.
I knew I had to lose weight, but it had to be done sustainably and long-term. Crash diets were not going to cut it for me as we're a food-loving family--we love to try new recipes and bake (this became my downfall during lockdown as we turned to cooking and baking for comfort when we lost our father to the virus in March 2020). I also had not seriously done any weight loss programs as an adult other than just making sure I exercise during weekdays. I've never been a slim person but was relatively happy with my plump figure. But hitting the obese category for BMI (and yes, BMI isn't really the best gauge of health, but it's a start), I knew that I had to make some changes, especially considering my partner and I are thinking of having a child in the next three years.
The only way I could see myself continue eating my favorite foods but also lose weight was a daily caloric deficit that would equate to shedding one pound a week. I also needed to up my exercise game because I knew my chill 20 minutes every weekday on the elliptical wasn't going to cut it. So I did the following things:
- Paid for a full version of the Lose It! app. I don't remember exactly why I decided to get the paid version instead of just sticking with the free app, but I don't regret it at all--it's such an incredibly helpful tool, especially when you can put in your own recipes. I also love the welcoming and cheery interface, so it's not really daunting whenever I open it up to check or input data.
- Calculated the calories of all our favorite recipes (and anything we ever cooked and baked, basically). All the recipes we cook and bake now have little tables written on them with the calories for each recipe, because not only is it great to record the base calorie count, but it gives you flexibility too whenever you want to change it up.
- Put our digital food scale permanently on the counter. We weigh absolutely everything, especially when we cook and bake. This is critical for me, especially on days when I want dessert like ice cream or cake. And also allows me to eat rice with every meal if I wanted to (and being Asian, I want to most days!). So now it has a permanent home right beside our toaster :)
- Bought an older model Schwinn spin bike that didn't cost an arm and a leg and upped my exercise time to minimum 30 minutes on weekdays. I am usually able to do 45 minutes (with the first 15 minutes basically just slacking off, haha), but since I am only able to workout in the morning, there are days when I want to sleep a little more. I absolutely love my bike and it is probably one of the best things I ever bought during the pandemic. I usually am able to burn 360-420 calories per 45 minute ride depending on how fast or slow I'm able to warm up.
- Bought an Apple Watch to track TDEE. I wanted to be really accurate with the caloric deficit, so I decided to invest in an Apple Watch as well to be able to track my TDEE every day and get a really good sense of what my average TDEE is plus also count how many calories I'm burning during my workouts. It is excellent for me, because I love seeing data and adjusting my routine based on what the data says to avoid plateauing.
- Weighed myself every single day (at roughly the same time of day) and tracked it on a TDEE spreadsheet. As I said, I love data. I deal with data every day at work and I saw this as an opportunity to have data on my body that will allow me to make better decisions. So far, everything has been pretty accurate in terms of what my Apple Watch says is my daily TDEE and caloric intake on the Lose It app. It takes a little bit of patience to not go crazy when you don't see what the data says should happen that day on the scale, but it usually adds up. I also learned so much about my body, like that it goes through the whoosh effect every other week. I love knowing this!
- Did not eat calories lost above my usual TDEE due to exercise. This was an absolute big no-no for me! The reason for that is that I know I will have cheat days, so I want to make sure I make up for it in some form.
- Did not track calories during holidays, special occasions, and trips. I want to enjoy life and eat some really sinful things every once in a while, ya know?!
- Still eat ice cream, gummy bears, and baked Cheetos. As long as they are weighed and tracked, it hasn't been a problem. The fact that I am able to still eat these things have contributed to the effectiveness of what I've been doing. I'll probably have a small bag of baked Cheetos (120 cal) three times a week. Most weeknights when I'm super exhausted from work, I'll have 50g of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie after dinner. These foods are yummy and make me happy. I eat them and I'm still on track for one pound a week. Marvelous.
For reference, here are my CICO stats:
- Average TDEE: 2260
- Average daily caloric intake: 1680
- Average daily caloric deficit: 580
I am now at 166.6 lbs, back into overweight BMI territory. When I get to 160, I will reassess my workout intensity and caloric intake to prepare for the next 20 lbs. I eventually want to be at 140, which is the top end of normal BMI for my height. I'm not in a rush, though, because I know and I feel that this is the right way to go for my body and my mental health.
These last three months have really been an empowering and validating experience for me, so I wanted to share it, especially for those who are feeling stuck. Thank you for reading.
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