For most of my life, I’ve felt uncomfortable in my body. I was always overweight as a kid. I never got to wear the clothes I actually liked because they didn’t come in my size or looked bad on me. My dislike of my own body contributed to my low self esteem which made it harder to make friends, which contributed to my low self esteem, so it was a vicious cycle. Jeans shopping was a literal nightmare. (I still cannot stand to hear the phrase “Beggars can’t be choosers” because that’s what my mom said to me every time I needed new jeans. But that’s a whole separate issue.) So was gym class, since I was usually the slowest and weakest.
My body issues plus some other self esteem issues meant I was very unhappy for most of my life, I’d say since late childhood to my late 20s. Throughout most of this time, I just thought that’s how my body was. That I had a “slow metabolism” (what a joke) or that it was just harder for me to lose weight. Never mind that I ate low-nutrition, highly processed foods constantly, well past when I was actually hungry.
Today, I am happy with where I am with my body! Over the course of 2-3 years, I managed to lose the extra 40 pounds and I am now smack-dab in the middle of normal on the BMI scale (135 lbs at 5’8”). While in the middle of my weight loss, I used to weigh myself every day. Now, I never do because I can tell exactly where I am. I never worry about gaining weight on vacation because I know I’ll lose it when I go home and go back to my normal eating habits. I like clothes shopping and I like knowing that I look good. Mostly, I like the feeling that I know this is sustainable because this is just how I prefer to live now.
I wanted to share the two things that helped me the most. The first is often seen on this subreddit; I just don’t eat past the point of being hungry anymore. What really helped me put this into practice was a pretty simple revelation. I don’t like feeling overly full! I feel sluggish, gross, and lazy when I do that. When I embraced not wanting to stuff myself past the point of actual hunger because I didn’t like that feeling of over-fullness, it became much easier to stop eating sooner. So, if you don’t like that feeling, recognize it. (As an aside, I almost never go to the gym.)
The second thing was probably more critical, though I’ve never actually seen it discussed on this subreddit. It’s not related to food or fitness directly. It’s basically called “Only Touch It Once.” (I have actually been living this way for a few years, though I didn’t realize that what I was trying to do had a name until recently.) It basically means take care of something to finality as soon as you can, so you can stop worrying about it. For example, if a situation arises when I need to mail something it, I immediately find it, box it up, put the address on it, and put it where I know I’ll see it the next time I drive somewhere so I can drop it off. Or if I’m not home, I’ll make a note in my calendar to get the package ready when I get home, then I stick to it and get it ready when I get home. When I gather the mail after work, instead of tossing it somewhere to forget about it, I immediately throw the junk straight in the recycling, pay any bills, and otherwise do what needs to be done for any other mail before I move on to anything else that evening. When I take a shower in the morning, I don’ throw my clothes on the floor. As soon as I get undressed, anything that can be worn again gets put away and anything that needs to be washed goes in the laundry hamper. When my drawer in my dresser came apart, I immediately went and got the wood glue and fixed it right away, instead of letting it sit broken for weeks. My car is never dirty because I always take any trash / unneeded items with me when I leave the car. When I go to the doctor for my annual physical, I always schedule the next one when I’m there so I don’t have to do it later. Those are just a few examples.
Taking care of errands / to-do items as soon as they arise and generally not procrastinating has been huge for my mental clarity. I no longer have a bunch of little to-do items floating around my head, taking up brainpower. That, in turn, makes it easier to meal prep, cook, or otherwise make good food choices because I’m less stressed out! My house is always clean (since I put everything away in its home immediately) and I have time for hobbies and true relaxing without worrying about things I’m putting off or should be doing. I wish I had figured this out sooner. In short, there are certain habits that can be HUGE for your weight loss goals that have little to do directly with food.
Good luck!
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