It’s been such a long road to get to this point, I feel like I could cry. Mostly happy tears though. On the top of the combined screenshot is my MFP progress graph from the start of my current weight loss journey, and on the bottom is the graph with all the data MFP had. It goes back to May 2013, but I used MFP before this, even back in high school, but that data is gone for whatever reason, but I digress.
You may wonder, “Why were you weighing yourself and logging it so frequently if your weight just kept going up?” The answer is because despite all the challenges I’ve faced in life, some part of me is still an eternal optimist and always believed that “Today is the day I take control of my weight, and get serious about weight loss”, so most of those were either “Day 1 of weight loss” measurements, or follow-on measurements of short-lived weight loss journeys that usually lasted about a week or so.
Honestly I don’t know the number of weight loss journeys I’ve been on at this point, it’s probably dozens. I’ve either been on one, or taking a break since senior year of high school, but I am happy to say that come hell or high water, this will be the last. When I do ultimately reach my goal of ~10% body fat, I’ll switch to maintenance, and plan to still track calories, weigh myself regularly but less often probably.
More details for the curious, but there were 2 “phases”. The first was last June when I attempted a version of One Meal A Day, and achieved about 10 lbs of weight loss. I wasn’t calorie counting though, fell off the wagon, and eventually gained back about 5 lbs.
The second phase is when I read about the Mediterranean Diet and the decades of research (since the 60’s!) showing how beneficial it is in various ways. Fun fact, it isn’t a weight loss diet (though most people do lose some weight) but a longevity and heart/overall health diet originally based off the traditional diet of Crete. Also it’s very flexible for different cuisines and palates, which is why I see myself sticking with it in the long term. Since the MD isn’t a weight loss diet, I had to count calories, no surprise there. My goal has been 2 lbs per week of weight loss. Food scales have been SO helpful with this btw.
For those who looked closely, the graph is very spiky because I weigh myself (nearly) everyday. That’s what works for me, but everyone’s got a different rhythm that works for them. Also there’s a couple of places where my weight drops quickly in the graph and then plateaus for a bit, and that is because I got sick a few times over the last year. Idk the mechanisms involved, but it all seemed to even out to about 2 lbs a week of weight loss in the end so.. 🤷
Stats and goals: - 6’5 (195 cm), 34 yr old man - SW: 265 lbs (120.2 kg) - CW: 198.4 lbs (90 kg), 19.4% bf per bathroom scale, 16.6% per calipers (I’ll get a more accurate estimate next week at a fitness assessment in my gym) - GW: ~10% body fat, not a specific weight.
Long post, but thanks for reading if you did! Wish you all the best of luck with your goals whatever they are!
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