I've been steadily gaining weight my whole 30s despite an active lifestyle and relatively healthy diet. Then I definitely gained a bit more from the panini/panda express (those are puns) lockdown. My BMI finally moved over from "overweight" into "obese".
I was shocked at how much weight I've dropped between June and November, 18 lbs is a lot!
I made a few changes.
- Been smoking a lot less weed (less munchies). A tempting thing to blame, but I've cut back before and not experienced such weight loss.
- Sleep quality - We've all heard bad sleep increases cortisol and makes us pack on the pounds. I knew I was a light sleeper. I knew I was stressed out and tired all the time. I finally got a sleep tracker and learned I was getting barely any Deep Sleep. I started taking trazodone nightly this summer. I now get the correct amount of deep sleep, I wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed early, I no longer feel exhausted every afternoon, I no longer need a 2-4 hour nap several days a week like I have for the past 10 yrs (seriously wtf) I did not expect such a dramatic change. My mental health is a lot better. I really think this might be a big part of the weight loss. https://www.webmd.com/diet/sleep-and-weight-loss
- Changed my mindset about eating - much less boredom eating, I try to eat just enough to sustain myself, if I'm hungry and need food I will eat, if I want a treat I'll have it, but I will go long periods without eating and skip lots of meals if I have the energy to do so. I do NOT count calories. I've tried this a lot in the past and it wasn't getting me anywhere. This is about the mindset. Do I feel mentally alert and have the energy to walk around and live my day? If so, I don't need a meal right then. On the other hand, do I feel very hungry and like food would perk me up? Then I get a healthy meal.
- I binged the survival reality show "Alone" early in the summer and watching people voluntarily starve, while talking about how we treat food as entertainment in the modern world, it really got to me. I realized I don't need to eat so much as I do to survive. It made me look at food differently. I am grateful for the nutrition but I contemplate how much food do I really need vs want.
- I still eat desserts and snacks like doritos and crap but it's different, less
- Fasting - want to address this specifically since I am skipping a lot of meals and sometimes fasting for 1 or 2 days - there are so many health benefits to fasting that it would take another post (I'd be happy to write another post if people are curious, I am a scientist and I love learning about fasting science, it's very documented and real), but fasting is great for you if done in a way that is mentally and physically healthy. My goal here is an empty digestive tract at least once every couple months. Like don't eat for long enough that I've pooped most of everything out and my gut can take that empty time to improve its microbiome and gut cell health. When I'm not fasting I eat whatever, not diet food, fatty filling food that tastes good. Brains need fat. High fat, high protein, balanced vegetarian diet.
- Candida/yeast infection - I had a chronic yeast infection that I think was spreading to my gut and i finally had it treated and cleared. Candida can make people more hungry (it sends signals to your brain) and this may be helping me reduce eating
- Exercise - I'm not exercising more or less. I've always exercised, yet I kept gaining weight.
Hope this helps others!
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