I'm still a ways off from where I want to be, at a normal BMI, but last night I decided it was time to increase my calories and slow down my weight loss.
I ate at a 1k deficit for most of 2024, from the moment I began counting calories and even through the holidays, for the most part. At the height of my weight loss, I was losing around 2.3 lbs per week, and much of that could be attributed to an increase in activity without and increase in calories.
I lost weight quickly but hit a wall here recently. I can now feel my body struggling to find fat to metabolize as I near a normal BMI, and I'm reaching near-ravenous levels of hunger on days that I'm particularly active and/or stressed. So, last night as I struggled to stay out of my kitchen, I realized that my body was telling me I was actually hungry rather than being bored or just having... munchies. And instead of binging, I decided it was time to modify the budget.
In my mind, eating more than my budget is bingeing, but it's not bingeing if I'm still counting my calories and sticking to a budget (which is still a deficit). This is just me listening to what my body is telling me, and giving it what it needs.
I'm writing this post as a sort of declaration of commitment to this new caloric budget (currently ~500 cal, give or take 100, but I won't know for certain until I see the results and adjust accordingly). I also feel it's important for me to state this out loud, because I've gone back and forth with this decision multiple times over the past month or so. And, in an effort to avoid any potential for an eating disorder, I think holding myself accountable to this public statement is equally important.
This new budget will promote the slight change in goals as I aim for a maintenance/recomposition phase once I get down below 178. I can already see the outline of my muscles as I continue to lean down, and the desire to see more of that is becoming a more prominent motivation than "simply" losing the weight.
To anyone who happens across this, thank you for reading. If you're in the same boat as I am, I encourage you to reflect on your own situation and determine whether or not a change in budget is right for you.
Thank you.
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