Hey all,
Today I hit 500 days of logging from my start (July 31, 2018). A lot of things have changed since then!
I moved to the Netherlands from the US in 2018, and there were lots of changes afoot, which I have talked about in my older posts. Most pressingly, around this time last year, I needed to find a job. So, I applied to be a postal carrier– and, was rejected because my Dutch wasn't good enough. I re-applied in February 2019, and was hired, meaning I've almost completed a year at my "new" job. What does that have to do with my r/loseit journey?
Well, aside from the fact that if you hit a roadblock (like being told your Dutch isn't good enough to deliver the mail – despite the fact that the sum total of your Dutch interaction in a day will consist of "good morning!", "Crappy weather, huh?", and "would you take this package?" – there is no use in just "giving up." What's the alternative? Sitting around, and hoping someone will drop out of the sky to day "Oh, hey Koopzegels! I know your old job from back in America doesn't exist here, but I have heard you're such an excellent person I created it, just for you!"
Nah, man. I had to put in the work. Sure, I got rejected, but signed up for another Dutch class, doubled-down on at-home language practice, and was hired 3 months later, for the illustrious job as a Postbezorger Extraordinaire. Did it suck to be rejected? Yes. PostNL, if you're reading this, was the lady who originally interviewed me a scooch on the bitchy side, and not really willing to give me a chance, for whatever reason? Yes. Did I still need a job? Yes. Was I willing to quit, just because it took longer than I anticipated? Nope. And, that brings me to day 500. Lots of folks here are done in 500 days. I'm not. It's going to take longer, and it's OK.
If you find yourself having similar thinking about the uselessness of it all, and wanting to go over you calorie goals, because it's just taking so long, or it feels like you'll never get there, I encourage you to think to yourself "What's the alternative?"
If you want to "give up" and eat more than you know you should, the alternative isn't going to be what you want. In fact, it's something you already know. It's maintaining (or increasing) a body weight that's already making you unhappy. Sure, you might not want to count calories some days, but your body is ALWAYS doing it behind your back, and it will grow or shrink proportionally. So, in that sense, there really is no option to "give up." You can eat more than your body needs, gain weight, and remain unhappy. Or, you can keep putting in the effort, tracking your calories (even if every day isn't perfect, and trust me, it doesn't need to be), and you'll find yourself still moving along your path. All forward movement is progress.
In the past 100 days I have really struggled with my calorie goals/diet fatigue. I had a trip to visit my family in America over the Thanksgiving holidays, and I was really looking forward to it. A combination of my job and training for a 5k had me struggle-bussing along at 1500 calories, a calorie goal which has helped me lose, on average, a little over a pound a week over the past 16 months. But, there was good news. I told myself I could relax on my vacation, and I did. I also, however, ran a 5k (a local 'turkey trot') on Thanksgiving, and CRUSHED my goal (goal was 35 minutes, actual time was 34:36). I did some shopping for new clothes while I was in America (and, familiar with stores/brands/sizes). Even though I came home from my vacation bloated up a few kilos/pounds, I still got to clear out my drawers, and replace the clothes with new stuff that fit really well. Even though I didn't worry about my calories (let them fall where they may), I still went jogging a few times (before the 5k), and, if I was full partway through some calorie-bomb of a restaurant meal, stopped eating. The habits I've built over the past 500 days are there, even if my weight graph has a little blip up.
The best news about that blip, is that I expected it. I went home to visit my family for last Christmas (for a similar amount of time), and saw that it only took a few weeks for that upward swing to level off, and resume a downward slope again. I'm not worried about it. I needed a bit of a diet break: I have a really active job. Being on a calorie deficit for so long was weighing on me. Part of me is convinced I crushed my 5k time specifically because I was eating at maintenance (or above), and that extra fuel was what I needed to perform well. So, I told myself that since I made it out of the "Obese" category in 2019, it's ok to let things coast a little (not worry about vacation eating, or any of the endless holiday parties that are scheduled in the next two weeks), and get ready for a big push in 2020 to go from "Overweight" to "Healthy BMI." That's not to say I'm taking the whole month off from anything, though. I was back at 1500 as soon as my plane touched down. I am just not shaving calories from my 1500 to "save up" for holiday meals/parties. Rather, I'm just accepting a slower rate of loss, because I needed a break, and it's helping me feel good and energized for the next portion of my journey, which I'm sure will be a whole new set of new challenges.
Lastly, as soon as I got home from vacation, my spouse and I joined a local gym. So, for anyone reading this, who is worried about having to go hard with diet/exercise/the gym straight out of the gate, don't worry about that. It's not necessary. I've lost almost 100 pounds, and I didn't join a gym, or do anything beyond walking/jogging until this point. Slow and steady gets it done!
Anyway, my 2019 goal was to compete in an athletic competition (check, 5k complete!). My 2020 goals are more fitness related. I have noticed that I have lost strength, and I want to get some of that back. When weight loss is progressing at a (relatively) slower rate, I have found that fitness goals are great things to focus attention on. The scale will only go down as fast as it will go down, and I'm not willing to cut my calories any lower yet. So, having something else to focus on (how many squats I can do, how long I can run on the treadmill, etc.), and seeing that change from week to week, is really motivating for me.
This has gotten to be quite a long post, but I am proud of my 500 days of logging. I don't know how many days of logging it will take to be at a healthy BMI, but I also don't really care. Logging helps me control my weight, and I will need to do it long after I hit a healthy BMI.
Good luck to everyone out there. If you needed someone to tell you it's ok to go a little slower; it's ok to go a little slower. This is a fun time of year. You don't need to celebrate it with every single stale-looking cookie offered to you at a Christmas party, but you also don't need to decline every holiday indulgence. Just, keep going. ...Because, what's the alternative?
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