https://imgur.com/gallery/jOYOSLq
Female 5ft6 SW 215 CW180 GW160
Current waist measurement 34 inches, hips 40 inches.
I’ve been slowly losing weight over the past eight months. This is my second time at making an effort at losing weight. The first time I didn’t really know what I was doing and kept track of calories through my fitness pal, just ate less crap, but I still ate lots of crap and did lots of running. Eventually, I got into powerlifting and strongman. I told myself I needed to gain weight to keep getting stronger, and ended up bulking to the 190s. I would slowly creep up to 200lbs, and then do a cut to get back down to 190. I thought I was more jacked than I actually was, and thought it was fine to sit at 195lbs with a 40inch waist. Due to some circumstances, I let myself get out of control with eating again and ended up at 215lbs. I knew I was too heavy, I had heartburn regularly, and my blood pressure was around 130/90. This second time around, I knew I had to do things differently. I knew that when I lost the weight this time it had to be forever, and I knew I needed to get my waist below 31 inches, which starting off it was 43 inches.
So, I’ve come to accept slow progress, and I’ve been comfortable working my way back down this time. I’ve incorporated a lot more healthy eating habits. I eat about 8 to 12 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I drink alcohol once or twice a week, and only one or two drinks, instead of the 6-8 I was drinking on Saturday nights and 2-3 drinks a day throughout the week. I’ve cut back slightly on meat consumption, and reliance on protein shakes. I also walk at least 3 miles a day, on top of two weekly cardio sessions and strength training. I eat about 2,200 calories a day as a weekly average and started off by being able to eat 2,500 calories a day.
The other thing I stopped doing was binge eating. This was the hardest thing for me to break during this whole process. I wouldn’t eat for 12-16 hours, so I could eat as much as I wanted to for a single meal or two. I would go 24 hours without eating, so I could eat as much as I wanted to when I went out to eat, or for a celebration of some kind. I would try to restrict my calories the next day if I had gone over the day before to try to make up for the loss. Then I realized that I was actually happier and more full eating four to five times a day. It forced me to make better food choices, and I realized there is no meal that is worth going hungry for 12+hours for. Also, if I do mess up now I can just resume the next day. The weight loss might be a little bit less, then if I had been perfect, but I’m able to accept that now. It’s much better to lose .75lbs a week and be happy than to be miserable and hit the arbitrary goal of 1.25lbs a week.
I’ve also taken breaks, usually lasting about two to three weeks at a time, and I take them after about six weeks of dieting. I do it mostly because I get tired of being in a deficit, and I notice my compliance with being in a deficit starts to go down. It helps me continue to practice being at new lower body weight, and maintain healthy eating habits. It’s also helped me realize what it would look like to eat to maintain a bodyweight at 210lbs, 200lbs, 190lbs, and my god did I realize how much I was eating.
Finally, I have seen my lifting numbers still improve over time. I have more energy at the gym to train, I am able to recover faster between workouts, and I can handle more training overall. This is because my conditioning has improved, and with less weight, my body is able to move better, and there is less mass it has to deal with trying to maintain. I will add my midsection and thighs have decreased enough, that it has actually changed the machinates by which I squat.
My advice is that if you get into strength sports don’t use it as an excuse to get fat or have an unhealthy lifestyle. Don’t be afraid to lose your size, and maybe some strength temporarily to be healthy overall. You’ll be more competitive at lower body weight, even if you lose 100lbs on your total.
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