TLDR: personal post. Random tips at bottom
Progress pics
https://imgur.com/a/KBiV2aG
Today or tomorrow is my cake day. I’m hoping people can find advice or inspiration from this horribly long post. One full year of losing weight. Best I can figure it has been one full year of following this sub, on April 17th it will be one full year of logging and counting calories. For the first few weeks I was just eating better and trying to figure this all out. Honestly I thought I’d be further along by this point but I’m definitely not disappointed. 52 weeks in a year, 2 lbs a week. That was my goal. Turns out that isn’t sustainable for me. So I went with what was sustainable. The biggest thing I learned is that each of us has to do what works for us. Yes losing weight is simple thermodynamics, but there are 100 different ways to get there. Find what works for you.
I started with a big deficit. A 1000 calorie deficit which put me eating 1200-1500 calories. With a few simple swaps and cutting out sodas and some extra snacks, this was actually pretty easy for me. I’m blessed enough to not have an eating disorder or anything major that stands in my way. I was on a roll and I was losing my rolls.
But as I lost the weight, my calorie needs lowered too. If I wanted to keep a 1000 calorie deficit and stay healthy, I would have to up the exercise. I’m lazy, I exercise only about 3 times a week and that’s not every week. So I went for a smaller deficit. I run a 500-750 calorie deficit. Still eating the same foods for the most part. I’m always so amazed at how good we can make vegetables and chicken taste. Yes I eat a lot of other things but my staple go to is chicken breast and vegetables.
I also got a bit tired of weighing every thing. I still go back to weighing some things to keep an eye on portions. But I do a lot of eyeballing, which means some weeks my calorie counts are off. But I do what works for me. I log everything and guesstimate my amounts, just always round up.
Some pieces of advice: -swaps: •Look for lower calorie options •Plain Greek yogurt is a great substitute for mayo in recipes •Light and fit greek yogurt has amazing dessert flavors ~80 calories •Unsweetened vanilla almond milk is 30 cal and works great for shakes and smoothies.
-Mental Health •Adjust your expectations and make sure you are being healthy •Work on not having an emotional reaction to the scale or to food •Celebrate yourself and your accomplishments •Stop “dieting” stop “cheating” these words do nothing for you. Talk to yourself in positive ways. You are not dieting you are eating healthier, you don’t cheat on a diet you have days where you don’t eat as healthy as you could have.
-General Health •Make sure you are eating enough •Take vitamins (you likely aren’t getting everything you need in diet alone) •Drink your water
For my next year of weight loss, I expect much slower results. But I will continue to log everything, and I’m gonna work on getting better at drinking water and exercising. I expect to hit maintenance this year and start working on gaining more muscle.
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