Obligatory apology for any formatting errors, I don't post to Reddit often. I've been lurking r/loseit on my main account for almost a year now. Reading all of your stories - both the victories and stumbles - has helped to keep me motivated throughout that time, and I decided to finally share something.
I hit a new low (well, high) in the spring of 2017 when I weighed in just shy of 200 pounds, and at 5'3" I had a BMI of nearly 35. I've been overweight or obese almost my entire life, save for a few spurts here and there, but that was an awful feeling. I decided to make a change: I'd eat better. I'd told myself this for years, but I started to follow through this time; by my annual physical in summer 2017 I'd dropped almost 20 pounds.
And then I stopped.
In order to lose weight, I was eating 1200 calories per day. This was a challenge going from eating whatever I want and not caring. What was even tougher was not drinking, and here and there I'd eat less than I should to be able to squeeze in a drink and not go over my calories. Eventually the weight loss stalled, and I lost motivation. I continued on like this through the end of the year, until I got blackout drunk one night. I'm still embarrassed of how I'm told I behaved; I have no recollection after a certain point, but apparently I went from my usual friendly drunk to a belligerent ass.
I woke up more ashamed than I'd ever felt, and finally admitted to myself that 1) my drinking was getting out of hand and 2) I had an unhealthy relationship with food. I'd eat and drink to feel better. I'd eat too much and get indigestion, I'd drink despite the gross feeling I'd end up with overall. I thought I was having fun, but it wasn't fun anymore.
I started out 2018 at the same weight I'd been at my physical: 179 pounds. Still obese. I finally bought a food scale and started using MyFitnessPal again. Only this time I didn't even want to try to fudge my calories so I could drink. I wanted to do it right this time.
I stopped eating out and made most of my food at home. I didn't follow a strict plan, but I focused on making sure I had enough protein and fiber, limited my sugar, and tried to eat an overall balanced diet. I read r/loseit every day, picking up tips and finding new resources here and there. I slowly started body weight and dumbbell exercises and tried yoga.
I had a few stumbles. I started going out more over the summer and drank socially here and there. I've learned that I don't even enjoy drinking anymore, and it's a relief to be able to say I don't want to and truly mean it. I went on vacation recently and ate more bread and sweets in a week than I had all year. I'd been stuck in the same 2 pound range for a month, and figured what the hell. When I got home, I stepped on the scale and was 11 pounds heavier than when I'd left less than two weeks prior. In the past, this would have been enough to discourage me, and I'd undo half a year's work. But after reading all about water weight on the posts here, and seeing the results of actually putting in the effort, I got right back to business. In less than 2 weeks I was back to my pre-vacation weight.
Most of this is simply the result of changing what I eat. But I recently started jogging, after telling myself I would for years. I don't have any excuse not to since there's a free gym in my apartment building. And I'd lost enough weight that my sedentary TDEE didn't give me much room to eat at a deficit, so I needed to add the activity. So here I am, finally eating right and exercising - 3 days of cardio, 3 days of (light) strength work per week.
I had my annual physical this week and weighed in at 134. My doctor asked what I'd done and I gave a quick overview. NSV: My doctor told me I didn't need to lose any more weight.
I plan to continue as I have been, firstly because I'm still at the high end of a healthy BMI and would like to have a little more wiggle room for when friends want to grab ice cream... but also because quite frankly my body does not look as good as I'd like. I have a goal weight in mind, but I'm focusing more on how I feel. I'm at a place where I can go out and eat at a restaurant or have a dessert and not feel like I either want to binge or like I have completely messed up and undone all this work. And after spending 30+ years dreading physical activity, I'm actually enjoying it.
I feel better than I ever have, both physically and mentally. I know that I got this far at least in part from lurking here, and I want to thank you all.
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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2orJMT4
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