Yesterday morning I woke up, weighed, and found myself at a weight I have not been at in perhaps two years. It makes sense to me to document this, not as a way to brag (Because let’s face it, I have a long way to go) but more as a way to remember how this feels and the steps I took to get here.
I have tried to look logically at where my weakest points are in terms of my health and making progress. If I don’t work out, I feel terrible. The gym and exercise has become a staple in my weekly activities and is a non-negotiable. Nutrition on the other hand, well, that has always felt like a struggle for me. It made me think why I was able to start exercising and stick with that, but with proper nutrition, I feel so lost. I am not implying I have exercise all figured out, but it doesn’t take any effort really to stick to a routine. When I look back on all of my attempts to lose weight, it involved me following some type of program over a specified period of time to reach a goal. I never felt comfortable with just trying to eat healthier. For some reason, I felt like I needed some type of rigid program, such as a 60-day challenge or to track macros until I wanted to vomit.
Things I have been trying:
- I don’t weigh on a regular basis, just when I feel like it. In the past, I would set a regular weigh-in day and live or die by that. I have had all kinds of advice about this over the years, primarily from people that might have meant well, but had zero clue how to work with someone who has struggled with weight all of their life. I have been told not to weigh at all. I have been told to weigh every single day. And I have been told just about everything in the middle. The best thing for me is to do the best thing for me. Right now, I am trying to track my weight so a weekly weigh-in makes sense. But I am not tying that to a specific day. I just want to record it and keep moving.
- Calories in, calories out. This has always made sense to me, but lately I have realized that I overestimated my calorie burn and underestimated by calorie intake. I have made some adjustments to lower the calories without being careless with it and that has made a tremendous difference. I believe this is the first time in my life that I have lost weight, while exercising, and not followed a strict nutrition plan or tracked macros. I previously thought I was burning more than I was while working out and at the same time, I thought what I was eating was within the boundaries when it wasn’t.
- I have been paying attention to other metrics, such as BP, how clothes fit, etc. The other day, I woke up and weighed, and noticed an increase. I know I will be seeing fluctuations so it isn’t a big deal. In the past, I would have dwelled on it and felt as if I was failing. Weight and scales can screw with your head too much if you allow it. At the gym that same day, I noticed that I have 3 notches left in my lifting belt, comfortably. That is a big improvement over where I started, when I had to suck in just to have 5 notches left.
- I have been more intentional with the food that I eat and when I eat it. I did not realize how much off the rails I went after dinner and the family went to bed. Not eating anything after dinner has been a difficult, but big change needed. My sweet tooth would get the best of me and take over, which is terrible late at night. I am not cutting everything out, however, because I don’t want to hate my life. We have gone out to eat, but when that happens, I am making smarter decisions, allowing me to enjoy the meal but not do it in excess.
Next goals:
Whenever I have set a goal in the past with regards to weight, it was just that: weight. I have reached my goal weight a few times in my life but never sustained it. I don’t think I was prepared for what happens when you get to the goal. So much effort was spent on getting there, that once I was there, I still felt lost, just in a different way. I want to make the next goal way more open-ended. I want to see what will happen if I stick to this for a year. Sure, I have a weight goal, but if I feel good and want to continue losing beyond that, why not? What healthy habits can I form? What kind of transformation to my body could I see?