I wish that I could write that I'd done it... that I had reached my goal weight. But the reality is I let others' opinions and self doubt creep into my head. So my 2lbs a week weight loss came to a grinding halt and I hit a massive plateau. This snowballed into a self destructive pattern that has resulted in a very unproductive month. Well, to be honest, I can't say that. Because you can learn from every situation right?So what did I learn? I learned that emotional eating doesn't end overnight... that stress, loneliness and self doubt can quickly send me spiraling... that all or nothing can creep up on you in an instant... that I'll start again tomorrow becomes a crutch. I learned that each stage of weight loss will have its own set of challenges and rewards, and that maintaining will be a forever evolving thing.
February has been a difficult month with my husband traveling for almost 2 weeks, my son getting the flu, I myself got the flu and as I currently type this have a sinus infection along with the beginning of bronchitis and pneumonia from complications from the flu. But the reality is we don't live in a perfect situation. There will always be things that come our way where we have to adjust. So in a sense, I'm glad that I hit this plateau. I really am because it's showed me that there isn't a perfect formula - instead it's learning to adjust and go with the ebb and flow.
Overall this year, I have lost 10lbs. I am 5-7ish pounds away from my first goal weight. And I truly for the first time in a long time believe that I will reach my goal.
So what was I doing that was working before I hit my plateau?
Since I am still experimenting, I'm not ready to reveal everything just yet. But I'll share this. I started using My Fitness Pal again.. but WAIT - I am NOT using their calorie suggestions. According to the app, I would need to eat around 1200 or so calories to lose 1.5lbs a week. I was eating 1800-2400 calories at times and losing consistently 2lbs a week. Instead, I was going by my calorie burn from my Garmin. Here is the tricky part, I wasn't really paying attention to how much of a difference there was. I sort of had an idea, but then I started getting worried that the weight would stop and I started trying to have a larger calorie difference and the weight stopped. So I've got to experiment to find the right balance, and I know it will change with each pound lost.
But for example.... if my garmin said that I burned 2000 calories for the day, I was eating around 1700 calories and losing weight consistently. If I ate what I burned, I stayed the same. If I ate more, I gained. Basically it's calories in / calories out. But the tricky part is finding the right balance. My difference might not mean the same weight loss for you if that makes sense.
I also found a good rule of thumb. Take your goal weight multiply it times 10 and add 300 (110x10=1100+300=1400) As you can see, even with this formula it's higher than what MFP had.
I have NEVER had true success with MFP because if I couldn't stay within the calorie range I would binge eat. So thankfully going by my daily difference in my calorie burn has helped some with that. But I will admit, I still struggle if I know that I'm going over... and at times I will overeat just because of it...
But there you go... that's what was working for me with the consistent weight loss... I've also had some other tweaks but I did those by accident so I'm not sure if they are relevant or not. I'll let you know after I've been able to experiment some more.
But I'm going back to what was working for me in January before I let self doubt creep in... my goal is to lose the rest of the weight by the end of March... time will tell.
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This is why I always remind people that life is a marathon, not a sprint. There are ups and downs along the way - and our reality is not like the curated image of perfection people put on social media.
ReplyDeleteYou have to cut yourself some slack. You had a good start but some crappy health and family stuff. It is OK. You know what to do, and you will get back to it ... right now focus on yourself and your family.
I think it was on IG I commented that my tendency with MyFitnessPal is to over-regulate ... and that is what I am currently doing. I never fully got back from our 2nd honeymoon Europe trip last August, so I put on 5 lbs more (in addition to the 5 lbs I was carrying coming home) due to sloppy food & drink and in spite of running over 3500 miles last year! But just regulating intake and I have lost those 10 pounds (and tbh, even more) in the last 6 weeks. Which is honestly too much, too fast ... ugh. My personal body image as someone who struggled with obesity battle says 'there is no such thing as 'too thin' ... which I will have checked by my doctor in a couple of weeks and expect a lecture ...
But ... keep up the good, hard work, keep up being real, but keep up being honest about what matters most. You've got this!