First of all, a little update.
Since my last post half a year ago (don't worry, things were still happening), I am down another 20+ pounds, weighing in this morning at 234.2 (at my last post my best was 256.6). The month of March and the first couple weeks of April was my most successful period in dieting since last September when I gave up booze for a month and dropped 19 pounds. I did not cheat a lick until early April, and by mid-April I had hit a new best of 243.6 - 17 pounds in a month and a half. The whole time I was lifting, throwing, and running a bit, but it was truly the discipline with eating that helped me reach the low 240's. But this is also when things started to come unglued significantly.
April was littered with special events that all involved alcohol, carbs, and overeating. So, despite my best efforts during this time to still lose weight by dieting during the work week, the best I could do was maintain. It wasn't until mid-May that I cracked the 230's, and at this point it was because I put my foot down one day and decided to drink way, way less and start running longer distances regularly, in my own neighborhood instead of the gym. If you'll recall, my goal was 230 for June. Well, I came damn close; by the time we left on June 11 for my cousin's wedding in Helsinki, I had reached 231.8 - just shy of the long-term goal I'd made for myself months ago. I was very happy with this. For this success, I attribute regained discipline and focus more than anything. Even though I did drink a bit, for the final month of this goal period, I was able to knock myself down 12 pounds (although I do think some of this was fluctuation weight that had been previously earned, but that's not really the point now, is it?).
After this, I fell off the bandwagon. In mid-June, my family and I journeyed to Finland and then Germany, a 2-week vacation full of beer and delicious food, and actually a wonderful amount of walking that offset much of that. But by the time we returned, I had gained 5 pounds. I tried to get myself together after this, but every other day I found a reason to cheat, and even though I was now taking long runs 3-4 times a week, I was not able to shed any weight. Then came the dreaded month of July.
Anyone who lives in New England knows that, while the temperature rarely exceeds 90ยบ F, the humidity can make things worse than, say, living in the desert. And usually there will be a full month of this crap at the very least, before summer lets up and starts to get reasonably dry again. Anyway, the point is, July was exactly this, and because of it, I stopped running. In addition, I had recently lost my beloved grandmother, and was currently coping by overeating and drinking nightly - a thing I thought I was done with. The entire month was like this, until my second vacation to Michigan for the first 2 weeks of August.
Now, these annual vacations were usually the death of me (last year it was the reason I reached 300 pounds), but this year I sought a different result. I actually maintained ketosis for 4 or 5 days before the food floodgates opened. The dieting was not losing me any weight, and I knew it, and that was okay. But just a few days in, just as I started eating and drinking to my heart's desire, I resolved to exercise off everything that I consumed. This did not work to a T exactly, but I will say that on my return, I had only probably gained a single pound. This left me with a real sense of accomplishment, but it still wasn't enough to get me back on the weight loss bandwagon.
The remainder of August was a familiar story: eating low carb, but drinking almost every day. Well, finally, this week I think I have it figured out again. Unfortunately, I am unemployed at the moment (a voluntary choice I made in order to focus on finding a more rewarding career path), and I get little exercise sitting on my computer sending out my resume all day. This makes dieting very difficult - you just want to get up and go to the fridge, but you know you can't. So I've been drinking over a gallon of water every day for the past few days, and despite the frequent bathroom breaks, I forgot how great it makes you feel. I've also realized that because I weigh so much less now than I did last year, I have to eat a ton less if I want to lose just half the weight. I think that's a sign that I've succeeded thus far, but still makes things tough. Even when I was 300 pounds and just starting low-carb, I had a job that required me to walk around all day, and this gave me some more breathing room in calorie consumption.
Which is what I am currently focusing on: offsetting calories with exercise. Before this month, I hadn't had to think about exercise, because even if I wasn't going to the gym, I was still burning significant calories at my job just by walking around. But now I face the challenge of not actually having any physical obligations every day, and I have set my calorie goal so low that it will be hard to make it through the day successfully by merely not eating very much. I know I cannot succeed without exercise.
The daily goal starts at 1308, which is a very low number for someone my size (this is about 150 calories above my absolute minimum, as the keto calculator has informed me), but whatever calories I burn, I get to eat - so after running a 5k, that number jumps up to about 1900. That is a much fairer calorie limit. Supposedly, this will have me losing about 10 pounds per month, but after the next 10-15 pounds are gone, I will have to increase my intake so as not to lose muscle, so the weight loss will slow a bit. Disappointingly, this probably means that getting under 200 this year will not be possible. But according to my body fat percentage, assuming the measuring device was correct, even getting close to 200 should leave me pretty darn thin. I guess we'll see.
ANYWAY, the thing I came here to post is a piece of advice that everyone dieter should be able to utilize, and everyone serious about losing weight over the long-term: find your niche!!! I realized yesterday that even though sometimes weight loss can be maddening, for the most part I find it very fun! For me, weight loss is a numbers game, and a daily obsession. I love playing around with numbers and thinking about how I can pull things off most efficiently. I love calorie counting, especially using My Fitness Pal, because it seems to validate everything I have done at the end of the day. I love recording my weight every single day, even knowing that half the time it won't be a rewarding experience at all. It is said by many that, more than anything, weight loss should be a change of lifestyle. And while I think this is true, as much as the numbers game is probably not sustainable, it is the reason I've had greater periods of success when I've had them. It keeps my eyes on the prize, and it is very important not to lose sight of that.
That is me. But anyone anywhere can take this piece of advice: find a way to make weight loss fun. Find a niche; I promise it will help you reach your goals. That is how I am getting back on the bandwagon.
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