G'day, I'm Zoe

aussieketogal

Hi Everyone,

I gained about 20 kilos through my 20's and before my 29th birthday I said enough was enough and managed to drop about 18kilos using the old old points system at WW. I didn't go to meetings or anything. I just got the books and did it myself. I lost it in 6 months with just diet alone and pretty much stayed in maintenance mode with a kilo or two gained and lost here and there for the following 4 years.

And then... I quit smoking.

Within 12 months I had gained 15 kilos and I've been struggling ever since to lose it.

I've joined a few different gyms and I barely last 4 weeks. I have tried WW again and I hated their new points system.

I've tried counting my calories on MFP a few times and begin to lose interest when I begin to drop weight and then it gets stuck.

I have bought dozens of books, listened to podcasts, watched documentaries attempted to educate myself and etc etc... but unless my head is in the right place it seems nothing will work.

About three months ago I found 'my thing'.
I began climbing/hiking my local mountains and have become quite addicted to the feeling of accomplishment and then rewarded with an amazing view at the top. More recently there have been weeks where I have been going every day and as I become fitter I am pushing myself harder up the mountains.

The main one I go up takes 20minutes to climb and I spend at least half that in my peak heart rate zone and the other half in cardio. Then as I come down I am typically in the far burn/cardio zones.

Although I am definitely seeing physical changes and certainly becoming a lot fitter I am struggling to see the weight come off as quickly as it has in the past, which is really frustrating at times.

With my new found love on hiking I started back on MFP and using a good scale I measure everything. The milk in my coffee, oil I cook with, butter and salad leaves... I figure if I cheat I'm only cheating myself.

I rarely eat my exercise calories (unless I'm having a 'hungry' day) and I still try to eat under my daily goal and some weeks nothing happens. Eg last week I burned 10000 more calories than eaten but yet I am still the same weight. Surely I couldn't have got my measurements that wrong?

I finally stumbled across the forums here at MFP last week and have enjoyed reading the different discussions. I love how active and helpful everyone is.

I thought I would share a little about my journey and frustrations and hope to make a few friends as I continue the journey.

Zoe

Stats:
Female 37,
172cm, 83.7kg

Lost 3.5 kilos since Sept 22

JustSomeEm

Welcome back to MFP, Zoe. :flowerforyou: