Fat Person Trapped in a Skinny Person's Body

mamashakesit

Sorry this is so long! I don't know how to write short, succinct posts


This is how one of my old co-worker's described me, and I never realized how right he was!

I'm a female turning 40 in under two weeks.

I'm about 5'6 and never weighed over 135 until last year. My diet since I was young pretty much consisted of frozen pizza, ice cream, potato chips, cheddar cheese and processed quick foods, like canned soup or boxed potatoes. I also became a rather heavy drinker. I'm talking about 4-9 craft wheat beers a night, plus perhaps a bottle of whiskey throughout the week. I have also been a smoker since I was 18.

As of last March 2017, I weighed in at 144. I could actually FEEL the extra weight. Not only were my jeans extremely snug, I actually felt the effort of walking and moving with the extra pounds. It just did not FEEL right to me. I went through a short period of exercising and really cutting back on my calories, but life (mainly college classes) caught up with me, and I started hitting the booze and the fast food really hard.

Fast forward to now: I quit drinking in June 2017, but developed a soda habit for a few months (not normally a big soda drinker). Finally got that under control, started working out daily, and then decided to quit smoking. As far as I was concerned, quitting smoking was a license to eat whatever and whenever I wanted if it meant success in that area. Nearly two months later, I finally have the nic craving munchies under control, but I am by habit a snacker, and it was Christmas baking season.

After 60 days of working out, I took some "after" pics to compare with the ones I'd taken back in March. I looked almost exactly the same, which was disappointing, but I FELT sooo fabulous. I'm sure between the drinking, fast food, and quitting smoking snacking, I probably added a few more pounds since the March photos. I didn't take my weight before I started my workout routine, and I'm glad I didn't. I don't want this to be about a number.

Now I really want to spend the bitter cold of winter cleaning up my eating habits, but I'm finding it so difficult. The best I'm doing right now is packaged oatmeal, greek yogurt or sunny side up eggs with whole wheat toast for breakfast or lunch. I try to eat chicken and frozen veggies for dinner instead of pizza. Sometimes I don't eat at all until 1 or 2PM (I know this is not good). I find when I buy fresh veggies, they almost always go to waste. Any tips to help a junk food junkie reform? Steps to take to make it easier?

I lost my job in September, and I want to spend my time building a whole new me!

Need2Exerc1se

Baby steps. Make one small change at a time. Completely changing your diet is hard to do and even harder to sustain.

There is nothing at all wrong with not eating until 1 or 2 pm. Unless you have a medical condition that require specific meal timing, there is nothing wrong with eating whenever best suits your preferences or schedule.

toxikon

Congrats on quitting smoking!

I can definitely relate to "feeling" the extra weight, even if it's only a few pounds. I'm 5'7", and once I start drifting higher than 155lbs, I feel so yuck. I'm currently sitting at 148lbs, and even though it's barely noticeable in the mirror, my clothes fit better and I already feel better.

Don't be too hard on yourself or feel the need to completely revamp your food choices just to lose weight! The key is calories. You can still enjoy junk food, cookies, ice cream... as long as you can find ways to fit it into your daily calorie goal.

Obviously nutrition and protein is important, but "clean eating" all the time isn't necessary!

mamashakesit

Thanks to you both. I learned something new today. I've been told for years that breakfast is very important so that you have "fuel." I certainly don't want to be one of those people who won't allow myself a cupcake and eat bland chicken and raw spinach for every meal. But I am finding that I really enjoy working out and challenging myself, which really surprises me! I've always been uncoordinated, never an athlete. So to actually feel the difference in my posture and balance and muscles is pretty amazing, and I know some diet changes will be necessary to achieve what I'm starting to envision for myself.