How I Went from Sustainable to Unsustainable
NovusDies
Posts: 8,940 Member
At the first of July I scheduled a time restrained surgery that meant I would be doing a "hurry-up" weight loss to hit a deadline that is now soon approaching.
To accomplish this I cut my calories down to 1500-1600 per day (after exercise). To be a little extra careful I had my plan reviewed by a RD who examined the way I normally eat and said that my nutritional habits could easily support being near the minimum nutrition line for men for the 3 months. So the technical stuff was out of the way.
Going into this I had 17 months of losing weight under my belt. I lost 200 pounds and I was pretty happy most of the time doing it. I banked calories each week and ate maintenance nearly every Sunday. It was great. I was confident I could handle this hurry-up mode of aggressive weight loss and I was close to right. I built a very solid foundation for myself to stand on during a harsher time.
But this isn't sustainable. Since cutting 200ish calories a day I have been:
1) Much less patient
2) Much less happy
3) Much more focused on scale results
4) Much less able to moderate things like potato chips
5) Much closer to cracking and going into an overfeed
Now I am adulting right now and so I have sucked it up and I have stayed disciplined but I could not have done this for over a year. One night I grabbed the PB jar and before I weighed it or anything I had eaten a fair number of calories. I stopped myself but I felt a very old urge from previous strict diets to go nuts on that jar. I have felt that way a few more times since then. I had to return to basics of getting rid of treat food I no longer trust myself around. All because of 200 calories... all because what I am doing now is not sustainable.
So I typed all of this up to hopefully help guide someone else. Going FAST is not my key to going LONG and weight loss is LONG. Some people can handle it. I think most people can't.
Oh and deadlines suck!
To accomplish this I cut my calories down to 1500-1600 per day (after exercise). To be a little extra careful I had my plan reviewed by a RD who examined the way I normally eat and said that my nutritional habits could easily support being near the minimum nutrition line for men for the 3 months. So the technical stuff was out of the way.
Going into this I had 17 months of losing weight under my belt. I lost 200 pounds and I was pretty happy most of the time doing it. I banked calories each week and ate maintenance nearly every Sunday. It was great. I was confident I could handle this hurry-up mode of aggressive weight loss and I was close to right. I built a very solid foundation for myself to stand on during a harsher time.
But this isn't sustainable. Since cutting 200ish calories a day I have been:
1) Much less patient
2) Much less happy
3) Much more focused on scale results
4) Much less able to moderate things like potato chips
5) Much closer to cracking and going into an overfeed
Now I am adulting right now and so I have sucked it up and I have stayed disciplined but I could not have done this for over a year. One night I grabbed the PB jar and before I weighed it or anything I had eaten a fair number of calories. I stopped myself but I felt a very old urge from previous strict diets to go nuts on that jar. I have felt that way a few more times since then. I had to return to basics of getting rid of treat food I no longer trust myself around. All because of 200 calories... all because what I am doing now is not sustainable.
So I typed all of this up to hopefully help guide someone else. Going FAST is not my key to going LONG and weight loss is LONG. Some people can handle it. I think most people can't.
Oh and deadlines suck!
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Replies
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I was reading about habits a few weeks ago...
Our old habits really never go away. They just take a back seat to the new habits we build...just waiting...watching...ready to make their reappearance when they see us struggle, falter to maintain those new habits that replaced them. Then when we are most vulnerable...they pounce hoping to wiggle their way back into our lives.
I am not sure what any of that has to do with your situation but I think it was the peanut butter. I also thought about a phrase that I heard recently...getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. Take a look at what you are learning about yourself. If things are comfortable what does that really show us about ourselves? It isn't until we have to struggle that we find out who we are.
Again...not sure what any of this has to do with your situation but I wish you luck.7 -
You lost 200lbs in 15 mos? That is a huge accomplishment. That alone would make me happy.4
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I was reading about habits a few weeks ago...
Our old habits really never go away. They just take a back seat to the new habits we build...just waiting...watching...ready to make their reappearance when they see us struggle, falter to maintain those new habits that replaced them. Then when we are most vulnerable...they pounce hoping to wiggle their way back into our lives.
I am not sure what any of that has to do with your situation but I think it was the peanut butter. I also thought about a phrase that I heard recently...getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. Take a look at what you are learning about yourself. If things are comfortable what does that really show us about ourselves? It isn't until we have to struggle that we find out who we are.
Again...not sure what any of this has to do with your situation but I wish you luck.
Good insight. I am not shocked by most of it. I knew I could not lose weight like this over a long period of time because I have failed to do it so many times before. I am a little shocked at how fast I could revert back and how much difference 200 calories really makes for me. The impact was nearly immediate. I was happy and then suddenly I was not. I was able to easily moderate and then suddenly it was a struggle.
Part of it is the deadline. It is so much better to approach weight loss more casually. If you want to lose 2 pounds this week but you only lose 1.8 just accept it as a victory and move on. Having a deadline means you have to lose X no matter what. Sucks.12 -
CardinalComb wrote: »You lost 200lbs in 15 mos? That is a huge accomplishment. That alone would make me happy.
17 months. I need to edit that.4 -
Thanks for sharing. I bet this does indeed help others.
What about your surgery? How flexible is your weight? If it's not, can you push back the surgery?3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Thanks for sharing. I bet this does indeed help others.
What about your surgery? How flexible is your weight? If it's not, can you push back the surgery?
I should make the weight. I have extensive tracking on myself and my projections in short time spans are really accurate. I am close enough now that I took it a little easier over the holiday to give me a mental break. Of course that resulted in a nice big uptick on the scale but that will go back down soon enough. Of course it bothers me a little more right now but I know better.
I can push the surgery back but the next time all the schedules come together would be in January. If it had required that I do a VLCD to make it I probably would not have tried but this is doable. It is just more of a struggle.3 -
I was reading about habits a few weeks ago...
Our old habits really never go away. They just take a back seat to the new habits we build...just waiting...watching...ready to make their reappearance when they see us struggle, falter to maintain those new habits that replaced them. Then when we are most vulnerable...they pounce hoping to wiggle their way back into our lives.
I am not sure what any of that has to do with your situation but I think it was the peanut butter. I also thought about a phrase that I heard recently...getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. Take a look at what you are learning about yourself. If things are comfortable what does that really show us about ourselves? It isn't until we have to struggle that we find out who we are.
Again...not sure what any of this has to do with your situation but I wish you luck.
Good insight. I am not shocked by most of it. I knew I could not lose weight like this over a long period of time because I have failed to do it so many times before. I am a little shocked at how fast I could revert back and how much difference 200 calories really makes for me. The impact was nearly immediate. I was happy and then suddenly I was not. I was able to easily moderate and then suddenly it was a struggle.
Part of it is the deadline. It is so much better to approach weight loss more casually. If you want to lose 2 pounds this week but you only lose 1.8 just accept it as a victory and move on. Having a deadline means you have to lose X no matter what. Sucks.
I have mixed emotions about deadlines. It seems that one of my characteristics is that if I don't have a deadline I will procrastinate. Then there are the deadlines that are far off in the future that I think...I still have plenty of time. For me to be successful with deadlines then I have to have shorter smaller deadlines that keep me moving toward the longer final deadline.
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This was really fascinating, both from the aspect of how relatively few calories can make a big difference and the mental effects of having a deadline. I hope many readers take this to heart, and I hope your surgery goes well!
10 -
I was reading about habits a few weeks ago...
Our old habits really never go away. They just take a back seat to the new habits we build...just waiting...watching...ready to make their reappearance when they see us struggle, falter to maintain those new habits that replaced them. Then when we are most vulnerable...they pounce hoping to wiggle their way back into our lives.
I am not sure what any of that has to do with your situation but I think it was the peanut butter. I also thought about a phrase that I heard recently...getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. Take a look at what you are learning about yourself. If things are comfortable what does that really show us about ourselves? It isn't until we have to struggle that we find out who we are.
Again...not sure what any of this has to do with your situation but I wish you luck.
Good insight. I am not shocked by most of it. I knew I could not lose weight like this over a long period of time because I have failed to do it so many times before. I am a little shocked at how fast I could revert back and how much difference 200 calories really makes for me. The impact was nearly immediate. I was happy and then suddenly I was not. I was able to easily moderate and then suddenly it was a struggle.
Part of it is the deadline. It is so much better to approach weight loss more casually. If you want to lose 2 pounds this week but you only lose 1.8 just accept it as a victory and move on. Having a deadline means you have to lose X no matter what. Sucks.
I have mixed emotions about deadlines. It seems that one of my characteristics is that if I don't have a deadline I will procrastinate. Then there are the deadlines that are far off in the future that I think...I still have plenty of time. For me to be successful with deadlines then I have to have shorter smaller deadlines that keep me moving toward the longer final deadline.
I have tried to really normalize my life inside of a calorie deficit. I have done my best not to think about losing weight at all. I just focus on the day and trying to be happy in it. Until recently I have approached it as allowing weight loss to happen instead of forcing it. Another way I have looked at it as eating a healthy number of calories and then allowing weight loss to be the bonus prize. It has kept me away from my all-or-nothing approaches of the past.
That is one of the reasons what I am doing now is not sustainable for me. I am more focused on the scale and I am better off weighing, recording it, and most days forgetting what the number even was.6 -
This is really a great illustration of how a small amount of calories can make such a difference in perspective. I’m sure that the stress of your deadline is a contributing factor as well, but still, very impressive insight on your part. I’m sure that many people starting out, as well as many who have been at this for a while, can learn from your experience.6
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honestly i wish that MFP didn't automatically default to 2lbs a week loss - auto-default to a pound because of things you describe here7
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This is a good thread. Sorry to hear you are struggling a little. Probably best to get that peanut butter out of the house entirely until this pre-op phase is over.
Every time I read an MFP thread talking about how the person has brand new habits and thank Odin they've finally figured it out and now they have a whole new, forever way of conducting their lives which will really stick, I'm skeptical. I've had more than one "successful" diet over the years which I *thought* entailed new habits, lifestyle changes, new relationship with food, etc., only to discover I'm exactly one trip to the kitchen away from being right back in the old habits. The habits never really go away. More like hibernate. It's a fight that must take place every day, and it does get tiring, which I guess is why people yo-yo. I've been reading your posts with great interest for months, @novusdies, because I do think you have the right idea - moderation, trying to normalize a new relationship with food, and especially, avoiding all or nothing approaches. This "race to the finish line" for surgery is the opposite of what you are usually advocating, and seems to have thrown you off your game.
I do think there is a certain calorie level that an individual person can handle as a sustainable diet, and below that lies a suffering-binge cycle. For me, it's 1600 with the safety value of a time-out when I feel I need it, not scheduled but always available if I start to feel deprived. At 1570, I'm a mess - starving, binging, etc. Sounds like for you, 1800 is the line below which you just cannot go. Probably best to go back to that.9 -
My mother had bariatric surgery, and I love this post because it makes it clear that weight loss surgery still requires a lot of hard work. Many people think it is the easy way out, and it is most certainly not! Great insights here all around.3
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Hilogirl2018 wrote: »My mother had bariatric surgery, and I love this post because it makes it clear that weight loss surgery still requires a lot of hard work. Many people think it is the easy way out, and it is most certainly not! Great insights here all around.
I am not having weight loss surgery. If I were I would be on a liquid diet right now really suffering. I am having a much needed surgery that should allow me to move more freely and comfortably. There are things - active things - that I am not currently able to do that I want/need to be doing to help insure my success.15 -
Best of luck mate.
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I think the OP deserves to be a sticky. Great thread. And good luck with your surgery!4
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Well done on the amount of weight you've managed to lose so far, that's incredible!
I also totally agree. Every other time I've tried to lose weight, I've shot for the max of 2lbs a week and been miserable, and eventually given in to old habits out of hunger. This time I've upped my intake by about 200ish calories a day to 1.5lb loss a week, and I'm so happy. I can eat the occasional treat, I don't constantly have to juggle my numbers, and I'm consistently losing.
I hope you get your surgery and it goes well, so you can go back to eating how works for you!2 -
<<snip>>
Now I am adulting right now and so I have sucked it up and I have stayed disciplined but I could not have done this for over a year. One night I grabbed the PB jar and before I weighed it or anything I had eaten a fair number of calories. I stopped myself but I felt a very old urge from previous strict diets to go nuts on that jar. I have felt that way a few more times since then. I had to return to basics of getting rid of treat food I no longer trust myself around. All because of 200 calories... all because what I am doing now is not sustainable.
<<snip>>
Please tell me this pun was intended! :laugh:
Insightful. Thanks for sharing.4 -
shrinkingweez wrote: »Well done on the amount of weight you've managed to lose so far, that's incredible!
I also totally agree. Every other time I've tried to lose weight, I've shot for the max of 2lbs a week and been miserable, and eventually given in to old habits out of hunger. This time I've upped my intake by about 200ish calories a day to 1.5lb loss a week, and I'm so happy. I can eat the occasional treat, I don't constantly have to juggle my numbers, and I'm consistently losing.
I hope you get your surgery and it goes well, so you can go back to eating how works for you!
@shrinkingweez
That is the answer... right there! Learning from previous mistakes and finding a balance. If that is you in your profile picture you look younger than me so good job on being smarter at a younger age than I was.
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quiksylver296 wrote: »
<<snip>>
Now I am adulting right now and so I have sucked it up and I have stayed disciplined but I could not have done this for over a year. One night I grabbed the PB jar and before I weighed it or anything I had eaten a fair number of calories. I stopped myself but I felt a very old urge from previous strict diets to go nuts on that jar. I have felt that way a few more times since then. I had to return to basics of getting rid of treat food I no longer trust myself around. All because of 200 calories... all because what I am doing now is not sustainable.
<<snip>>
Please tell me this pun was intended! :laugh:
Insightful. Thanks for sharing.
Where's the woo button when I need it.... 🤔 lol3 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »
<<snip>>
Now I am adulting right now and so I have sucked it up and I have stayed disciplined but I could not have done this for over a year. One night I grabbed the PB jar and before I weighed it or anything I had eaten a fair number of calories. I stopped myself but I felt a very old urge from previous strict diets to go nuts on that jar. I have felt that way a few more times since then. I had to return to basics of getting rid of treat food I no longer trust myself around. All because of 200 calories... all because what I am doing now is not sustainable.
<<snip>>
Please tell me this pun was intended! :laugh:
Insightful. Thanks for sharing.
All my puns are intended.
Even though a peanut is not a nut it is a legume.10 -
Thanks for sharing @NovusDies. It's a good reminder. I've been trying all summer to get rid of the 6 lbs. I gained on holiday and every time I cut way down I fall apart. This just confirms that I need to relax and take my time. Hope you get to the goal you need soon so you can get the surgery over with and heal.3
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quiksylver296 wrote: »
<<snip>>
Now I am adulting right now and so I have sucked it up and I have stayed disciplined but I could not have done this for over a year. One night I grabbed the PB jar and before I weighed it or anything I had eaten a fair number of calories. I stopped myself but I felt a very old urge from previous strict diets to go nuts on that jar. I have felt that way a few more times since then. I had to return to basics of getting rid of treat food I no longer trust myself around. All because of 200 calories... all because what I am doing now is not sustainable.
<<snip>>
Please tell me this pun was intended! :laugh:
Insightful. Thanks for sharing.
All my puns are intended.
Even though a peanut is not a nut it is a legume.
Pedant.
2 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »
<<snip>>
Now I am adulting right now and so I have sucked it up and I have stayed disciplined but I could not have done this for over a year. One night I grabbed the PB jar and before I weighed it or anything I had eaten a fair number of calories. I stopped myself but I felt a very old urge from previous strict diets to go nuts on that jar. I have felt that way a few more times since then. I had to return to basics of getting rid of treat food I no longer trust myself around. All because of 200 calories... all because what I am doing now is not sustainable.
<<snip>>
Please tell me this pun was intended! :laugh:
Insightful. Thanks for sharing.
All my puns are intended.
Even though a peanut is not a nut it is a legume.
Pedant.
I've always loved that word as an insult. Rarely seen in noun form.3 -
Hilogirl2018 wrote: »My mother had bariatric surgery, and I love this post because it makes it clear that weight loss surgery still requires a lot of hard work. Many people think it is the easy way out, and it is most certainly not! Great insights here all around.
I am not having weight loss surgery. If I were I would be on a liquid diet right now really suffering. I am having a much needed surgery that should allow me to move more freely and comfortably. There are things - active things - that I am not currently able to do that I want/need to be doing to help insure my success.
So sorry I misread your OP! I wish you the very best on the surgery.1 -
Hilogirl2018 wrote: »Hilogirl2018 wrote: »My mother had bariatric surgery, and I love this post because it makes it clear that weight loss surgery still requires a lot of hard work. Many people think it is the easy way out, and it is most certainly not! Great insights here all around.
I am not having weight loss surgery. If I were I would be on a liquid diet right now really suffering. I am having a much needed surgery that should allow me to move more freely and comfortably. There are things - active things - that I am not currently able to do that I want/need to be doing to help insure my success.
So sorry I misread your OP! I wish you the very best on the surgery.
Don't worry about it. With the amount that I have lost I get asked about WL surgery all the time these days.1 -
At the first of July I scheduled a time restrained surgery that meant I would be doing a "hurry-up" weight loss to hit a deadline that is now soon approaching.
To accomplish this I cut my calories down to 1500-1600 per day (after exercise). To be a little extra careful I had my plan reviewed by a RD who examined the way I normally eat and said that my nutritional habits could easily support being near the minimum nutrition line for men for the 3 months. So the technical stuff was out of the way.
Going into this I had 17 months of losing weight under my belt. I lost 200 pounds and I was pretty happy most of the time doing it. I banked calories each week and ate maintenance nearly every Sunday. It was great. I was confident I could handle this hurry-up mode of aggressive weight loss and I was close to right. I built a very solid foundation for myself to stand on during a harsher time.
But this isn't sustainable. Since cutting 200ish calories a day I have been:
1) Much less patient
2) Much less happy
3) Much more focused on scale results
4) Much less able to moderate things like potato chips
5) Much closer to cracking and going into an overfeed
Now I am adulting right now and so I have sucked it up and I have stayed disciplined but I could not have done this for over a year. One night I grabbed the PB jar and before I weighed it or anything I had eaten a fair number of calories. I stopped myself but I felt a very old urge from previous strict diets to go nuts on that jar. I have felt that way a few more times since then. I had to return to basics of getting rid of treat food I no longer trust myself around. All because of 200 calories... all because what I am doing now is not sustainable.
So I typed all of this up to hopefully help guide someone else. Going FAST is not my key to going LONG and weight loss is LONG. Some people can handle it. I think most people can't.
Oh and deadlines suck!
Would love to know your starting stats and current stats! what was funny, I had some hunger issues at first, then after eliminating my well "junk" food, I hate that word, but it just disappeared! Until I got lean that is. I think, well supported by some research, is one can rewrite what we crave. Closet thing I came to a binge at 10% bf was a bag of fresh peaches! Just could not stop myself. Didn't do much damage. Like 300 cals in the whole bag. Had that been a bag of chips, it could have been 1000 or more. Agreed that fast is not sustainable at all, but when its for health, sometimes necessary. Best wishes on you surgery!2 -
psychod787 wrote: »At the first of July I scheduled a time restrained surgery that meant I would be doing a "hurry-up" weight loss to hit a deadline that is now soon approaching.
To accomplish this I cut my calories down to 1500-1600 per day (after exercise). To be a little extra careful I had my plan reviewed by a RD who examined the way I normally eat and said that my nutritional habits could easily support being near the minimum nutrition line for men for the 3 months. So the technical stuff was out of the way.
Going into this I had 17 months of losing weight under my belt. I lost 200 pounds and I was pretty happy most of the time doing it. I banked calories each week and ate maintenance nearly every Sunday. It was great. I was confident I could handle this hurry-up mode of aggressive weight loss and I was close to right. I built a very solid foundation for myself to stand on during a harsher time.
But this isn't sustainable. Since cutting 200ish calories a day I have been:
1) Much less patient
2) Much less happy
3) Much more focused on scale results
4) Much less able to moderate things like potato chips
5) Much closer to cracking and going into an overfeed
Now I am adulting right now and so I have sucked it up and I have stayed disciplined but I could not have done this for over a year. One night I grabbed the PB jar and before I weighed it or anything I had eaten a fair number of calories. I stopped myself but I felt a very old urge from previous strict diets to go nuts on that jar. I have felt that way a few more times since then. I had to return to basics of getting rid of treat food I no longer trust myself around. All because of 200 calories... all because what I am doing now is not sustainable.
So I typed all of this up to hopefully help guide someone else. Going FAST is not my key to going LONG and weight loss is LONG. Some people can handle it. I think most people can't.
Oh and deadlines suck!
Would love to know your starting stats and current stats! what was funny, I had some hunger issues at first, then after eliminating my well "junk" food, I hate that word, but it just disappeared! Until I got lean that is. I think, well supported by some research, is one can rewrite what we crave. Closet thing I came to a binge at 10% bf was a bag of fresh peaches! Just could not stop myself. Didn't do much damage. Like 300 cals in the whole bag. Had that been a bag of chips, it could have been 1000 or more. Agreed that fast is not sustainable at all, but when its for health, sometimes necessary. Best wishes on you surgery!
One of these days I might actually post my stats. I still find it a little embarrassing.
I am more than 2/3s through. I am approximately the same weight I was in 1992 so I am now 27 years lighter. In 30 more pounds I will be back to 1990, and then 30 more after that I will be all the way back to 1986.16 -
psychod787 wrote: »At the first of July I scheduled a time restrained surgery that meant I would be doing a "hurry-up" weight loss to hit a deadline that is now soon approaching.
To accomplish this I cut my calories down to 1500-1600 per day (after exercise). To be a little extra careful I had my plan reviewed by a RD who examined the way I normally eat and said that my nutritional habits could easily support being near the minimum nutrition line for men for the 3 months. So the technical stuff was out of the way.
Going into this I had 17 months of losing weight under my belt. I lost 200 pounds and I was pretty happy most of the time doing it. I banked calories each week and ate maintenance nearly every Sunday. It was great. I was confident I could handle this hurry-up mode of aggressive weight loss and I was close to right. I built a very solid foundation for myself to stand on during a harsher time.
But this isn't sustainable. Since cutting 200ish calories a day I have been:
1) Much less patient
2) Much less happy
3) Much more focused on scale results
4) Much less able to moderate things like potato chips
5) Much closer to cracking and going into an overfeed
Now I am adulting right now and so I have sucked it up and I have stayed disciplined but I could not have done this for over a year. One night I grabbed the PB jar and before I weighed it or anything I had eaten a fair number of calories. I stopped myself but I felt a very old urge from previous strict diets to go nuts on that jar. I have felt that way a few more times since then. I had to return to basics of getting rid of treat food I no longer trust myself around. All because of 200 calories... all because what I am doing now is not sustainable.
So I typed all of this up to hopefully help guide someone else. Going FAST is not my key to going LONG and weight loss is LONG. Some people can handle it. I think most people can't.
Oh and deadlines suck!
Would love to know your starting stats and current stats! what was funny, I had some hunger issues at first, then after eliminating my well "junk" food, I hate that word, but it just disappeared! Until I got lean that is. I think, well supported by some research, is one can rewrite what we crave. Closet thing I came to a binge at 10% bf was a bag of fresh peaches! Just could not stop myself. Didn't do much damage. Like 300 cals in the whole bag. Had that been a bag of chips, it could have been 1000 or more. Agreed that fast is not sustainable at all, but when its for health, sometimes necessary. Best wishes on you surgery!
One of these days I might actually post my stats. I still find it a little embarrassing.
I am more than 2/3s through. I am approximately the same weight I was in 1992 so I am now 27 years lighter. In 30 more pounds I will be back to 1990, and then 30 more after that I will be all the way back to 1986.
No shame in where we come from. I was 400+, going back to 200 and ???? There is no embarrassment, but knowing there is a problem and doing nothing about it. Its not about where we come from, but where we are going. People say this is a journey. Not IMHO. Its more like an adventure. A journey denotes a destination and an end. An adventure never stops!13 -
psychod787 wrote: »psychod787 wrote: »At the first of July I scheduled a time restrained surgery that meant I would be doing a "hurry-up" weight loss to hit a deadline that is now soon approaching.
To accomplish this I cut my calories down to 1500-1600 per day (after exercise). To be a little extra careful I had my plan reviewed by a RD who examined the way I normally eat and said that my nutritional habits could easily support being near the minimum nutrition line for men for the 3 months. So the technical stuff was out of the way.
Going into this I had 17 months of losing weight under my belt. I lost 200 pounds and I was pretty happy most of the time doing it. I banked calories each week and ate maintenance nearly every Sunday. It was great. I was confident I could handle this hurry-up mode of aggressive weight loss and I was close to right. I built a very solid foundation for myself to stand on during a harsher time.
But this isn't sustainable. Since cutting 200ish calories a day I have been:
1) Much less patient
2) Much less happy
3) Much more focused on scale results
4) Much less able to moderate things like potato chips
5) Much closer to cracking and going into an overfeed
Now I am adulting right now and so I have sucked it up and I have stayed disciplined but I could not have done this for over a year. One night I grabbed the PB jar and before I weighed it or anything I had eaten a fair number of calories. I stopped myself but I felt a very old urge from previous strict diets to go nuts on that jar. I have felt that way a few more times since then. I had to return to basics of getting rid of treat food I no longer trust myself around. All because of 200 calories... all because what I am doing now is not sustainable.
So I typed all of this up to hopefully help guide someone else. Going FAST is not my key to going LONG and weight loss is LONG. Some people can handle it. I think most people can't.
Oh and deadlines suck!
Would love to know your starting stats and current stats! what was funny, I had some hunger issues at first, then after eliminating my well "junk" food, I hate that word, but it just disappeared! Until I got lean that is. I think, well supported by some research, is one can rewrite what we crave. Closet thing I came to a binge at 10% bf was a bag of fresh peaches! Just could not stop myself. Didn't do much damage. Like 300 cals in the whole bag. Had that been a bag of chips, it could have been 1000 or more. Agreed that fast is not sustainable at all, but when its for health, sometimes necessary. Best wishes on you surgery!
One of these days I might actually post my stats. I still find it a little embarrassing.
I am more than 2/3s through. I am approximately the same weight I was in 1992 so I am now 27 years lighter. In 30 more pounds I will be back to 1990, and then 30 more after that I will be all the way back to 1986.
No shame in where we come from. I was 400+, going back to 200 and ???? There is no embarrassment, but knowing there is a problem and doing nothing about it. Its not about where we come from, but where we are going. People say this is a journey. Not IMHO. Its more like an adventure. A journey denotes a destination and an end. An adventure never stops!
I agree 100%!
It’s really amazing and so inspirational for so many of us! Congratulations on your success so far!2
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