Another “Here We Go Again” Story

Mitch_Mazaher

I’m one of those successful weight losers that is seeing the lbs coming back.

Between August 2014 and May 2015 I lost 75 lbs and for two years I maintained well. At the beginning of 2019 I weighted 210. This morning I weighed in at 231.2. This year I got lazy. That’s the bottom line. I didn’t experience any major ‘life changes or tragedies’, just quit doing the daily things I needed to do to keep myself in check.

So, I’m back because I know what I have to do to lose the weight. For me, monitoring daily is the motivator. I want to see results (or lack of results) and stay connected or I lose focus. I have to create the obsession and then nurture it. A tracker like MFP is essential to my success.

The last time, I used a fitness app to great success. Not MFP but a competitor. I chose MFP because now I have a Garman watch and can link the two. I’ve owned a Garman fitness device since my 2015 OCR days and used it to track road miles. I don’t run often anymore but I expect that I will increase my efforts this winter and spring.

I learned during my first weight loss that it’s really not about exercise, it’s all about calories. Losing weight isn’t rocket science and it really is just a matter of burning more than you eat. Exercise certainly helps, but you can do this without exercise and not too uncomfortably if you eat the right foods, in the right quantities, and often enough throughout the day to keep those hunger pangs in check. This discovery was what triggered my success. Back in 2015, I really didn’t start exercising until I had lost about 50 lbs. Thankfully, I have always been active my whole life and so exercising regularly was not too much of a physical or emotional burden.

Goals and tracking progress is also a lesson learned. In 2014/2015 I set small 5 lb goals. When I would reach the goal, I’d set a new 5 lb goal. This worked for me keeping success always easy to attain. It may not work for everyone, but it worked for me.

So, I’m back and this time I think I’m going to embrace the community. I feel pretty good about my strategy and the lessons I learned the first time. I will be successful and I believe that sharing my success not only will help me focus, but may help someone else in their efforts.

My profile photo is from the top of an obstacle at the 2015 Ohio Spartan Sprint. I weighted 195 in that photo. I’ve got no plans to renew my relationship with OCR, but that photo reminds me of what I can be and where I want to go.

LOL….I just read through what I wrote and thought ‘what a bunch of verbal vomit trying to convince myself I can do this’.

There’s nothing easy about losing weight. It’s a long process with huge emotional struggles. Here’s something else I learned in 2015. Be kind to yourself. If you have a bad day, no worries, just don’t give up. There are going to be ups and downs and plateaus that seem endless, just don’t quit.

Hear that Mitch….DON’T QUIT!

JustSomeEm

You've got this, Mitch!