200-Day Streak Update

Elystriel

I made a post here on my 100th day of logging to share my reflections and succuss. It has now been 200 days of logging faithfully, and I’m happy to report that my weight loss journey is still going better than I could have ever imagined. It has not been without challenges (January Plateau, I’m talking to you!), but my weight is still moving in the right direction and I’ve gotten a lot better at putting that self-sabotaging voice to rest when things aren’t moving as quickly as I wish they would.

I’ll give a bit of a timeline for some perspective as I try to remember my state of mind throughout all of this.

• January 1, 2020: 321.4 lbs. – This is my highest recorded weight, and I hid the scale immediately after I stepped off of it.
• June 24, 2020: 313.6 lbs. – As the lockdowns were stretching on, I had made a concerted effort not to eat my way through the chaos. I was curious how that was looking on the scale and was pleasantly surprised to see that my mindfulness had been paying off. I decided to start weighing every day and was more conscientious about my eating. Not logging yet, but paying attention to serving sizes and finding alternatives to some of the foods that I knew I had trouble resisting in large quantities.
• July 21, 2020: 299.0 lbs. – I crossed over into the 200s for the first time in a few years. I was eating very low carb, and probably way too few calories at that time, so I decided to start tracking my eating again in MFP. The quick weight loss was a thrill, but I knew that it wasn’t healthy or sustainable. If I tracked, I could keep myself honest about being healthy in my weight loss journey.
• October 28, 2020: 267.1 – That was when I hit my 100-day logging streak and posted about it here. In those first 100 day, I learned so much about how my body reacts to food and exercise. I learned to be patient when I got stuck losing the same 2 pounds for two weeks straight. I learned that low carb wasn’t going to be sustainable for me. I learned that no food is “bad”, and that even a day or two of indulgence doesn’t make a dent in the deficit I have built up in all of the days of staying under goal. I learned that a food scale is always better at measuring serving sizes than I am. Most importantly, I learned that I have the capacity to lose weight as long as I take in fewer calories than I burn every day.
• February 5, 2021: 244.3 – 200 days in the books. The loss has slowed down a little bit, but I’m still trending a healthy 1.5 pounds down per week, and I’m happy with that. I was not happy in January, when I bumped up my exercise, was put on meds for an unexpected illness, and just kept fluctuating between 255 and 250 for over three weeks. Literally the only thing that kept me from giving up was knowing that I was putting the right amount of food in my face every day, and that as long as I kept doing that, I was going to break through that plateau eventually. I got mad. I got frustrated. But at the end of the day, I stuck with it, and now my weight is lower than it has been since before my son was born in 1999. I know I have the willpower to work through the inevitable next plateau, and I’m not in any hurry to get to my end goal. I’m content to be on the journey, headed mostly in the right direction, most of the time.

Tricks of the Trade:

• In my last post I talked about how sodium-free broth packets were a lifesaver for me when I started having savory cravings. My new snack replacement is Yoplait Whips yogurt. I keep it in the freezer and eat it frozen like ice cream, for way fewer calories. I’ve tried Halo Top and the other diet ice creams, but to me they taste about as flavorful as sitting next to someone who is eating ice cream. The yogurt has a richer flavor, it's whipped, so it doesn't need to be thawed at all before you eat it, and the serving size is just right to scratch an itch. It’s a 140-calorie snack that keeps me from wanting to eat 1000 calories of Ben and Jerry’s every day.
• Low-cal tortilla pizzas are a new staple in my meal rotation. A couple of 60 calorie tortillas, some pizza sauce (or barbecue sauce), a 70-calorie pack of chicken breast and 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese split between the two pizzas, and it's just enough to keep me from ordering delivery and eating an entire deep-dish pizza in a couple of settings.
• My other go-to, when I'm ravenously hungry for no reason is riced cauliflower. I can toss a bag of frozen riced cauliflower in the microwave, top it with a little stir-fry or curry, and be absolutely stuffed for under 300 calories. I'm not in love with the flavor, but it's growing on me, and it keeps the bingeing at bay.

Words of Encouragement: Wherever you are in your journey right now, I want you to know that I am proud of you. Whether you’ve been logging faithfully and sticking to your plan for years, or you just started and feel like you may have messed up by eating too many calories for breakfast this morning, the fact that you are here, reading, and looking for inspiration means that some part of you believes that success is possible. Listen to the inner voice that wants you to succeed. I’ll be cheering you on as I work my way to my 300-day update.

Time4Coffee

So inspired by your story! And thanks for sharing your tricks. I'll have to try the frozen Yoplait Whips idea.

Megan_smartiepants1970

What an awesome transformation ...Well done and Congrats

socajam

Thank you and you have done wonderful - the changes that are showing through your clothes, your features etc make you look so alive
It's amazing when we lose weight, how our face suddenly comes alive with this bright spark in our eyes and right now that's what I see in you
Keep up the good work, it's not easy as you said. I lost 24lbs some years ago, lost myself so now I am back trying to lose 30lbs and keep diabetes at bay.
It's going ok, some days I relapse, then realize that I need to return because failure is not an option when I know what will be waiting for me if I do not lose this weight

1poundatax

What a great story. Thank you for sharing it. You look amazing.

goal06082021

I remember the Yoplait Whips! Didn't know they still made those. I never thought to freeze them - I might have to give that a try.

Your progress is amazing and inspiring. See you on May 16th!

mel49e

awesome , you look fantastic you can tell you have lost a lot of weight well done x

mrmota70

Congrats. Going strong.... Keep us updated.

142jmh

Amazing work! You have a tremendous attitude, and I so enjoyed reading about your journey! I'm cheering you on towards your day 300 update

StartingOver_4RealzThisTime

Love, love, love! You are an inspiration. Congrats. Your hard work is paying off. I can't wait to be able to write my success story.

Inez305

Wow you are so inspiring. I am about the same weight you are now having lost 22 lb so far. When I think of how far you have come to get to this weight I have so much for respect for you . If I think about how far I have to go it is a little daunting but I feel as if we are doing this together and we will both make it. I am going to commit to posting on your 300 day update and hopefully we will both have good stories to tell.

ggeise14

So wonderful for you! Definitely sounds like you are making the right steps to a healthier you.

mojo2325

such a great inspiration! thanks for sharing... the plateau's are hard for sure... I am there. But knowing you kept with it and found it move again, is super encouraging. Thanks for taking time to share

mojo2325

such a great inspiration! thanks for sharing... the plateau's are hard for sure... I am there. But knowing you kept with it and found it move again, is super encouraging. Thanks for taking time to share

mojo2325

such a great inspiration! thanks for sharing... the plateau's are hard for sure... I am there. But knowing you kept with it and found it move again, is super encouraging. Thanks for taking time to share.

mojo2325

such a great inspiration! thanks for sharing... the plateau's are hard for sure... I am there. But knowing you kept with it and found it move again, is super encouraging. Thanks for taking time to share.

springlering62

This excellent post should be stickied. Well done!

And I think I just had a yoplait epiphany.

SCSTWG

Great post. Keep up the good work.

creationscrown

Oh my goodness! So inspiring! Stay with it, you can do it!!

ninerbuff

Amazing and great job. Success like this is what people who struggle need to hear. Congrats.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

misplacedmama

This is incredibly inspiring and wonderful to read! I, too, am approaching my weight loss journey with the mindset of letting out take as long as it takes. I'm focusing on making a sustainable lifestyle change rather than dropping pounds as fast as possible. It's so great to read a success story from someone who has done it the same way I'm hoping to! Thank you so much!