"Due" for a change

Lenoq

A quick google search of the word "synchronicity" reveals the following:

Synchronicity is a term that is frequently used to represent the process of experiences coming together and forming some sort of meaning. Synchronistic occurrences are formidable and propel us forward with a surge of ephemeral courage.

Well, this morning on my way to drop off my daughters at their respective schools, I thought a little bit about how getting dressed this morning was a challenge. None of my work blazers fit me anymore. And these were blazers that I bought last year, mind you, because last year I had run into the same dilemma and none of my then-existing blazers fit me. It would be a disturbing pattern if allowed to continue, and I had the errant thought that perhaps I should reattempt my weight loss efforts at Weight Watchers.

Here's where then synchronicity comes into play: Upon arriving at my youngest daughter's school, a lady in the lobby remarked: "So, when are you due?"

Ladies and gents, I am not pregnant. I am apparently not due for anything other than a major life change.

While I am a firm believer that you should never ask a lady if she's pregnant (even if you see a lady with a belly registering at labor and delivery in the hospital) and while it was inarguably a humiliating moment, I am so happy it happened.

Something clicked in that moment. My children are not babies. My youngest is growing out of toddlerhood. I have no more excuses. I have no more reasons. It's time to make the change.

I decided then and there that I'd drive to the WW studio nearest me. The one I attended all too briefly a few years ago before learning I had fallen pregnant again. And before gaining another forty pounds.

Wouldn't you know it? It wasn't open. Covid reduced the studio's hours to only two per day.

And that's led me here to MFP. I've tried MFP in the past too without success. But I acknowledge that my heart was not genuinely in it previously. And I also have yet to start on a day when someone has assumed me to be pregnant when not. So I'm thinking this start is different. A better different.

So cheers to my better different start today.

On previous attempts on MFP, I largely ignored the forums and community. That was probably a mistake. I plan to blog/journal my way through it all and be active in the MFP community this go around.

I'd love to make some new MFP friends who will help build my new found motivation back up when it starts to ebb. I'll promise to do the same for you!

goal06082021

Was it Dave Barry who said unless you can see an actual baby emerging from them at that moment you should never assume/insinuate that someone is pregnant, and probably not even then? Ugh. So incredibly rude. I'm sorry that happened to you, but I'm glad you're channeling the experience in a positive direction.

Motivation is only going to get you so far, so I advise you to start reframing your thinking, and try instead to cultivate discipline. You don't need "motivation" to brush your teeth or take out the trash, or wash the dishes or go to work, do you? No, you do it because it needs done. Whether you're going to just count calories or follow a name-brand plan of some kind to create a calorie deficit (WW or otherwise), the key will be to figure out how to keep doing it even when you don't want to, how to make it easy for yourself so staying on-target is the path of least resistance.

For me, the biggest thing I've found that's made staying on-plan easy is a combination of prepping and logging most if not all of my food in advance, including snacks and dessert. Like, I basically do all of my thinking about food all at once on the weekends, and then during the workweek it's just a matter of following the directions I left for myself. I batch-cook breakfasts and lunches (usually burritos for breakfast, lunches rotate through one of 6 dishes week by week - this week it's Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes and broccoli), then plan dinners; I have a dinner rotation as well, with recipes that yield leftovers so 2 or 3 nights are covered, and then fill in the gaps with things I previously made and froze, or quick and easy things like spaghetti with frozen meatballs and sauce from a jar.

I don't usually buy "diet foods," I just weigh out my portions of the real thing (whatever it is), and eat less of it. A food scale is a game changer, too, if you haven't historically used one of those. Grams are infinitely superior to cups and spoons in terms of measuring serving size.

callsitlikeiseeit

Ah yes. When you realize nothing fits. And you're not just saying that because you want new clothes, or just think everything looks bad, but LEGITIMATELY NOTHING FITS. been there. lol

The key in losing weight, and take this from someone who has lost over 192 pounds, is to make small, SUSTAINABLE changes. this is a long term effort. not a sprint. you will not lose weight fast. you will not lose weight every week. you will have weeks on end with NO weight loss. its normal. trust the process.

my main tips:

learn how to weigh (on a food scale) your food properly and find ACCURATE database entries now. I don't know what your starting weight is, but at first you may have a lot of room for error. but as you have less to lose, you don't. If you learn how to do things properly from the beginning, it means you don' have to RE-LEARN how to do it later.

Find an activity you ENJOY. You don't have to be a runner (ew). You don't have to work out at all to lose weight (weight loss happens in the kitchen). BUT... physical activity does have a LOT of benefits. Both mental and physical. It can be as simple as a leisurely stroll a few times a week. And as you lose weight, you may find (I did), that you WANT to do more. Simple, little things like parking a bit further out in parking lots. Taking stairs instead of elevators. walking to your mailbox instead of pulling up to it in your car as you are pulling in your driveway. Small things. Every bit counts.

Understand that you do not have to give up your favorite foods or any food groups to lose weight. You DO need to learn how MUCH you can eat. Portion control. This goes back to my first point. For the most part, I eat the same things I always have. Just less of them. I eat burgers and pizza and chips and cookies. Just ... not all in the same day well, I might could get away with it if I planned it out REALLY well. And stuck to the plan with NO deviation. Maybe. LOL

You will have 'bad' days. Whether its a holiday or just a ... bad day. Life happens. you will go over. It is NOT the end of the world. You will not ruin your deficit with one bad day. The problems come in when that one bad day becomes two, becomes 3, becomes a week, and goes on....

You've got this. Take it one day at a time, and each day, try to do a little bit better. Don't try to do everything all at once. Don't try to make 1000 changes all at once. Most people who burn out, do so because they try to do too much, too soon. start small. build from there. You did not gain the weight quickly. You will not lose it quickly. Better to lose it slowly, and KEEP IT OFF, then lose it quick, and gain it all back and more!

I've been at this a long time. It becomes a part of your life, and like any other habit, you don't think about it much, really. Your eating habits slowly change. You weigh and log your food. Your activity levels (usually) change, at least to some degree. You become more mindful of what you are putting in your shopping cart and body. My one (or two) words of caution is to make these changes slowly. Most people who go 'All in' head first and full steam, burn out quick. Your first couple of weeks, maybe even first month, most people will lose a fair amount fairly quickly, but most of it is water weight (usually from a reduction in carbs). It does slow down, as your body adjusts. It's normal, and is SUPPOSED to happen, so don't get discouraged. Also, don't set your calories too low. The fastest rate of loss (1200 for women and 1500 for men) is not the best rate of loss. Although very tempting to set it to lose faster, it will make it harder for you to maintain and stick to your calorie goals because you will be ... well, hungry. Be kind to yourself, give yourself a few more calories, and you will still lose weight and be less likely to deviate from your plan and therefore more likely to succeed.

Useful Links
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p1

and basically ... all of these

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-health-fitness-and-diet-must-reads#latest