Time to Lose the COVID-19(lbs)

HelPur25

Or is it 30?!?

Prior to COVID hitting the U.S., I was working out with a personal trainer twice a week, teaching yoga class one evening a week, and had a pretty healthy nutrition plan. I admit, in spring '20, I enjoyed taking what I thought was going to be a short break from all of that! I never thought it would continue for so long! So now, here I am, 2 years later and 30 lbs heavier. Why are good habits so difficult to maintain, but bad habits so easy to pick up again?

My 2022 goals are to focus on actions I can take to get my health back. I'm trying to remind myself that it took 2 years to gain 30 lbs, so it may take a while to lose it again. I read recently that losing weight is not an action, it's the outcome of our actions. So, setting a goal of losing weight is illogical. We should set goals of tangible actions that will result in losing weight.

My 2022 goals:
- log my food intake
- practice 16:8 IF
- get 7-8 hrs of sleep each night
- drink more water
- work up to 30 mins of cardio/strength 3x per week
- practice yoga/meditation/breathing exercises 3x per week

I started about 2 weeks ago, and I'm down about 3 lbs. I'm doing well on some of these goals, but still need to incorporate the exercise. I thought it would be easier if I get the nutrition piece down first, and then add the cardio/strength training.

Can anyone else relate? Please join me if you like!

nic0520

Hi! I started 16:8 three days ago and actually finished an 18 hour fast which I think I will stick with or try too. My goals are similar minus the yoga, lol. My biggest problem is follow-through and excuses- like right now I keep coming up with excuses not to start walking again- it always my schedule is weird (11-7) or I have homework to do (I getting my bachelor's degree in business psychology) or its too cold and gets dark early. I would love to help you with motivation and accountablity- will add you
-Nicole

HelPur25

Hi, Nicole! It's really cold where I live, too. So that's an easy excuse!

Another struggle I have is an "all or nothing" mindset. If I eat something that I know I shouldn't, I tend to think the day's plan is ruined, so I may as well eat anything else I want. Then a day turns into a week! I have to stop doing that. I think tracking helps me to see that I can adjust somewhere else, and the day is not truly ruined.

Kind regards,
Helena

ragsibobs

Hi both, I can definitely relate to a lot of this. Before lockdown I was training 4-5 times
per week and maybe a year or two earlier I was also working out with a personal trainer. And then lockdown came and I was working from home (in the kitchen) and I got into a habit of eating high sugar/fat snacks throughout the day. I like the idea of focusing on positive actions to create change. My goal is to choice healthy snacks and to make sure I bring healthy snacks with me too when I do go into the office to avoid going for the biscuits that someone’s brought in (I always get home nary between meals).

Feel free to add me too. My diary is open and my daily target is set to 1800 calories.

Ragnhild

HelPur25

Hi, Ragnhild!

Yes, workplace treats are so tempting. I used to bring my lunch/snacks to work just to avoid the unhealthy things people would leave out for everyone.

I've actually worked from home since 2016, so that part isn't new. It is very easy to wander to the kitchen for snacks, though, whenever you want a break. I now try to play with my dog for a few minutes, or go out and get the mail, or do something else that doesn't involve mindless eating when I need a break.

Let's make 2022 our year!

Best wishes,
Helena

HelPur25

I'm honestly struggling this week with my "all or nothing" mentality. Last weekend, we visited our friends' house for dinner. They're the types who always offer waaaay too much food/snacks/drinks/desserts. My strategy at home is to just not have unhealthy foods on hand so that I won't be tempted.

I really tried to stick to the veggie tray, salad, chicken breast and things like that at their house, but as the night wore on, and they kept offering more tempting items over and over again, my willpower started to dwindle. I guess I can only politely refuse foods that I love 50 times before giving in.

I think I gained back all that I had lost the previous week, and then my subconscious negative thoughts crept in. "Why bother trying this week, since I already blew it last weekend? I may as well eat whatever I want this week, too." My partner has invited them over to our house this weekend, because of course we have to reciprocate their hospitality, and the pattern repeats.

This is my main struggle... socializing while trying to control what I eat. I could just not socialize with "food pushers" but that would severely limit my circle of family and friends, and it's already so limited because of the pandemic.

AnnPT77

HelPur25 wrote: »

I'm honestly struggling this week with my "all or nothing" mentality. Last weekend, we visited our friends' house for dinner. They're the types who always offer waaaay too much food/snacks/drinks/desserts. My strategy at home is to just not have unhealthy foods on hand so that I won't be tempted.

I really tried to stick to the veggie tray, salad, chicken breast and things like that at their house, but as the night wore on, and they kept offering more tempting items over and over again, my willpower started to dwindle. I guess I can only politely refuse foods that I love 50 times before giving in.

I think I gained back all that I had lost the previous week, and then my subconscious negative thoughts crept in. "Why bother trying this week, since I already blew it last weekend? I may as well eat whatever I want this week, too." My partner has invited them over to our house this weekend, because of course we have to reciprocate their hospitality, and the pattern repeats.

This is my main struggle... socializing while trying to control what I eat. I could just not socialize with "food pushers" but that would severely limit my circle of family and friends, and it's already so limited because of the pandemic.

Can I comment? I'm not in your OP target audience, I'm a longtime MFP user who noticed your post. (I used MFP to lose from class 1 obese back in 2015-16, have been here maintaining a healthy weight since.)

This stuff is hard at first, for sure . . . and as you're observing, the "all or nothing" approach can make it even harder. You may not be able to do it yet, but I'd encourage you to strive toward balance, stability, finding routines that are (relatively) easy to sustain, keep you happy . . . and have enough of a calorie deficit in the picture to achieve your loss goals, and enough fun activity to accomplish your fitness goals. That approach puts you on (IMO) a better path toward staying at a healthy weight long term.

You're not going to give up socializing with friends forever, right? (I see some people here do that: It's a bad plan IMO.) And you're not going to be "that person", i.e., the one who tells your friends they have to prep very special things so that you can eat reduced calories while feeling like one of the gang, it sounds like?

So, that puts a priority on learning how you personally, as a unique individual, can handle this sort of thing long term, but accomplish your weight management goals alongside. There is no universal best approach anyone can tell you (some will claim they can). It's all about your personal preferences, strengths, limitations. Work with those. Be wily.

Figuring this out during weight loss, while you have that cushion of a calorie deficit in case of failed experiments, is a good thing.

Failed experiments are a normal, productive part of the process. You try a strategy. If it doesn't work, you learned something. You spend (IMO) no more than 10 minutes thinking of a new strategy that might work better in similar future situations, rehearse it vividly in your head a few times like a mini-movie so it seems real, then you forget about it until the next situation arises.

Guilt and self-recrimination don't burn any extra calories, feel icky, are unproductive. They're also optional. Give those up for Lent, or something sooner. 😉

Next, some things I've learned along the way that may apply for you. This will be about the things I bolded in your post. (This is getting long. I apologize for that!)

One thing I've learned is that the majority of my days determine the majority of my progress. The rare exception days matter way, way less, maybe barely at all. Let's say you're trying to lose a pound a week, sticking to your goal well. Then there's a social event like this one, and things go . . . not as planned 😉.

Log what you ate, even if you have to rely on faulty memory and estimates. Now, you know where you stand. Let's say you ate 1000 calories over your goal, approximately. (That's quite a few calories, as you know, so it's quite possible it was less. But even if more, the principle applies.)

Your 1-pound-per-week loss goal should be giving you a calorie goal about 500 calories below the number of calories it would take to maintain your current weight. But you ate 1000 calories more than that!

OK, so you've erased your deficit for that day, plus erased the equivalent of the deficit from one other day. You've delayed reaching ultimate goal weight by 2 whopping days (😉). You will still lose weight for the week, but instead of one pound, it'll be more like .71 pounds. Is that really a big deal? I think it shouldn't be, as long as it's not on frequent repeat.

However . . . use that as a rationale for having a wild week, because "you've already blown it"? Yup, that'll interfere with progress, especially if done on repeat. (If done once and a while, and you get back on track as soon as you can manage, it's still not the end of the universe. The train hasn't derailed until you stop trying. If things go wrong occasionally, it just slowed that train's progress: You'll get to goal a few days later. Meh.)

Now, about thinking that you gained back all that you'd lost. It's unlikely, even if loss had been modest (see math above - cumulatively, you need to be about 3500 calories above your current maintenance calories to gain one pound in theory, and even then it's unlikely to be a whole pound in actuality, for some complicated physiological reasons we don't need to get into here - I could, but this is already long.)

What can happen is that the scale will jump up immediately by several pounds, and make you think you gained it back, or a big chunk of it. In situations like this, bodyweight scales are lying liars that lie, when it comes to fat loss. (This is true even if you have "body fat percent" on your scale. That lies, too.)

In a "rare day or so" scenario, the scale is jumping quickly for two reasons that are not fat gain. (It's fat gain we really care about, right?)

1. Water retention. When we eat more carbs than our usual - even if a perfectly reasonable amount of carbs, from healthy foods - our body needs to hold onto a little more water while it's digesting/metabolizing them. The same thing happens when we eat more salt/sodium than normal: Our bodies hang on to some water to balance our internal electrolyte levels. It's water, not fat.

Why worry about water? It'll drop off in a few days to a couple of weeks. Until then, you won't have a view of how much fat might've been gained (other than the math estimates above) . . . but if you get back to your usual habits and calorie goal, it's likely you will've lost that tiny fat regain already, and be back on the losing track.

To learn more about this kind of weirdness, this is a good read, can be reassuring:

https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations

2. Food! You ate extra food, drank extra drinks. Those things have a weight. That weight shows up instantly on the scale. An apple in my stomach weighs as much as it did in my fruit bowl, but now it's part of my body weight. Here's the thing: Most of that weight is just traveling through, on its way to becoming waste. Full digestive transit can take up to 50+ hours, so it could take 2-3 days, maybe more, for the extra food weight to sort itself out.

That, too, is not fat, not worth stressing over. Wait it out.

Now, about repeating patterns, by reciprocating invitations and such.

Think about this as another experiment, in how to handle at home events.

Obviously, you can make calorie-efficient foods for your friends' visit, and they can be pretty delicious. You won't want them to be confronted with just a plate of plain celery sticks. Maybe use this occasion to make or buy some treats that your partner (and maybe your guests) will really enjoy, but aren't your favorite things, easier to limit. It will be a nice, generous treat for your partner, right?

Another option is to (sneakily) make more nutrient dense treats that are still treat-y, so they contribute to your nutritional goals. You'll figure it out, but an example might be adorable little fruit tarts (instead of cake). A calorie-efficient herb-flavored cheese spread, on whole-grain crackers. Mini quiches. Etc.

Maybe mix in strategies like having a glass of water going steadily during the event (or some fancier-looking low-caloric drink) so your hands and body are busy with that, may snack less. Put the non-meal snacks table nearer the guests than you, so you have to stand up, walk past others to get a serving, then walk back to your chair. If your calorie goal isn't too aggressive already, maybe eat an extra 100 calories less each day this week, bank some extra calories to spend during the social event. Take an extra walk or whatever, if you have time, bank those calories, too. Eat lighter earlier in that day (not so little that you pass out!), then use those nutrient-rich treats to get your calories/nutrition. And so forth.

Try stuff. If it doesn't succeed, learn from it, improve the plan, keep going. Over time, you'll figure this out, and all that experimenting/failing/adjusting will set you up for happy long term maintenance.

If you keep going, and keep adjusting gradually in positive directions, you'll accomplish your goals. Only giving up and "going back to normal" stops that from happening. You can find a new normal that's happy and practical . . . or at least I and a bunch of other regular folks here have done that. Trust me, you're at least as capable as a hedonistic aging hippie, old enough to be your granny (probably) like me.

Hang in there. Best wishes!

P.S. This might amuse you, dunno:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10603949/big-overfeed-ruins-everything-nope/p1

HelPur25

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, @AnnPT77! I appreciate your kindness and insight so much! I don't want to have an "all or nothing" mentality. I've just recently come to realize that I do.

Consistency has always been my problem. I'll get really motivated and stick with a plan for 6-8 months, get in reasonably good shape, and then lose that motivation (or simply become overly confident that I can maintain my new weight). Because of this, my weight has fluctuated my whole adult life, and it's now at the highest it's ever been.

I was doing really well with my weight back in 2018 by following keto. Then my doctor told me that my cholesterol was getting really high, and that caused me to panic and threw my nutrition plan all off track. I loved keto and felt really good on it, but I had a few health concerns.

I'm sure you're not old enough to be my grandma! I'm a bit of an old hippie myself, a semi-retired teacher turned yoga instructor.

Congratulations on reaching and maintaining your goal weight! I hope to join you there one day! Maybe I do need to think of it more purely mathematically like you do. I don't tend to think that way, but you made so many excellent points.

Thanks again for your kind response and for taking the time to "talk me off the ledge!" I feel much better and like I have a few more tools in my toolbelt.

HelPur25

Just checking in with anyone who may be following this thread. Things are still going slowly for me. I'm down about 5 lbs in 5 weeks. Not bad, but could be better. I was a little concerned that I blew it at a Super Bowl party, but then I remembered @AnnPT77 's kind and logical words, checked my weight this morning, and... no change.

I also decided to check my body measurements. I recorded them on January 8, and 5 weeks later, every measurement was down .5 to 1.5 inches! (Except my chest, the only place I don't need to lose!) That's some good motivation!

I still need to work on getting back into an exercise routine. It's been cold and snowy where I live, so snow shoveling has still been my main form of exercise. I've also been trying to declutter a little bit of my basement and garage each week, cleaning, throwing stuff out, donating it... so I guess that's exercise, too!

How is everyone else doing?