Doing it differently this time

spacetreemonkey

Hi there!

In the past I have:
-Had disordered thoughts about body image and food
-Had extreme all or nothing thinking
-Strived to be the smallest I could be while being healthy
-Overexercised
-Started hundreds if not thousands of diets
-Skipped meals (would have been considered fasting if I had been older, but I was in highschool, and not getting enough food for a growing girl. Not sure how long this lasted, may have been a week, may have been several months)
-Struggled with neurodiversity, but didn't realise until I was diagnosed with a few things
-Prioritised weightloss above everything else, didn't do things for years because I wanted to focus on losing weight, but didn't have enough discipline to stick with anything long term
-Avoided being photographed
-Didn't wear clothes I liked and was photographed in unflattering photos, making me look much bigger than I was (mostly a problem as a kid/teenager, before I got my own money)
-Was bullied for half my life
-Avoided doing things until I was thin
-Never really wore a bikini
-Overeating and oversnacking (didn't technically binge, but I ate a LOT)
-Snacking a lot at night time. Probably eating 5000+ calories in one sitting. 2-3 times a week.
-Didn't play sports after getting harrassed by other females
-Never had a boyfriend

Now I'm doing things differently:
-I've found snacks that are similar to what I was eating before, but are lower calorie and are healthier
-Have cut toxic people out of my life
-Realised I don't have to be thin to enjoy myself. If something is worth doing, I can do it at a higher weight and again when I've reached my goal. Life is now!
-Am on the path to quitting soda and energy drinks for health reasons
-Trying to make more food at home and buy less processed ingrediants
-Trying not to buy fast food unless it's an emergency/very special occassion
-Seeing junk foods as birthday foods or things I only have 2-3 times a year
-Have gone to the movies a few times without purchasing food
-Remember that doing something small is better than doing nothing
-Setting two or three small goals a day to focus on, and building on them if I am motivated to
-Have people I check in with every week
-Been on this lifestyle consistently for two or three months now, instead of stopping and starting ten times
-Set a deadline for my weightloss, after that I will add other things in my life to focus on
-Started doing things I want to do
-Gotten support for my mental health
-Stopped snacking all the time
-Made friends with similar backgrounds to me
-Picked a goal weight that is towards the higher side of the bmi range, because once I've lost the weight, I can build muscle and smoke some of the fat away, and I can always reevaluate
-Am trying to take more photos, even if they are just progress pictures
-Only wear clothes I love, that are flattering
-Joined the gym and pools

Feel free to send a message if you relate to me, have any advice for me (may or may not be taken) or would like to be a friend or mentor. Apologies in advance for all the stupid/obvious questions I will ask in the forums. I still have a lot to learn. I have lost 16kg from my highest weight and still have about 32kg to get to my goal weight.

spacetreemonkey

Sorry, not sure why my posts are coming out as double spaced? maybe it's the web browser I'm on?

spacetreemonkey

I've also stopped banking calories (for now, we'll see how that goes), and I have started a new account and am only using food entries I've checked the food labels for, things from the USDA website and items I've inputted myself. I was eating random things my family would buy with no nutritional information, whether it was homemade or brought and it was annoying me, because I would pick a random entry from the food data base so I didn't know how accurate it was. I will now enter quick kilojoules on the food diary page to add random things so I'm not using the wrong entry more than once. Also, if someone offers me something, I'll try a small bit of it before deciding whether I will commit to eating it, and if I don't like it, I'll have something tastier at home, that I know I will actually enjoy.

Sand_TIger

Fantastic! I can say from experience that much of what you are doing is proven to work. I love how you are finding smaller, attainable goals. It's so tempting to take on too much and then burn out - far better to do things you can stick with, long term. Great going.

spacetreemonkey

Sand_TIger wrote: »

Fantastic! I can say from experience that much of what you are doing is proven to work. I love how you are finding smaller, attainable goals. It's so tempting to take on too much and then burn out - far better to do things you can stick with, long term. Great going.

Thank you sand tiger! The first step was admitting I had no idea what I was doing and needed help. Then taking small steps because it inspired me to do more (success spirals). I think I still tend to overdo it, but I'm finding it easier to stay within my calories.

Sand_TIger

"spacetreemonkey wrote:

Thank you sand tiger! The first step was admitting I had no idea what I was doing and needed help. Then taking small steps because it inspired me to do more (success spirals). I think I still tend to overdo it, but I'm finding it easier to stay within my calories.

That's wonderful! I like the idea of success spirals and totally get what you mean. Success can be a skill you have to learn and usually has the foundation of good habits.

PinUpDreamer926

this is like reading my own thoughts!
2.5 months and staying consistent! We got this!

spacetreemonkey

PinUpDreamer926 wrote: »

this is like reading my own thoughts!
2.5 months and staying consistent! We got this!

I hope you are doing better now! 2.5 months is excellent progress, well done :-) we're gonna make it all the way this time!!!

brussell2sprout

That is so wonderful! Your new way seems like a wonderful road to success! Getting back on track myself. I listen to the Chris Terrell podcast. He has great tips and I love his philosophy. Maybe you can check it out and get some helpful tips. He uses this app as well.