Introducing myself

missionofsisyphus

Hi everyone!
I joined the community 10 years ago but have only been actively using this app since the beginning of the year. I gained 30 pounds between 2021 and 2023 while in grad school and an unhealthy relationship where I was constantly sick and under a ton of stress.
I stopped drinking (for the most part) last September and just from that I lost 7 pounds. My relationship ended on New Years and honestly I haven't had much of an appetite, so I decided to just capitalize on that and start a low-calorie diet! I'm now only 5 pounds away from the weight I was when I started grad school. My physical health has made it hugely challenging to get back to the fitness levels I was at before school, so I've been relying on calorie counting to loose weight. In addition, I've almost completely cut out refined sugar and gluten. I also only have one solid large meal a day and some healthy snacks. The rest is a nutrient-rich protein shake.
I'm under a massive amount of stress right now and I tend to crave sugar and super starchy foods and fried foods when I'm stressed - which just adds to the anxiety and creates a vicious cycle.
So I'm posting here to get more active in the community and hold myself accountable so I don't start forming bad habits, when my goal is so close.
After I get back to my usual weight and school is over, my next goal is to get back into running/cardio an get my fitness back up. I'd love to reduce body fat percentage. I got a scale that measures that. I find that I'm more likely to keep up with healthy habits if I have a goal I'm always working towards. For example when I used to be a runner it was shortening the time it takes me to run a mile.
I don't want to loose motivation, so, here I am!

nossmf

Welcome to the forums!

blisterpeanuts

I'm similar. After years away, I've come back to myfitnesspal and am religiously recording calories. Since March 1 of this year, I've lost 8 lbs, roughly a pound a week, which is about the pace I want.

I'm hoping to reach my goal weight by January or so, and then up my calories from 1200 to a maintenance level of 1600 or 1800 (not sure yet which is correct).

Stress is a big problem for a lot of us; I also eat "comfort food" when feeling stressed out.

I would recommend not waiting on cardio until you reach a particular weight goal. Just go ahead and do something, anything, to get your heart pumping. Go for a brisk 20 minute walk at lunchtime, do a few pushups, join the gym and hit the elliptical or bike machine for 30 minutes. It will speed your weight loss, release more endorphins to relieve feelings of stress and anxiety, help you sleep, etc.

missionofsisyphus

@blisterpeanuts Sorry I misspoke. I'm not waiting to get to a certain weight to get back to cardio, I'm waiting to finish school. Also I already do build in walks and already have joined a gym. It's a matter of time. Grad school doesn't allow for that. I'm already doing 1 pound per week so I think my pace is fine based on calorie counting alone. And yes of course cardio helps with mental health but if taking time away from coursework to workout causes me to loose sleep to catch up it defeats the purpose.