How did you win the day?

katylockett · January 12

I was thinking this morning - What if someone said to me 'I have the ability to make it so when you wake tomorrow, you are exactly where you want to be goal wise, all you need to do is live today, just today, achieving each of the things you know will get you there' - no brainer right!

So then the lightbulb 💡this is exactly what it takes to get there, the daily win.

For me, thinking of the multiple days and the 'argh this is going to take a lot', is what creates my overwhelm and freeze / self sabotage, so I'm choosing to win each day and create compound wins, to at the very least, actually be on the journey to my goals, as opposed to sitting thinking about my goals and getting no where, but depressed.

So.... my daily question, how did I win the day?

I’m hoping some people might want to share ideas, join in with the accountability factor and create momentum for 2026.

katylockett · January 12

So my first ‘How did I win the day?’

Well I woke up tired and low, almost immediately slipped into thinking of my excuses ‘I’ll start tomorrow’, ‘why bother, nothing is going to change’, just start tomorrow, you can change nothing today’ - argh!

Therefore, if I had any chance today, it needed to be easy wins - I know the systems I can do to prove to myself I can do this:

Planned my food ✔️ (thoughts I want to repeat: I’ve made as easy as possible so I don’t have to think, just stick to plan’, ‘my planned meals make me full and satisfied.’

I walked at lunchtime ✔️ (thoughts I want to repeat: ‘just get started - action, don’t think, just move’).

Kept to my calorie numbers ✔️ (thoughts: I’ve made this easy, just stick to the numbers to win the day).

I had a herbal tea whenever I thought about eating more ✔️ (thoughts: I self soothe by hydrating, breathing consciously and read others inspiring stories on MFP).

I’m not going to sit torturing myself this evening mindlessly scrolling or wasting the evening binge watching tv - I’ll prep my day for tomorrow, have a nice bath and go to bed early to read.

CW: 189.5lbs
GW: 135lbs

Day one: WON ✔️

How was everyone’s else’s day? What did you find helped the most with keeping you accountable today?

AnnPT77 · January 13

This is a great way of looking at it!

To be honest, I'm not sure how I win, personally. I'm in long term maintenance, doing an overall exercise routine pretty similar to what I've done for around 22 years, and using eating routines (including calorie goals) pretty similar to what I've done for over 10 years. Is still doing what I do a win, since it keeps me in a place I want to be? Maybe.

What keeps me accountable? Being the person I want to be in diverse ways, partly - more in sync with my own goals. In an important but boring way, another biggie is having found and grooved in relatively routine pleasant eating and activity habits that add up to calorie balance, decent overall nutrition, and reasonable fitness for my demographic. (I'm 70F.) Once the right habits are in place, they can run almost on autopilot without close daily micromanagement, which is a plus when other parts of life get demanding. (Eventually, they do!)

You're doing great, and I like the common sense in the things you're recoding as your day's wins. Constant perfection isn't essential - maybe isn't even humanly possible? 😉 - but doing well on average the majority of the time, adding up those wins . . . that can lead to major success, over a period of time. At least that's been my experience.

Coincidentally, I started with loss around your current weight (183 pounds in my case, April 17, 2015 😉). I'd been overweight to obese for around 30 years. By a bit under a year later, in 2016, I hit a good weight for me. I've been at a healthy weight and in the same jeans size since, 130-point-something pounds this morning. Weight loss and fitness improvement have brought truly major quality of life improvements for me: Better health markers, better daily life functioning, just general better sense of vitality and well-being.

I'm wishing you success: If your experience is like mine, the results are more than worth the effort required to accomplish them!

katylockett · January 13

Thanks so much AnnPT77! Wow that is a very admirable ‘win’, to be maintaining your goal weight for ten years. Gosh that is such a major acknowledgment that the systems you have setup for yourself work - I can only hope I am able to setup the same processes to achieve this and eventually be on the same autopilot. I definitely know who to ask now though if it’s not clicking! That’s really super, congratulations on your hard work paying off and being able to create the new normal for you at where you want to be - this is the ultimate goal!

katylockett · January 13

Oh gosh, well, day two’s log on the journey of reparenting myself to reach my goals 😂

I woke up feeling good and positive today. Yesterday was a good day, so the plan: Repeat the same process today - easy right!

I planned my food ✔️ (thoughts: I don’t have to think, just stick to plan’, ‘my planned meals make me full and satisfied.’).
Oh jeez, I was hungry this morning - the intrusive thoughts start ‘oh you’ve been good, treat yourself’, ‘just steal calories from later to overeat now’ argh!! I know all these excuses are exactly that, excuses, so today I told them to bugger off, I’m done with feeling regret over a split second choice - I just had today to think about, I’m sticking to plan.

I’ll move for 30 mins at lunchtime (thoughts I want to repeat: ‘just get started - action, don’t think, just move’). I never got to this as work ran over and I barely had 10mins to spare, but I’m not aiming for perfection, just any kind of daily progress, plus I definitely got my steps in today! Not guilty myself or just giving up and scoffing a biscuits instead is a win on this so I’ll take it ✔️

Kept to my calorie numbers ✔️ (thoughts: I’ve made this easy, just stick to the numbers to win the day).
I could have easily over ate today, but I didn’t want today waste the day and what I had been successful with.

I had a herbal tea whenever I thought about eating more ✔️ (thoughts: I self soothe by hydrating, breathing consciously and read others inspiring stories on MFP).
I’ve had four herbal teas today 😂 whatever works right? 🤷🏻‍♀️

But today’s biggest win has been this evening - how many of you have signed up for / said yes to something when you’ve been loving the ‘idea’, but then the event comes rounds and are like ‘omg why did I say I’d do this’ lol??

Well that has been my thought process as this evening has been looming argh! The truth is, I am very aware I have been hiding. I am embarrassed of my weight, I don’t want people to see me until I’ve ‘sorted’ this out, but the other flip side truth is, I know it’s not healthy to isolate, so on a ‘this is a good idea’ moment, I signed myself up for a new local choir eeek - I had been very back and forth on this today, but I had said I would go, so I went and surprise, surprise, I enjoyed myself 😂 Really pleased I pushed myself to do this.

I’m currently enjoying yet another herbal tea as I type this and decompress - snacking was my celebration treat, comfort crutch and every other excuse I could use to justify it, but no longer, I am now a herbal tea addict (or so I’ll keep telling myself until I believe it🥴).

Day two: WON ✔️

SW: 189.5lbs

CW: 186lbs

GW: 135lbs

Delighted with the loss showing on the scales this morning 👍👍

How was everyone’s else’s day? What did you find helped the most with keeping you accountable today? What’s the biggest challenge you’ve pushed yourself to do lately?

katylockett · January 14

Day three 👍👍 & a lovely positive mood, feeling good about the day ahead - planning a nice walk at lunchtime today and with one eye on the weekend already, I was having a nosey at some ideas on things to do go get me out and about - anyone tried Geo catching?? Looks like a fun way to get out and about - I’m thinking I might try my luck at this at the weekend to get my steps in 🤷🏻‍♀️

I planned my food ✔️ (thoughts: I don’t have to think, just stick to plan’, ‘my planned meals make me full and satisfied.’).
I’m noticing a pattern - I could just eat and eat and eat on my first meal of the day, but if I hold off and wait for my brain to kick in instead for just going with that I realise I’m actually full. I think my brain is just slow on the ‘up take’, is this a normal thing or maybe something I’ve just been ignoring with over eating for so long?

I’ll move for 30 mins at lunchtime ✔️ (thoughts I want to repeat: ‘just get started - action, don’t think, just move’). I had a really lovely walk this lunchtime - had a few split seconds of ‘argh just have lunch and relax instead’, but I stuck to my, don’t think, just move mantra 👍👍 nice to get out on the hills today!

Kept to my calorie numbers ✔️ (thoughts: I’ve made this easy, just stick to the numbers to win the day).
Same as yesterday - I could have easily over ate today, but it’s getting easier with the realisation of just wait 30mins and I’ll feel full. This is a big win in the comfort zone of what I’m trying to do!

I had a herbal tea whenever I thought about eating more ✔️ (thoughts: I self soothe by hydrating, breathing consciously and read others inspiring stories on MFP).
Although I didn’t ‘need’ as many as yesterday, I found myself looking forward to my cuppa just now after dinner 😂

Today’s biggest win was the noticing the hold off for 30 mins and don’t over eat, this is a great tool to stop me overeating and relax my ‘food noise’.

To avoid torturing myself with doom scrolling and / or mindless tv plus thoughts of having a nibble / snacking this evening, my plan is a nice bath & a podcast (loving the ‘Huberman Lab’ pod cast at the moment, it’s great to understand the science behind the struggles 😂 makes me feel normal), then off to bed to read.

I’m feeling very chuffed with myself this evening, today has been a good day and another day where I have proved to myself I can do it, I just stick to plan and get to the end of the day.

I saw this today and it’s definitely ringing true for me:

Day three: WON ✔️

SW: 189.5lbs
CW: 183.25lbs
GW: 135lbs

Another loss on the scales this morning 🥳

How was everyone’s else’s day? What did you find helped the most with keeping you accountable today? What’s your ‘go to’ pod cast?

AnnPT77 · January 14

I agree that mindset is super important! Hidden Brain (a radio/podcast series) had a couple of episodes I really enjoyed. The may be available in your favorite podcast app, but the web links are here:

https://www.hiddenbrain.org/podcast/reframing-your-reality-part-1/

https://www.hiddenbrain.org/podcast/reframing-your-reality-part-2/

(Other Hidden Brain episodes are pretty great, too, IMO, but topics vary.)

One of my friends used to do geocaching and really enjoyed it, not sure whether she still does it. I haven't tried it, but it sounded pretty fun. Another thing some people do around here to make walking more fun is Pokémon GO. I haven't tried that, but I'm not a big walker (bad knees) so usually choose other types of exercise over walking. I mostly row (boats when I can, machines when I must 😉) and bike (similar biases for outdoor vs. stationary bike). Uusally I do some strength training in Winter, too, after the holidays, but haven't buckled down to that yet this year.

It sounds like you're developing some good tactics for managing appetite and making progress, which is excellent. One thing I'd say from experience is to be cautious about to avoid over-emphasizing the scale.

For one thing, there will be multi-pound ups and downs in weight for reasons that have zero to do with body fat level. (They're about changes in water retention and waste in the digestive tract.) Since it's not about fat, there's no reason to let it be a worry. If calories or huge drops in activity level don't explain a short-term weight gain/loss, it isn't fat, so not worth worrying about.

The second thing is that fast weight loss can be a trap: It's harder to stick with long term - long enough to lose a meaningful total amount of weight. In addition, truly fast loss increases health risks. It's not guaranteed that bad things will happen of course, but it does increase the chances. I accidentally lost too fast at first, felt great, energetic, not hungry, then after a few weeks suddenly hit a wall. I was noticably weak, fatigued. Even though I corrected quickly, ate more as soon as I realized, it took several weeks to recover. No one needs that. I was lucky that nothing worse happened, actually, other than maybe a little hair thinning a few weeks down the line, since that usually seems to be a delayed rather than immediate possibility. (There can be worse consequences of too-fast loss, unfortunately.)

I'm not trying to be scary here, or discourage you. Reaching and staying at a healthy weight has been a major quality of life improvement for me. I want that for you, too! The loss is important, but so is a long-term sustainable method. Sometimes a gradual but smooth loss rate can get a person to goal weight in less calendar time than some more extreme "lose weight fast" plan that eventually can cause bouts of deprivation-triggered over-eating, breaks in the action, or in the worst case even giving up altogether if it just gets too hard. FWIW, it took me just under a year to lose 50 pounds.

All that said, a pretty common effect is to see a very steep weight drop in the first week or so, then things slow down a bit. (That's also mostly a water weight/waste effect.) Some people even see a pseudo stall a couple of weeks in when water retention re-balances.

But at the right calorie level, fat loss is happening for sure. It's just that it takes several weeks on a new regimen to see the multi-week trend that's the real indicator of fat loss. Even as a person who's weight stable, my daily weight has been up and down over a 5.5 pound range in the past month primarily from water/waste fluctuations. That's not low at the beginning, high at the end, or vice-versa . . . just random stuff along the way. Today's weight is actually only 0.2 pounds different from the same day last month. That's the weight of less than a quarter cup of water!

I guess my win for yesterday was pushing myself in my breast cancer survivor rowing team practice. Having been active for a long time now, my plan is to exercise 6 days most weeks (always one rest day), and in this sesonal phase make one workout quite intense, and the others more moderate. That's how us rowers tend to work on cardiovascular fitness, especially over the Winter. It was challenging, but I got my intense workout in yesterday. 😊

I also stayed within my calorie goal - hit it exactly in fact, zero remaining, even though it's OK with me to be up or down a bit day to day, and look more at my weekly average. I hit my nutrition goals - exceeded protein and fats, the ones that contain essential nutrients, so a good thing; and hit my veggie/fruit minimum of 400g daily (with 653g yesterday), but not my stretch goal of 800+. That'll do. Keep in mind, my goals are based on maintenance calories, not weight loss calories! Not everyone does have or should have the same goals: They're personalized.

You are doing really well. Keep thinking, keep experimenting and finding tactics that work for you: That's perfect.

Best wishes!

P.S. Don't worry, I'm not going to pester you every day on your thread. Mostly, I just want to comment on how well you're doing, the common sense way you're thinking about it, and wish you continuing good progress.

katylockett · January 15

Many thanks Ann for the recommendations - I found these two podcast episodes and that's them book marked for my next listen; these look good and got me thinking they’ll be a good listen to get some skills in the bag for the not so easy / challenging days which will inevitably come with day to day life. I've also downloaded Pokeman Go - it looks like fun!

Thanks so much for your advice on the scales and the rate of loss - I'm being quite strict with my numbers, but I never end up too far under (maybe around 10 - 30 cals) at the end of each day, I'm sure there will be days when I am a bit over as well, but I'm really trying to keep in mind that perfection is not the goal, I just have to keep winning the day in any way I can. I have my MFP diary set at 1200 / day, but then with my walking this usually takes me to around 1350 or so - I do love my food lol, so I have been focusing on hitting my protein, fibre and fat goals with as much clean, whole foods as I can, this way I'm finding I get a good volume on my plate for the calories I'm sticking too. Do you mind if I ask what your calorie intake was when you felt your drop in energy?
That's really encouraging you said it took you about a year - that was what I had in my mind and thought I’d be looking at time wise and although yes, it would be great to wake up tomorrow and be at my goal weight, to be honest though I need the time to engrain the better habits. I definitely don't feel ready to take the training wheels off yet!

Your wins yesterday sound great! Rowing sounds so idyllic, which I'm sure it is - after the intense workout lol!

Absolutely not pestering at all, I really appreciate you taking the time to share advice and what's worked / working for you - it's really motivating, so thank you again!

AnnPT77 · January 15

@katylockett, my intake when I got weak and fatigued was 1200 plus exercise, so more like 1500-1600 most days. That was at age 59, 5'5" tall, around mid-150s pounds (because I didn't join MFP until part way through loss), and pretty sedentary outside of exercise. Many women that size who are older do need the 1200 goal in order to lose weight, and can do so safely and happily. It turned out that I was one of the rare people who requires more calories than average for my demographics, way more than MFP predicted. (That's why the too-fast loss was described as "accidental" in my PP.)

I switched to more like 1400-1600 plus exercise (so 1700-2000 eaten most days), and that was enough to make the difference. I stayed around that level until I needed to slow down my weight loss as I was getting lighter, because we can only metabolize a certain amount of fat daily per pound on our body, so it's safer to lose slower when at a much lighter weight.

1200 may be right for you, I don't know. Many woman arrive here shooting for 1200, though, when it may not be the best, most health-promoting, most sustainable level. The key thing is actual loss rate. One common rule of thumb offered by some here is to avoid losing more than 0.5-1% of current weight per week, with a bias toward the lower end of that range unless severely obese and under medical monitoring for nutritional deficiencies or health complications.

When I first started at 183 pounds, that range would've been from just under a pound per week at the low end to just under 2 pounds per week at the high end. Like many starting out, I wanted to lose weight fast, so was losing close to 2 pounds a week for a while. Adding a too-fast goal to a body that it turned out required more calories than average? It wasn't the greatest idea ever, in my case.

One thing to know about the nutrition goals is that the percents are a convenient rule of thumb that work OK for average people who are eating enough calories. Our bodies actually need certain minimum gram amounts of protein and fats. There's no way to get adequate nutrition at way-too-low calories, no matter how perfectly the percentage goals are hit. There's evidence that we benefit from more protein when losing weight vs. when not, too. A rule of thumb you may see among folks here for protein is to shoot for at minimum something in the range of 0.6-0.8g per day per pound of healthy goal weight. Ideas about fats are more varied, but I go for 0.35-0.45g per pound.

Unlike protein and fats, carbs don't contain "essential nutrients" in the sense that we absolutely need to eat a certain minimum of them, because our bodies can manufacture carb-equivalents out of other intake when necessary. The same isn't true for protein and fats, which contain essential amino acids (EAAs) and essential fatty acids (EFAs) that our bodies can't manufacture out of anything else, so we need to eat some. Carbs can be more of a personal preference thing, based on how we feel energy- and appetitie-wise.

I have to admit, I don't think of the calendar as a weight loss tool, despite thinking in terms of aiming for X per week. I'm glad to hear you focusing on finding and practicing routine habits that can continue long-term to stay at a healthy weight permanently. I feel like that "habit finding and practicing" thing is much more important than whether it takes 6 months or 10 months (or whatever) to reach a good weight. Sure, if someone is so obese that weight itself is a significant health threat, faster loss may be necessary from the standpoint of balancing the risks of fast loss with the risks of excess weight. That's kind of where suggesting medical supervision enters into it.

I'm sorry, I'm rambling again! 😬 I hope I answered your questions in there somewhere.

And yes, rowing is very fun - on water, more than on machines . . . but I don't want to start over from zero every year in the Spring, so Winter workouts are part of my firm plan, as long as I stay physically capable.

katylockett · January 15

oh my gosh @AnnPT77 thanks so much this is such helpful advice - the protein and fat grams / lbs I had no idea to even adjust this, I was just sticking to the general percentages. I will drill down on this in the morning and see where I’m landing - sorry to pester you with more questions, but should I base my ideal grams per pound on my goal weight (the 135) or my current weight at 182?

Thank you again for the heads up on potentially hitting a wall and the numbers in terms of daily calories, it’s very early days but I’m feeling good at the moment with the 1200 + my exercise calories, but I will pay close attention to my energy levels and up my cals if needed - I’ll still be in a deficit and on the right path even if I adjust.

Thanks again for your help, much appreciated!

katylockett · January 15

Day four and another positive mood today 🥳 although I was feeling a bit nervous because I had to go food shopping today. I had a good list and my plan was to not deviate - in particular not buy processed snacks!

I planned my food ✔️ (thoughts: I don’t have to think, just stick to plan’, ‘my planned meals make me full and satisfied.’).
I have been hungry earlier than my meal times today, but I’m not snacking or over eating. I kept to plan at lunchtime 👍 Dinner was later due to getting shopping in and being home late, so I changed plan to make it quicker. I subbed out some planned food, but I feel happy with the way I coped with this - previously I would have just thrown in the towel and over ate.

I’ll move for 30 mins at lunchtime ✔️ (thoughts I want to repeat: ‘just get started - action, don’t think, just move’). I had to get some housework done today, so tunes on 🎶 and cracked in with it 🧹

Kept to my calorie numbers ✔️ (thoughts: I’ve made this easy, just stick to the numbers to win the day).
Same as yesterday on this one and I’m not listening to the ‘just have more’ self sabotage thoughts - held off for the fullness to kick in. My subbed dinner which pushed me a little over my cals today, but I’m still on track for losing even at this little over.

I had a herbal tea whenever I thought about eating more ✔️ (thoughts: I self soothe by hydrating, breathing consciously and read others inspiring stories on MFP).
I was more on the coffee today than the herbal tea - not as hydrating, but i was craving the caffeine today 🤷🏻‍♀️

No time to torture myself this evening with doom scrolling and / or tv with going to the shops after work - it’s dinner, bath and bed for me 😴

Today’s biggest win was sticking to my shopping list - I did not hang around in the shop and kept my head down to just get the things I needed. Argh the temptation, I noticed me getting irritated by how much sugar and processed food is tempting - I’m aware I may be being irrational 😂, but going around the shop tonight, it’s like all this ‘stuff’ is designed to make the general population fail in resisting. Any one got any insights on this 🙏 or is white knuckling just the way to live through these moments - I’m sure it’ll become easier 🥴

All in all though today was a really good day 🙂 it just flagged up an area where better systems are needed to cope with less resistance, which is a good thing - I’m going to take dinner to have at work, so I’m not late shopping hungry next week 👍

Day four: WON ✔️

SW: 189.5lbs
CW: 182.25lbs
GW: 135lbs

Almost in the ‘12’s’ again 🙂

I hope it was a good day for all! Let me know how you cope in the shops and any tips that keep you from buying things you’ll regret later - any advice gratefully received 🙏

AnnPT77 · January 15

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48901392#Comment_48901392

You can use healthy goal weight as the base for those calculations. BTW, it's not necessary to be exactly exact every single day on macros. Pretty close on average the majority of the time should be fine.

You seem level-headed, so you probably realized that. Every once in a while here we see someone who is thinking that macro goals are like a mysterious magic spell that must be absolutely exact in every detail every time, or bad things will happen. Nope.

Protein is probably the most important to get close (still not necessarily exact) routinely, since obviously our bodies have wonderful storage mechanisms for fat, but not so much for reuseable protein. It's true that body fat doesn't have the EFAs or Omegas we need when we burn it, but the storage mechanism maybe gives us a bit more wiggle room about timing.

Obession over details is never good, of course, because mental health is also important!😉

If you find you want to adjust your macro goals, and are using free MFP, you can only do adjustments in 5% increments. If that's the case, just pick the percent that puts you reasonably close with base calories, then proceed with the "pretty close on average most of the time" idea - at least that would be my advice.

All the best!

katylockett · January 16

@AnnPT77 it turns out I'm doing well on my grams of protein (averaging in the 80 - 90 gram per day mark), but my grams of fat is averaging low (averaging in the 30's for grams per day) - I wonder though, do you think this maybe the reason why I am dropping quickly on the scale? If so, I'd be tempted to continue at the 30g ish / day mark, to then increase on maintain days, but I don't want to do anything stupid that'll cause me bother later down the line - sorry again for pestering with questions!

katylockett · January 16

Day five 🙌

Oh man, I did not sleep very well last night and I’m very aware of danger zone that put me in today in terms of comfort eating and nipping to the shop for snacks 😬 I was determined to keep my mantras front & centre to avoid self sabotage ruining progress.
Im posting earlier today because I’m off out to a friends for dinner tonight, so that’ll keep me on the straight and narrow food wise. The challenge - I want to stick to a 2 drink limit tonight 🥴 I don’t want to be drinking calories plus I want to feel good in the morning - watch this space!

I planned my food ✔️ (thoughts: I don’t have to think, just stick to plan’, ‘my planned meals make me full and satisfied.’).
This is a good pattern now - hungry, but I stuck to plan = satisfied & on track 👍👍

I’ll move for 30 mins at lunchtime ✔️ (thoughts I want to repeat: ‘just get started - action, don’t think, just move’). I had a lovely walk at lunchtime today ❄️ chilly, but great to get out and get the steps in.

Kept to my calorie numbers ✔️ (thoughts: I’ve made this easy, just stick to the numbers to win the day).
As I’m not preparing my dinner tonight I’m not able to truly know this number today, but I’m not over thinking this - it’ll be what it’ll be, it’s nice to get invited out for my dinner 🙂

I had a herbal tea whenever I thought about eating more ✔️ (thoughts: I self soothe by hydrating, breathing consciously and read others inspiring stories on MFP).
Again more on the coffee today. I would have had my usual evening cuppa, but as I’m off out - I will have a glass of water before bed though 👍

Today’s biggest win will be sticking to my two glass limit - watch this space!!

Another great day today - very glad it’s Friday and looking forward to the weekend!!

Day five: WON ✔️

SW: 189.5lbs
CW: 181lbs
GW: 135lbs

In the ‘12’s’ again!! 🥳 I’m really surprised by the loss on the scale again this morning - I was expecting it to start to slow down, but I’ll take it!

I hope it has been a good week for all! What’s your biggest tip for keeping on track at the weekends? I’m going to get all my steps in and probably drink my body weight in herbal tea, but I’m interested to hear how other people manage.

Hope it’s been a fab Friday for all!

AnnPT77 · January 16

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48902085#Comment_48902085

Glad to hear the protein's on point! That's about what I was getting (at 5'5") at a calorie deficit when losing weight . . . at least once I got my macros tuned in on lower calories, which did take a brief period of habit adjustment in my case, probably partly because I'm vegetarian.

I doubt that the reason you're dropping fast is low fat intake. Since I think you're only a brief period into this, one common thing that a subset of people see at first is a big scale drop that's only partly body fat loss.

What is it, then? There are several reasons.

When we move to calorie-reduced eating, many of us reduce the actual volume of food we eat. That results in less digestive waste in the digestive tract on average, and waste on the way to the exit has weight. Less waste in transit, lower body weight.

The bigger factor, in cases where a fast initial weight loss happens, is about water retention. A common thing, to reduce calories, is to reduce carb intake (whether we think of it as "reduced carbs" or not). For example, I cut down on my portion size or frequency of things like bread, pasta, rice, etc. Those aren't "bad foods", and I still eat some, but they were foods that were less important to me for happiness, feeling full or getting good total nutrition, so those were easy reductions for me.

To digest/metabolize a gram of carbohydrates, our body needs to hold onto 3-4 grams of water (carboHYDRATEs, y'know? 😉). That water has weight on the scale. Reduce carb intake, water retention drops, scale drops. People who choose very-low-carb or keto eating plans tend to see very large short-term scale weight drops because of this. Some misinterpret it as having dropped lots of body fat fast, woo-hoo!!! Yeah, no.

A third possibility is that there's been a reduction in salt/sodium, which also affects needs for water retention. This is probably more likely to happen to people who've been eating more fast food, snack foods products, or ultra-processed food, which often is higher in salt than plainer home-cooked foods. Loosely, our bodies like to keep electrolytes like salt at a particular level in our tissues, so they sort of hold onto some water to dilute the saltiness when necessary.

While you don't have enough experiential data to be sure, the highest probability for dropping weight fast at first is that kind of thing. Fat loss is happening, too, but it's a smaller fraction than the water/waste effects. (Those same effects will cause scale ups and downs through loss and maintenance. Fat gain or loss doesn't really show up unambiguously except in multi-week trends, 4-6 weeks or a whole menstrual cycle for those who have them.

One note, in case others are reading: Another common pattern when people start is no scale loss for a week or few, even though there's a calorie deficit, even though fat loss is happening. I won't go into details about that, but it's a possible scenario, too. We all need that 4-6 week or one whole menstrual cycle experiment to understand what's really happening. Freaking out and frantically changing the plan usually ends poorly by contrast.

Now, about the fat: Fat intake is important for health. We need to eat some. Our body fat contains some of the fat types our body needs day to day, but not the exact right well-rounded picture. It evolved to keep us alive during famines, but what we prefer these days isn't just being alive (a good start, I admit) but we also want to be in excellent health, right? So we need to eat some fats. We need them for healthy hormone production, we need them for digestive throughput, we need them to get the benefits from our fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K).

It is true that when we eat excess calories, our body preferentially stores the fat intake as body fat, rather than going through the more complex processes to store carbs or protein as fat. That's not an issue in calorie deficit, right? It's also true that fat requires fewer calories to digest than protein or carbs. (Calories burned to digest/metabolize foods = thermic effect of food, TEF). That does imply that increasing fat and decreasing carbs will mean burning slightly fewer calories in the digestive process, but in practice it's a tiny number different - not really worth sacrificing health benefits for, and certainly not the reason you're seeing the scale drop fast.

The best plan is to eat the right amount of fats, not to cut them to a minimum, if we want to promote our best health.

Even though I'm rambling again, yikes, a couple more things:

When people drop fast at first, maybe for a couple of weeks, it's not unusual for them to see a scale stall after that. When that happens after a fast initial drop, it's probably not an actual fat-loss plateau (as many who see it believe). It's the body rebalancing water retention on the new routine, hiding fat loss that's still happening, so that the scale holds steady for another week or two. Sometimes the scale even goes up for a bit. It's not a true plateau, it's not regain; if calorie intake doesn't explain it, it's not about body fat at all. It's just water retention weirdness. The right answer is sticking with it patiently with a sensible eating/activity routine, NOT decreasing food intake or increasing exercise. It'll sort out by itself in the overwhelming majority of cases. Drama is optional.
Another reason for the scale dropping fast at first - one reason it happened for me - is that the person actually needs surprisingly more calories than the average person of their size/age/activity level. That's not a common reason, but it's a possible reason. That's the only reason I'd suggest a person might want to adjust their plan before 4-6 weeks/one cycle have elapsed: If they've seen a fast scale drop AND they start feeling weak and fatigued for no other reason.

Ugh, enough ramble!

You are doing GREAT, and I like your level-headed thought processes. Keep up the good stuff.

Best wishes!

AnnPT77 · January 16

P.S. How do othersjjj handle weekends? I'm retired, I don't have weekends. 😆

But seriously: In maintenance, I eat a bit under true maintenance calories most days - not a huge amount, maybe 100 or so calories. That gives me a sort of calorie "bank account" to spend on indulgences now and then.

I didn't do that during loss, when it's a little more difficult to stick with (because of the extra low calories during the week). Some people do it, though.

Mostly what I did during loss was use my multi-week weight loss trend to estimate my actual maintenance calories. If I wanted to indulge for some reason, my thought process was that any time I eat under maintenance calories, I'm losing body fat. What differs is how fast/slow I'm losing it. Since I emphatically don't think the calendar is a good weight loss tool, losing slower, but keeping my life happy and realistic - that's a good thing.

Also during loss, I'd even eat above estimated maintenance calories, very occasionally lots above estimated maintenance calories. I did the rough arithmetic, and decided whether it was worth it, pretty much. Let's say I have a 500 calorie average daily deficit to lose a pound a week. It's my birthday, and I eat 1000 calories over goal calories, which is 500 calories over actual weight-maintenance calories (because I've figured my deficit on the results of my 4-6 week experiment 😉).

What I've done in that scenario is:

Wiped out my deficit for the day of my birthday with the first 500 calories above weight-loss calorie goal. Because of that part, I'll reach goal weight one day later.
Wiped out my deficit for the day after my birthday with the second 500 calories above weight-loss calorie goal. Because of that part, I'll reach goal weight yet another day later. Two days' delay, total.

Now, that arithmetic isn't exact: Usually less of the deficit is erased by unusual very high excess calories on a day or two. (Yes, there's some science behind that possibility.) But it's close enough for decision making, for me. It's sort of the worst case scenario.

To me, sometimes delaying goal weight was worth it, in the big picture. In the example, if I had a great birthday, and eating special things was part of the celebration and my enjoyment, it was worth it.

That arithmetic thing won't work for everyone. I'm a data geek, a woman who likes basing decisions on data, and I can do rough arithemetic like that quickly in my head, so it worked for me. YMMV.

It's different in maintenance of course, but I won't belabor that.

katylockett · January 17

@AnnPT77 Well I cannot believe I had never put that together in my mind ‘carboHYDRATE’ 🤯 - surely not just me 😂!
What great nuggets of information and advice, thank so much!! 🙏

I will definitely up my daily fat grams and keep in mind to not freak out about the scale - although I’m focusing on each day to stay on track, I do have it in my head, this is the long game, it’s about creating solid habits so I can live as healthy and happy as I can.

Thank you so much again for your time and help, it is very much appreciated!

I look forward to the days of maintenance calories when I’ll have enough of a daily count to save a little each day, to then enjoy a little treat every now and then!

katylockett · January 17

Day six 😴 Ok so full disclosure 😂 I do not know how much wine I had last night - nothing mad, but my friends are such fab hosts (they have those magical glasses that every time you look them, they have been magically topped up 😂 🤷🏻‍♀️). No regrets though, I had a lovely night, fab company and gorgeous food (of which I did not over eat 👍👍).

I slept really badly again though, so today’s challenge was sticking to plan - I have been very conscious of my mood today, my mantra has been ‘you don’t need snacks, you are just tired’ 😂🥴

I planned my food ✔️ (thoughts: I don’t have to think, just stick to plan’, ‘my planned meals make me full and satisfied.’).
I switched my days around (due to my lack of energy), and I batch cooked my recipes this morning instead of hiking - that’s me on track for the next few days meal wise👍👍

I’ll move for 30 mins at lunchtime ✔️ (thoughts I want to repeat: ‘just get started - action, don’t think, just move’). I was on my feet in the kitchen for a good part of the day, and I was out for a good hike this afternoon before sun down. Really beautiful sky 😊

Kept to my calorie numbers ✔️ (thoughts: I’ve made this easy, just stick to the numbers to win the day).
I kept to my planned food for the day 🙌 quite proud of myself today, as previously my mood would have dictated my choices and my goal would be out the window.

I had a herbal tea whenever I thought about eating more ✔️ (thoughts: I self soothe by hydrating, breathing consciously and read others inspiring stories on MFP).
A number of lovely herbal teas today - this has been my crutch / soother today 😊

Today’s biggest win was being mindful I’m tired and adjusting, but not to the point where I completely disregarding what I want to achieve.

Day six: WON ✔️

SW: 189.5lbs
CW: 184.75lbs
GW: 135lbs
Aww, it’s a cruel fluctuation when your on the threshold of a weight loss marker - back in the ‘13’s’ again 😂 boo!! I am not over thinking this 🙄 I know it can and will change on a dime again, plus I’ve had two nights of rubbish sleep, along with an evening of unknown calories & wine, so not surprising!

All in all today has been a great day. I enjoyed prepping my meals to stay on track. It was a nice cozy afternoon & lovely walk.
The plan to keep me from snacking this evening is a nice bath and a good film with a herbal tea 😂

Fingers crossed for a great nights sleep tonight!

What does everyone else do on days they are looking for comfort? What’s your ‘go to’ without throwing you off track?

katylockett · January 18

Day seven 😊 and I woke up feeling good after a good sleep 🥳

Feeling great to be at day seven - it’s been one of the best weeks, mood wise I’ve had in a long time, so I’m very pleased at how quickly the new focus is showing positive results.

Today’s challenge was upping my grams of fat and balancing that with my calorie numbers for the day - I’m sure I’m going to have up my ‘out put’ to accomplish the healthy fat gram range, but I’m interested to see & feel the positive impact of this change (I’m going to have to drop a bit of my carb in take to accommodate this, so I’m hoping for a fuller feeling from the upped daily fats and the continued downward results on the scale from the reduction in carbs - time will tell!).

I planned my food ✔️ (thoughts: I don’t have to think, just stick to plan’, ‘my planned meals make me full and satisfied.’).
Meal plan for the day was created first thing and extra fats added 🙌 I was excited at the ‘add in’s’ on my meals today 😂 it’s the small things!

I’ll move for 30 mins at lunchtime ✔️ (thoughts I want to repeat: ‘just get started - action, don’t think, just move’). I’m excited to try my new toy - my walking pad arrived last night!!! I have noticed each year from October through until spring, with darker nights / mornings and work being a bit quieter, my daily movement decreases, so to combat this I now have a walking pad 😊 I had walked 5 miles before the sun was up today 🙌 can highly recommend - this is going to really help with my daily step goals, especially if I only have time first or last thing 👍👍

Kept to my calorie numbers ✔️ (thoughts: I’ve made this easy, just stick to the numbers to win the day).
My planned food for the day worked really well - waited for my full feeling 👍👍

I had a herbal tea whenever I thought about eating more ✔️ (thoughts: I self soothe by hydrating, breathing consciously and read others inspiring stories on MFP).
A couple of herbal teas to bridge the gap from lunch to dinner - did the trick 😊

Today’s biggest win was tonight - I was out at the cinema and I’d usually buy a large popcorn plus chocolates (yum 😂), but that definitely does not supportive of my goals, so instead I only got a large sugar free drink and to be honest it didn’t actually bother me as much as I thought it would - really pleased i kept to plan today 😊

Day seven: WON ✔️

SW: 189.5lbs
CW: 181.75lbs
GW: 135lbs
And I’m back in the 12’s woop woop! 😂🙌👍👍

Today has been another great day. It’s a later night for me than usual with being out this evening, which means I have to be mindful tomorrow of being a little tired (not snacky), but it was worth it! I also proved to myself in another situation that I can make a healthier decision and actually feel good about it, which is another great win 😊👍👍

katylockett · January 19

Day Eight 🙌

Feeling good today after a good sleep, (just could have been longer 😴). I’m a little foggy after a later night than usual last night, but I’ve learned my lesson - that’s my warning sign to double down on the plan today and keep my mantra front and centre, ‘no snacking, you’re just tired’.

Today’s challenge was not freaking out over another scale fluctuation 🙄 I have to admit when I saw that this morning I immediately thought about not reaching for my daily fat grams goal - but it has literally only been one day on higher fat grams 😂so I had a word with myself ‘scales fluctuate, trust the process & stick to my numbers!’.

I planned my food ✔️ (thoughts: I don’t have to think, just stick to plan’, ‘my planned meals make me full and satisfied.’).
My planned food met my target and I did really enjoy the new add in’s for extra fat, but I was definitely snacky today 🙄 i didn’t deviate though, I want to reach my goal more 🙌

I’ll move for 30 mins at lunchtime ✔️ (thoughts I want to repeat: ‘just get started - action, don’t think, just move’). I didn’t get a chance to get out a walk at lunchtime today with having extra errands to run - I was expecting to have to jump on the walking pad after dinner this evening to sort my numbers out, but as it turns out, I’m ‘even’ on my numbers with the steps I did at work today 🥳 sleepy me is happy with that!

Kept to my calorie numbers ✔️ (thoughts: I’ve made this easy, just stick to the numbers to win the day).
My planned food was nice and easy - batch cooking is such a winner for me. I know if I don’t make it easy I will seek the easy / processed option, which will get me no where near my goals. In my head this is a non negotiable, priority now - Planning and prepping gets me to where I want to be 😊

I had a herbal tea whenever I thought about eating more ✔️ (thoughts: I self soothe by hydrating, breathing consciously and read others inspiring stories on MFP).
Surprise, surprise, it was more a coffee day today 😂😴

Today’s biggest win was an impromptu food shopping trip - I will admit, this was torture 😂 my tired mind was screaming at me to grab all my comfort foods, but I was so strong and just got what was on my list. I’m really proud I didn’t give in. I was able to be mindful and keep reminding myself - if I did give in to the sabotaging thoughts I would feel so bad and I want to feel good - my planned meals make me feel good! This is a big progress yay (& phew! 😂).

Day Eight: WON ✔️

SW: 189.5lbs
CW: 183.5lbs
GW: 135lbs
And I’m back in the 13’s, boo! 😂🙄 I feel this is going to be a ‘thing’ for the next week while.

Today has been a good day though and I’m really glad to have got through a tired day with my positive attitude intact and everything still on track 👍👍

Does anyone else have any tips / things they do on the days that their mind is screaming sabotage? What keeps you on track?

AnnPT77 · January 19

YMMV, but I've found that when I switch up my eating routine in some meaningful way, there can be some ups and downs in appetite for a few days or up to a couple of weeks that don't persist long term.

My theory (without scientific evidence 😉) is that my body is kind of like a puppy that gets comfortable with a particular routine, then gets fractious if anything changes, until the new routine becomes the normal routine. 😆 As with the puppy, giving in to the impulse seems to make it take longer to adapt, whereas being firm but fair and consistent sets the new habits into place more smoothly. (That's not a justification for doing extreme things and trying to tough it out, as I'm sure you recognize. It's about reasonable changes that are simply different from past practice.)

I guess that's possibly a tip to counter sabotage? "This, too, will pass"? 😆

Mostly I meant it as maybe applying to the appetite spike in the context of increasing fat intake, at constant calories. BTW, I'm not sure you mentioned how you increased fat. That might matter, too: Avocados and some nuts are higher in fat, but also have some fiber, which many people find filling. Avocados are quite high in fiber, nuts minor, but more than from just adding oils/butter or cheese to the day.

Food shopping is a challenge sometimes. What's helped me is to avoid shopping when hungry, and read labels.

When I was losing weight, avoiding shopping (or other oopsies) when hungry included keeping snacks in my car and desk at work, sometimes purse. The snacks were chosen carefully: Small, shelf-stable, with some nutrition, not hunger-spiking, filling, enjoyable but not so tempting I'd scarf them down just because they were there. I could have a small snack before hitting the store to take the edge off.

Reading labels is pure self-psychology, so may not work for you. Example: I wanted that cinnamon roll until I figured out it had 285 calories! I do eat things like that sometimes, but not every grocery trip. I used to buy some treat most trips, I admit with chagrin.

Hang in there, you're doing great. Ups and downs are normal. On December 18, my weight was exactly the same as it was this morning, January 19, 131.9 pounds. In between, it's been as low as 129.8 and as high as 135.3. All of that was first thing in the morning weigh-ins in consistent clothing (or lack!); if I weighed at other times of day, the fluctuations would be bigger. It's mostly about water and waste fluctuations, not fat gain/loss. During weight loss, there were still fluctuations, maybe a little less dramatic than that because of the backdrop of gradual fat loss in the background. If you have menstrual cycles, your fluctuations may be more dramatic than mine: I've been in menopause the whole time.

Best wishes!

katylockett · January 20

Thanks so much @AnnPT77 for your encouragement , my add in options to increase my daily fat grams are oily fish (makerel, sardines), eggs, pumpkin seeds, almonds, cottage cheese, babybels - obviously not all added in one day 😂 but this is what I use / will be using to make up the day to hit my goals. I’ll figure what works best, but I quite like to look of the cottage cheese for the good volume vs calories - always a winner in my book😂 Also I’m intermittent fasting 16:8 - some days are 15:7, but I aim for 16:8.

Thanks for the tips! I will focus on staying the course, trusting the process and being mindful of the craving / self sabotage thoughts passing 🥴

I have started reading the labels at the shop as I wanted to stop consuming anything too processed and I noticed I have started saying to myself, yup that’s not worth those numbers - this is a win, recognising these foods (usually non filling foods too) are not worth the sacrifice of calories. I do still have that sneaky voice still though at the shops - just do it, eat it, you’ve been good, argh! I’m probably still addicted to the processed garbage and this is my penance - withdrawal!

Anyway, thank you again and please let me know if you or anyone else has any better tips / suggestions for the unicorn that is high volume, low calorie, high fat foods 🦄

katylockett · January 20

Day Nine 🙌

I woke up today feeling ok, but then after stepping on the scales I couldn’t help but start feeling annoyed with myself. Annoyed that I let myself get to this number on the scale, annoyed that I ignored and just carried on with what I knew were bad habits, annoyed at the time it’s going to take to fix it. 🙄 I know this is good though - it gives me ‘fuel’ to fix it and I WILL remember this feeling so I never put myself back in this position - longing for maintenance!

Today’s challenge was not throwing in the towel because I’m annoyed at myself - I have a suspicion this is another subconscious self sabotage tactic 🙄 I will win the day and stay the course!

I planned my food ✔️ (thoughts: I don’t have to think, just stick to plan’, ‘my planned meals make me full and satisfied.’).
I enjoyed my planned food today and my new snack - babybel was a nice treat, it’s the small things 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

I’ll move for 30 mins at lunchtime ✔️ (thoughts I want to repeat: ‘just get started - action, don’t think, just move’). Day two of not getting a chance to get out a walk at lunchtime - not kicking myself for this though. Life just not allowing, I’m getting my steps in at work - tomorrow’s priority!

Kept to my calorie numbers ✔️ (thoughts: I’ve made this easy, just stick to the numbers to win the day).
I felt good and able to stick to my numbers relatively easy today 👍👍

I had a herbal tea whenever I thought about eating more ✔️ (thoughts: I self soothe by hydrating, breathing consciously and read others inspiring stories on MFP).
A couple of nice herbal teas today - especially tonight after choir - snack danger time!

Today’s biggest win was sticking to plan even through my annoyed mood this morning (phew). I am glad to be another day in the right direction 😊

Day Nine: WON ✔️

SW: 189.5lbs
CW: 184lbs
GW: 135lbs

AnnPT77 · January 21

Realistically, high fat foods aren't going to be very low calorie by definition, because a gram of fat is 9 calories, but a gram of carbs or protein is 4 calories . . . and high-volume nutrient-dense foods (like veggies) are mostly micronutrients and water held together with fiber. 😉😆 Fat is calorie dense by definition.

There is a thread here about high-volume foods. You can find it in the "Most Helpful Posts" sub-section of the "Food and Nutrition" section of the Community. It isn't necessarily less processed food, and almost certainly not high fat foods, but just low calorie and high volume. I do need some volume foods in my day, but usually just eat heaps of veggies rather than anything more elaborate to accomplish that.

It sounds like you're adding a range of nutrient-dense foods (nutrient dense in other ways) to increase your fat intake, which is great. There are also some great protein sources on your list, so double duty from those.

I hesitate to say this, but I'd encourage you to think more about nutrient density and calorie density than about how processed a thing is. (Enjoyment, cost and practicality also matter, of course - probably some other factors, too.) "Processed-ness" is kind of an oversimplification, I think. l

"Processed foods" IMO is a big category, but the boundaries of the definition are vague. Protein powder is ultra-processsed, but a lot of "eat clean" advocates recommend and use it. There are people saying not to buy packaged food with more than 5 ingredients because that's "processed food", but a good many of those foods' ingredient lists have only ingredients I'd use making a similar thing in my own kitchen. I don't see how making it in a factory changes that from good to bad.

Some processed foods are processed in the sense that they have good things taken out of them. Refined white flour might be an example: Many micronutrients are stripped out, and a few added back ("enriched'). That makes white flour a bit less nutrient dense, and whole wheat flour possibly ever so slightly more calorie-dense (because of a tiny fat content). It's complicated.

I'm not advocating eating all and only the ultra-processed things - far from it! - but I think it can be a slippery slope to begin categorizing foods as "good" vs. "garbage", and that sort of thing. (I know it's not even close to what you're doing, but at the extreme end of that spectrum, orthorexia can be an eating disorder.)

All of these things - well, nearly all - have nutrients. So called "whole foods" tend to be more nutrient dense and filling. For myself, what I want is to reach the end of the overwhelming majority of days having gotten enough protein, fats, fiber, micronutrients, ideally some probiotic foods in the mix, too.

I do want to avoid a total way of eating on any day that leaves me with appetite spikes that trigger over-eating, and instead feel comfortably sated most of the time. Nutrition and fullness are both about the totality of my food intake, not so much about each individual food that goes into it. Unless someone's swearing off all fast food, calorie-dense treat food, so-called junk food, etc., forever, I feel like it's useful to learn how to manage those things along the way. Balance is important to me. (Yeah, some foods aren't ever worth eating to me . . . partly because I don't love them enough, not just because they're too processed or don't have enough nutrients or have too many calories. If I love them, but they are high calorie and low nutrition, I don't eat them very often, but I still eat them. Maybe that's just me, dunno.)

I virtually never eat fast food (not usually real vegetarian friendly, those fast food restaurants 😆), but not never never. I eat some processed food (preferring nutrient-dense, calorie-appropriate foods) but mostly less processed. I also eat some treats, especially now in maintenance with more calories available . . . after my basic nutrition is dialed in, and I have some calories available for it.

AnnPT77 · January 21

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48908551#Comment_48908551

You're doing well, maybe even losing a little fast right now, but that's one common pattern that can happen at first even on adequate calories (primarily from shifts in water retention).

When it comes to being annoyed with your past self: Why? You can't change the past. Regretting that is a waste of energy - doubly so if the emotion pushes you to sabotage forward progress. Use that energy to work on your plan better, to make the future different.

Best wishes!

katylockett · January 21

Thanks so much @AnnPT77 I totally agree with you on the ‘categories’ of processed - I should have maybe clarified, when I talk about the processed foods I’m avoiding, it is junk food, not processed ingredients. I’m staying away from the junk food, because my ‘go to’ was binging it.
I would love in the future to have balance with this, so I’d be able to enjoy it, but currently this would not make me feel great. I don’t want to use food as a crutch anymore to fix my mood, today was proof of that!

Thanks for the point in the direction of the volume thread - I will definitely check that out 🙏 always grateful to add a new veggie recipe into the rotation!
Thanks so much again for your insights and advice - much appreciated!

katylockett · January 21

Day Ten!

Another - I woke up feeling ok, but oh jeez I have been grumpy 😂 I think my mind is throwing a tantrum because of the changes 🥴Today I had some stressful things happen at work and my usual go to / pick my self back up, would be stopping at the shop for a bag full of dopamine inducing junk food, and obviously I don’t do that now, but that made me grumpy 😂🤷🏻‍♀️ I am aware how silly it is, but I am really pleased I didn’t cave, I stuck to my planned food and hit the hills instead (I was stomping my walk today 😂🤦‍♀️) - best step count in a while 😂 👍

Today’s challenge was the same as yesterday - not throwing in the towel because I was grumpy.

I planned my food ✔️ (thoughts: I don’t have to think, just stick to plan’, ‘my planned meals make me full and satisfied.’).
I’m learning to not listen to my ‘on a whim’ thoughts of going off track - each time I stick to my planned food, I prove to myself why - I feel good, I feel satisfied and proud that I’m staying on track creating good habits 👍

I’ll move for 30 mins at lunchtime ✔️ (thoughts I want to repeat: ‘just get started - action, don’t think, just move’). I made this a priority today, but boy was I grumpy about it 😂 it was really good to get out and stomp the hills!

Kept to my calorie numbers ✔️ (thoughts: I’ve made this easy, just stick to the numbers to win the day).
Really feeling good and satisfied with the grams / numbers - I feel good after sticking to them (just the mind in between times 😵‍💫).

I had a herbal tea whenever I thought about eating more ✔️ (thoughts: I self soothe by hydrating, breathing consciously and read others inspiring stories on MFP).
Not one herbal tea today - maybe that explains my grumps 😂

In all seriousness though, today’s biggest win was again sticking to plan. It would be so easy to go back to old habits, but I don’t want that, I want to create the better habits and feel good about my choices, my weight and my health - I know / knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, I’ve gotta just keep plodding on and my brain will eventually do this stuff automatically or so I’m reliably informed - neuroplasticity - going to take a while to rewire, and undo all the ingrained unhelpful ways, but I WILL get there!

Bath, pod cast and off to bed for an early night 😴

Day Ten: WON ✔️

SW: 189.5lbs
CW: 182.75bs
GW: 135lbs
Heading in the right direction 👍👍😊

katylockett · January 22

Day Eleven 🥳

After a good solid nights sleep I’ve felt good and on better form today 👍👍 I’m definitely learning my lessons with sticking to plan no matter how I feel - I have not had a day that I have regretted sticking to plan, so the plan it is!

Today’s challenge was …. Hmmm well look at that, I actually don’t feel like a had any challenges, everything seemed to gel 👍

I planned my food ✔️ (thoughts: I don’t have to think, just stick to plan’, ‘my planned meals make me full and satisfied.’).
Today my planned food felt great and I didn’t have any intense cravings, so a very good day!

I’ll move for 30 mins at lunchtime ✔️ (thoughts I want to repeat: ‘just get started - action, don’t think, just move’). Work was full on today, so I didn’t have the time nor the need for the extra movement. Happy to be over my step goal with work alone.

Kept to my calorie numbers ✔️ (thoughts: I’ve made this easy, just stick to the numbers to win the day).
I got organised early this morning to make my meals easy and that makes sure I stick to my numbers 👍

I had a herbal tea whenever I thought about eating more ✔️ (thoughts: I self soothe by hydrating, breathing consciously and read others inspiring stories on MFP).
Enjoyed a couple today of teas after my meals today - it’s been freezing today so I’ve enjoyed the cozy cuppas!

Today has been really good, I was able to keep to everything with ease - more days like this please 🙏

Day Eleven: WON ✔️

SW: 189.5lbs
CW: 178.75bs
GW: 135lbs

Happy with these numbers this morning 😊

katylockett · January 24

Day Thirteen 😊
I missed day twelves posting - had to dash straight out after work to a get together. I did have my post already Togo, but then I forgot to post it 😂🤦‍♀️ There were not enough hours in the day, but day twelve was another on track day 👍👍

Day twelve:
In a good way - I fear this is going to become a boring read 😂 so much so, I’m going to change from posting daily to weekly instead ✍️ I’m also going to change my weigh ins from daily to weekly - I’m excited to hopefully get a good number each week.

Today was another relatively easy day, after another solid nights sleep, I felt on great form today 👍👍

Today’s challenge was …. I felt a little snacky after lunch, but it was all in all a smooth day 👌

I planned my food ✔️ (thoughts: I don’t have to think, just stick to plan’, ‘my planned meals make me full and satisfied.’).
My planned food felt great again today.

I’ll move for 30 mins at lunchtime ✔️ (thoughts I want to repeat: ‘just get started - action, don’t think, just move’). Work is very busy at the moment - another day I went over my step daily goal 👍👍

Kept to my calorie numbers ✔️ (thoughts: I’ve made this easy, just stick to the numbers to win the day).
I’m thinking I’ll be a little over today with my get together tonight, but I’m not over thinking - I’m usually a little under and it’s one evening.

I had a herbal tea whenever I thought about eating more ✔️ (thoughts: I self soothe by hydrating, breathing consciously and read others inspiring stories on MFP).
More of a coffee day today ☕️ I’ll be back in the herbals tomorrow no doubt!

Today has been another good day. On track and chuffed with my progress 😊👍👍 I’ll be back on day 19 - excited to see the numbers then!

Day Twelve: WON ✔️

SW: 189.5lbs
CW: 181bs
GW: 135lbs

How did you win the day?

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