Changing my life... the scales will follow!

maggiewithfins

This isn't a weight loss story. But I hope it will be soon. I accidentally have been maintaining my weight by trying to lose weight slowly, cutting my calories by 300 a day and exercising. But I needed to cut them a little bit more. The good news is, I found my maintenance calories, and they weren't leaving me too hungry or lethargic, and allowed for treats. So I know I can maintain!

I had tried losing weight a couple of times a year, lose it, regain it and a little more... been doing that for the last 7 years. Really felt hopeless. But it really feels a lot different this time. Making small changes that are consistent, and then moving on to the next behaviour to change.

The success comes from being consistent. Logging my calories. Swimming 3x a week. Learning every day.
I've been following the Beck Diet Solution, which is a cognitive behaviour therapy self-help book, which has taught me how to not freak out and feel deprived whilst dieting. I have learned that if I decide ahead before I go out, what I will eat, and stick to it, I feel so much better compared to having to struggle with a decision when faced with food whether or not to eat it. I've learned that I can feel hungry and it's not the end of the world, it's not an emergency, I can wait until my next meal and plan a little better the next day. No big deal. I have stopped having morning tea. I have added in a new rule of not having chocolates or sweets until after dinner, that includes cakes and biscuits (cookies for the Americans amongst us!). That makes it easy when someone offers something. If it looks awesome I can take one home and have later. But I generally don't bother. And I'm ok with that! I have stopped the constant snacking and impulsive eating. I don't eat standing up anymore. I count every calorie.

I have been exercising regularly. I have had two major back surgeries (my whole spine is full of rods and screws) which has made regular exercise painful, and has taken years of trial and error to find the right exercise. It is swimming. I have now swum 3km in the sea, non-stop. I entered a 2.9km race and trained for it, but had to pull out as it was too rough.

So I'm learning. I feel really different towards food. I feel in control with food, rather than feeling like losing weight is impossible and I will fail, I know I can do it. I just need to be consistent. It doesn't feel hard all of the time. Even though I've not been losing weight (well I have lost some, I just plateaued by accident for a month), I know that if I make some minor adjustments, I'll be fine.
I just thought I'd share as the Beck Diet Solution book made the difference for me this time. I see lots of people struggling on the boards with dieting, and I can see the thought processes that had made dieting a struggle in the past for me, that the book has helped me change.

I just thought I'd share, as for me, feeling in control is a non-scale victory.

quietHiker

So glad you are learning! It's great that you've found what your maintenance calories are now to find the right amount so you can shed those pounds Keep up the great work and I hope you learn so much more from your weight loss journey