Back in the Saddle

Mirabilis

Hello all

I'm back after what feels like the year from hell due to family issues, so I'm making a commitment to make 2013 a wiser and happier year than the last couple!

Things I learned about weight loss:

1. When I was down to an "average weight" after losing 96 pounds on this site, I felt cold all the time, and kind of boney, honestly. Btw that average weight was 155 at 5'6", so it's not like I was anorexic. It looks like the reason for this was that my low fat diet was TOO low fat, and this was the reason for the coldness. This time, I'm going to keep more healthy fats in my diet at a higher proportion, and see how that goes.

2. At my lowest point, I had plateaued, and my doctor has no clue about plateaux. He thinks, like most young healthy ripped men (present company excluded of course), that losing weight is simply a matter of lowering calorie intake and exercising more. You know, I wish it were that easy. He may feel differently when he hits 50. This time, I have to be tolerant of the attitude and ask questions of someone who actually knows about weight loss and the trials and tribulations associated with it. Lesson learned. He has a dietician in his office. Time to talk to her, I think, and hope she knows about bodies and not just calories.

3. I tried really hard to sort out body image, and I discovered at the age of 50ish that when you lose weight, there is saggy skin. Oh heavens what an epiphany . I gained 30 pounds back from inattention, but I'm still to the good, and I'm not saggy anymore. When I was 20, I dieted down to 145 lbs on something similar to MFP (but from the dark ages) and I thought this last round that that's what I should weigh. My present 50ish body tells me that this is not tenable and that I wouldn't like it very much, so I think 170 will be fine, and that means I only have 20 pounds to go. I can do this.

4. I arranged my life so that I can walk to work. It's only a 15 minute walk each way, but I've found ways to extend that walk to 35 if I go the long way, and if I do that in the morning and I feel like a slug in the afternoon, I can always take the short way home. I have decided that I am not a gym bunny, nor would I be happy in that lifestyle, so I have determined that I will not do it and I will not apologize for that. Also, I'm not working weekends, either in my job or in my life. Sorry, doc.

5. I'm mystified by size 3. At 155, I was size 12 and because of my age, I know that for women, this is a vanity size and really should be a 16. I have determined that I will feel no guilt for never being a size 3, but a size 12 again would be pretty awesome and yes, a 12 fits at 170.

6. When you stop losing weight and stop eating a low cal diet, there's some rebound in your weight, and that takes time to normalize. I think the starvation mode thing (conservation mode is a better term) means your body tries to regain the weight unreasonably to protect itself from future self-induced famine. I'm hoping I've normalized now, so I'm going to ignore the net 1200 calories after this week (first week back, I need that regime, but not after) and try net 1500.

7. "How much to eat": It isn't obvious to someone who never had a normal portion size. I'm in an office with tiny women now and that whole "eat like birds" thing is true. I don't think I can eat like a bird and be a happy woman, but on the other hand, I'm sorting out what's a "normal portion size" for someone with my body type and size and I'm getting better at it.

Ultimately, it looks like the name of the game is moderation in intake and outgo, so let's give that a try

Mirii

Amber1070

Sounds like you have a great grasp on things and a clear picture of how to get to where you want to be. :-) glad your back

Mirabilis

Four more things:

1. At lower weights, clothes are far more fitted and that seems to be the norm. For so many years of being fat and looking for clothes that are roomy to disguise the ups and downs and because the sizes seem to be forgiving in the plus category, I got used to roomy clothes. Getting used to fitted clothes is really weird and feels uncomfortable until you get used to it.

2. At lower weights, clothing sizes are in smaller increments. 20lbs makes a difference as to what size you wear, whereas that's less obvious and less true in larger sizes. That means that I will be keeping clothes one size up for the water retention days some of us get, but keeping them on the far end of the closet so I don't start thinking that the higher size is my regular size.

3. I still have a problem figuring out how I appear objectively and that might be something I'm stuck with, but when I pick up a pair of my pants in a particular size and think they look tiny, I know all the hard work actually works

4. This one's really really important: That diet scale you have in the kitchen is essential, but remember that some foods are listed on the package or online by weight (g) and some by volume (mL). Don't confuse them. Your scale might have mL but it's a convenience and a measure of weight, not of volume. 250mL of water weighs the same as 250mL of ice cream but they have very different calorie counts and take up different amounts of space in three dimensions. Make sure you know the difference. It's not obvious and you can't trust your scale to do the conversion for you.

Mirii