(I posted this in the cut progress thread, then realised I should probably make a new topic)

Well, I didn't break through my plateau in terms of scale weight, but in MEASUREMENTS and BODY FAT. Which is better anyway, right? After losing the 6 pounds I gained on the reset I now weigh the same as I did before I started. But I am now slimmer and more toned, with a much lower body fat percentage. Know why? I've gained some muscle

And so as of today, I've decided that I'M DONE LOSING WEIGHT. I haven't made it to my original goal weight, I'm short of about 5 pounds, but I don't care. It's just a number. What matters is that I am now happy and confident with the way I look and feel, and I am so, SO much fitter and healthier than I was this time last year.

I only lost about 12 pounds, but it's taken me an entire year to do it, thanks to eating -1200 calories a day for almost 4 months.

Here's a (long) summary of my weight loss journey for those of you also doing the metabolism reset and needing some inspiration.

My New Year's resolution for this year was to lose weight. In January I lost 5-6 pounds healthily, without counting calories or anything. At the very beginning of February I started counting calories, eating 1200 calories a day. My BMR is 1418. I did not know this then. I lost 6 more pounds on this VLCD fairly quickly, and then just stopped. After a month of not losing anything I began reducing my intake even MORE. It got to a point when I would make sure I never netted over 1000 calories a day, and generally my net intake was about 800. Still there were no changes. So then while researching weight loss plateaus, I found this group on MFP. So I began increasing my intake slowly, and my god it was terrifying. I ate at my 20% cut intake of about 1750 cals a day for 6 weeks, yet there were STILL no changes. So then I did a little research on the metabolism reset, I watched Kiki's video, and decided it was what I needed to do. I began eating my TDEE of 2200 a day, which felt AWFUL at first. Then I got used to it. And suddenly I was SUPER hungry all the time. So I actually ended up going over my TDEE quite often... and slowly but surely, I gained those 6 pounds I lost on the VLCD back. My clothes got tight. A pair of skinny jeans I bought a month earlier wouldn't slide up over my legs. And on about the 5th-6th week of the reset, I completely broke down. My energy levels just completely dropped, and I was in tears almost every day. It was one of the toughest weeks I have ever lived through. I just wanted to quit. To forget about all this weight loss and calorie counting stuff, and never go back. But I managed to pull through, and convince myself to keep going for another week or so. It was a struggle, but now, I definitely do NOT regret gaining that weight I did doing the reset. I NEEDED to gain that weight in order for my metabolism to heal properly. So at the end of the 7th week of the reset I was feeling much better, and I decided it was time to cut. I reduced my intake to 1800-1850, and stuck to my exercise plan religiously. I had days where I gave in, cheated, and went all out on desserts, but I generally stuck to my calorie & macro goals really well. Slowly but surely, the weight started coming off. After about 6 weeks of eating at cut I had lost 5 of the 6 pounds I gained on the reset, and my measurements were basically the same as they were when I was at my thinnest. So I then took a diet break week, (eating TDEE for a week) and ended up not doing exercise either because I got really sick with a vomiting virus. The next week was a bit of a struggle to get back on track, but I managed. And now it's the end of the third week since that TDEE diet break week, and I've lost 1-1.5 more pounds since then. Like I said, my measurements and body fat are at the lowest they've ever been. I look and feel the best I ever have. And now I can safely say that I am happy and confident with my body, and I do not want to lose any more weight.


So today was my first day in a long time without counting calories on MyFitnessPal. I think that this next part of the journey-not regaining the weight- is going to be just as hard as it was losing it. I have to not forget about exercise, and not slide back into old unhealthy eating habits. But I don't think I will. I love healthy food too much now. Sure, every now and then I like a bit of chocolate, or some kind of dessert, but if I ever go overboard with junk food I just feel awful. It isn't worth the short satisfaction of the taste. So now I'm just eating all my favorite healthy foods, but not too much or too little either. Just enough to keep me feeling satisfied, and to keep food off my mind.

So now that I'm going to be leaving MFP, I would just like to thank Kiki, Lucia, and all the people in this group, just for doing what you're doing: helping people like me who starved themselves too long eating too little. Thank you so, SO much. If I hadn't had found you all when I did, I would most likely still be struggling with my weight, quite possibly even with an eating disorder. I am so grateful for everything you've done for us all, I can hardly begin to explain it with words.

Once again, THANK YOU.