Make it a Hobby!
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mgibbons22
Posts: 69 Member
After losing 120 lbs in fourteen months, many have asked, "How did you do it?" Usually I respond with I ate this food and did that exercise, blah, blah, blah.
Well, get to CICO however you want; different strokes for different folks. I think what may be a better answer to that question is this: "I made weight loss a hobby."
Yes, a hobby. I had my friends with whom to share my hobby: MFP friends, co-workers, family, and friends. I had toys to play with: step tracker, exercise equipment, food scale.
All the digital stuff: research on the interwebs, logging foods, tracking steps, BMI and TDEE calculators.
I got to try different techniques: "clean eating," low carb/high fat, fast days, etc.
Maybe I became obsessed with it, but again, everyone's different. I weigh myself twice a day (I know I lose three lbs every night in bed). I constantly, even on maintenance, study my charts. I carry exercise equipment in my car so I have it wherever I go.
Most of all, it was a challenge. I want that low number on the scale far far more than I want that (unaffordable) cupcake or donut or slice of pizza. Lots of hobbies have challenges: grow the prettiest flowers, shoot your lowest golf score, etc.
I've been on maintenance for four months, and it's the same thing. I developed a trigger: if I weigh over 185 in the morning, I semi-fast that day. Developing techniques like triggers is part of advancing my hobby.
The bottom line, I devote considerable time each day to weight loss and now maintenance like many do to their hobby, and it works. Think about it.
Well, get to CICO however you want; different strokes for different folks. I think what may be a better answer to that question is this: "I made weight loss a hobby."
Yes, a hobby. I had my friends with whom to share my hobby: MFP friends, co-workers, family, and friends. I had toys to play with: step tracker, exercise equipment, food scale.
All the digital stuff: research on the interwebs, logging foods, tracking steps, BMI and TDEE calculators.
I got to try different techniques: "clean eating," low carb/high fat, fast days, etc.
Maybe I became obsessed with it, but again, everyone's different. I weigh myself twice a day (I know I lose three lbs every night in bed). I constantly, even on maintenance, study my charts. I carry exercise equipment in my car so I have it wherever I go.
Most of all, it was a challenge. I want that low number on the scale far far more than I want that (unaffordable) cupcake or donut or slice of pizza. Lots of hobbies have challenges: grow the prettiest flowers, shoot your lowest golf score, etc.
I've been on maintenance for four months, and it's the same thing. I developed a trigger: if I weigh over 185 in the morning, I semi-fast that day. Developing techniques like triggers is part of advancing my hobby.
The bottom line, I devote considerable time each day to weight loss and now maintenance like many do to their hobby, and it works. Think about it.
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Replies
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I dig it. I basically do the same (not in maintenence but 70 lbs down, 20 to go). It makes it way less "work". Kind of like Type 2 fun (Google it if curious).0
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It's an excuse to use Excel more, so that's a good thing.0
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Yup
I buy this
It's a hobby and an education: scientific, physical..so many avenues to explore
It's rather blissful finding such an interest at this jaded stage of my life ...endlessly fascinated how I can push my knowledge and physical boundaries, how much I don't know0 -
DeguelloTex wrote: »It's an excuse to use Excel more, so that's a good thing.
Have I told you lately that I
you? 0 -
Congrats on your new hobby and successes!! You have a great perspective. I kinda obsess over my journey too, but it takes a lot of effort to accomplish what we do.
>>I want that low number on the scale far far more than I want that (unaffordable) cupcake or donut or slice of pizza.<<
I totally identify with this attitude. This is the oft-lamented 'motivation' in a nutshell.
SW 301
CW 206
GW 150
13.5 months
60 yo0 -
mgibbons22 wrote: »After losing 120 lbs in fourteen months, many have asked, "How did you do it?" Usually I respond with I ate this food and did that exercise, blah, blah, blah.
Well, get to CICO however you want; different strokes for different folks. I think what may be a better answer to that question is this: "I made weight loss a hobby."
Yes, a hobby. I had my friends with whom to share my hobby: MFP friends, co-workers, family, and friends. I had toys to play with: step tracker, exercise equipment, food scale.
All the digital stuff: research on the interwebs, logging foods, tracking steps, BMI and TDEE calculators.
I got to try different techniques: "clean eating," low carb/high fat, fast days, etc.
Maybe I became obsessed with it, but again, everyone's different. I weigh myself twice a day (I know I lose three lbs every night in bed). I constantly, even on maintenance, study my charts. I carry exercise equipment in my car so I have it wherever I go.
Most of all, it was a challenge. I want that low number on the scale far far more than I want that (unaffordable) cupcake or donut or slice of pizza. Lots of hobbies have challenges: grow the prettiest flowers, shoot your lowest golf score, etc.
I've been on maintenance for four months, and it's the same thing. I developed a trigger: if I weigh over 185 in the morning, I semi-fast that day. Developing techniques like triggers is part of advancing my hobby.
The bottom line, I devote considerable time each day to weight loss and now maintenance like many do to their hobby, and it works. Think about it.
Can you elaborate on the bolded?0 -
That's exactly what I say! It's my hobby, I'm obsessed (not in a bad way)!0
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I agree op!0
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mgibbons22 wrote: »I developed a trigger: if I weigh over 185 in the morning, I semi-fast that day. Developing techniques like triggers is part of advancing my hobby.
Is anyone else concerned about this part? Basically, if you fluctuate over 185, you starve yourself that day? That doesn't sound healthy AT ALL.0 -
mgibbons22 wrote: »I developed a trigger: if I weigh over 185 in the morning, I semi-fast that day. Developing techniques like triggers is part of advancing my hobby.
Is anyone else concerned about this part? Basically, if you fluctuate over 185, you starve yourself that day? That doesn't sound healthy AT ALL.
I think there's a big difference between starving one's self (not eating at all) and semi-fasting (not eating for a set period of time).0 -
Make it a Hobby!
I like that idea. In a way that's what I've done too. I already enjoy cycling and walking and several other sports, and I already track all that information ... focusing a bit more on my diet wasn't much of a stretch.
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Yes! Meal planning and weight management has become a hobby for me too
I love playing with tables and numbers and I love to eat, so this is really my thing! I'm nine months into maintenance and it still feels fresh every day 
I wouldn't eat differently based on short term weight fluctuations, though. I weigh daily and look at the weekly average (plus let Trendweight analyze the data), and I will adjust calorie intake only after I have seen a month of consistent gain.0 -
Why not?mgibbons22 wrote: »I developed a trigger: if I weigh over 185 in the morning, I semi-fast that day. Developing techniques like triggers is part of advancing my hobby.
Is anyone else concerned about this part? Basically, if you fluctuate over 185, you starve yourself that day? That doesn't sound healthy AT ALL.
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Awesome loss, WTG!0
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For me, a semi-fast is 400 calories for breakfast and lunch combined (a banana for breakfast, banana and protein bar for lunch), whereas my normal breakfast and lunch combined is 1100 calories.
Oh, and welcome Miss Karne! Laughing at trolls is a big part of the hobby!0 -
I don't think you know what troll means, OP.0
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mgibbons22 wrote: »Well, get to CICO however you want; different strokes for different folks. I think what may be a better answer to that question is this: "I made weight loss a hobby."
Yep, this rings true for me. It's pretty much what I've done, and something that seems to work for lots of people who are successful on MFP, from my observations, even if they don't call it that.0 -
mgibbons22 wrote: »I developed a trigger: if I weigh over 185 in the morning, I semi-fast that day. Developing techniques like triggers is part of advancing my hobby.
Is anyone else concerned about this part? Basically, if you fluctuate over 185, you starve yourself that day? That doesn't sound healthy AT ALL.
I think there's a big difference between starving one's self (not eating at all) and semi-fasting (not eating for a set period of time).
Agreed. I'm sure it, like most things, COULD be unhealthy if done with an unhealthy mindset or if it was causing messed up behavior or emotions or negative feelings toward oneself or the like, but I see no reason to think it is here.
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Love it!!
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I have a friend that her interest is in the psychology of diets and eating. She reads all sorts of books and will occasionally try out certain diets to see if they are easy to follow. Its a bit odd to me, but she finds it interesting. So I definitely see how it being a hobby is great for the long term0
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