Creeper weight

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pandsmomCheryl
pandsmomCheryl Posts: 168 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm nearly 45 years old, and I've been at this health, diet & fitness thing for a LONG time. Three years ago, I started C25K and used MFP for logging, etc. I successfully lost 28.5 pounds, and got to a very reasonable size and weight that was realistic to maintain, which I did for over a year.

I had a bad case of Plantar Fasciitis a year ago, and had to stop running for several months. A little weight crept on. This winter in Massachusetts was epically bad and we were all cooped up for a couple months. A little weight crept on. Spring came and I resumed running (slowly), but my weight wasn't really budging. Summer has come, and along with it comes vacation, BBQ, beer, etc. A little more weight has crept on.

Long story short is that I'm up 10 pounds. I'm exercising, and my diet is decent. Of course it could be better. My question to the MFP community is what is your go-to routine, mantra or discipline for losing 10 pounds that have crept on, before it gets out of control? My old bag of tricks isn't really working for me anymore...

My diary is open to the public...

Thank you in advance!

Replies

  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    Caloric deficit... that's all you need for weight loss. That's it really.
  • pandsmomCheryl
    pandsmomCheryl Posts: 168 Member
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    I know that. Really, I do. But it's a mental battle as well.
  • ibnfaqir
    ibnfaqir Posts: 139 Member
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    24 hour fasting or intermittent fasting
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    As for the mental aspect, it's either important enough to eat at a deficit or it isn't. I don't need a bag of tricks, I just remember why I started this in the first place.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    You need a goal larger than weight loss for the long haul. If you're out of the running game temporarily is there another sport or physical activity you've always wanted to try?

    For me it's obstacle course races and in the long term - racing with my kids.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
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    Just cut a little bit at a time. Your old way is not working bc you are not as committed (been there!!)

    Cut 100 calories a day. Add walks to your routine. Try some strength training. Little by little.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    edited August 2015
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    My go-to discipline is starting a very small deficit the first day I hit the 1# beyond the top end of maintenance weight range. When I say small, I mean I aim for 250 calorie deficit daily but feel ok if I don't always meet that as long as I am still under. So this happened in July, and 5 weeks later I am back to bottom of my original maintenance range. In other words, I plan to never creep very much without corrective action.

    Edit because I had an after thought - it occurred to me that whatever I did in maintenance had to be flexible because I wasn't always going to be able to keep up vigorous exercise but I could keep up daily walking. If I become unable to do that I am gonna be a sad person because to maintain I will need to stay under 1410 calories a day ... sighs
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,485 Member
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    I work with a 5 lb weight range. If I feel my clothes are hanging a bit, I weigh and tweak my food; if I feel my clothes are feeling like sausage skin, I weigh and tweak my food.
    I am maintaining right now and not logging or weighing, just tweaking when needed.

    If I managed to put on 10 lb I would probably start logging, tight, and cut my wine and deserts to weekend treats.

    Maybe log at 250 below maintenance for a few weeks just to get it moving.

    Cheers, h.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    IsaackGMOON wrote: »
    Caloric deficit... that's all you need for weight loss. That's it really.

    +1
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Oh hey, this kind of thing happened to me. I regained ~20, have lost about 10 (or 12? I reset my original # somehow so can't remember) - since November.

    (Complications are that I acquired several new injuries between November and now. When I lost the big weight, I relied not a little on the calories-out side. I like food, have a big appetite, find cutting calories by diet hard - can pretty much only do a conservative deficit without feeling miserable - and motivation isn't where it was that other time.)

    I am on track to lose again, finally. (I'm not aiming to lose much but it's happening.) What I'm doing:
    - As much cardio as I can physically handle. Which tbh isn't a lot - 3-4 days a week of low-impact, usually low resistance stuff for 45-60 minutes. But it's enough to help keep my appetite down (it has that effect on me. Luckily). Bodyweight exercises on the days I don't do cardio. I have to do physio every day anyway, so the motivation to do something is kind of taken care of.

    But you could make a rule, like I did the first time around, that you have to do some kind of activity for 30 minutes every day. Even if it's just a walk. I think it's important, because it keeps your head in the game.

    - Tightening up the diet. I set my target a little lower than it was before. I still (often) eat 100-200 cals over, but it's less than I was eating in February. Between that and the daily activity, I should clock some kind of deficit. Even if the loss happens over the long haul.

    tl/dr what @slaite1 said.

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