One year of logging, weights, and practicing moderation....Long!

I have fought with an extra 20 pounds virtually my whole adult life. (I’m 36). In high school I was very active and had no need to learn how to eat a healthy diet (weight-wise).

Since my 20’s I have done low-fat, low-carb, unsustainable amounts of exercise, clean-eating, vegetarianism, and calorie-counting. I have always understood the thermodynamics of weight-loss. I just thought I needed to find the right “trick” to make it sustainable.

But I had never attempted practicing moderation until this last year. I wrongfully decided that my personality was a barrier to such approach. I would say things like, “I’m an all-or-nothing person when it comes to chocolate”. I viewed my black or white thinking as a trait like having blue eyes, versus thinking of moderation as a SKILL that can be learned.

Backing up…

On December 1st of 2014, I was ordering my son’s 1st birthday cake and it dawned on me that my self-imposed “1 year post baby grace period for diet/exercise” expired. Why did I have a grace period? At this time I still believed losing weight was a horrible period of stress, pure will, and deprivation and I just didn’t want to deal with it at the same time as caring for an infant, a toddler, managing a full-time career, trying to find time for my husband and I, let alone enjoying a few minutes for my own hobbies. Well, babies do get a little easier after the first year, but it’s not like all those responsibilities go away!

I started exercising and tracking in MFP the next day. And I started reading the forums….a lot. I noticed a couple themes of “heavy lifting” and “ice cream” repeated often. I have always liked both of these things, so I read more.

These two threads became the basis for my next steps:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1


http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

**Props to these individuals - @SideSteel and @usmcmp for sharing their information and doing it in a way that is above board as far as forum-antics go.


By the end of December I joined a small gym and the owner high-fived me on the tour when I told him I was there for weights and not cardio. I figured I could work in a 45-minute Stronglifts workout 3 times a week after my kids had went to bed. I needed simple and efficient given my time constraints. I did cardio on off-days at home.

I set my calories to between 1700-1800 and aimed to hit 100g of protein. It required deliberate effort and planning to hit the protein goal the first couple months. It became second nature.

I bought individual portions of ice cream and ate them almost daily, working them into my calorie goals. This was hard. It sucked so much a** to control portions and I was left sad staring at the bottom of this tiny carton. I often questioned if I would always feel that way and I mourned eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. But I would repeat to myself “trust the process” inspired by the threads mentioned above.

My successes:

At 5’5 I went from 166 to my current weight of 143 in about 6 months. I have held steady for the last 6 months. This is the LONGEST I have ever maintained a weight loss. I was wearing a tight size 12 and am now a size 6 with 4’s getting close.

I started lifting with just the bar. I lift way more now and I’m just getting started. The confidence I’ve gained from weight lifting has crept into other areas of my life. “Progressive overload” applies to a lot more than just the barbell.

That sad little miniature carton of ice cream isn’t so sad anymore. It is awesome to know that I can still enjoy foods that I love. Previously, indulging in something “bad” meant a lot of angst and probably a spiral off my “diet” for days, weeks, or months. It is empowering to make this sort of progress. Again, there is a lot of life / career / relationship benefits in the skill of seeing the middle ground.

Exercising is a legitimate habit for me now. I no longer worry about vacations, illnesses or work travel disrupting my streak and taking me off track. I just know that I’ll pick right up where I left off if my schedule gets complicated. I just go to the gym – I don’t think about it or talk myself into it. Alarm goes off, I get up. And I enjoy it.

This next year will be about getting stronger, continuing to improve my diet by adding in more fruits/veggies, and hopefully losing the last vanity pounds.

And I know that no success thread is complete without pics so here ya go. I honestly feel like this is the least of the changes I’ve made when I reflect back. I also took swimsuit pictures every month that show my losses better (that I will not be showing), and you should do the same – for yourself.

Size 12/14 on the left, size 6 on the right.



If you made it this far, feel free to ask me anything.