Not Brand New, But New Again :P

Hi friends.

I've been on MFP before but fell off the bandwagon about 2 years ago. Something has changed for me psychologically over the last 6 months and I'm ready to lose the weight I want to lose slowly, responsibly, and give myself the chance to be healthy again.

I'm nearly 28, I'm 5'7" and weighed in to kick things off on August 26 at 286.5. As of this morning I'm at 273.8 and I'm feeling positive. I'm averaging a little over 2lbs per week at this point, which will probably continue as long as I have so much excess weight available to lose but I understand this rate will likely slow down with time. I also understand that I'll need to adjust my calorie intake overtime as my BMR and TDEE decrease with my body weight. I will say I'm looking forward to one of those "whooshes" where I drop 4-5lbs in a week. So far that's only happened after my first week of calorie counting.

My strategy: For 2 years (2013-2015) I worked a job that required me to spend much of my day in the car. I ate a LOT of fast food. In fact, I reached a point where I was eating fast food for lunch daily and most nights for dinner as well. I have an unhealthy relationship with food and I know that is the primary factor I need to address through this process. For that reason, I haven't eaten any fast food in 32 days now- I'm not certain I'm giving it up for good and forever, I just know I need to stay away from it for now, at least until I can re-shape my relationship with food. I am counting calories and following CICO, trying to eat lean proteins, plenty of nutrient-dense veggies, and carefully watching my carb intake (my macros at this time are 40%p/30%c/30%f) and I try to track as closely to them as possible, but I prioritize staying within my calorie limits each day.

I don't plan a "cheat meal" weekly as many people do- I prefer to reward myself with non-food items (new pair of shoes, handbag, etc). In the 5.5 weeks it's taken me to lose 12.7lbs, I've only had one "splurge" meal- I tracked it and exceeded my usual calorie limit (1700), but did not exceed my TDEE.

All of this is working for me now- things can change over time and I'm totally open to learning new strategies and adjusting my approach to whatever is going to help me be successful in this endeavor.

My overall goal- Weight wise, I'm targeting around 175 but will likely adjust this once I get closer to that point. I've been overweight for about 10 years now and have no idea what I would look/feel like at 175, so that is subject to change. Life and health wise, I have recently taken up an interest in hiking and being outdoors, so I want to be able to spend more and more time hiking and doing things that require more strength and agility/stamina outdoors. I am currently primarily focused on my diet, but plan to add working out back into the mix soon. A few years ago, I managed to lose 50lbs doing the meal prep/gym rat thing and I really enjoyed it. I'll likely get back to that soon.

I currently have virtually no MFP friends, so please add me and feel free to message/chat anytime.