45 days and 10 Pounds

Nevadaden
Nevadaden Posts: 971 Member
A few years ago, I saw a photo of myself that caused me to grimace. Yes, I know the camera adds ten pounds (cue the Friends joke about how many cameras were on me), but it was disheartening. I knew if I didn't do something, I would keep gaining. I wasn't looking forward to another round of calorie counting, and although I had had some limited success with a previous version of Weight Watchers, I disliked the latest iteration that seemed determined to push you into eating what WW deemed "good" for you rather than what you enjoyed.

What's more, the whole three meals plus two snacks didn't work at all for me. Once you've divided 1200 calories into three meals, let alone three meals and a couple of snacks, you face the prospect of a dinner that consists of three ounces of lean protein and a few undressed vegetables with a piece of fruit for dessert, while your dining companion (in my case, a 6'4" triathlete) consumes a hearty bacon cheeseburger with fries and a piece of cake for dessert. And, finally, I knew that when I ate early in the day, the rest of the day was a constant struggle. I felt deprived from the second I ate breakfast.

Which led me, naturally, to not eating breakfast. I had never been much of a breakfast eater, even as a child, so giving up the so-called most important meal of the day was no sacrifice. And it meant that the previous pitiful calories allotted to breakfast could be split between lunch and dinner to make those two meals more satisfying.

I researched various forms of Intermittent Fasting, including LeanGains, EatStopEat, and the Warrior Diet. I found I liked Fast Five particularly well. But eventually I pushed the lunch hour out and finally landed on one plentiful meal a day Monday through Friday. On the weekends, when I rode my bike, I would add in the exercise calories to allow for a longer eating window that included pre-dinner appetizers.

Over the course of about 6 months, I lost 27 pounds. It wasn't as fast as some but it was steady and, most wonderfully, painless. Along the way I joined this community and was happy to cheer on such friends as Kitty Gonzalez (whatever happened to Kitty?), @blambo61, @Brendalea69 and @LadyBlanks (although you both went by different names then), @brittdee88 and @wsandy8512, among others. I haven't written much on this forum for a long while, but I've been keeping track of newer members' progress and silently cheering you all on.

I kept that 27 pounds off for about two years, with little effort, until a stressful work life got in the way, and my habits slipped. I was still ostensibly doing intermittent fasting, but the eating window was longer and the plates were much larger. I thought I had regained 8 pounds, but this morning's reality check revealed it to be 10.

@LadyBlanks has inspired me with her Hawaii challenge. In 45 days, I head to Europe for a two-week bike riding trip. I know I'll enjoy it much more with those 10 pounds gone...and just generally, I feel better when I'm intermittent fasting. So, Tracey, thank you for the inspirational kick in the kitten. I'm in.

I started yesterday with one meal, but since that meal followed several days of undiscipline, I'm calling today my official beginning.

I've begun the day with black coffee. Generally speaking, I don't like black coffee; I prefer it with heavy cream. When I originally lost 27 pounds, I did so enjoying heavy cream in my coffee. However, I've discovered a coffee that I like well enough black -- it has cinnamon and turmeric in it and isn't harsh. Thus, why not? I may still have coffee with cream on the weekends, but as long as this coffee with cinnamon and turmeric is tasty enough, I'll drink it black during the weekdays.

Losing 10 pounds isn't the only goal I have -- I need to get my legs in pedaling shape. Two years and ten pounds ago, I cycled through Tuscany for two weeks. I ate what I wanted (and I apparently wanted lots of pasta, cheese, and good Tuscan wine), although I still limited breakfast to coffee. Between the bike riding and the breakfast-skipping, I didn't gain an ounce But I was lighter and fitter then. I'm going to aim for some combination of two outdoor bike rides and two indoor ones per week, depending on weather. I've got six and a half weeks, but I'll round down so as not to discourage myself, which brings me to....

45 Days to Bavaria
Weight loss goal: 10 pounds
Indoor bike ride goal: 12 rides
Outdoor bike ride goal: 12 rides
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Replies

  • LadyBlanks
    LadyBlanks Posts: 1,070 Member
    Welcome back my friend! Thanks for joining me on the challenge, we've got this for sure. What is the name of the coffee. I would love a coffee I could drink black and the cinnamon and turmeric are health boosters for sure.
  • Nevadaden
    Nevadaden Posts: 971 Member
    It's from VitaCup, called Genius Blend because it also includes MCT oil. I don't know how much MCT oil it actually includes, however, since each cup has only five calories. I like it not because I believe it is making me a genius (drat, that!), but because it is one of the few coffees I've ever tried that I can enjoy without cream. You can buy it in Keurig capsule form or ground. It's pricey, but then again, if it helps keep me on the OMAD path, it's ultimately cheaper than new clothes....
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    Whoa! Welcome back!

    Kitty is / was around. She reached out a little over a year ago now. I hope she is well, as I see you are (and now, back in control).
  • Nevadaden
    Nevadaden Posts: 971 Member
    Thanks, Joe! You know, sticking to OMAD made maintenance easy; I practically had to work at gaining weight. (But work at it I did!) Without some minimal intermittent fasting, I could have regained everything in the last year and a half. I'm glad it was only ten pounds, and it feels good to be back. Hope you're well, also.
  • Nevadaden
    Nevadaden Posts: 971 Member
    June 11

    44 Days to Bavaria
    Weight loss goal: 10 pounds
    Indoor bike ride goal: 12 rides
    Indoor rides to date: 1
    Outdoor bike ride goal: 12 rides

    I had a good first day on OMAD, including a one-hour indoor bike ride. I'm sipping cinnamon- and turmeric-infused black coffee again this morning. I'm already feeling better just by having a plan with some self-accountability.
  • mistymeadows2005
    mistymeadows2005 Posts: 3,737 Member
    Nevadaden wrote: »
    June 11

    44 Days to Bavaria
    Weight loss goal: 10 pounds
    Indoor bike ride goal: 12 rides
    Indoor rides to date: 1
    Outdoor bike ride goal: 12 rides

    I had a good first day on OMAD, including a one-hour indoor bike ride. I'm sipping cinnamon- and turmeric-infused black coffee again this morning. I'm already feeling better just by having a plan with some self-accountability.

    Having a plan is half the battle - now to EXECUTE! LOL
  • Nevadaden
    Nevadaden Posts: 971 Member
    Thanks, Steph! You have an amazing story, by the way. Your consistency and your losses over the last couple of years are incredible -- it's an inspiration.
  • mistymeadows2005
    mistymeadows2005 Posts: 3,737 Member
    Nevadaden wrote: »
    Thanks, Steph! You have an amazing story, by the way. Your consistency and your losses over the last couple of years are incredible -- it's an inspiration.

    Awwwwwwwwwww thank you so much! It's really just about sticking with it, trusting the process, and running the play :) If you do that, you cannot fail <3 WE BELIEVE IN YOU :love:
  • jadepearl
    jadepearl Posts: 3,111 Member
    Hi there and a warm welcome back❤️ Good luck with your plan 👍🍀
  • Nevadaden
    Nevadaden Posts: 971 Member
    Thanks, @jadepearl! Back at you.

    June 12

    43 Days to Bavaria
    Weight loss goal: 10 pounds
    Indoor bike ride goal: 12 rides
    Indoor rides to date: 2
    Outdoor bike ride goal: 12 rides

    I had another good day of OMAD yesterday. Nothing but black coffee and water until dinner. Only one plate, but I had one more glass of beverage than I should have had (a nice Cabernet).

    I woke up this morning hungry. And it was a good feeling. These last few months, as my eating window has grown longer and my plates fuller, I have felt sluggish and heavy in the morning. Waking up to a good honest hunger today was marvelous.

    I have my indoor bike goal met for the week, but haven't tackled the outdoor rides yet. We've had an extreme heat warning the last few days, so unless I get out the door by 6 am, it's already too hot to ride. The temperatures are expected to cool down by Friday, though, so I still have Friday-Sunday to get in the two outdoor rides for this week. Or I could (gasp) get up an hour and a half earlier tomorrow!

    OK, must be realistic....
  • volgirl1322
    volgirl1322 Posts: 2,086 Member
    Your plan sounds great!!
  • mistymeadows2005
    mistymeadows2005 Posts: 3,737 Member
    Nice work babe! I like feeling hungry sometimes too - as long as it's not uncomfortable! I rarely get physical hunger anymore though...only mental
  • jadepearl
    jadepearl Posts: 3,111 Member
    Good job on meeting your indoor bike goals! :)
  • Nevadaden
    Nevadaden Posts: 971 Member
    edited June 2019
    June 13

    42 Days to Bavaria
    Weight loss goal: 10 pounds
    Indoor bike ride goal: 2/12 rides
    Outdoor bike ride goal: 1/12 rides

    I had a good OMAD day yesterday. I had two beverages at dinner again, but in this case, the beverages were good old H20. And I went for a morning outdoor ride after all. It was indeed hot, but I took plenty of water with me, and thus rode happily for a little over two hours. Indoor riding is decent training for a bike trip, but it doesn't replace outdoor rides, so I'm glad I got the first of the week in. That leaves me Friday or Saturday for the second.

    Despite a good first three days, I woke up feeling slightly depressed and angry with myself for being in this situation at all. Two years ago, I was maintaining with no problem; eating OMAD five days a week and having a longer window on the weekends. I enjoyed buying clothes and never had to worry about whether what I chose to wear on a given day would fit. I wondered why it had taken me so long to discover OMAD, and how much easier my weight-life would have been, had I only known about intermittent fasting thirty years ago.

    And then. First it was one day, then a couple of days, then a bad week, then finally a series of weeks and months of backsliding. It's as if I was determined to sabotage myself until I regained weight.

    As I said earlier, I know that ten pounds isn't the end of the world. It could have been worse; I could have regained all 27 and then some. But even though I know that, today's just one of those days, when, because I didn't sleep well and I have a couple of stressful situations at work going on, I find myself berating myself.

    Not enough to lose sight of the goal, however!

    When I started this vacation challenge (thank you again for the inspiration, Tracey), I couldn't immediately decide when to weigh. 45 days didn't fit neatly into weeks, and it was a short time frame, besides. But I also didn't want to weigh every day because of ordinary fluctuations. So, I decided on every five days. Long enough to smooth out water fluctuations, and five divides perfectly into 45 to result in nine weigh-ins before we leave.

    That means the first weigh-in will be Saturday. I'll have to watch my recent tendency to indulge on Friday nights (celebrating the end of the work week) so that I have something positive to report on Saturday. And that's a good reminder that life is full of celebrations, some large, some small; some very real and some, like an ordinary Friday night, fabricated. And even if one treats every day as a celebration, which has its own joys, that doesn't meant that eating needs to be the focus of that celebration. Just because yesterday was National Peanut Butter Cookie Day in the U.S. (seriously, who thinks these things up?) doesn't mean I need to whip up a batch of peanut butter cookies.

    Have a great day, all! And thank you, @mistymeadows2005, @jadepearl, and @volgirl1322 for the words of encouragement.
  • mistymeadows2005
    mistymeadows2005 Posts: 3,737 Member
    GIRLLLLLLLLLLLLL you've got this! We all have days where we beat ourselves up....we are DEFINITELY our own worst critics!

    For what it's worth, I still very clearly remember you from when I first started my OMAD journey and you were right up there in MY inspiration <3
  • volgirl1322
    volgirl1322 Posts: 2,086 Member
    Thanks for sharing ---I say all the time "the struggle is real" and it is true for all of those needing the last 25-30 off, those just needing 10 ---we all are in it.....

    Cheering you on for a fantastic weigh in! <3

  • jadepearl
    jadepearl Posts: 3,111 Member
    Good luck with your Saturday's weigh-in👍🍀 Cheering you on from Down Under ❤️📣
  • Nevadaden
    Nevadaden Posts: 971 Member
    June 14

    41 Days to Bavaria
    Weight loss goal: 10 pounds
    Indoor bike ride goal: 2/12 rides
    Outdoor bike ride goal: 1/12 rides

    No rides yesterday, but nothing but black coffee and water until a one-plate (albeit a full one) dinner. No additional beverages. So far, so good. I'd forgotten how relievingly simple OMAD can be.
  • Nevadaden
    Nevadaden Posts: 971 Member
    June 15

    40 Days to Bavaria
    Weight lost: 1.5/10 pounds
    Indoor bike ride goal: 2/12 rides
    Outdoor bike ride goal: 2/12 rides

    So....1.5 pounds. Not the result I was seeking on my first weigh in, but entirely my fault. I was on track for that initial, uplifting water weight loss of 2 1/2, 3 pounds....and then, although I did hold to a clean fast yesterday until the evening, I was undone by my inability to say no to a partner in crime. My triathlete can generally eat whatever he wants, and I have a hard time either (1) not making salted caramel pecan chocolate brownies when he asks; or (2) not joining him in eating salted caramel pecan chocolate brownies. And yes, OMAD allows you to have a good, satisfying dinner without giving up dessert, but you can defeat OMAD if you work at it. And last night I worked at it; I certainly did not need a second glass of wine and a second brownie.

    The good news is that, just as one generally loses water weight in the beginning of a diet, one also generally gains water and not fat after a single day's overindulgence. So, I'm not unhappy with 1.5 pounds. If I were to lose just a tad over one pound in each of my next eight weigh-ins before leaving for Europe, that, coupled with this initial loss, would get me to 10.

    And if nothing else, I learn from my mistakes. My triathlete is an inadvertent, not a deliberate. diet saboteur. He would have been perfectly fine if, instead of saying yes to making brownies, I had told him to eat a chocolate bar instead. Lesson (re)learned.

    I'm dressed and ready to go for my outdoor ride today, so I am already logging it in. Will catch up with others' threads upon my sweaty return!
  • mistymeadows2005
    mistymeadows2005 Posts: 3,737 Member
    Oh the beauty of omad... That one day won't hurtcha at all boo...1.5 is about what I averaged a week if I work out the numbers... It adds up quickly as you well know... You're on your way boo!