Logging and maintaining...

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AndyH65
AndyH65 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 2019 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
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This before and after shot compares my progress during the second half of my weight loss journey from 2013-19. It was taken earlier this summer. I started getting more active and eating well about 13 years ago. In that time I’ve lost nearly 130lbs in total. I yo-yoed a bit in the middle (regained about half of what I lost by the time the first of these pics was taken - oops); but then I came back with a vengeance, got down to a healthy BMI of just under 25, and have been maintaining successfully now for nearly 6 months.

I know it’s not for everyone but I now know that calorie logging (in and out) is essential for me. I regained weight only when I got complacent and felt that I could manage without a safety net. It’s simply not true. A couple of years ago I got a fitness tracker that enabled me to measure accurately calories in vs out and now I can very easily work out what my deficit or surplus is and adjust accordingly. It seems to work! I continue to eat healthily on relative low carbs (depending on my fitness needs) and as I am logging cals in I can see where I am at the end of the day and whether I need to top up or simply enjoy a little treat.

As a result, I now have the body at 54 that I should have had in my 20s. That’s the only thing I regret. Why did I waste all those years? The good thing is that as I was so lazy in my youth I still have all bone joints intact so I can run into old age! It’s weird feeling the changes in my body. Sometimes I feel a bit of a stranger to myself. I have armpits! Proper armpits! And hard bits where there used to be soft bits. And bones where there used to be fat tissue. I pinch myself when I have to buy size ‘Small’ in clothes.

But I’m still the same person. When meeting folk for the first time in a long while they talk to me as if I’m a different person on the inside. I’m not. I know that fat bloke is still in there fighting to get out. I do give in to indulgences from time to time, that’s human. But now it’s all done within a structure and regimen that I can stick to. It took the digital revolution to facilitate that shift in my thinking and attitudes but I am still grateful for the support I’ve had from MFP.

Replies

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Well done and well said!
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    Congratulations on changing your health and reaching maintenance, you look great! I feel the same way both about being in better shape now and the importance of logging.
  • 425Recess
    425Recess Posts: 260 Member
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    I could have written the same. Logging is a necessity! That is for me of course.
  • peachvine29
    peachvine29 Posts: 400 Member
    edited November 2019
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    That's awesome, congratulations!!! Great Work.

    I am 27 and wish I would have figured this out sooner or never had a weight problem to begin with like many my age... I know I'm sure it sounds very silly to you probably since I am young and completely ridiculous. We all have our struggles though, and what we've been through made us who we are today, and we can only look forward!

    I'm glad you figured your health and fitness out, some never do! I know plenty of people your age who have given up on their health, are smoking packs of cigarettes a day, pots of coffee, no exercise (my family). I think it's awesome that you figured this out and have the rest of your life to look forward to being healthy. We all learn in our own time, we're all doing the best we can, and we do better when we know better. You are being a great example to those around you.

    Best wishes :)
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    Great 1st post :-) awesome job! Congrats on losing a huge amount of weight and all the best for keeping it off.
    I'm in my 6th year of maintenance, I logged my food for the first few years but as I am a creature of habit and eat the same things I no longer need to log. If l couldn't maintain my weight without logging I would go back to it in a heartbeat because it would be worth it.
  • shaf238
    shaf238 Posts: 4,021 Member
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    You've smashed it mate, congratulations :)
  • kcmcbee
    kcmcbee Posts: 177 Member
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    Awesome Andy!

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