286 lbs to 145 to 192

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desiraelynnm
desiraelynnm Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello! I’m a 23 year old woman who lost 146 lbs with IF and a flexible work out routine. I weighed 286 lbs when I decided there’s no damn way I could continue life like this. I frequented the gym in the beginning, but found love for hiking and that was my predominant way to continue losing weight over the course of the year.

I got down to 132 lbs but maintained weight at a healthy 145 for two years, it didn’t seem difficult as I wasn’t restricting myself but had a healthy mindset towards food and just enjoyed physical activity through the outdoors.

Fast forward working 80 hour weeks in an abusive restaurant job, being manipulated and cheated on by a narcissist and moving 1,000 miles away from home and living by myself just returned me back to the dark hole of unhealthy habits and obesity. I lost all will power working around food, I lost all energy after working such long shifts and lost my love for the outdoors.

After traveling this winter I realized I need to be better to my body again and how much different a body feels with more weight vs less. I just don’t dread things as much or at all when I’m carrying less weight around.. physically and mentally.

I know Rome wasn’t built in a day, but I have been consistent working out in the gym or going for a hike every day, I have completely cut out soda again and my eating window is 16:8, and usually I don’t even finish all my calories before I even log my workouts. I’ve also picked up a few classes at the gym. After all of this steady for the past 2 months, I still can’t get over the 190 hump. 5 weeks ago I weighed 203 and I’m now constantly fluctuating from 190.5-193

Is there anything else I can do? I know I’m capable of this as I’ve done it before... Please help

Replies

  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,052 Member
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    Such wise words ^^^ @above. It sounds like a really rough patch of road, OP. Be good to yourself!

    Is your goal to return to 145 lb? A 45 pound loss suggests a slower rate of loss, actually. More like 1 lb/wk until you get to within 20 lb of goal, then 0.5lb/wk for the last 20. A slower rate of loss (1) preserves muscle mass so you look and feel better when you reach GW, (2) gives you more energy while losing and it sounds like you could really use it, (3) gives you more calories to work with which you may not want now but I always consider a win, and (4) smooths your transition to maintenance mentally and physically.

    To respond regarding what you can do: pick a reasonable rate of loss based on your goals, recalibrate your expectations, and look at your weight trend vs. specific data points in isolation. Isolated data points drive me crazy, too, if I ignore context. Was your previous weight loss a smooth downward line every day? How did you think about scale fluctuations then?
  • 76colorada
    76colorada Posts: 1 Member
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    If you've just come out of an abusive situation it's possible that you may be carrying around negative self-beliefs as a result of that. Those can fuel feelings of despair and hopelessness/powerlessness. Notice if you're thinking bad thoughts about yourself and remember you can choose what you want to believe, i.e. "I'm making continual progress towards the healthiest version of me."
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,902 Member
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    I needed therapy when I got out of a relationship with a narcissist.

    {{{{{{{{{{ hugs }}}}}}}}}}
  • desiraelynnm
    desiraelynnm Posts: 2 Member
    edited February 2020
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    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    To respond regarding what you can do: pick a reasonable rate of loss based on your goals, recalibrate your expectations, and look at your weight trend vs. specific data points in isolation. Isolated data points drive me crazy, too, if I ignore context. Was your previous weight loss a smooth downward line every day? How did you think about scale fluctuations then?

    Yes I think when I lost weight the first time it came off much faster as I had a lot more to lose. I do believe I still had some hiccups in the road, though. So thank you for the reminder.
  • Lanabanana42
    Lanabanana42 Posts: 13 Member
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    Ended a bad relationship and moved very far away from home, that's tough. I'd hazard a guess that you have lost much of your support network. Please take the time to take care of your mental health as well as your physical wellbeing . Talking to someone to help with processing all this would go a long way, see if you can find a good therapist where you are, it helps. As far as the weight loss goes, you are still averaging about 2 pounds a week to date, that is quite rapid. I also use a trending app (Trendweight) and it helps me see that I am in fact progressing. Even when some weeks it looks like I gained it all back, there soon follows a "whoosh" week when I guess a bunch of water and stuff just make my weight drop to new, lower levels.
  • amyepdx
    amyepdx Posts: 750 Member
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    Same situation for me - although gaining was caused by vacation, holidays and a less traumatic break-up.
    Started at 267 - got down to 169 in about 1 1/2 years - still 20 lbs from goal. I kept within 10 lbs for 2 years and then shot up to 205 by the end of 2019.
    Still having less to lose than when I started does mean it goes slower but now I’m back in the groove. You’ve got to take it day by day - if I think about it taking a year to lose the 35 lbs I gained in less that 6 months, then I can get disillusioned and that doesn’t help.
    The good news is that I’m down 7.5 lbs in less than 6 weeks instead of still gaining!
    You’ve got this!

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