Just checking in

I write this mainly for myself, and again - a huge thank you to the folks that provide us myfitnesspal - and the use of this food logger and calorie counter

I am starting day 25. I have gone from 177 lbs to 157 lbs - so far. Sure. At first the weight, mainly water, flew off. But I also knew I was burning off some fat, which is the goal. So how much was simply water weight? Who knows. Who cares. It's gone.

I started at 44 inches around the belly button. I am now at 37.5. My goal was 35 inches, so who knows. I also started off using the Keto diet as a marker to learn what to eat. Sure, there were days I ate under 50g of carbs, but there were days I didn't. I would eat between 60g-84g of carbs. I stated from the start I didn't plan on being in ketosis all the time, if ever - but just hijacked their diet to figure out where to start, knowing it was really a lifestyle change I wanted. Knowing what was healthier to eat. And for me, personally, dumping all those carbs and processed foods from my diet. I basically just moved over to whole foods - or if consuming a processed food, that it was made from whole ingredients.

My sugars are down the most. I rarely eat over 35g of sugar a day. Which according to the AHA is still high, I guess. Hate to say what it used to be, not that long ago. As well, I am not eating eggs all the time, nor bacon. Won't do bullet coffee because I hate coffee, but I am eating a pretty good balanced diet, though still no pasta and no starches, no cheat days.

Where do I plan on ending - and start maintaining? Currently, I am set at 1,450 calories a day. I have readjusted my caloric intake three times and think I may need to take it down one last time, to get those last ten pounds off, when I near that. I have another 7-9 lbs to drop before that final push. There are days, thus far, that I now struggle to figure out how to hit eat 1,450 calories, so I eat an apple a day, or drink a 12 ounce glass of organic whole milk to end the day. But there are days I get off the water, from kayaking, and crave carbs. I just found things to eat that mimic carbs in my mind, but not allow my body these carbs.

Anyway, I say this meaning I know I can eat under 1,450 calories a day. So my goal is setting a weight were I will eventually, in the end, be eating around 2,000 calories to maintain weight. Why? Because that seems like a lot of calories all of a sudden and when doing the math, would put me at 140 lbs, for my height, weight, and age. I do not plan on returning to my 125 lb weight from my high school years. There still may be a day my goal is to get closer to 135. But at 125 lb in high school, I was scrawny and everyone made fun of me for being such a little kid. Not going back to that. That was back when I could touch my pinky finger to my thumb, around my wrist. That's just too skinny. Those days are gone, for good.

Was I told I was going to hit a wall, or plateau - and did I hit that wall? Sure. For, I don't know, eight to ten days I didn't really do much. I gained a pound or lost that same pound, but I just kept up with the program. Didn't get discouraged. Kayak a little longer. Kept telling my self things will work out. Didn't freak out. And so the plan is to just keep going. And if/when I hit the next wall or plateau, just keep up the program and keep going. Who knows, in a few days I may be back starring at a pound or two I thought I had already lost. Will just do what we can to take that pound out again.

There are now a lot of days, my final calories are between 1,250-1,450. But due to kayaking (and hiking), my net calories are 340-400 a day. Instead of a cheat day, I sometimes eat the additional calories I am allotted after kayaking, but only half of those, never all. I want a deficit. Always. Seeing as I'm trying to lose weight. So having days of low net calories makes sense. Eventually, I will be at the weight I want and thus, my net calories will offset the extra food I earn through exercise, as maintaining weight. In other words, one day I will work out, by going kayaking and hiking, and say hey, look at all the calories I earned - what can I really eat (cheat) today

Now lastly, I know what some here are going to say, it's only been 24 days and you have a lifetime to go. To those people, you can tell me how others have failed and once again tell me I may be no different - and that it has only been 24 days. Sure. But if I am making this a lifestyle change, on what to put in my mouth, I like my odds this time around. So say what you want. It's my body and my mind - and I plan on being skinnier for a long time. Again, thanks MFP.

The best lesson I learned is reading labels and avoiding certain ingredients, mainly in all those processed foods. I like clean labels. For that statement alone, people will hit the Disagree button. Whatevers. Maybe I will even go hit the Disagree button just for laughs.