Goal Achieved: 41lb lost in 2020

Background

7 years ago today, I stepped into MFP for the first time. I was about 6 weeks into my first big weight loss attempt, hoping to lose 98lb and I mostly got there. I lost about 80% of what I set out to lose in around 15 months before falling off the wagon. I wrote a long-ish blog post about it here.

TL:DR: I managed to lose 80lb of 98lb in 2013/14 counting calories and walking a lot - pics in the spoiler:
Enter 2020:

I stepped back into MFP at 201lb on January 4th, having regained over half of the initial loss. I set myself the goal of losing 41lb and getting to 160lb this time around. I also committed to a full year of logging, hopefully meaning I could get myself into the groove of continuing to log in maintenance. As of today, I've lost those 41lb and I have a 232 day streak, out of my committed 366 days.

Stats:

44 years old, female
Height 5' 6"
Starting Weight: 201lb
Goal Weight: 160lb

What I did:

I stuck to my original (2013) calorie goal of net 1640kcals and I tracked everything. My spouse and I do a lot of home cooking, a habit I picked up first time round and nothing is off the menu. We eat a lot of lean meat, eggs, fish, stir fries, salads and roasted vegetables. I also discovered home meal kits last year and sometimes pick up a box when I've a very busy work week. We've been re-using the recipe cards especially during the week as they are tailored to be quick and easy to cook. During lockdown we've also discovered a love of making, and eating, sourdough bread and crumpets!

Exercise-wise, I took up jogging back in 2015, so most of my exercise this time has been walking and jogging, something I was still able to do even in the strictest bit of lockdown. I currently average around 30 miles a week, and it's furthest I ever go at the moment! I also discovered You Tube yoga videos and have started with those 4-6 days a week.

Results:




What Next:

I am committed to logging for the rest of the year and I definitely want to lose more weight. However, I've just moved jobs on (temporary) promotion, which means more responsibility so I'm not making any further goals this year. I'm going to keep tracking, keep logging and try to maintain my hard-won loss until the new year, then I'll look again at my goals and see where I want to be. I'm also still chasing a sub-60 minute 10K time, so once I'm back on an even keel with my job, I'm going to be working on that.

I just want to say thank you to all my wonderful MFP pals for their inspiration and pom-pom waving and to a lot of you I've interacted online with for your advice and kindness. I truly couldn't have got this far without you all.

<insert obligatory 'big pants pic' here>: