Logged 1000 days for the win!

I just reached 1000 days of logging my food on MFP. Down 70 pounds, or 28% of my starting body weight. That is Absolutely Surreal.

I hesitate to make a post at all, much less a very, very long one. However, I have had life-changing success, and success stories on My Fitness Pal really, really, helped me, so here goes.

(Important Note: This is working and is helpful and safe for ME. Of course, everyone is different, and many people have other, very serious, health challenges. I was in relatively good health, in spite of my weight. For my age. I have well-controlled asthma. I use a CPAP for sleep apnea. I had back surgery. I have long had low thyroid, which is medicated. My blood pressure was a tad high, and my glucose level was starting to creep up. My doctors have seen my steady and/or improved vitals and bloodwork, and they are very supportive of my approach.)

I have been obsessed with dieting and trying to lose excess weight, nearly every single day, for the most part of at least 50 years. I tried many, many weight loss approaches, other than medication or surgery, though I considered trying those, too. I could follow any program and even lose a lot, (40+ lbs. several times), but I could not tolerate the prolonged feeling of deprivation. I felt compelled to eat, and I re-gained it all, and more, every time. (I see now that I tried MFP briefly in 2013, but recall that I harshly judged myself and agonized as I logged my food, so I gave up.)

So, what did I do this time? Inspired by Dr. Jason Fung’s book, “The Obesity Code,” I found out all I could about insulin resistance and time-restricted eating. Very interesting. I started my self-designed program as “Just a Science Experiment,” pretty sure that it would not work for me. I recorded foods eaten and results as though they were about someone else. Thinking of it that way distanced it from me and de-personalized it, so I was just curious, and not guilting/judging myself. Tricking my brain into that seemed to diminish my usual emotional turmoil about food. That itself was remarkable.

I even devised a spreadsheet of eating times, sleep, water, foods, and 7-day rolling average weight (Science Experiment!). However, after a while I just calmly logged my food on MFP and easily checked my 30-day trend on the free website Libra.

In February 2021, I was age 71, 5’8”, 243.8 lbs. and size 24W, XXL, or XXXL. I began by using time-restricted eating, which I had feared would be difficult. I skipped breakfast, though I was a breakfast lover. By doing that, I didn’t eat for roughly 17 hours, from about 7 p.m. to noon, and then ate only within a 7-hour window. That became very easy within a week or two. I still roughly follow that pattern. I have never “fasted” for longer, since that is unappealing for this foodie.

I manage to log nearly all of my food, every bite, here on MFP; it’s a very quick and easy habit now. Since I found it motivating to track, I did use the MFP reset link (just search “counter reset”) to reset my MFP streak maybe 4 times over the years, and only by about 2 or 3 days each time.

Consistent logging helped me stay not much over and, importantly, not much under, 1540 calories, a target I set using various online calculators. I did not lower that target as I lost weight. Spread over just the two meals, 1540 actually goes pretty far. I measured foods a lot, since I often found my eyeballed portion weighed a lot less than expected. I still measure often. I ate lots of protein and lots of healthy fats. I initially pretty much cut out sugar, processed foods, and non-vegetable carbs. I didn’t closely monitor macros.

I lost 70 pounds in the first 18 months. My starting BMI was 37.1; now it’s 26.3. There were some stalls, but it was shockingly and marvelously easy, after a lifetime of misery.

I believe that the key for me is that I now avoid flooding my body with insulin all day long, and it likes that very much. “Breakfast is the most important meal,” “Eat little and often or your body thinks it’s starving,” “Choose low- or no-fat,” and “Just eat less and move more,” advice I tried to follow for decades, is just dead wrong for me.

As I followed this new routine, I realized that I was not hungry very often, and more importantly, I wasn’t stressing about food all the time. Very, very freeing.

Now age 73, I have maintained for 18 months. I do fluctuate, but I am still generally down 70 lbs., hovering around 173. I wear a size 14-16W, WLg, or even WMed. I really only pay attention to how clothes fit, not inches. As I went along, I bought and donated back three rounds of smaller and smaller jeans at Goodwill. They have so many brands in one size I could always find a good cut. Win-win.

This has been the easiest and least distressing plan I have ever used. Works well for me. Saves me oodles of time, energy, and crippling angst because I am not thinking about food all.day.long. for the first time in nearly 50 years. Really. I’m rarely uncomfortably or distractingly hungry. If I am hungry outside my eating window, I can wait out the short while until the feeling passes, keeping busy and drinking water and decaf coffee. If I'm still hungry, I do go ahead and eat earlier that day. If I am hungry during my eating window after my lunch, I eat. I always have some protein (real food) around to grab quickly.

I eat delicious food, feel very liberated, and my vitals and blood work are excellent. I just feel great. I still can’t believe it. I try not to be enraged about how much time and very hard work I put in over the years, struggling to do the things that I did not know then were doomed to fail for me, and blaming myself for eating too much. Can’t change that. The pain of blame and the frustration of trying to figure out what to eat is finally gone, so I am very grateful.

This all cost me nothing, and now takes little time or thought. It may sound like it takes a lot of time and fussing, but hello, for decades I lost an appalling amount of quality time to stressing and worrying about what I did and did not, could and could not, eat. Painful times.

I do have to be very careful, because it is crystal clear that the more I eat carbs (other than lots of non-starchy vegetables), the more I want them, and soon I can’t stop thinking about them, just like the old days. Especially tempting for me are white carbs (bread and pasta) and highly processed foods. The old cravings were back recently, so I cut carbs way back, and that helped a lot. I do have some processed foods, such as pasta sauce, low sugar syrup on my waffle and low sugar peach preserves in yoghurt, which I happen to like. And I can often fit in dark chocolate squares, which I find very satisfying.

I often buy meat in bulk and measure and freeze portions. My grocery bill, in spite of having more meat, eggs, and fresh vegetables now, is the same or not much higher, when I compare it to one with “diet” or low-fat products, cereals, salty snacks, prepared meals, fruit juice, diet sodas, and desserts, which are actually relatively expensive.

I believe that exercise wasn’t really a factor at all. However, when I could move a bit more easily, I did get a little more active. I started with a 25-minute exercise video (Body Project total beginner low-impact). I needed at least four 5-minute breaks at first. It took me two months to work up to doing it all the way through. Even though I then had to stop for 12 months due to falling and fracturing first my shoulder, and later my arm, when I resumed I could still get all the way through. Maintaining my weight even without it has been easy, but since exercise is so beneficial, especially for my brain and bones, I’m getting back to it.

I have a lot of loose skin, of course. But that same skin stretched over a bigger body wasn’t ideal, either. Totally worth it.

Lest this all sound suspiciously rosy, be assured that I had my days when it seemed difficult and unfair that I had to do this at all. If I could, I'd have pasta and bread every day, but it's not worth suffering the cravings again. I do sometimes have pasta, bread, cereal, ice cream, pizza, etc. I have meals out, celebrations, and even indulgent vacations, but I plan for all of these and have them only occasionally.

I always resented people who seemed like they could naturally eat anything they wanted, all the time. I think the key is in the “want.” The seismic shift for me has been feeling so satisfied most of the time that I do not, for the first time almost ever, want food all the time. I do not fear or panic that I will never have this tasty food again. My approach has begun to rescue me from the constant “want,” has made me calmer about what I eat, and given me room in my thoughts to live the other parts of my life with less stress and more enjoyment.

Food is so fundamental that it’s a shame that there are so many conflicting theories that make it hard for each of us to know what is right for our own body, at our current time of life. I will always be learning and adapting.

I am cautiously optimistic that I will be able to continue this. I was convinced that I was a doomed emotional eater, and it was all my fault. Of course, I’m only three years in, so it’s still early days, but I love my new quality of life.

Thanks, My Fitness Pal!