In February of this year I made the decision of quit half-assing my health and get serious about it. I had been having some minor health scares (all because of my weight) and I knew it the pit of my being that it was time to change - for good this time.
I knew when I started this journey that I was serious about it. I also knew that I was committed to losing the weight in a way I had not been before, but I also knew that I have tried to lose weight countless times before, and I either lost an insignificant amount or I would give up because I wasn't see the results I wanted fast enough.
I knew that exercise (committed exercise) had to be a part of this weight loss journey, but I also knew that I was not going anywhere near a gym (not only because of COVID, but because I did not feel comfortable working out at a gym. I was too self conscious about my weight). I also knew that I was getting to the point over being overweight that I did not even feel comfortable exercising in my neighborhood. I was embarrassed of the weight I had gained, but I was more embarrassed for people seeing me in the streets trying to work off that weight through exercise. I knew that I needed to begin this journey in the privacy of my own home. It was where I felt the most comfortable.
Thankfully, I have an amazing and supportive husband who has been begging me to get healthy for years and is willing to do anything to support that mission because when I talked to him about the possibility of investing in a treadmill he was all about it, as long as I was serious about losing my weight. I think that he could tell that something was different about this weight loss journey because after a short conversation he began to research different treadmills and bought one for me.
The second part of this process was my diet. I actually don't eat too poorly. I am vegetarian/vegan(ish). I like salads, beans, whole grains, etc...I don't have a sweet tooth either. My problem is portion size and carbs. I l-o-v-e me some carbs - breads, pastas, etc...are my jam.
Scientifically, I knew that the way to lose weight was to burn more calories than I consumed. The only way to know what I was consuming was to keep track through calorie counting. I did not want to join a program, or pop any pills, or wear any patches on my journey. (I am not against those things for others - I am just against them for me.) I wanted to see what my body could do with a little bit of spit and grit. I wanted to see if my body would respond the old fashioned way of consuming less, being conscious of what I was putting into my body, and exercising it regularly.
And...slowly but sure it has worked.
To date, I have lost 32.4 pounds. I have about 48 pounds left to lose and I am thinking it will take me another 9 months or so to do so. The 80 pound total that I want to lose is not set in stone. I know when I get down to a healthy weight for me that that is the weight I am supposed to settle at. It could be 70 pounds total lost or it could be 90 pounds lost. I am not sure how that part of my journey will look yet; I just know that when I get there I will figure it out.
I didn't want to share my weight loss journey with you any earlier because I wanted to make sure that I had a significant amount of weight behind me. I wanted to be able to show people what I knew deep inside - that this time my journey toward health was different. I could write about my seriousness until I was blue in the face, but I knew this was something that I needed to be able to show people. The only way to do that is to actually put in the work and put up the numbers.
Losing a significant amount of weight is about more than weighing less on a scale. It is a long, hard journey that deals with mental health as well as physical health. I am shedding more than just fat on this journey. I am shedding unhealthy thought patterns, unhealthy belief systems, and unhealthy ways of dealing with emotions. Anyone who has (or is currently) losing a significant amount of weight knows what I mean. If you know, you know.
So, what I am doing to lose my weight?
I have several "rules" for myself.
1. No eating past 7 pm
2. Cardio for 60 minutes 3-5 x's per week
3. No more than 1700 calories per day
4. A dedicated cheat day once a week
5. Get back on the horse if I fall off for a meal or a day
My rules are fairly self explanatory, but I do want to address rules 4 and 5. I knew that if I was going to be successful in this journey that I needed one day a week where I didn't have to count calories, measure anything, and enjoy the foods I wanted to in the quantities I wanted them in. (This day is currently Saturdays, but will change to Sundays once the NFL begins again.) That was what was going to get me through the days where I wanted to cheat so badly. And it has. I am completely okay with planned cheat days (birthdays, holidays, etc...) the key for me is that the time has to be planned out. My biggest pitfall in past experiences in trying to lose weight is the unplanned cheat days/meals/moments because one cheat meal would be come two which would become four, and then all of the sudden my weight loss journey was down the toilet.
The second thing that I want to address is getting back on the horse. There have been weeks where my rules have not all been perfectly followed. (A lot of them have been, most of them have been, but definitely not all of the them.) What is different about my journey this time, is that I am in this for the long haul, so if I have a weak moment and do have an unplanned meal once in a while instead of giving up, I just get back on the horse and start a new the next meal/day/etc...While I am striving to perfectly follow my rules, I also have built up a mentality that perfection is not possible all the time and that what is possible, and what will see me through this journey, is not giving up when a day or week doesn't go perfectly.
So, there you have it. I am not sure how often I will share my journey, but I wanted to share it none-the-less both for myself to look back on in future years when I read through the entries in this space and also to try and inspire someone else who may be thinking about losing a bunch of much needed weight. It is totally possible to do so, you just have to find what works for you. Each of us is different and what works for one person won't work for someone else. Just do you, and I know you will see results.
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