Last month when I made a commitment-complete with pictures, to be a healthier person in 2021, I decided to use January as my level setting, exploratory month. I looked at weight loss plans like WW (formerly weight watchers) ad Noom. I ruled out Noom as I had a lot of people say that though while it was helpful to change a mindset, they felt locked in and unable to get out of a contract once they felt they had it covered. One person compared it to getting therapy, and said her co-payment was cheaper, plus she had the benefit of linking to her medical charts. I ruled out WW because the whole 0 point thing made me nervous that I'd just game the system. I also ruled out eating plans like Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem as I know I need to retrain my mind and body to eat right and not rely on packaged food and pre-portioned by someone else meals.
In the end, as much as it will be a pain to do, I'm taking the guidance of several of you, plus my health care PA, and doing the old calorie/food log thing, with a target of 1500 calories per day. That paired with more exercise-even just averaging 20 minutes of cardio (I hope to do more) and 20 minutes of strength, a minimum of five days per week, should result in a slow and steady weight loss that is sustainable. I'm throwing in Intermittent Fasting, 16-8, where I eat nothing for a 16 hour period, and keep my calories between the same 8 hours each day. I'll use 11:00 to 7:00 as that works with my sleep and wake cycle, and work schedule. It will be easy to do when I return to the office as well.
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| Thrifty food log-freebie from a blogger event fall 2019. |
I'm not self confident enough to share my starting weight on January 1, but it was high, higher than it has ever been including pregnancies. As luck would have it, both my scales are not working-the one didn't reboot even with fresh batteries and need to get the right one for the other, so I couldn't weigh myself today, one month later. I feel like I have lost a small bit, judging from the jeans I wore on Saturday. Rather than a weight progress report, I'll estimate each month what, if any % of weight I have lost, with a goal of 30% by 1/1/2022. If I hit it earlier, I'll adjust to see if more is needed, or switch to maintenance and building strength. If I don't see the progress I want, I'll make adjustments along the way, but I won't beat myself up. I have the luxury of investing time in meal planning, cooking and preparing that will lesson once I am back in the office 3-4 days a week, so I see between now and July 1 as my prime months to lose the most the fastest. Sometime today I'll take pictures again-nothing really to show since January 1, but I'll want to line the pictures up and see the progression at some point.
I didn't mean this post to be so long to just basically say, yes, I am moving forward with trying to lose weight. I know several of you are on healthy journeys this year as well. Let's motivate each other and at the same time, helping us all remember that we are all good at any weight, shape, or size. This is about health and having the present and futures we want more.
I find consistent tracking (both of calories & of my activity level) to be incredibly helpful in staying on track. Your plan sounds great!
ReplyDeleteI let things slide, so I'll need accountability. I'm book marking a few new to me purchases for each goal-10, 20, and then 30% weight loss.
DeleteWay to go on coming up with a viable plan! It will be fun to watch your progress. I don't need to loose weight but I have been working on muscle strength. It is amazing how much muscle you loose as you get older.
ReplyDeleteI sure need to improve my strength as well. I figure my exercise will have strength building components as well as cardio.
DeleteFeeling the looseness of the jeans is a better indicator than the scale is, imo. Good for you! I saw a post about using Feb 1 as a jumping point for taking better care of yourself. Makes sense to me, it’s a monday, new page on the calendar, a short month. I’m putting a rough January behind me and moving forward. I found a hair dye that I didn’t know I had and took care of that over the weekend. I needed, not a want but a need, new jeans and grabbed a pair at Walmart as well as a few $5 clearance shirts and a new mascara. This morning I got “the big shower” as my daughter calls it and I’m sure the ladies can relate. I have hummus, a salad and some clementines for work lunch. I feel better already, even though the snow is lingering and roads aren’t that great and a full week with my least favorite person at work is on tap. But I guess the real moral of the story is to control the things that I can and hope for the best. I didn’t get a chance to comment on the last post but yay for the Taco Bell fake out-we had it twice last week! JoAnn
ReplyDeleteNow, this morning, they don't feel as loose-and I've been good, but I know fluctuations in water weight make a difference. As I said to HP-I am going to look for some marker point incentives. A great pair of jeans may be one-definitely for the 30% mark if I get there as nothing I have will work. I hope your work gets less frustrating. Driving on bad roads only to be stressed at work is not good. That's how I felt my last two years at my old job.
DeleteI weigh 100 pounds more than I did when I delivered last baby! Losing weight is so hard right now.
ReplyDeleteI figure 55 is no better time to get healthier before I close in on my retirement years. I have big plans between 61 and 100!
DeleteWonderful! I find using clothes as a guide is sometimes more helpful than the scale, because you can be losing but holding water which makes the scales stagnant and is demoralizing..
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know-jut to know! Definitely though how a pair of jeans fit or don't is a good indicator.
DeleteI got a really accurate scale. It cost more than I expected but I discovered my old ones were all over the place. I hadn't known, or more like, hadn't wanted to know since they weighed lower than the accurate ones.....Good luck with your journey to losing weight and getting healthier!
ReplyDeleteBoth these were accurate-I got the really nice one as part of a health plan (haha fail) through work. I'm very bummed it stopped working.
DeleteI now weigh around what I did when I had my last son - and I looked like a Volkswagen Beetle in a maternity dress then. I know I don't have the discipline to "follow" a diet, however good it might be, but I'm going to try to start counting calories with Myfitnesspal again. What I find difficult there, though, is homemade food - that is difficult to estimate even with the help of MFP. But good luck, we can only try can't we!
ReplyDeleteI think this is less a diet and hopefully more a commitment to cut the junk and mindless eating out of my day, and the result will be weight loss. I remember thinking how big I was after each child-then after the last one, 20 more pounds styed on me!
DeleteWay to go! The ONLY thing that worked for me was a food journal. I used it religiously for a year, reviewing my choices before bed, and nothing where I could make changes. It got so I wouldn't grab that handful of chips or eat a cookie on the lam. Since then, I have been able to stay at about my desired weight. (The body shape, however, has changed with age.) I actually don't know what I weigh, because when I started the journal, I tossed the scale, and to this day, stand on the scales backwards at the doctor's office so I can't see.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I used to do when I was looking to shed those college pounds was refusing to eat a meal unless I could sit properly at a table, and take my time...no multitasking.
I'd like to be able to say, no eating except at a table, but that just would not be realistic inn my days except weekends. I could do it for supper, but lunch, I'm usually eating while working or off camera-even in the office I rarely had a true lunch time.
DeleteIf you end up replacing your scale we bought a weight watchers one which is accurate and wasn't very expensive at all (our died then replacement had the glass shatter into a million pieces on day 1). We've had it about 3 years now and are totally happy with it. Good luck to you. It would be easier if you could shop and do activities freely but I guess it is what it is right now with Covid
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recommendation. I didn't leave the hosue other than walking and had dog with so haven't got a new replacement battery for the older model, but if that is ano go, I'll check that one out.
DeleteThat is great,, Sam. I wish you all the best. I've been watching my weight as well. It will be better to be healthier with Covid hanging around, which is my main motivation, that and health.
ReplyDeleteYes-I do not want to add any additional risk factors. I think I am probably on the very tail end of the vaccine line, so getting and staying healthy is a must.
DeleteI'm so proud of you, Sam! Way to stick to your plan for January! Re: the WW zero points foods, it's mostly fruits, veggies, lean protein/fish/eggs, beans/peas/legumes. Stuff you either can't overindulge in (I'm never going to eat two bananas!) or stuff you don't want to eat more of. I've always liked that set-up because I can eat if I want, but I'll only go for 0 foods if I'm really hungry. Favourite quote from my WW days: "If you're really hungry, steamed broccoli looks delicious!"
ReplyDeleteI keep a couple of "goal" items handy in my closet for trying on when I'm trying to lose - I've been working really hard at not overindulging on sweets or chocolate or salty/crunchy (aside from a 3-day binge at Christmas, ha ha), and I now fit into a goal skirt I bought in October! I was so excited! Now I am eyeing a pair of pants that are always too tight.
Good work on finding a solution that works for you. :)
I'll have to look in my closet for any goal items. I guess with the WW thing, I've seen a couple plus size YouTubers that rave about it and say they've lost weight, but I see what they are eating, and how much exercise they do, and I'm seeing no difference-so I thought hmm, are they just eating a lot of portions of 0 point food and ignoring total calories? I can see I would do that.
DeleteI've done WW several times, it's always worked to lose weight, but I couldn't keep it off. Each time gaining it all back and more. I try to eat healthy now, cut out most junk, walk daily. It's working so far,slow but hopefully I won't regain! Good luck. Celie
ReplyDeleteI used to do pretty well keeping at an OK weight after originally losing the highschool and with the first two kids. Working in an office and I gained 9 pound s year for 7 years, then lost a significant chunk before being pregnant with the last one, where I gain nearly 40 pregnancy pounds, never lost, and put 20+ more on, so yeah, I'm a lot heavier than a year after child two was born and while I don't think I'll get back to there, I want to be out of the overweight category and stya out.
DeleteI think you are going about it in a very smart way. Don't forget to check out the My Fitness Pal app, it's really good and so easy to use. There is a community there too if you'd like to be involved in that as well. Lots of very supportive people there. Best of luck Sam. You can do it!
ReplyDeleteIf it's a phone app, I avoid them like the plague! I'll see what there is for PC based. I need a community!
DeleteI think the fasting thing is great. Hubs has lost so much weight and kept it off, but boy is he hungry a lot. He eats lunch about 11-12 and then dinner 5-6 I am keeping it low carb within reason. Then nothing again until the next day. So he gets hungry. We do keep nuts and he can have a handful if it gets too bad.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time eating in the morning anyway as the pill I take for my heart burn/reflux just doesn't mix well with food. I tend to eat a decent lunch-if over time because of work, and dinner. It's cutting out the mindless end of day snacking that I hope the IF stops.
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