~40F, started at 315-320lbs, weighed in at 200 days at 266.5lbs – probably the lightest I've been since my teens. Doing 1500cals, 65-90g of daily protein. My goal is to at least hit 220lbs, and at most touch 200. I've been large since my preteens – a combination of being fed unhealthy adult sized meals alongside general food insecurity and lack of safe outdoor activity space. I never learned proper eating habits but I thankfully have always steered towards variety and fruits/vegetables.
Things I struggled with: SWEETS, I love cake and ice cream and finding an adequate replacement has been tough (Halo Top is just okay, it scratches the itch). Portion control and stopping before I'm completely stuffed. And just the pure joy of food and cooking; I would absolutely call myself a foodie, and I love to cook and share meals. For health reasons, I can't really work out much so seated exercises only.
Things that helped: Sadly, probably the most helpful thing was not going out where there would be temptations. Starting in the winter helped as there wasn't much going on, but as it got nicer out the food truck rallies, pop up BBQs, that sort of thing was just too much after 40 years of no restraint. I also had to manicure my consumed entertainment content. Turns out I follow a lot of food or recipe related stuff (I adore Guy Fieri) and I just couldn't keep watching when I couldn't also eat. Started seeing a dietitian to help me properly assess my caloric needs; Google will send you in 5 different directions, and it helped to have someone tell me what to look for and how to process that kind of information in a healthy and helpful way. A food scale is completely necessary for getting accurate counts on food, especially when preparing from fresh. Eating for volume is extremely valuable to my success, adding fresh in-season produce helped me feel full and take in less calories in general without feeling deprived. I live in a great farmers market community and this journey has really benefit from having that kind of support.
Things that did not help so much: Diet drinks. I just hate the taste of the artificial sweeteners. I drink the occasional Celsius or a Coke Zero almost medicinally – I don't like the taste but the energy boost and having a cold bevvy is fantastic and filling. I just switched to the 7.5oz cans of regular soda, Clearly Canadian, or coconut water. Konjac products, while filling, were too hard on my gut and would have me praying to the porcelain gods. I use it now as an additive (so maybe two spoonfulls of Konjac rice in my regular rice to help me feel full). Meal prep just is not for me, if I eat the same thing more than 2-3 nights in a row I WILL barf and never eat it again.
And really, understanding "Fed is best"; I had to let go of the urge to be 'perfect' at this, setting myself up for regression at the slightest indication of 'failure'. Buy the diet frozen meal if it helps you get started! Get the canned vegetables if the idea of cleaning and preparing fresh is too much! If you struggle and over-eat on the weekend, understand your triggers and try again Monday! The important thing is to get started and to keep going, you're not losing any weight daydreaming about perfection and a setback isn't worth quitting over.
I feel like I don't look too different (I didn't take measurements or progress shots at first and I'm kicking myself), but my clothes definitely tell the weight difference story. My face and natural waist area seem to have been affected most so my clothes sit more flatteringly. It's hard to track my activity levels due to the weight loss as I had an underlying health concern discovered and treated that is also helping, but in total I feel genuinely great.
by Hailsm00thie
2 Comments
Do you put the trout on the crackers?
Combratulations! That’s a huge milestone and that plate looks really good, and really unusual. I have never heard of smoked trout, but it sounds really appealing. Thanks for the idea on the olives, too.