I've been trying to lose my extra weight for AGES.
That extra weight was 100 pounds, peaking in 2004... and as of December, I still had 40lbs to lose.
My TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) in December was about 1800.
The TDEE at my goal weight is 1550.
THAT IS JUST A DIFFERENCE OF FREAKING 250 CALORIES PER DAY.
That's one extra slice of homemade pizza, or half a slice of lasagna, or 2/3rds of my favorite homemade roll. Or not measuring dressing/toppings on a salad, or not measuring pasta. Or absent-mindedly munching. Or not going for a walk. That's it! That's enough to maintain obesity forever.
As a result, I've changed my mindset.
I already knew this logically, and thought I had accepted it, but for some reason it never really "hit me" like it did last month. Instead of actively trying to lose weight, I need to be able to eat, FOREVER, at my goal weight's maintenance levels. There is never going to be such a thing as "intuitive eating" for me.
So my goal has been just to eat and behave like I'm maintaining at a healthy weight... eventually (by July 2019, thanks losertown!) that would get me to the final goal, and I will have learned great habits along the way. In reality, just knowing that I can hit "maintenance" calories every day has been working so well that I've been hitting my maximum safe calorie deficit.*
There are a few tools that I'm using, which have proven motivating in measuring calories in vs calories out:
Some motivating milestones.
These are the 5 major milestones on this last part of my journey, after having already kept the first 60 pounds off for a decade. Hopefully I will get to share them all with you within the next year or two!
* (1% is generally accepted as the max safe weight loss, for sparing muscle and your gallbladder. For example: 1% of 150lbs = 1.5lbs lost per week = 750 daily calorie deficit)
That extra weight was 100 pounds, peaking in 2004... and as of December, I still had 40lbs to lose.
My TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) in December was about 1800.
The TDEE at my goal weight is 1550.
THAT IS JUST A DIFFERENCE OF FREAKING 250 CALORIES PER DAY.
That's one extra slice of homemade pizza, or half a slice of lasagna, or 2/3rds of my favorite homemade roll. Or not measuring dressing/toppings on a salad, or not measuring pasta. Or absent-mindedly munching. Or not going for a walk. That's it! That's enough to maintain obesity forever.
As a result, I've changed my mindset.
I already knew this logically, and thought I had accepted it, but for some reason it never really "hit me" like it did last month. Instead of actively trying to lose weight, I need to be able to eat, FOREVER, at my goal weight's maintenance levels. There is never going to be such a thing as "intuitive eating" for me.
So my goal has been just to eat and behave like I'm maintaining at a healthy weight... eventually (by July 2019, thanks losertown!) that would get me to the final goal, and I will have learned great habits along the way. In reality, just knowing that I can hit "maintenance" calories every day has been working so well that I've been hitting my maximum safe calorie deficit.*
There are a few tools that I'm using, which have proven motivating in measuring calories in vs calories out:
- My Fitness Pal (at sedentary)
- Fitbit with heart rate tracking (for additional calorie burn), integrated with MFP
- Food scale (more accurate than cups or servings)
- Focus ONLY on the day's calorie goal (1550 plus exercise or reasonably less)
Some motivating milestones.
These are the 5 major milestones on this last part of my journey, after having already kept the first 60 pounds off for a decade. Hopefully I will get to share them all with you within the next year or two!
10lbs: No longer obese, so fertility/health improved<-- Achieved!- 20lbs: "Baby weight" is gone, felt healthier in general at this weight
- 30lbs: My driver's license weight is no longer a lie, felt far more energetic at this point
- 34lbs: My wedding weight (I starved and dehydrated temporarily for this, only maintained for 1 day, so never truly achieved it), the lowest my husband has ever seen me
- 40lbs: In the healthy BMI range, and 100lbs lost
* (1% is generally accepted as the max safe weight loss, for sparing muscle and your gallbladder. For example: 1% of 150lbs = 1.5lbs lost per week = 750 daily calorie deficit)
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