Came home from three weeks travelling and found I’d arrived in Onederland
33M, 5’8, SW: about 240
I hadn’t expected to be writing this post so soon. In fact, I wondered at times if I’d ever be able to write it at all. But today, my first morning home after three weeks on the road, my scale read 198.4lbs!
Every year, in late February or early March, I advise students at an academic competition. And every year, I’m embarrassed by how few of my suits fit. This year, there was a double whammy: my doctor was starting to get irritated at my lack of control of my health. In October, my wife gave birth to a baby daughter. And my wife had lost a close family member to complications of overeating. It was time to get serious about losing weight.
I’d tried to lose weight before. At my absolute highest, I’d ballooned to 260lbs. I’d made attempts to lose before, gotten down to about 225-230, then would fall off the wagon and put about 5-10 back on before maintaining at that level. But I liked food. My relationship was in two different cities for a while, so it was hard to find a routine. Work was busy; family would get ill. Always something else that took my mind off establishing good habits and into eating for comfort.
But this time, in March, I sat down with my wife and committed to making things different. I do the cooking at home, and we decided we were going to stick to healthier meal plans. I fired up MFP, found this subreddit, and added PlantNanny, HappyScale, and a blood pressure log. We agreed I would go to the gym for an hour a day at least 4 or 5 times a week. And I would make my diet healthier - more leafy greens, more salad, more fruit, and fewer indulgences.
As for weight goals, I deliberately stayed off the scale for a month. I wanted to be surprised when I went back to the doctor for my one month follow up. And I wanted to establish good habits without tying them to a number. Once I knew that my plans were working, then I would track more than just steps and calories. But I knew that habits were the key.
In terms of specific goals, I was more aggressive on diet than I had been in my last attempts. I set MFP for a 1.5lb/week deficit, so that even if I missed my target by a bit, I’d still be losing. This wouldn’t work for everyone, but I knew stalling had demotivated me hard in previous attempts. In more general terms, I decided I wanted to be under 200lbs by late August, the start of my new semester.
By my count, that means I’m about 4-5 weeks ahead of schedule.
Three weeks ago, we set out for a lot of travel. A friend’s wedding in a new state, then travelling overseas to visit my family. I left at 203.5lbs, and with a great deal of trepidation. Visiting family was good, but my immediate relatives are all sick, and none really understand nutrition all that well. They like spending time with me and my family eating out, and rely too much on ready meals and pre-prepped foods. Even to maintain would be a strain and would need stubbornness.
But... I did it! I didn’t do sweaty workouts as much as before, but I made sure I walked, and walked, and walked. I’d walk into town while my parents drove to meet me for a coffee. I’d go for evening walks after everyone else had gone to bed. I was going to keep active no matter what.
And I kept tracking. That was hard - to keep my sanity, I had to eat out more than I’d personally have chosen. And there were family events and special events with fancy food I couldn’t miss, too. But I made sure that if I indulged I kept a tight watch on my intake the next couple of days; other times I’d deny myself the meals I really wanted to make sure I had something more in my calorie budget.
And now I know I really can do it. It was a fun trip, but it had some pretty big challenges, emotionally and practically. But I kept my big goals in mind, I kept tracking, and I had read enough, learned enough and practiced enough to make sure that I knew what was really important to keep losing, and what were nice extras. (My diet was probably less nutritious, but keeping my eye on calories rather than nutrients meant I kept losing). And I got to enjoy myself, too! Occasional fruit scones, just with less clotted cream than before. A filling tapas meal which was probably swimming in more oil than I care to think, but I walked more and enjoyed every last bite. A wedding where I ate the main course but left half the appetizer risotto and all the dessert. It can be done.
More distance left to run - I’d like to drop another 30lbs - but I’m feeling so motivated today. Thanks to all you guys for creating such a supportive, rational, encouraging, and educational community. I’ve not felt this positive about my size or my health in a long time, and you have been a huge, huge part of that.
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