My First 50lbs and First 4 Months (325 to 275)
Hey all. Long time-first time and all that. I wouldn't even begin to think that I have anything about this figured out, but I wanted to share the beginning of my weight loss journey on the off-chance that someone could glean something from it. More importantly I think though, I'd love to leave a bit of public journal for myself to look back on as I keep moving ahead. I hope all of that falls within the guidelines of the subreddit. I'm sure I will be alerted if it does not.
Photos (I didn't start tracking anything until the first 20 lbs were off)
Body Progress: https://imgur.com/a/Xilk7BL
My Fitness Pal Graph: https://imgur.com/a/teLD2UV
Description and Background
I am a 20-year-old, six-foot-tall Caucasian male college student that grew up in the American South and currently attends school in an East Coast city. I've had a fairly unhealthy relationship with food my entire life, and can't remember a time where I wasn't concerned or depressed about my weight. My highest weight was 325 lbs on March 1. I've been trying to lose weight since then and in those four months have managed to lose, as of this morning, 50 lbs.
Track A Number Other than Weight
The biggest thing for me was having something to work towards that wasn't a number on the scale, which I know isn't a new concept around here. For me that thing was blood pressure. I had gotten to a point where I could convince myself that 325 lbs somehow wasn't actually that bad, but when the cuff and the doctor told me that, no questions asked, my blood pressure was unhealthy, it hit me. Everyone has that moment and this was mine. Hypertension runs in my family anyways, and the last thing I wanted to do was go on blood pressure medicine at 20 years old. In those first two months, I didn't even have access to a scale. The only thing I was concerned about, the only thing I was measuring, was my blood pressure. That was so significant for me.
Diet First
Again, I'd be crazy if I thought this was anything revolutionary, but the one reason I think I've been able to maintain progress was that I made a change in my eating habits first. I mean a good couple months before I even thought about working out. My schedule this past spring truly didn't offer me much time to work out and still get a healthy amount of sleep, so the blood pressure was going to have to go down with food alone. I consulted with a university nutritionist at my doctor's request. This is something that I know not everyone has access to, and I'm eternally grateful that I did. Beyond that though, for me and for many people I would guess, this was the single hardest thing in the whole process so far. It was so difficult for me to admit to myself that I needed someone to help me do this. To educate me. I waited almost a month before even making the appointment. And it worked like a charm. I shed 20 lbs in just over two weeks without even realizing it until I went back to the doctor. I learned about food groups and about what certain foods do in our bodies and about how to keep yourself full and everything changed for me. I didn't and don't even consider myself on a diet, I just understand food so better now. I began to trust my nutritionist and my doctor more than anything I read or watched online (no offense you wonderful people) and I started to see results.
Summer Workout
I chose to start forming these healthy habits at what was and is quite possibly the most advantageous time in my life for me to so. Not only am I aware of the fact that I'm still young and things like heat and joint pain don't bother me so much, but I'm also so grateful for the fact that through this summer, the one after these preliminary changes, I didn't have any sort of demanding work schedule or huge commitments to hold me back. I've been able to focus solely on bettering myself this summer. I've been able to spend hours walking and cooking. I'm so aware that, again, this is not a reality for some or even most people.
My workout routine as it stand now consists of 5 miles walked, jogged or poorly ran each day either on a treadmill in my home or on an outside walking trail. I also do beginner-level strength and resistance training through YouTube videos 2-3 times a week. Once the weight loss seemed to slow down with just cardio, I added the weights training and the pounds started shedding off once again.
It's...Easy?
I know this heading is a bit eye-catching and presumptuous, but I'm truly beginning to feel like it's true. The last thing I'd want to do is act holier-than-thou in any way though. Hell, I was so overweight for so long and failed to even start a diet so many times. But I guess is what I'm saying is that I haven't hit any roadblocks yet. In a way, this scares me, as I suppose I don't know how prepared I actually am for when they do come. And trust me, I know they will. I know a plateau is in my future. I know that school and so much else may cause me to fall back on old habits. But right now, I don't feel like they could. I feel like I'm losing the weight in a healthy and happy way, and I'm fairly certain I'm not doing anything tremendously wrong. My clothes don't fit anymore in the best way possible, and the first few people are finally starting to notice my changes without me telling or showing them. Everything seems to be working out okay so far.
So yeah. That's this one person's journey so far. If you happen to have any questions or criticisms or want to have any sort of dialogue about any of this, I'd be happy to join you. I hope this wasn't too long, and I hope at least one person can read it and get something out of it. Gah, there I go agan, sounding like those motivational trainers that I oh so hate.
[link] [comments]
from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/2NGczPa
No comments: