Coming to the realization that this is a slow but steady process

Newbie here!

I'm using this quarantine to re-devote myself to fitness. From the ages of 5-16, I was an athlete, mostly playing softball and later involved in track. Around age 17, I quit sports to focus on school. In the last 3 years, I haven't been too active, and I've gained a little weight, first due to "filling out" with age and second due to inactivity. In total, I've gained about 15 lbs in the last 3 years (115 lbs at 17 > 130 lbs at 20). Oh, I should add that I'm 5'3F, so this is still a healthy weight for me.

Over the last 4 weeks, I've been doing HIIT workouts about 3-5 days a week and intermixing that with abdominal exercises. While the scale hasn't budged, my body looks quite different. My stomach area is noticeably flatter and more toned, and less skin can be pinched around my abdomen, lower back, and legs; all signs my body is undergoing recomposition. Also, during this time I was not tracking my calories so I think progress on the scale was limited in part by that.

Given my current size, I understand that it is going to take a LONG time for me to see the results, and honestly, I'm okay with that. While I hope to see some solid progress within the next 4-6 months, my goal is to use this time in quarantine to develop life-long healthy eating and exercise habits. I've listed a few things I'm doing, and I'd love any feedback/recommendations you all have:

• Making it a goal to exercise 5 days a week, either doing a running HIIT workout or at-home workout routine (I've recently fallen in love with Chloe Ting's videos).
• Tracking my calories on MFP to keep myself accountable. My BMR is 1335 (if I'm remembering correctly), and I have my MFP set to 1450 cal a day.
• I have a past history of anorexia so I'll be tracking my progress more-so with photos than a scale. I really only anticipate hopping on a scale every 2-3 months.
• Adopting a cleaner diet. I'd rather eat 400 calories of nutrient-dense food than 200 empty calories that will result in me snacking 90 minutes later.
• For the love of all that is holy, I really need to work on cutting out sugary drinks. I limit myself to one per day, but still, that's about 40-50g of sugar right there. YIKES.

submitted by /u/bibliophile322
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/g6e6ri/coming_to_the_realization_that_this_is_a_slow_but/