A weight loss journey in a graph

Chart

M 6'1" 47yo

Nationality: American, hence the freedom units.

Starting weight: probably over 300 lbs, but the highest I actually weighed in at was 293.

Goal weight: no fuckin' clue. Internet charts say 189. I made it to 189. I was waaaay too skinny. I think I'll be comfortable if I can keep it hovering around 200.

Starting pant size: Probably 46? 48? I dunno, I always bought the ones that could stretch out because then I could pretend I wasn't as bad as I was.

Current pant size: 32 (when worn, the one pandemic benefit.) I was probably 30 when I got down to 189.

I'm posting because I want to show folks that this really is an up and down journey and if you let setbacks get in your way then you reduce the chance that you're able to trend the direction you want. In the graph I've annotated some of the "setbacks" I've had, but I'm not mad or sad about any of them. The long term goal is just to be happy and healthy.

I was pretty big, but the guy in the mirror wasn't. This is a trick our mind plays. I didn't look fat in the mirror, I didn't feel fat. But I was. I wasn't healthy. I was diagnosed pre-diabetic.

My doctor recommended a hospital run group diabeetus prevention class. I was reluctant. I'm not much of a "joiner." But I went in with my wife, which made it more bearable.

There was no information in the class I didn't already know. Junk food bad. Calories in < calories out = weight loss. Eat moar veggies, etc. One exception: The instructor passed around rubber representations of one pound and five pounds of fat. One pound of fat is a LOT bigger than I thought it was, and would probably surprise a lot of folks. Five pounds of fat broke me.

The class had a weekly weigh-in and I think it really, really helped. I was kind of a little bit competitive, and I did lose the most weight in the class (also, the class started with like 30 people in it and ended with 6.)

But the class ended and I kept going.

The big weight loss was just due to setting a calorie budget and then sticking to it. I also started walking and getting 10k steps a day (this eventually evolved into running, with another setback of trying to do too much at once and injuring my knees pretty bad. Don't do that kids, keep it slow.)

I religiously weighed in every day (when possible, I didn't take my scale with me on work trips and vacation -- back in the before-for when we could travel.)

I cut alcohol to a minimum. I still drank on weekends (in moderation) and -- as you can see from the chart -- on vacation I went a li'l ape shit. But it's OK! I got back on that horse and rode that shit back down.

I ate what I wanted. I just ate a lot less of it. I didn't care about macro nutrients. I weighed everything I ate and logged it into the lose-it app. I made the "mistake" of stopping that when I hit my "goal" weight (which I just wanted to see if I could hit it, I already knew it would be too skinny and that I'd want to go up a bit.) I'm still not weighing food, but I'm back to no weekday alcohol and smaller portions by eyeball. It's probably easier to do if you log, but I'm trying to be able to do this without technological help this time. It's working, just not quite as dramatically. But again, that's OK! This is a neverending story journey.

Some wonderful weight loss moments:

• I had to re-train my ipad facial recognition twice.
• I was held once at the airport because my ID didn't look like me anymore. I had to show them the linked graph. (A much earlier version, obviously.)
• I had to buy a new wedding ring.
• dat feeling when I put on a shirt that didn't have an X in it.
• dat feeling when I put on a medium shirt.
• I ran 5 fuckin' miles. FIVE FUCKING MILES. AT ONE TIME. WITHOUT STOPPING. WITHOUT BEING WINDED. JFC I still can't believe that. (I'm out of that again, winter + pandemic closing the gym got me out of the habit, but I'm getting back in.) I used to not be able to jog a few hundred feet before I was out of breath and sweating.

And a few more subtle things:

• the bed sheets stay on, mostly.
• I can bend over and tie my shoes, no kneeling, no propping my foot up on something.
• my smile looks so much better.
• I sweat a lot less.
• I out-walk my dog. Poor guy.
• a million other things....

Anyway, I hope this inspires someone. Thanks for reading!

submitted by /u/sakodak
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/oceu7a/a_weight_loss_journey_in_a_graph/