Tl;dr: if you are at the extreme end of the scale and feeling hopeless, maybe a shockingly slow method of subtraction is a workable solution
I am not around this sub very often, so if this is common knowledge, or even just a dumb idea, I'm not going to be shocked
Disclaimer 1: I'm coming at this from the perspective of someone that has been binge eating and yo-yo dieting for decades and being 500 lbs. If this seems ludicrously slow or far too easy, it's because my life is ludicrous, and easy is about the only thing I can handle. If this sounds like you, keep reading.
Disclaimer 2: I think everyone should always try their best. If you have never really attempted a lifestyle change, or were just previously missing proper knowledge, I highly recommend you try anything other than this first. Ideally you should lower your calories via (insert many respected lifestyle changes here) and up your burning of calories via (insert safe and healthy workout ideas here). Always try the most efficient (while still safe) methods available. If, however, you're on your 100th lifestyle change attempt, keep reading
I've tried every lifestyle change, diet and cleanse I can think of. I have had great success (lost 100 lbs) and greater failures (gained it all back and another 100 lbs). I understand the science of fat loss. I could probably write you a fantastic eating/exercise plan right now that would work like a dandy. I've tried gorging on meat because the theory goes you can't overeat on meat. You can if you have a lifetime of gluttony. I've tried getting rid of sugar, to the point that it was fully out of my system, and still found myself in a fast food parking lot at the first sign of adversity. For the last 25 years I have lost and regained thousands of pounds. I know how to lose weight. I have no idea how to stay healthy.
This year, after one of the worst years of my life, I finally found something that has seemingly stuck. I have lost 50 lbs. I'm very happy about this, and realize it may seem ridiculous to say this is slow, but at my size this is slow. I could (and have) lost 50 lbs in a month if I go extreme enough. What makes me happy though is that at no point have I swung wildly back upwards. I'm not white-knuckling it through long nights desperately trying to go to sleep. This actually feels sustainable, and dare I say almost easy.
I decided that instead of changing everything, I should change 1 thing for a week. I told myself I would keep going through drive-throughs for every meal, but I would get rid of the biggest burger on my order for dinner. It was such a minor change even the dark thoughts in the back of my head laughed and said "sure go for it". And it stuck. The next week, I subtracted a sandwich from my breakfast order. And another, and another, to saying why don't I have a healthy (but enormous) home cooked meal once a week, twice a week, start making (enormous) lunches for 2 or 3 days, etc, etc, etc.
Some weeks I lost 2 pounds, sometimes 1, sometimes none. Sometimes I gained 2 or 3. But at no point was I terrified to get on the scale and see I had regained 15. At no point did I add everything back plus an entire pizza and 5 chocolate bars per day for a week to make up for so much restriction. Even better, I find my appetite actually diminishing. A few times I have had a bad day and gotten one of my old full orders for dinner, and I felt terrible. Not the usual shame, but uncomfortable to the point that I wasn't even getting the old endorphin rush. I have thought for years that I would always have that order in the back of my head taunting me, that I would have to ignore it for the rest of my life. And now I think it sounds gross. This feels like actual progress. And that's it. That's my whole thing.
Again, sorry if I am explaining to you that water is wet, but I see a lot of people in my situation hopping "back onto that grind" after a long absence, and can pretty much count the days till they'll be off the wagon again, so if this helps anyone then I am glad I wrote what is probably way too many words
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/p6dgzs/slower_than_you_can_imagine_but_steady/
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