21 weeks in. New Goals

23 male, 186cm, SW: 96.7kg / CW:82kg / GW:80kg

Alright, post number 4. Feels a little like a journal by now, weird since I have never journaled before.

All my posts so far had somewhat of a theme, I think. If that is the case, then the theme today is “New Goals”.

4 to 5 weeks ago I had achieved the goal I set out to achieve when I started, I had lost 16kg in about 16 weeks and was at 80kg. This did not feel as good as I expected, sure I was happy, but it certainly wasn’t the milestone I maybe thought it would be in the beginning, over the weeks my goals gradually shifted from: "I want to be 80kg" to "I want to run 25km in 2 1/2 hours" and "I want to bench 60kg in my set" and "I want to look good"

Now I have put back on 2kg since, this was deliberate, since I want to put on muscle mass, I think I lost a lot of respect for the scale over all, during the 16 weeks I weighed myself daily, I counted every last calorie and I was in a pretty big deficit.

Now I don’t really weigh in anymore, maybe once a week, I make rougher estimates for my calories and I am in a slight surplus, which is a big change.

In the beginning I ate like shit, loads of unhealthy stuff, probably 3500+ calories per day, then I went to 1700-1800 calories and now I am back at ~2800. But I was mostly sedentary before as well, now I go to the gym 6-7 times a week and have ramped up to running 60km a week. Still, going up 1000 calories is A LOT if you still try to eat nutrient rich and healthy food, I won’t bridge that gap by eating broccoli.

The way I view sport and exercise has also shifted, I always enjoyed sport, but especially during the pandemic I couldn’t get my ass up, so in the beginning it was a means to an end.

I think if that is the only way you view exercise, you wont stick with it ultimately, I needed and have set goals on what to achieve, this makes going to the gym infinitely more enjoyable.

So, what are my takeaways and what would I want any of you to take with you?

Well, this is my experience so it might be different for everyone, but here is it.

The number on the scale will not make you happy, so don’t let it make you unhappy, feeling stronger, fitter and leaner is a better motivation.

Find another motivation to exercise, besides loosing the weight, I honestly think that one wont stick with it otherwise in the long run.

Try to change your behavior on a daily basis instead of implementing a temporary system. Allow yourself to indulge, I cut out snacks 99% over 16 weeks, I don’t think that was necessary.

submitted by /u/MoazAW
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/qi07w3/21_weeks_in_new_goals/