Over three weeks ago, I had my last weigh in with the weight loss clinic I’ve been going to for over a year. I had an appointment with my doctor the same day where I told him that I was pretty much done with the diet – well, the weigh-ins, and that I didn’t feel it was benefiting me, and it was probably staring to cause more problems for me including:
- The start of weight gains again
- Hitting my self confidence
- Feeding into a bit of depression
Me saying, “Enough”, is actually a win. I’ve always hated feeling like a quitter, but this really isn’t about quitting. It’s about being able to take control of how I feel, and trusting that I now know better how to look after myself.
And so far so good.
Since leaving the program I’ve dropped 5 lbs, and more like 7lbs after a brief “hurrah” celebratory meal, where while I ate out of plan, it wasn’t hugely off of plan to cause significant weight increase.
Over the past two weeks, I’ve decided to run a bit of an experiment on myself. I picked up a scale and I’ve decided to weight myself twice a day. Now that’s not how someone should really regularly weigh themselves, and Scott has threatened that if I got into this kind of routine that he would take the scale from me.
That said, I wanted to prove a few things to myself. There were many times while on this program that I thought I was losing weight, only to end up at my weigh in much higher than expected; or I’d go off on a business trip and gain weight after feeling like I hit a new low.
I have pretty much confirmed that, yes, I was hitting those lows, and that I have a much better grasp of being able to determine my own weight gain or loss by looking at myself in the mirror. This is a huge win as, prior to this program, I was completely unable to see it. Heck, when I was 317 lbs, I truly had no idea I was that big!
I’ve also changed my diet to be more compatible with my lifestyle, and the lifestyle I want. This does counter some of the guidance from the program that I’ve struggled with. Here is what I’ve changed:
- Regular cheese is back in my life. That said, for the first week or so I let myself have cheese as a snack and in my morning omelett. The jury is out but this may have been one thing that was stopping me from getting into the goal I wanted (230ish lbs). So for the time being, I’ve eased off, however I still allow myself to have cheese once in a while.
- I am having a fair bit of 0% Fat Greek Yogurt that has about 6g of sugar. I am having this at least twice a day and I am not gaining or maintaining my weight, I am losing. This is a huge win as it is helping considerably with my dairy and sweet cravings.
- Fruit, specifically berries are back in my diet stating this week. I am adding them to my greek yogurt when I have it. While fruit is relatively high in carbs, there is a big difference between refined sugars and natural sugars found in fruit. There are lots of benefits that, I think, outweigh the carbs. It doesn’t mean I go hog wild in the berry patch.
- Mixed unsalted nuts from bulk are now a regular part of my diet as a snack throughout the day.
Because of these changes, I’ve actually found it much easier to stay on the rest of the diet, and as of this past Sunday, I hit a new low of 241.9 lbs; and as of Friday, 241.8 lbs.
So something is working here. And that’s with going to an all you can eat Korean BBQ on Tuesday!
I have been able to see the impacts food has on my weight in near real time. For example, if I go to Mr. Tonkatsu on Bloor St and order the Chicken Tonkatsu meal and eat everything except the rice, within two days I will put on 2 lbs of water weight which then comes off after two days.
I will be able to determine if cheese is something I do need to be careful with. I can tell that other dairy I have added to my diet has not had a significant impact, in fact quite the opposite.
Fruit in the levels I am having has no effect on my weigh gain or loss.
I’m not saying the diet I was on was full of shit, quite the opposite. I had to go through the various phases to get where I am today. That said, I think that with the changes I have made after the sacrifices of the past year and a half, is a good compromise.
Interestingly, while I never had to track my food intake while on the diet, I decided to try tracking my food intake, which amounts to between 1600 and 1900 calories in a day. According to the FitBit software I am using, I am regularly eating under my target calorie range, and I have actually been wondering am I putting my body into a starvation mode in that it’s still holding on to the fat rather than burning it. To be honest, I’m not sure how much more food I can eat in a day.
Will I see 239 lbs this weekend? That’s still 2 lbs away. We’ll see.