I've struggled with my weight off and on since college. I was always super active in high school and my freshman and sophomore years in college but after that I guess life happened.
After my second shoulder surgery in 2001 I decided that I wanted to get healthy. I got a personal trainer and that's what eventually got me started running and of course my eventual marathon. I got into great shape and lost a lot of weight. I lost even more after my then husband confessed to having an affair... that kind of news tends to make you lose your appetite.
How much weight did I lose? I don't know. My personal trainer told me to stay away from the scale because I was doing a lot of strength training. And because he knew a little bit about my past disordered eating issues he also knew that not losing fast or even gaining weight due to added muscle would not be good for me. That was one of the smartest things he told me to do. So I never knew exactly how much I lost; I just knew that I felt better, I dropped several sizes in my clothes, and I looked better too. :)
Because I was so successful with that, I'm going with that plan again. Can I tell you how freeing it is to not have to worry about a number on a scale?? I've been tempted a few times out of curiosity but overall, I really don't care.
As for the food I'm eating, I had an anaphylactic reaction this past spring and ended up in the ICU. The only thing my allergist has been able to figure out is that I'm highly allergic to almost everything environmental and something cross-reacted with a food I ate; most likely mold + a vegetable. So I cook 95% of our food from scratch... no nasty preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, and I know exactly what is going into the meals we eat.
Lots of vegetables, chicken, fish, lean beef, and whole grains. Am I counting calories? Nope. I'm eating more vegetables than meat, I'm watching my portions, I stop eating when I'm full... not stuffed. I'm drinking lots of water and green tea. And lastly, I'm trying to cut out my kid's size Dr. Pepper that I drink every few days with lunch. I love Dr. Pepper!
I used to log every single thing I ate in an app. That was a double-edged sword. The good was that I was able to see what I was eating; the bad was that I obsessed about what I was eating too.
So I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible. No scale, working out/running consistently, and eating real food... all these things have made my life my easier even without solid numbers to keep track of. I suppose some people might hate this method but it works for me. :)
Okay seriously, this is getting weird.
ReplyDeleteYou are *in my brain*.
Counting calories is really not the best plan when you have a history with anorexia. I tried logging my food a few times over the last several years and did well with the *weight loss*, but ended up doing a lot of weird back end calculation in order to get the most bulk for the least caloric intake. As a result I could feel how protein starved I was. My mouth would literally water at the smell of meat, even if it was just someone walking past with chicken flavored ramen. Eventually it became obvious that it was not the best approach for me.
Denying myself I got DOWN, it's nourishing myself that I needed to work on.
I'm doing much better with this whole "eat real food and then work it off appropriately" approach. I probably eat a bit too much dairy, but I am trying to stay away from the ridiculous triple cream stuff and it seems to be working (we'll see when I get my most recent round of annual bloodwork back I suppose).
I am checking the scale occasionally but I'm not really following it because my clothes are working much better as a metric. I'm also enjoying seeing the muscle going back onto my frame and I am pretty ok with the idea that with muscle comes weight.