Earlier this week, I published a post about life after losing a lot of weight. It was not a 'hearts and flowers' type of post. It was mainly, a "this shit is still hard, and I don't like it" post. I was hoping to provide a dose of reality to prepare those who are losing weight and to provide some realistic expectations to those who are just starting a weight loss plan. 

Since that post, I have gone back to dieting the way I started when I lost 60 pounds. Ironically, I began this on the one-year anniversary of the start of my prior weight loss quest.  Instead of treating this weight loss plan as a continuation of the old plan, which I had been doing, I'm looking at this as a new weight loss plan to lose 10 to 15 pounds. I'm doing this because my previous goal last year was to lose 60 pounds by 60 years, and I achieved that. I need to think of that plan as a success and treat this as a new weight loss goal.  I need to own my previous success and not view it like my father would, as not being good enough. 

I think getting back to the basics of how I originally lost the weight has helped me a lot this week. I was able to stick to my plan this week so far and I feel really great about it.  Before this week, I was having a lot of nighttime cravings.

I learned one important lesson over the last few weeks. If I do not log my food in my weight loss app, I will snack more and eat more calories. If I know I have to log my food when I'm dieting. it helps me to stay on track.  I have been logging food over the last five days and have noticed a big difference in how hungry I am. I think on a psychological level, not logging food meant I wasn't in a 'weight loss' mode, and therefore, could eat what I wanted to. This sounds nuts but I have no other explanation.  My brain was saying "what the app doesn't know won't hurt you."  It is so weird the tricks our minds play on us.

To be honest I was really surprised by this, given that I dieted for well over six months last year.  I know how much I should and shouldn't eat and what I shouldn't eat. I should not need an app to help with this at this point. But to actually have to 'tell' and app what I'm doing is making all the difference. 

Another thing that probably helped get me on track was writing about my angst in my last post. I think it helped to clear away some of the emotions that had been weighing me down.  Sometimes you have to just write stuff down to purge and get rid of it. Sort of a 'cleansing of the soul." If you haven't tried it, sit down when you get a chance, open a word processor or note pad, and just write about things that bother you and why. You can always delete it when you are done but I find it relieves the burden of heavy emotion. 

I also asked for some encouragement. From whence it comes is up to you and your beliefs, but I believe asking for things, putting our needs out there, helps to get them met.

The next day I got some encouragement. I was at the gym getting ready to do my end of workout stretch routine when I was approached by another gym member who was a little younger than me.  I had taken my shoes off to do this, and my first thought was she was going to tell me I should put them back on. Nope. She told me that she hadn't been to the gym in a long time, remembered me from when she went before, and told me I looked AMAZING. She actually said that word a few times. I thanked her and we started discussing our weight loss, she had lost 45 pounds and had been taking Semaglutide for over a year and was on maintenance shots (which are every two weeks for her).  We discussed that a bit, and I'm glad I managed to lose weight without it. 

If you haven't read anything on Semaglutide and its use for weight loss, here are a few posts for you: 

Is it Worth a Shot in the Dark for the 42%?

Taking Semaglutide Without Taking Semaglutide

I read something interesting this week that I don't think I ever touched on in this blog.  Some research suggests that our bodies have a 'set point' regarding our weight, and our bodies will work to return to that 'set point.'  I have read a few articles about how long it takes to reset your 'set point' to the new lower weight.  One article from 2023 said that research suggests it can take one to six YEARS. Another older article from 2016 said four to eight weeks. Given how hard my body is fighting back these days, I'm discounting the four to eight weeks theory.  I'm guessing I'm a probably going to be fighting for another year before my body gives up and accepts that this weight range is where I want it to be. After all, I'm fighting 30 years of being over 200 pounds.  This was in no way good news, but at least I can accept that I'm fighting a battle with my body, not just my mind. 

(photo courtesy of Andrea  Piacquadio)