- This is much easier than I thought it would be. The thought of documenting every single thing I ate seemed tedious, unnecessary and burdensome; so did getting on the scale every day. However, in the “there’s-an-app-for-that” world of today, I found apps that easily allowed me to track my weight and food. I use Happy Scale to track my weight. It graphs, averages and even predicts my weight. I just add in my daily weight and the app does the rest. Tracking my food was just as easy. I use My Fitness Pal and the process only takes a few minutes. It has a barcode to scanner so finding the nutritional information about almost any food is quick and easy. It also includes a recipe builder where I can portion out multiple servings. Before I started tracking my food, I had already given myself radical permission to eat whatever I choose. Now my agreement is I continue to have permission to eat whatever I choose as long as I track in the app. Neither of these apps are sponsored, these are just what I use. There are many more options that may fit your needs.
- Most foods have fewer calories than I assumed. All of my previous attempts to control my weight had led me to falsely believe that the only way I could make healthy changes is to avoid all “bad food” and only eat “good food.” I built up in my mind that all the foods that I enjoy eating must have at least 2000 kcals. I used to believe that I needed to eat a diet of only boneless, skinless chicken breast and broccoli. I could not have been more wrong. Once I started documenting my food intake, I could see that I could easily fit my favorite foods in. I regularly have tacos, pizza, hamburgers, desserts and my other favorites in my diet without increasing my daily calorie intake. Because I weigh myself daily, I know that I can eat these foods and lose weight.
- I can lose weight without food deprivation. I have lost of 69 lbs so far, started at 344 lbs at my highest down to 274.8 lbs as of now. I did it without feeling like I was depriving myself. I am much more mindful about what I eat. I stop and ask myself what do I really want. I eat what I trully want versus what is just lying around. I have become more of a “food snob,” regularly passing up so-so foods like grocery store donuts but allowing myself to enjoy my favorite foods like Cheesecake Factory cheesecake. This act of reminding myself that some foods are only okay-ish leaves me room to enjoy so much more.
- I wasn’t eating enough protein. When I first started tracking my food, I was only getting about 70 grams of protein daily. I decided to increase it and see how my body responded. I now average over 120 grams of protein daily and I have more energy and far fewer food cravings. I do not pay attention to the other macros or try to cut fat or carbs. I just focus on getting a minimum of 120 grams of protein daily and I feel so much better.
- I can love my body regardless of what the scale reads. I have released any attachment to the scale number. I use it as information to allows me to make decisions moving forward. The number on the scale doesn’t have any weight, pun intended, on how I feel about myself. I proudly loved my body at 344 lbs and put on swimsuit, took swim lessons and went to Hawaii on a beach vacation. I had the best time on vacation, never concerned about what others thought or had any negative self-talk. I am so grateful for my body and it feels great to love my body as it is.
- I do NOT have control over the scale. It took me years to release this but I finally felt free to look at the scale every day, write down the number and move on. Many days that number was down and many days that number was up. In the past the scale was linked to some very self-destructive behavior and shame. If the scale was up, I would feel defeated and use it as an excuse to abandon all healthy habits. If the scale was down, I would use food to celebrate my success. Needless to say, neither was a positive outcome. But this time is different. I released the thought that my weight was either positive or negative. I look at my weight every single day, first thing in the morning and accept that the number on the scale is just a data point that I could convert to helpful information about my body. I keep doing my new habits anyway. While I control the daily habits that influence the number going up and down, I do not have any control over what my body does with the food, the water, the exercise energy I burn, my hormone levels, etc. There are so many things outside of just eating and exercise that control the scale. I am at peace with this truth.
- Habit change is a slow process. When I first started this process, I started out working with a health coach who reminded me to go very slowly. I wanted to jump right in but that approach has never been successful for me. I started out with just reducing eating takeout and walking to the mailbox daily. I slowly increased to planning my meals and grocery shopping weekly, eating at restaurants just a couple times per month, working out with a trainer 3 days per week and doing cardio 5 days a week. All of this from slow, intentional habit change that was doable.
- I can still track my food on vacation. During this process, I went to Hawaii for a week, my hometown of Milwaukee for a weekend, The Villages in Florida for a weekend, spent 2 weeks at Disney World, one in April and the other in October, and a week in Cancun. I still tracked my food every single day even though I didn’t have all the exact food information available. I made estimates of what I was eating. I enjoyed all the food I ate and I still tracked everything the best I could. The result of keeping up with this daily habit is that I still lost weight on vacation.
- I do not have to take blood pressure medication for the rest of my life. When I first started this journey, my blood pressure was high, a combination of chronic stress, sedentary lifestyle exacerbated by the pandemic and eating high caloric low nutrient dense foods. I tried to lower it myself but knew that having my blood pressure stay that high consistently would only damage my body, so my doctor and I agreed to that medication was the best option. I tracked my blood pressure daily, along with my food intake and weight, and started exercising. In the end I was able to stop taking the blood pressure medication. This was long, slow process. I was on this medication for 10 months. It feels good to have my body at place where I do not need this for my health any longer.
- My weight is not my goal. I have learned that my scale weight is not my ultimate goal. My goal is lifelong health including my mental health and mindset going forward. If I would have continued to make this about my weight, I would not be in the self-loving and secure space I am today. I am still by clinical definition morbidly obese. That doesn’t bother me. I am happy, healthy, and strong both physically and mentally. I know that I am worthy of kindness, respect and love today just as I was when I was 344 lbs. Because I know this truly, I am already living my best life.