Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Why is it working this time around

Weigh-in update: 71.9. Woot! Diet wise, I had an excellent day yesterday. A bit low on the calorie intake I suppose, but I never felt hungry. The bloating probably masked it a bit. I drank a LOT of water, which probably solved that problem mostly. I also had an excellent evening run: 8.3km! I did it in a great time too, almost matching the time I clocked at my 8K race in December. The only thing that's missing is a good number two on the toilet, but I'm sure that 'll be here soon. I'm seriously feeling so much better this morning. I will not be scoffing down large quantities of food late in the evening. Hell no.


I've been wondering why this has been working so well for me this time around. Since having my son I've started dieting so many times I've lost count. Then clear out of the blue I decided enough was enough and got serious about it. I've even kept it up for three weeks now! What made the difference this time around? 

What's Working for Me, Now

We've all had at least one friend who used some amazing weight loss technique and lost a bunch of weight. Shakes, WW, prepackaged meals and so on. And then we think "Oh my that's great! I have to try that!"

The thing is, we are all so different! We have different lifestyles, different bodies, different exercise routines, different family and social lives. While I do think the simple basic equation is calories in vs calories out, the way to achieve that is not so simple at all. We need a hook, a method, something to hang onto. What method will work for you depends so heavily on the factors above, there is no one solution for all.

When I read about the newest diets I often shake my head: Cutting out carbs alltogether for instance,  what is that about? I love my carbs! I also need them in order to do a longer run (see above). Since Engineer Daddy is the chef of the house and he would never agree to cut out anything alltogether, it wouldn't work for me anyways. I don't want to start cooking separate meals for myself. Furthermore his cooking is delicious, so that wouldn't last long anyway.

I can shake my head all I want though, if it works for other people, that's awesome! More power to them. Clearly there must be something to it.

Timing is also important. Several years ago I did WW to lose a nice amount of weight (8kg). I was also pretty good about keeping it off until I got knocked up.While it worked beautifully back then, that doesn't necessarily mean it will work now. It was like 10 years ago. I'm older now and my lifestyle is so different. I got bored of the WW thing, clearly I needed to shake things up. Mission accomplished.

Cutting Myself Some Slack

During my previous attempts, there would (obviously) be bad days. When they happened, I would always feel tremendously guilty and think "Well I screwed it up anyway, I'm a fat pig and can just as well eat ALL the things!" Which I subsequently did. That's no longer the case now. When I eat something that wasn't planned, I take it and enjoy it without chastizing myself. I just count the calories and move on. I will simply tighten the belt a bit more the next day.

One Step At a Time

I started with a new exercise routine last year (running). Even though there was no diet and accompanying weight loss, I kept it up and enjoyed it. Adding the calorie counting a few weeks ago was a big step, but luckily I didn't have to start the exercise thing too, since it was already in my system. 

Progress Pictures

I had never done that before. It helped, actually. Seeing them next to each other last week was interesting. People around me are not noticing the weight loss yet, so I was wondering if there was any change at all in my body shape. Looking at those pictures, I can see there is. It's not massive but it's there.


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So here's hoping I can keep it up this time. I'm feeling fantastic and I don't want to give up that feeling.

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