I had done pretty well for much of last year - at one point I had lost nearly thirty pounds. Then I went on vacation, work got really busy, the holidays, etc... gained back about twelve pounds of it as of the end of the year. I got one of those Fitbits for Christmas and it has done it's job for the most part. It tracks things automatically so I don't have to. It served as an ever-present reminder on my wrist to be more active - even if it was something as simple as parking further away from my office or taking the long way to walk somewhere. Throughout the month of January I was more active than I had been even when I was losing weight last year, but was making no progress. I'd go up and down within about a five pound range.
A little over two weeks ago I decided to hit the reset button. Here are the changes I've tried to make lately:
- I realized I had gotten away from drinking enough water. I hadn't gone back to soda or anything like that, but I was about 32-48 oz. a day under what I had been drinking when I was doing well. I cut back on beer.
- Craft beer has become more and more of a hobby for me. I know beer is full of empty calories, but I wasn't aware of just how many are packed into a pint, bottle, snifter, or even a 5oz. taster of the high-gravity good stuff. I also remember reading in this thread how alcohol is prioritized ahead of fats, carbs, protiens, etc. and the implications of that for weight gain. Thanks for that tip to the people who contributed it - that one has stuck with me. I had been drinking a beer or two up to four times a week. I'm now cutting that back to twice a week, never on consecutive days, and never on days where I don't hit my goals for exercise and water consumption.
- I've made some changes in my diet. This goes hand-in-hand with water consumption. I'm trying to incorporate more foods that make me feel full on fewer calories. For breakfast and lunch I'm incorporating more fiber and lean protien - going for things like oatmeal, apples, egg whites, fish, chicken breasts, etc. If I have enough fiber, protein and water before 5PM that day, then I allow myself to eat whatever I want that evening. So far that has worked out well - It doesn't feel like a diet to me, I have less of an urge to snack and when I do eat "whatever I want" I end up eating less of it.
- In addition to the walking for exercise that I was already doing I've started to incorporate some selected body weight exercises and stretches to slowly build strength and flexibility. I am joining a golf league this year and in the past when I've subbed in that league I've had to ride in a cart because walking the course caused me to have pain in my bum knee for days after playing. My goal is to be in good enough shape overall and especially in that knee to be able to walk the course every week. I have a little over a month to go before we tee off.
As of this past Friday I had quickly lost eight pounds and had a lot of momentum. Then I got sick this weekend, and while I hardly ate during that time I was also unable to exercise and my progress stalled. I've been getting back into the swing of things the last couple days and am hoping to get my weight graph back on a downward trend.
