Mowens's Diary

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That´s a great initiative! As far as I know there is no positive evidence that taking breaks on your weightloss journey helps to keep the weight off (and I´m not sure if we´ll have it any time soon because it´s really hard to find enough committed volunteers for slowww, healthy weightloss programs) but on the other hand there IS overwhelming evidence that losing a lot of weight quickly makes it really hard to keep it off in the long run. So there´s that.
 
I hope that doesn't apply to me considering my 10-15lb a month weight loss in the last few months but my methods for doing so were not extreme and didn't involve me really changing my diet much at all. It was really just portion control and giving up soda for me so I don't see how sticking to that would cause me to bounce back but perhaps I'm naive about that, I'm not sure.

But I do seem to have hit a very hard wall and I suspect I've gotten just about all of the benefit I'm going to get off of my current method. I'm not gaining anything at all, but I'm also no longer losing anything.
 
Then maybe this is the weight your body wants to be at under these circumstances. Have you got a good idea of how many calories you are consuming and how many you´re burning (on top of what your body needs to just be alive) or are you eyeballing it?
 
Is you building set up for more "terrain" for indoor walking? I work in a big building, probably a quarter mile long and 4 stories, so I can add in stair climbing and different office areas.
 
@LaMaria I'd say I average daily between 1,700-1,900 consumed calories a day depending on how close I'm trying to keep to it with about 45-60 minutes of steady walking a day about 5 times a week. I'm not sure about my burn rate + BMR because I feel like my FitBit is way too generous with "calories burned".

I always end up at the end of the day with it reading something like 3,000 calories burned (that includes both exercise and my BMR), but if that were the case, I'd be losing at least a pound a week at these numbers, but I'm not. I'm locked in almost perfectly at 225lbs with only a 1lb deviation one way or the other.

@Little John I work in the state capitol building, so it's kind of a unique situation walking. This building was constructed in 1910 with very narrow hallways. It's nice because it's 5 stories so I CAN do the stairs, though I haven't and it's got a nice square layout which is good for doing laps, but due to the narrow hallways and people constantly doing maintenance and work in the halls, I feel like a nuisance exercising while saying "Excuse me" walking around people actually working.

I haven't really tried walking on different floors, I should probably give that a go and see if the traffic is better. That's the other thing, there's constantly protests or children on field trips here or other very large groups crowding up most areas at any given time. It's a really mess to find a relatively empty area.
 
3000 kcal a day burned sounds reasonable for a young guy your weight walking close to an hour a day. If you´re correct about your calorie intake (which I assume) that means your body either hasn´t got the amount of muscle mass the average dude of your height/weight has or it hasn´t been happy about your quick loss and is trying to conserve energy to get you back to your original weight. Possibly a little bit of both. Either way I think it would not advise you to lower your calories further right now. Maybe it would be helpful to add some squats/pull-ups/push-ups to stimulate your larger muscle groups, which can make a big difference.
 
Like I've said before, I have slim arms and legs and I carry almost all of my extra fat in my torso area. I know that I can't target that particular part of my body, but it's not unusual for me to feel bloated/constipated a lot of the time. Probably a combination of poor diet and possible IBS or something else in my opinion. I've never been properly diagnosed though so it's just speculation.
 
:( I know the feeling and it´s no fun at all. Hope you´ll find the reason and be able to turn it off one of these days! Still: even if bloat were to account for 10 pounds of your weight it really doesn´t your calorie burn that much.
 
Hi, Mo. I don't think I mentioned how much better you look in the before & now photos. That is a really significant improvement. Finding ways of getting in more exercise, like checking out a different floor sounds like a really good idea. Security would be able to give you a good idea of which places have less foot traffic. Have you tried cutting out wheat products for a few days to see if you have less bloat/constipation?
 
PSA: if you should ever contemplate getting tested for gluten intolerance cutting back on gluten on your own initiative beforehand can muddle up the results. Feel free to use yourself as a guinea pig but remember that reducing food variety can be a slippery slope (especially for people with serious health issues; feeling less bloated after reducing gluten for example can mean you´re gluten intolerant or it could simply be a side effect of eating less processed food) and what seems to work for you may not work for someone else to be careful what you advise others.
 
You're right of course LaMa. I now know that I am gluten-intolerant, but have no idea if I'm Coeliac & I just can't face the thought of reintroducing gluten every day for 6 weeks to then go get tested. :blush5:
 
Hey cate, thank you for the compliment. :)

My wife got on a health kick a few years back and tried to make us go gluten free. We tried spaghetti and bread and to me, it was like eating sand. It was so bland and difficult to even get myself to eat it. I'm likely one of those people who are mildly irritated by gluten but not so much that I would want to give up that lifestyle to change it.

At any rate, I've gotten back into the habit of walking at work. The new coworker in my office is actually just a transfer so I already knew her and we've been walking together. If you've read my diary for any amount of time, you'll remember her as the person who was pushing me to drink alcohol when I didn't want to a few pages back.

Well, now she's on her own health kick except her method is low carbs so she's given up most alcohol as a result. I'd be lying if I didn't feel at least a little bit vindicated about the fact that she admires my weight loss while working on her own, even though I wish her success.
 
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Yay for subtractors turning into supporters! That´s really awesome and should make stuff a bit easier long-term.
 
Hello ladies and gentlemen,

In the words of 1974 Elton John... the bitch is back.

I had a thought today. I've been asked by a lot of people in the last 12 months if losing weight is difficult. I tried to explain to one person that losing weight for me has been a lot like trying to lift a feather 1,000 times a day. The difficulty of the task isn't entirely obvious. You think to yourself, "Anybody can lift a feather 1,000 times" and you'd be right. Anybody can. The hard part is remembering to do it each day. It's keeping track of how many times you've already done it that day and how many more times you have to do. It's the mental muscle you have to flex to maintain the willpower to keep going.

And that has been the trouble with me lately. Focus. Having willpower to do in action what I'm telling myself to do in my mind. Simultaneously it is so incredibly easy, yet it's one of the hardest challenges of my life.

June of last year I started my weight loss journey and by December of last year, I had lost 53lbs (24kg) in 6 months. I was happy with where I was and I became complacent.

Well, I was feeling particularly pudgy today and decided to go for a walk. The first walk I have (if I'm being honest with myself) really taken in several months. My ankles made sure to remind me of that fact. I haven't weighed myself in just as long and I'm afraid of what I'll see when I do.

And I know, I know, I know that some of you will say the number itself is insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and I will agree wholeheartedly with you; but simply as a means of measuring progress (or lack thereof) I'm afraid to see how far I've allowed myself to fall back. This is my first and only attempt at ever losing weight and this is my first slip up letting myself go so I'm much more of a weight loss virgin than many of you.

So I ask you Friendly Forum Friends© of mine to hold me to task and not allow me to become complacent in my triumphs. I've got a road ahead of me, but I'm once again excited to head down the path.

It's good to be back.
 
Welcome back.........every new day you get is a wonderful opportunity that you are given to make things RIGHT. You know the drill, you know it's possible, we believe in you and we are here to support you!!! :)
 
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