10!
A milestone has been reached! I have now lost 10 lbs (and on good days, more) and have been at this level for a little more than a week. I am almost done my second month at the clinic (next week is my last with them), and I have been successful. It has been 2 years since I was at this weight. My next goal is to try to lose 5-10 more pounds over the coming months. I know the doctor here would like me to lose more, as I am still overweight, but I think that is going to have to be a longer (6 months to a year) plan. My goal is to maintain this current weight loss and then try to lose more. I am very afraid of the "yo-yo" effect, and I know from my personal history that I gain weight easily.
Like I mentioned in an earlier post, a lot of my weight loss journey has been mental. I like exercise, so other than convincing myself to do it even on days when I am exhausted, that part was not hard to readjust to. The diet was harder, and this is the mental part. I have known for a while that I have no will power when it comes to sweets, and finally, instead of thinking that I could be strong and resist them, I had to get rid of them from my house completely. This helped a lot, because I am lazy when it comes to snacking and I grab whatever is in the cupboard.
Being consciously aware has also been helpful in the last few weeks, as the end of the year comes around, there have been (and will be) many parties and gatherings. My social life in Barranquilla mainly revolves around eating and drinking, so this has been hard to balance while watching what I am eating. I cheat, and although I am not supposed to be having any alcohol or fattier foods/sweets, I have given into the fact that I cannot control everything, so as long as I am careful during the rest of the week, I can balance out the extra calories and maybe do some more walking. Like I have been saying, this is a life-long change for me, so there is no point in being super restrictive and then going back to my old ways once I am done at the clinic. (And for those that are wondering, although the diet is restrictive when it comes to certain food groups, it is not by any means a fasting diet. I find it difficult to eat everything that I am supposed to,particularly on the high protein part right now, since I find the portions to be quite large).
The other mental part, that I have been made aware of, is my self-image. I was talking with another friend who has also been overweight for much of her life, and she mentioned how she is worried about if people will treat her differently after she has lost weight. I must admit, that I have been having those same concerns. What if people see me differently? (I realized it is me who needs to adjust to how I look/will look, since I've always identified myself as chubby, or rounder/overweight (even when I was a healthy weight, I was rounder/curvier than many of my friends, and never had that "ideal" body, or at least that's what I thought)). The adjectives you use to describe yourself really can play a role in how you feel about yourself!
*I originally wrote this post a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to finish/post it. So, now I will add that people will comment a lot that I am looking really good, but overall, I feel mostly the same. The compliments are really nice though! My character is not attached to the way I look, so I am still me (which I think was my biggest concern, what if I don't feel the same). Of course, it wouldn't be growth without some changes, I feel much more confident and happier with myself, and that carries into my interactions with other people. I am still a bit "soft" since I haven't really followed the resistance training that I am supposed to be doing, telling myself that it is too hard to do when I am in hostels and traveling around. In truth, resistance training is not what I enjoy doing, so it has been harder to motivate myself, but I know that there are benefits, including better posture and keeping my knees from getting tendonitis again (core and glutes!). I have committed to myself that once I am home (now only 30 hours away) I will start, since both my sister and my mom are really into their training sessions, and I can have that support. I had my final check-ups with my Colombian doctors, and I still have about 2-3 kgs (just over 5 lbs) that I need to try to lose (and to actually do the strength training, which they are really emphasizing to increase my muscle tone and density) to be at what they would consider an ideal healthy weight for me (70 kg or around 155 lbs). Right now, I have plateaued at 72 kg, but I also haven't done much other than walking a lot, so, hopefully I can get there by the end of the summer (goal is before my birthday!)
Like I mentioned in an earlier post, a lot of my weight loss journey has been mental. I like exercise, so other than convincing myself to do it even on days when I am exhausted, that part was not hard to readjust to. The diet was harder, and this is the mental part. I have known for a while that I have no will power when it comes to sweets, and finally, instead of thinking that I could be strong and resist them, I had to get rid of them from my house completely. This helped a lot, because I am lazy when it comes to snacking and I grab whatever is in the cupboard.
Being consciously aware has also been helpful in the last few weeks, as the end of the year comes around, there have been (and will be) many parties and gatherings. My social life in Barranquilla mainly revolves around eating and drinking, so this has been hard to balance while watching what I am eating. I cheat, and although I am not supposed to be having any alcohol or fattier foods/sweets, I have given into the fact that I cannot control everything, so as long as I am careful during the rest of the week, I can balance out the extra calories and maybe do some more walking. Like I have been saying, this is a life-long change for me, so there is no point in being super restrictive and then going back to my old ways once I am done at the clinic. (And for those that are wondering, although the diet is restrictive when it comes to certain food groups, it is not by any means a fasting diet. I find it difficult to eat everything that I am supposed to,particularly on the high protein part right now, since I find the portions to be quite large).
The other mental part, that I have been made aware of, is my self-image. I was talking with another friend who has also been overweight for much of her life, and she mentioned how she is worried about if people will treat her differently after she has lost weight. I must admit, that I have been having those same concerns. What if people see me differently? (I realized it is me who needs to adjust to how I look/will look, since I've always identified myself as chubby, or rounder/overweight (even when I was a healthy weight, I was rounder/curvier than many of my friends, and never had that "ideal" body, or at least that's what I thought)). The adjectives you use to describe yourself really can play a role in how you feel about yourself!
*I originally wrote this post a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to finish/post it. So, now I will add that people will comment a lot that I am looking really good, but overall, I feel mostly the same. The compliments are really nice though! My character is not attached to the way I look, so I am still me (which I think was my biggest concern, what if I don't feel the same). Of course, it wouldn't be growth without some changes, I feel much more confident and happier with myself, and that carries into my interactions with other people. I am still a bit "soft" since I haven't really followed the resistance training that I am supposed to be doing, telling myself that it is too hard to do when I am in hostels and traveling around. In truth, resistance training is not what I enjoy doing, so it has been harder to motivate myself, but I know that there are benefits, including better posture and keeping my knees from getting tendonitis again (core and glutes!). I have committed to myself that once I am home (now only 30 hours away) I will start, since both my sister and my mom are really into their training sessions, and I can have that support. I had my final check-ups with my Colombian doctors, and I still have about 2-3 kgs (just over 5 lbs) that I need to try to lose (and to actually do the strength training, which they are really emphasizing to increase my muscle tone and density) to be at what they would consider an ideal healthy weight for me (70 kg or around 155 lbs). Right now, I have plateaued at 72 kg, but I also haven't done much other than walking a lot, so, hopefully I can get there by the end of the summer (goal is before my birthday!)
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