how I finally reached a goal weight for the first time after 8 years

Ever since we arrived in California in August 2013 and I weighed myself for the first time since before we got married in May and saw I’d gained over 20 pounds in that one summer, it’s been on my mental to-do list to lose weight.

now, I’ve lost over 20 pounds in the last year and I feel great. I stopped weighing myself in october once I reached the goal weight for my annual physical, and feel like I’ve been maintaining just doing what I’ve been doing since.

After I wrote the “Fuck Being Fat” post last year, I actually never stuck with even one solid week of my own plan.

Even though all the advice out there pretty much says that counting calories is the one surefire way to lose weight, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it without tracking calories, because food tracking is one surefire way to trigger me becoming super obsessive about the numbers.

So, I came up with the four shifts below to keep in mind throughout my days as intentions to live a more healthful lifestyle.

the 4 principles I followed to finally reach a goal weight

1. eat less – intermittent fasting, portion control, + slow intuitive eating

• intermittent fasting = I don’t usually eat breakfast, I eat for the first time each day after my stomach wakes up and I get hungry, which is sometimes 11am, sometimes 2pm.
• portion control = Reid + I always split when going out to eat, and at home I’ll make a plate smaller than most people, telling myself I can get seconds if I’m still hungry, but usually feel full enough after making my plate with a mentality actively trying to combat “eyes bigger than your stomach”. Also, our ideas about portion sizes are totally out of control in this country, and I think I’ve been able to retrain my stomach and appetite over time.
• slow eating
• intuitive eating = eat what I want to eat when I feel hungry, eat slowly, chew on both sides of my mouth, and stop eating when I’m no longer hungry, before I feel too full.

2. drink less – alcohol

I used to drink 5-7 days of the week, consuming 2 or 3 drinks on days I’d drink. This year, I stopped making drinks for myself while I cooked dinner on weeknights, and instead only drank socially and mostly on weekends. So now I drink 1-4 days a week usually, and most of those days I only have 1-2 drinks.

3. drink more – water

I have an RTIC tumbler I try to refill at least twice a day. It’s a 30 ounce tumbler so if I refilled twice and drank all of that last refill too then that’s 90 oz, minus some for ice space maybe, but still for sure 60+ oz as a daily minimum to shoot for.

Hydrate until you pee clear! If you need/like a visual goal to shoot for.

4. move more – 29+ minutes a day, 5+ days/week

I decided that walking Lincoln for 15 minutes twice a day instead of just quick 5 minute potty breaks counts, whereas before I would feel like I was failing if I wasn’t getting in a half hour on the elliptical as my exercise.

also in september 2021 I began horseback riding each week, going to a once a week LaBlast dance fitness class my friend teaches at Dancer Strong in McKinney, and doing Kundalini yoga at The Groovy Coop every week I can (which is moreso breathwork but still). so i really just adopted a more active lifestyle overall this fall.

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