tdiprincess -- Thanks for the encouraging words. I think it's cool that having an outfit in might helps motivate you to work just a tiny bit harder to lose the extra that makes that outfit look great. I wish that motivated me, too. I've tried buying outfits that I want to fit into by a certain point in time, but it tends to be too abstract as a way of focusing for me. However, since I'm starting to take a closer look at my clothes and how I look at them, this might be something I should revisit trying.
I hate how fat I had allowed myself to become through neglect, depression, inactive lifestyle choices, and poor eating habits and I've gotten to the point where I couldn't stand the sight of myself in a mirror. It's easy to tune out the body in stretchy pants and t-shirts, which being a grad student allows as a wardrobe choice.
I've been trying a number of things to lose weight and I don't know if they are necessarily the best, but they seem to be working so far and I plan to become more disciplined as I keep at it and stay encouraged. Not giving up has been a struggle for me in my several-year long failed attempt at weight loss. Firstly, I'm forcing myself to look in the mirror every day and not just see what I want to see, but see what is there. I'm forcing myself to take body measurements every week, too. This way, I am reminded of the physical and tangible shape of my body and can't tune it out in an abstract way. I switched over to an Atkins-style diet -- that is, lots of meat and protein and veggies, but very little carbs. I stopped putting sugar in my tea and coffee, stopped eating sugary things in general, and stopped eating junk food (my husband eats junk food and I usually have a tiny bit when he offers, but I'm turning it down now and reminding him that it's nothing personal) altogether. I had cut out processed foods, high fructose corn syrup, msg, and hydrogenated oils already, though I never did eat much of that. I've also reduced my portion sizes and I only eat when I am really, really hungry instead of eating out boredom or emotions (this is a hard thing for me, because I do tend to binge when I'm emotional about something). And, I started taking phentermine, which really worked for my sister. She lost like 30 pounds in 3 months without any exercise at all, and as a physician, she had recommended it to me for years; I never took it before now, but I started it recently. Because I feel energized, I am less inclined to avoid physical activity. It suppresses the appetite a little, too. Another thing is that I have started to be more committed to exercising every day, even if it is something small. So, for instance, in the past several days, I ran/walked five miles on one day, played an hour and a half of tennis another day, walked three miles one day, spent an hour doing exercises like squats and push ups and crunches (etc) at home one day, and things like that. Some days, I just go for a walk in the morning and night, so that I might only walk about a mile and a half each time, but it adds up. These are all little things and I haven't had the energy for much discipline recently, so they seem a little silly, I guess. But, I think they are starting to work. I haven't been under 180 in at least 2.5 years, so that's something. I think that the biggest change, though, is that I am actually resolved to doing something and actively combatting those defeatist ideas that make me look at the slow results and want to just give up. Over the next few weeks, I plan to consistently wrk out for at least 1-2 hours every day. And, I should probably start keeping a food journal, again.
Anyway, thank you for your kind words. I like your strategies and hope we can chat more about different ways to stay motivated
ShanIAm and kaleidoscopic and Scooter-- Thanks for the encouraging words! I do have to agree that being petite has at least that as an advantage.
though reaching for things is always amusing. I didn't see a huge number difference on the scale, but my normally hypercritical family has already noticed an improvement
I hope to keep up with your fitness journeys on here, as well.
