This month’s weigh in is not just a monthly weigh in, it’s the mid point of the year weigh in. So this post will focus on the journey so far as opposed to just what’s happened since last month.
When I started this journey on January 1st of this year I weighed in at 352.6 pounds. My body fat percentage was a whopping 52.0%, my muscle mass percentage was under the 25% minimum the scale would show, as well as my hydration, which was below the 43.0% minimum. I look back and shake my head at the fact that when I started my keto diet I was more body fat then anything else. I don’t feel ashamed or get down on myself about it, I just recognize that 52.0% was very bad for me. And that’s very important. I’ve made a lot of progress in six months and much of that is due to the fact that I didn’t add to the problem with self recrimination or self doubt. I simply understood I wasn’t where I wanted to be, looked to where I did want to be, and started moving in that direction feeling good about myself making the choice to be better. A positive mindset is a huge benefit in a weight loss journey.
So where am I now, six months later. My weigh in was yesterday, 07-02-2018. I weighed in at 293.0 pounds. My body fat percentage was 40.3%. My muscle mass percentage is up to 25.9% and my water percentage is up to 46%. That means in six months time I’ve lost a total of 59.6 pounds of weight, averaging just under 10 pounds a month. I like that average. On January 1st I was carrying 183.4 pounds of body fat, a whole human being. On this weigh in I’m only carrying 118.1 pounds for a total fat loss of 65.3 pounds. Unfortunately since I fell below the minimum percentage for both water and muscle mass I can’t calculate how much I’ve changed other then to say that between the two I’ve gained 5.7 pounds. Considering that fact that I’ve only recently started doing things to build muscle I’m good with that gain.
So even though I fell slightly short of my hopes to be over 60 pounds lost by mid year, and under 40.0% body fat, I feel really great about the progress I’ve made. I think quibbling over .4 pounds of weight and .3 percentage points of body fat would be silly to do instead of focusing on the great amount of progress I’ve made.
In terms of impact on my life, these are the changes I’ve noticed. At the beginning of the year I didn’t even try to keep up with my coworkers at the end of the day as we walked out to our cars. I would be struggling to try, I really couldn’t without their slowing down, and I’d be winded something fierce by the time I got to my vehicle. Now, I can keep up with them without their slowing down and I can feel that I was pushing myself but I’m just breathing heavier, I’m not winded.
I was wearing 56 inch waist pants when I started (at my largest I wore size 60). Today it was a hot day in Alabama so I decided to put on the new shorts I bought a few weeks ago. They’re 48 inch waist shorts. The fit isn’t perfect but they are wearable and I think a lot of the “fit” issue I had with them revolves more around the fact that my clothes have been extra baggy lately. So my shorts being a closer fit to the body felt odd. But it wasn’t like they were at risk of ripping or anything. I’ve been buying my clothes from the big boy store most my life and like any specialty store the cost of everything is way more expense. That’s why my clothes are so baggy right now. I’d ring up a huge bill keeping up as I go along. I got the shorts at Walmart for under $15. The important note though is I got them at a regular store. I’ve gotten small enough I can buy clothes at most places now, which I love.
At the beginning of the year when I got home from work I was done for the day. Now I do things. Maybe read, or work on learning a language, or even go back out and do something. More importantly I’ll exercise at the end of the night. Even if it’s just to go out on a walk.
On January 1st, starting the day involved me mentally pushing myself to get out of bed after copious use of the snooze alarm and a realization I’d have to get up or I was going to be late. On my weekends I’d sleep way in if I didn’t have somewhere to be. I’d stumble into the bathroom to get ready. Lots of coffee to get the engine revving. But mainly a lot of willpower and not sitting in place for too long out of fear of nodding off. Now I get up a lot without hitting the snooze. If I do it’s maybe once or twice. I get up and get going quick. By the time I’m done with my shower I’m fully awake and ready for my day. I get to do a 20 minute meditation every morning now because I’m not afraid I’ll nod off and be late for work. After the meditation, because I get up so much earlier now, I have time to exercise. I still have coffee in the morning but now it’s because I get to sit and enjoy my coffee. But I don’t have to have it to get through the day, and some mornings I don’t have it if I don’t feel like enjoying a coffee. Mainly I start the day strong.
The two biggest changes though are my emotions and my outlook. Earlier in the post I said that being positive is a huge key to success in weight loss and I did start out with a positive attitude. The change from then to now is that I had to tell myself back then I was being positive and had to work at keeping a positive mental outlook. I caught myself regularly worrying and doubting and having other negative thoughts, and I would correct those thoughts. Today, I have no doubt I will reach my goal. Today, I’m making decisions about my life, not just in the area of my weight or health, but about career and long term goals that I would never have made before because I had learned to settle because of my weight and health. I used to believe I had achieved what I could and I should be happy with that. Now I know that was a lie I told myself because I was scared to change. Not any more. I spend a lot of time working on skills to improve myself so that I can do the things I want to do and live the life I want to live. I smile more often and it’s done naturally not because I’m reminding myself to do so. I’ve always said I don’t worry about what others think but there was always a nagging voice in the background saying “you kinda do”. Not sure where he went or what he’s up to now days, but I don’t hear that voice anymore. I live my life for me and I live it well, and more importantly I live it that way naturally because it’s how I truly feel.
And the best part is I’m only half way there. On the app I use that captures the data from my scale it shows I’m at 48% of my weight loss goal. If this is how I feel at a 48% success rate I can only image how wonderful I’m going to feel when I hit 100%. But you guys won’t have to wonder. I’ll keep you posted all along the way. Have a happy 4th of July.
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