Regrouping...time to figure this diet out!

[Talanoth]

Howdy Rebels!

 

So, last year was a pretty amazing one for me fitness-wise. I got my brown belt, I was more active than I've been since I was a kid (and possibly even more active than that), and I dropped 65 lbs (350 > 285). I was at the dojo 3-4 times a week, yoga 3 times a week, and cardio 3 times a week. Then, in December, I was laid off from my work-from-home job. Budgeting led to some lifestyle changes, but I quickly found a new (office) job.

 

The office job was expected to be temporary, and as such, I didn't put a ton of effort into adjusting my lifestyle to fit it. Both my diet and activity took a turn for the worse, and predictably, my weight started crawling back up and about a month ago, I was back around 310.

 

Also about a month ago, I accepted a permanent position at my company, and with that, I decided I needed to make some changes to get back to my fitness goals. I negotiated working from home one day per week. This gave me one lunch I could cook in my own kitchen, as well as one day I could fit in both cardio and yoga. I also went back to a meal kit delivery service. which I found really helpful for improving my eating habits. I'm back to yoga and cardio 3/week, and even at the dojo more than last year, but my weight seems to have plateaued around 300.

 

The head of my dojo suggested I set some weight goals to meet for my next tests, which leaves me trying to lose 15 lbs by August. I feel fairly confident that activity isn't the problem as I'm exercising on average about 2 hours per day - I need to get back to a better diet.

 

I suspect snacking is one of my issues. My responsibilities at work are still ramping up which leaves me a good bit of slow time at work. As a result, I'm getting bored and snacking to break up the monotony. Generally it's healthier snacks - a piece of fruit (banana, orange, or apple), nuts (cashews and almonds), or dried cranberries, but I suspect that's where a lot of the extra calories are coming in. Otherwise, I'm drinking lots of water, no soft drinks, and having fairly healthy meals.

 

Any suggestions to help get this weight loss going again? Thanks!

[crazykhajiitlady]

Welcome back to the grind and kudos on you doing such a good job keeping up with exercise! That's honestly the most important health factor even if the weight is a bummer. 

 

I don't know if this works for you but chewing gum to keep your mouth busy might be a possibility in the meantime when you wanna have little snacks.  Also if you have any hobbies you can kind of do on the sly like write or plot DnD games or doodle and keep a small notebook handy I find myself able to pass time if I am stuck in a slow monotonous situation and need help even just staying awake. 

[DaemonCorax]

Food at work for me can be SO tied to how alert I'm feeling. So while I don't snack, I have to be careful what I eat for lunch or I spend the afternoon mainlining coffee.

 

My solution: I have a pile of 4-cup pyrex bowls at home. I cook up a pot of something once a week and put it in the bowls. I eat out once a week to socialize, but otherwise I always have a hot homemade lunch. My recent kick? Rice (always), with italian sausage and greens on top. The whole thing costs MAYBE $10 a week and I get a hot delicious meal everyday. Thus means that if my work schedule is weird or I get stuck eating late or something , I'm not scrambling to feed myself on something less healthy or expensive and unsatisfying.

 

Also consider: snacks for me should usually be replaced with water. If I'm feeling fuzzy it's more likely that I'm dehydrated than hungry.