Getting Motivated Again

[tempeste]

Brief history: I've always been a bookworm, and a bit chubby - not really overweight, just not thin either. About 2007 I gained some weight, got to my then-highest weight of 143 lbs (I'm 5' 1/2" and petite), and bet my then-boyfriend-now-husband that I could apply my knowledge of behaviorism to change my behavior. I got really serious about eating right and exercising, but I worked with small changes at a time. I started with keeping a rough food log and exercising for literally 60 seconds a day. By 2010, I was 120 lbs, fit, liked the way I looked and felt, eating roughly 1400 calories a day with a few "cheat" days a month and exercised for 30-60 minutes 3-5 days a week.

Then, life happened - moving, school stresses, financial stress, etc. I stopped calorie counting and started eating whatever I wanted. I fell out of exercising and never really got back into it. I knew I'd gone back up a few sizes, but I just didn't pay much attention. This fall, I finally weighed myself again and was shocked to see the scale reading 158 lbs. I gained almost 40 lbs in two years. At 120 lbs, I was a smallish size 8; curvy but fit. Right now I'm about a size 13.

The positives: I have a much better body image than I did five years ago. I'm much more interested in being fit and healthy, feeling good and comfortable in my own skin, being capable of some physical activity, than at passing as some kind of model. I know that I can lose the weight as long as I'm willing to commit to it - I did it once, I can do it again. I know that, once I work up to it, I do enjoy exercise. Back in 2007 I was practically terrified of exercise.

I also know I want to change some things up. The biggest is calorie counting. I can do it, it absolutely works for me, but I don't want to do it for the rest of my life. It can become ridiculously annoying after a while. I want to develop healthy choices and habits that don't require 15 minutes of my day to write stuff down and measure things out. I know paleo is popular here, but I don't see myself going that route. What I think I can do is work on being conscious of when I need to take a smaller portion, making the effort to eat lots of vegetables and less pizza, etc. About a month ago I decided to work on simply making healthy choices, get back into exercise, and re-assess in six months or so.

Finally, I'm also dealing with some extra challenges. I'm moving to third shift this week. I'm also applying for graduate school, and will (hopefully) need to fly out for daytime interviews in the next few months. I have always had a really difficult time handling lack of sleep or sleep cycle changes, and I'm going to have to do a lot of that in the months to come. So I could use some extra motivation to eat healthy, exercise, and do the best I can with my sleep cycles. I think I'm going to do the next six-week challenge to help keep me on track.

[Baelasar]

Welcome!

[JessOfAllTrades]

Hello and welcome! I think it's awesome that you're approaching this from a fit and healthy perspective. I felt myself nodding during that part while reading because I'm in a similar place. It's also good that you know what works for you already. Best of luck, and enjoy the community! People here are pretty awesome and friendly.

[Michael Ramm]

Welcome to the Rebellion! We are here for you for support and accountability.

Good luck with your interviews. What will you be studying?

Eating right is 80% of the challenge to getting in shape...and the one that I struggle with the most. Thankfully, my wife is eating more heathy as well, so that makes it easier for me to do it.

[Laureleye]

I don't specifically eat paleo; I've gone to real/minimally processed food only.  That has worked well and sure cuts down the calories easily without leaving you hungry.  Glad you have decided to stop the slide and take control of your fitness again.  Welcome to NF. 

[tempeste]

Thanks for all the welcomes  I'm applying for a PhD in Neuroscience - I like brains lol  I'd love to end up as a professor doing both research and teaching.  For diet, I love sugar / noodles / cheesecake / cookies / fancy coffee drinks / etc too much to ever completely give them up, but I definitely want to work on making them treats rather than mainstays, and eating a LOT more fruits and vegetables - especially fresh!