|
I plateaued in the month of September. I had an ablation to fix Afib at the end of August and could not really get normal exercise for about 5-6 weeks after. I happened to have my annual physical in the beginning of October and my GP advised dropping more calories.
I was tracking my calories religiously and I'd gotten down to around 1400 calories for the month of September. The doctor told me I'd have to go lower to see more results. That presented a problem as I was starting to feel hungry and I had decided that I wasn't going to screw up my metabolism to lose weight only to put it right back on and then some once I started to eat again. And at 69, I wasn't going to spend the rest of my days hungry.
I decided to kick up the exercise. After I recovered from the ablation, I began riding my bike going for longer distances. It took a couple of weeks, but I got up to 6-7 miles, at least 3 times per week. On the off days, I still ride but shorter distances and I walk for about 15 minutes which is all my poor feet can handle.
Since Oct 2, I've lost 8 lbs. What I am trying to do now is to eat to sustain but exercise to lose. This way, I shouldn't mess up my metabolism so I can at least eat enough to be satisfied and not gain weight and the exercise will help me lose. I have also given up counting calories every day. I know now what I can eat and every few weeks, I journal what I ate for the last 2 days to make sure I'm not slipping. It's working so far.
24 lbs lost, 16 to go to make my target weight. I will continue doing what I'm doing even after I make it because this was after all a lifestyle change not a diet. Curious to see how far I do go.
|