NO LONGER OBESE

I’ve lost 6.3 pounds (2.86 kg) over the last two weeks, for a total of 22.9 pounds (10.39 kg) lost! Are you kidding me? I’m unbelievably excited about this.

I promise you I’m not starving myself.

I don’t even know how I used to eat around 2,500 calories a day. Nowadays, I always eat something when I’m hungry, but I don’t normally overeat or ingest foods that are extremely high in fat or calories. And I’m always satisfied, hunger-wise.

Overcoming My Weight Loss Plateau

As you may recall from my previous post, I hit a plateau where I ceased losing weight.

Again, it is completely normal for people to experience multiple plateaus during their weight loss journey, but it can be annoying. Count yourself lucky if you have lost weight without ever hitting a plateau.

I remained at approximately the same weight two days after writing the last entry, making it over a week since I had lost anything.

I began researching remedies extensively. A few websites recommended a “cheat meal” once every week or so to stimulate the metabolism. A cheat meal is higher calorie, possibly higher fat or sugar, than you’re normal fare.

It’s not confirmed scientifically, as all bodies and metabolisms are unique, but it has worked for others. They recommend having the meal shortly after exercising and after fasting for 10-12 hours.

I decided to give it a shot. I doubted that I would start gaining weight, as long as I continued to remain within my caloric budget.

I always exercise after I wake up, and technically I fast while asleep, so I decided to make breakfast my cheat meal!

Normally breakfast is my smallest meal and dinner is my largest, if for no other reason but due to years of centering the day around dinner.

I made a large, delicious breakfast on July 26th. I was actually full that day until it was nearly dinnertime and hopeful that it would help me.

And it did! Or it was a really big coincidence and instead my metabolism had decided to begin working again.

Either way, I overcame my plateau and began losing weight again the very next day, as you can see on the chart below.

I did start eating tzatziki again. I don’t know, there seems to be a correlation there! Not really, I actually didn’t eat any for a week during this period and I continued to lose. It’s too bad really, I’d love for tzatziki to be a miracle weight loss food.

You may notice in my caloric intake table below that it seems I may be experiencing another mini plateau. It hasn’t been long enough to tell for certain, as fluctuations are completely normal, but we’ll see.

Obesity vs Overweight

More good news: according to my Body Mass Index (BMI), I’m no longer obese!

Now, I’m just overweight. . .

I’m still not healthy, but I feel so much better knowing that I’m not classified as obese after all of these years at an elevated weight.

Despite having lost so much, I haven’t noticed any physical change at all. Granted, the most probable reason for this is that I see myself in the mirror every day, so I don’t notice any subtle changes over time.

I have been taking photos of myself every 5 pounds or so, but I’m not going to subject you to any of my shirtless pictures just yet. Not until I like the way I look, anyway.

I hadn’t even noticed my clothes fitting any differently, until last Saturday, July 31st.

That’s when I first noticed that my pants, which used to be tight on me, felt as if they were going to fall off. It was the greatest annoyance ever! I don’t like having to pull my pants up constantly, but the reason for it is pretty awesome.

I then decided to try on my suit. It was pretty snug when I bought it 7 years ago (I rarely wear a suit anymore, but I do miss doing so). However, it ended up getting so tight that I thought the buttons would pop off when I had the coat buttoned.

Not so anymore! It actually fits perfectly, if not a tad loose.

I’ll still be categorized in the higher percentile of overweight, but I can’t wait to be under 200 pounds, just because it’s a round number and I can’t recall how long it’s been since I’ve been there.

Something else that I’m excited about is the ability to skydive again. I’m not planning on going anytime soon, but I was over the weight limit to do so at most places.

I went skydiving many years ago on my birthday and I have always wanted to go one more time. And probably never again after that. At least my weight is no longer a factor in whether or not I can go.

Foods I Miss

I don’t know why I’m doing this to myself, but I’ve been thinking about food a lot more lately.

If you’re also on a strict diet with regard to calories and don’t want to be hungry, you may want to skip this small section.

But it’s true that I miss making and eating certain foods.

I haven’t made chicken tikka masala because it’s too high in calories, especially with naan, which I find to be a necessary addition to the dish. Although, I may be able to work it in if I omit the heavy cream. I also haven’t made cheese and dairy-intensive meals, such as ricotta and mozzarella stuffed pasta shells, or chicken carbonara. I’ve avoided fried food, like Chinese-American-style orange chicken (I know it’s not authentic Chinese food, but it’s delicious), onion rings, or lightly fried chicken tenders with Italian breadcrumbs.

I also haven’t eaten any type of meat besides chicken, which gets old. I don’t eat meat every day, but when I do, it’s chicken. There’s a lot you can do with it, but sometimes I just want a burger, you know?

As I mentioned last time, and probably the time before, I really miss chocolate and other processed sweets. Cookies, ice cream, brownies. . . heck, even gummy bears, or my favorite, Trolli sour gummy worms.

Eating fruit or yogurt does satisfy my sweet tooth most of the time, but not always.

All of that said, I do get pretty creative with lower calorie meals and they’re usually pretty dang tasty!

In fact, I made ratatouille a few days ago and it was amazing. It’s incredibly flavorful and super low calorie. And at about $2 a serving for all of the vegetables, it's also affordable. I roasted mine in the oven, rather than the traditional method of cooking on the stove top.

It doesn’t look like much, but wow what a great way to serve vegetables! It’s even better the next day. I only wish I had made a larger batch.

Daily Breakdown of Weight and Caloric Intake

Date	Pounds	Kilograms	Caloric Intake
24 July 2016	213.4 lb	96.80 kg	1292 calories
25 July 2016	213.3 lb	96.75 kg	1513 calories
26 July 2016	213.0 lb	96.62 kg	1371 calories
27 July 2016	212.1 lb	96.21 kg	1323 calories
28 July 2016	211.3 lb	95.84 kg	1259 calories
29 July 2016	211.8 lb	96.07 kg	1286 calories
30 July 2016	210.8 lb	95.62 kg	1234 calories
31 July 2016	209.3 lb	94.94 kg	1316 calories
1 August 2016	208.7 lb	94.66 kg	1227 calories
2 August 2016	208.0 lb	94.34 kg	1306 calories
3 August 2016	207.9 lb	94.30 kg	1237 calories
4 August 2016	207.0 lb	93.89 kg	1283 calories
5 August 2016	207.2 lb	93.98 kg	1221 calories
6 August 2016	206.9 lb	93.85 kg	1202 calories
7 August 2016	207.1 lb	93.94 kg	---

As you can see, most days I remain around 1,300 calories. This has worked really well for me with regards to weight loss, energy, and hunger satiation. I know my weight loss will slow as I get closer to my goal, but I’m so happy with my progress so far.

Conclusion

Thank you for joining me on my journey of betterment! Let me know in the comments. Know what? I have no idea. Whatever you want, I suppose. Your personal experiences, thoughts about my journal, anything. Just not politics, I can’t with the politics lately.

Stay awesome and I’ll see you in two weeks!