Caloric Epiphany!

I wrote the following more than a month ago - I had the epiphany around the 26th of July. I've decided to keep it in present tense - almost like you're looking back at a journal entry. Okay, cue "going back in time" music:

Dude! Seriously, I had an epiphany last night. The truth was so obvious that it's almost silly that it took me this long to figure it out. Almost.

I was getting ready for bed last night, thinking about weight loss and how I need to update this blog and that there really wasn't an update (I actually gained a little (in pounds and inches) on vacation) and whether or not I should anyway. I was feeling frustrated because, like I said, I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. This blog is supposed to help get me pumped about losing weight for Forks and while I am more than okay not being at my goal weight in September when we go, I would like to lose SOMETHING. I feel like I'm stuck in an weighty mud puddle, just grinding my gears. I started debating fast weight loss and slow weight loss in my head. Supposedly, according to many "experts" fast weight loss is bad and slow is the way to go. And since gaining all of this weight I had come to believe that losing the way I did in the past - by cutting my calories down to 1200 and pushing myself to exercise a lot - had screwed up my metabolism and made me gain it all back (and then some).

So, I had surmised, slow is good. But, "slow" is not what I am doing. I am losing zero. I'm not getting anywhere. I wondered again what I was doing wrong and if it was ever healthy and safe to lose weight fast.

Of course, I did what any person in this day and age would have done. I Googled it. And that search led me to this article. And this is where my epiphany begins. :)

That was as far as I got last month - this is the rest:

I also found another article. Unfortunately, I can't find it now. But, here is the gist (and the real epiphany): imagine that you're an average 175lb person. You burn roughly 1800 calories a day just by being you. Imagine, also, that you burn another 200 calories doing the mundane everyday life things. So, that means you can eat 2000 calories a day and maintain your weight. 

But now imagine that you eat, on average, 2050 or 2100 calories everyday. You've just gained 5-10 calories in a year! 

Maybe this isn't an epiphany for you. After all, it makes perfect sense. But for me, it was groundbreaking. I always thought if I stayed at my BMR, more or less, then I would be fine. I thought I was gaining weight because my body was all out of whack! I thought eating 1200 calories a day in the past (when I was skinny) had screwed me up and been the catalyst in gaining 50 pounds. But, NO - I gained because I was, on average, now consuming about 2300 calories a day (in addition to not exercising regularly). AND SO - if I went back down to 1500 (or even 1200 for a time) I would be fine! What's more - I totally feel that I can stick to 1500-1600 calories a day if I'm eating a mostly healthy and very tasty diet.

As ridiculous as this sounds, it never occurred to me that I was simply eating too many calories!

And you know what? Since this realization, I have lost TEN pounds! The first ten pounds - those bloody pounds I've been fighting to lose for the past year - they are gone - in a month!

This is going to be my "before" picture. It was taken in May 2010.
I hovered here, at around 183 from the beginning of 2010 until
last month.

And, I think it's safe to say that I have dropped a dress size. I went from a size 14 to a 12. Now, supposedly, you lose a dress size for every ten lbs, but I think (maybe because I'm short) it's more like 15 for me. So, although I can into some 12s (like my new work pants!), I'm still in that blasted in-between phase where 14s are too big but some 12s err on the tight-fitting side. 

I've lost 5 1/2 inches total, too:

Last, er, month's measurements:

Arm: 13

Chest: 36

Smallest part of my tummy: 32

Around the belly button: 36

Where my jeans usually sit: 38

Hips: 43

Thigh: 24

Todays' Measurements:

Arm: 12.5

Chest: 36

Waist: 30.5

Belly Button: 35.5

Where my jeans sit: 38*

Hips: 41

Thigh: 24

*I realized the other day that in a lot of my previous posts I'd been mixing up the "Around My Belly Button" measurement and the "Where My Jeans Sit" measurement. The smaller number should always be the belly button one. Oops.

This will be my first "after" photo. It was taken 2 days ago,
9/2/10, about 6 weeks after my epiphany.

I'll be in Forks NEXT WEEK! My original goal was to get under 170 before I leave. I'm not sure if that's going to happen now because I have less than a week to go. But, in the big scheme of things, it's not a big deal - even if I don't reach my goals exactly when I originally planned, I feel eons more confident that eventually I will reach them.

Confession time: I haven't worked out in two weeks. :( I've been really busy (you can read all about that in my other blog) and today my stomach is all messed up. Thankfully, though, I've been maintaining. Part of the reason for writing this today was to get myself motivated again. And, assuming I start feeling better in the next day or so, these are some goals I'd like to keep in mind:

• Calorie counting - I haven't been keeping track on my phone app like I was before. I don't feel ready to stop tracking just yet - I want to make eating around 1500 calories a solid habit.
• Continuing to eat really good food - My goal here is to make it yummy. Indulge smartly, but also continue to look for really healthy food that tastes fantastic.
• Ease back into exercising - I want to find a way to fit exercising naturally into my now busy schedule. I am hoping to do it with Sadie as a part of P.E. But, I also love to Zumba!
• Keep on drinking my 90oz of water - That stuff is like gold!

That's it. An update, finally! 

I'll try to post later in the week to let you know if I reached my goal before I go to Forks. But, if I don't get a chance - I'll post when I get back.

Thanks for reading!