Wednesday Weigh-In: Year 2! (Week 104)

Until today, I completely forgot that I had planned to do a post about it being two years since I started losing the weight I'd gained. A LOT has happened in the last two years--the first year actually felt pretty easy, especially once I became vegan.

The second year has not been kind, unfortunately. My weight went up and down based on how overwhelmed and/or stressed I was. When I feel stressed, I eat. When I feel overwhelmed, I completely lose my appetite. (I think of "stress" as being a harried "to do" list in this situation, and "overwhelmed", to me, is calm but just way too much information being thrown at me.) And I went between both of those more times than I can count (together and separately).

Anyway, when I think back to two years ago, I am in a MUCH better place as far as my diet goes. I started eating a ton of fiber. And then I became vegan with literally no notice, so I started focusing on getting the most nutrition I could. I learned that sugar/sweets just make me crave more sugar/sweets for DAYS--even if I have just one small cookie, I have to be prepared for cravings. A lot of times, I don't think it's worth eating.

Here is a comparison of Day 1 versus today:

Here are some things I've noted--the positives and negatives of my diet change/weight loss over the last two years:

Positives

I feel a million times more in control.
I eat a ton of fiber--it brought on the biggest change in my appetite and cravings.
I feel healthier than ever. My chronic pain was gone after only 1-2 months of eating a vegan diet.
I learned of a long-term iron deficiency, and after supplementing, my symptoms are clearing up.
I eat a lot more vegetables now.
I discovered a million new-to-me ingredients and learned to love cooking again.

Negatives (things to work on)

I eat for emotional reasons (stress is a big one).
I still don't sleep well.
I stopped running and I want to get back to it (I'm lacking the push I need).
I don't drink nearly enough water.

One thing that I really wanted from these weekly weigh-ins was the accountability. To challenge myself to post it every Wednesday, even if I gain weight for weeks and weeks and in a row. I wanted to just stay honest with myself. And aside from probably about four Wednesdays in two years, I've done a Wednesday Weigh-In every week.

I don't really have a "goal weight" anymore. I really like to be around 130 pounds--that's when I feel most comfortable--so I set a goal range on my Happy Scale app for 125-135. I've never maintained the 120s for very long when I've gotten there, so I'll adjust as needed.

Here is a graph of the last two years of weigh-ins:

The green and red indicate where my weight was at in relation to the previous 90 days.

As you can see, other than November 2022 through January of 2023, my weight went down gradually, but relatively steadily. Here it's broken into year (2021, 2022, and 2023). I like that it shows my stats relative to the previous year.

My weight today:

I was at 141.2, so I'm up this week from 140.4 last week. I had a good week other than snacking at night. And it usually happens when I skip a meal during the day--I definitely make up for it with snacks. Jerry found a cashew-based "Hatch Queso" dip at Kroger--it was SO AMAZING and I ate way too much of that. (The dip was actually healthier than the chips I ate it with!)

Well, I know this is nothing super profound; it's a super short summary of the last two years of losing the weight I'd gained. I'm very happy with where my progress is now. I'm not yet in my "happy range", and I can feel it in my clothes. But I'm getting there!

I was going to try to put these photos in a time-lapse video, but since I put this post off until today, I'll just have to settle for a collage. These are my Wednesday Weigh-In Photos (mirror selfies) from the last two years. The first couple of rows were for a DietBet; I didn't start doing the mirror selfies for "real" until Week 10. Then I just turned it into a weekly thing for my Wednesday Weigh-Ins.

The collage goes from left to right, row by row. The first picture is Day 1 and the last picture is from today.

The differences are so subtle from week to week that it's hardly noticeable. But when I look at some of the photos, especially noting the clothes I'm wearing, I can definitely see a difference. Here is the two-year comparison:

I still have no idea how long I plan to continue the weekly accountability weigh-ins, but for now, it's helping--so I'll continue to do it. Let's hope my weight goes back in the right direction this week!