By early April this year I was the heaviest I’ve ever been at ~270. Exercise has been hit or miss but I know the biggest problem is diet, in particular binging on treats after dinner (if it were up to me we’d keep candy etc out of the house, but my wife and two young kids would lose their minds).
Luckily around the same time my wife was unhappy with her health so we’ve been supporting each other to eat better (or avoid dessert binges) and exercise consistently.
I’m down about 12 pounds since then. No real firm weight goal, but aiming to keep up consistent workouts 2-3 times per week (I’ve been good there for about the last year), avoid unhealthy binge habits, and if I keep that up I should keep losing about a pound a week. Hoping that as my kids (currently 4 and 6) keep getting more independent it will get easier to exercise consistently - I love it and worked out 5-6x per week before kids, but that’s not realistic for now.
Time for a follow-up accountability post:
The good:
1.) kept up pretty consistent exercise routine through 2024, managing 84 total aerobic activities for the year (thank you, Strava Year in Review)
2.) late summer, found a good local friend for weekly scheduled road bike rides, which helped with consistency
3.) in the fall, starting using Huel for workday lunches, which seems like a better solution than eating at the work cafeteria every day as I was previously
4.) hard to say for sure, but it seems like kids bedtime routine has gotten more consistent in the last few months (more on that below)
The bad
1.) not sure when, but at some point fell back into nightly binge eating and came into the 2024 holidays back at 270+ pounds
Going forward
1.) I can see a clear correlation between wanting/‘needing’ to stay up significantly past my kids bedtime (especially problematic when I feel work deadline stress), and a desire to eat sugary foods to rebound and feel energized after their bedtime. Making a conscientious effort to go to bed between 9:30-10pm. I’ve been doing it consistently since the holidays and I seem to sleep better, wake up earlier, and feel more rested through the day
2.) working to maintain healthy breakfast/lunch habits, and avoid post dinner dessert binges
3.) starting lifting again about once a week - this is never my highest exercise priority since I’m more concerned about weight and cardiovascular health, but I know it makes me feels better physically and I want to continue to aim for 1 lifting session per week
4.) I’ve been good with the above for about a month and have already seen positive results, but I’m fully aware the struggle never ends
Looking back through this I’m realizing just how critical my sleep habits are, lol. That temptation to have some ‘me time’ after the kids go to bed is the gosh darn devil
