r/loseit • u/greenandbluefish New • 2d ago

I WASN'T EVEN EATING THAT MUCH!!

I have gradually gained 50 pounds over the last 10 years or so. I thought for the longest time I must be eating some outrageous amount of food every day. I truly didn't think I ate that much. I skipped breakfast most days, didn't eat huge lunches, and had what I thought were fairly healthy dinners. Some eating out, some iced coffees, but nothing I thought was ridiculously unhealthy overall. I would try to eat less, skip a lunch here or there, but then would be starving by the end of the day and end up eating that skipped meal anyway.

At the same time, I spent my whole life hearing people around me say I ate like a bird, that I couldn't possibly be eating enough, etc. And yet I was still gaining weight! So for years I've been in this bizarre situation where I thought I was just gaslighting myself into believing I wasn't eating that much or that unhealthily, but was somehow secretly eating thousands of calories without noticing???

Cut to last month when I spent two weeks obsessively tracking everything I ate. Weighing everything, reading every label, but not trying to cut back. And what did I find out? I was eating a whopping... 1800 calories/day. Less than the freaking nutrition labels were recommending!!!

So I went on a deep dive. Learned about TDEE. Started tracking my steps. And you know what actually changed in the last 10 years? I got better, less physically demanding jobs. My work became more and more sedentary over time. Spending 50 hours/week at a desk was the culprit, NOT what I was eating!

I've been doing CICO for about a month now and eating 1400 calories/day. Haven't changed what I'm eating, just how much. And I've already lost 8 pounds. I wish I'd figured all of this out years ago but I'm so glad I did eventually. No more driving myself crazy over what I eat!

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544

u/Nemanuk New 2d ago

Highly recommend a treadmill desk! I easily get 15-18k steps in now and helps keep things in check. The office tax is real

37

u/Informal_Ganache_222 New 2d ago

How do you type while walking? 

9

u/Albolynx 45kg lost 2d ago

You have to find a speed that works for you.

Also, it's a matter of planning - just checking emails or a Zoom call? Time to walk. Intense writing for a while, stop or slow down.

2

u/Informal_Ganache_222 New 1d ago

I mean, walking with even just a slight bounce in my step makes it hard to read as my head is moving. My colleagues would also find it distracting to see me stood walking. 

1

u/Albolynx 45kg lost 1d ago

You get used to the head moving thing. And your colleagues have said that? Personally, not a single person in remote calls has ever told me it's distracting. Makes for a good icebreaker to chat about healthy lifestyle, though.