This is apart of a series of articles written by Jackson Trout. To read previous instalments,
click here: Part 1 – Introduction , Part 2 – Getting Started, Part 3 – The Bike, and Part 4 – Diet and Nutrition, Part 5 – Metabolism and Part 6 – Plateauing
Falling Off and Getting Back on the Wagon!
What happens when you have a weight-loss setback?
Ever since I had begun this exercise and weight loss program, I had lost more weight than I ever had. I was also eating healthier than I ever had before in the years prior. It really dawned on me that I was making a big difference with my weight was when I noticed my clothes, which would normally be either tight or snug, began to feel slightly looser and baggy. I felt like I was on a roll – I had had no weight loss setbacks since I started – besides from the occasional plateauing. The most the positive change that really affected me was my improved sleeping – a major side effect of health living, I’ve found.
Since 2019 I have had a real struggle with a sleeping disorder, where I would wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to fall back asleep. Throughout the next day, I would be tired and irritated. In 2020, I was able to strike a balance with prescribed medications Melatonin and Belsomra. This helped me get back to sleep a little bit easier. However, as a result of my weight-loss and exercise, I noticed my sleep improve substantially. I now fell back to sleep almost immediately.
Everything was going swimmingly. Admittedly, the weight wasn’t dropping as quickly as it did when I began my exercise program, but I was still losing weight. I finally reach 103kgs. The problem? While everything remained stable, it also got boring. From eating right to exercising – it all became too routine. The occasional plateauing didn’t help my motivation. I was beginning to lose interest in the whole ordeal.
It got worse when lockdowns officially ended on October 11, 2021. One of the first places I went to, when I was free to travel into the city, was Macquarie Centre. I can’t remember why I went there, but one thing is for certain, I distinctively remember excessively eating in the food court. I didn’t plan to, it just happened. It started with small samples, a small plate of noodles, a few meatballs, a chocolate éclair from somewhere else and more! I thought these small little bites of food wouldn’t be the same as having a large meal, however all of the small purchases I made accumulated into a large three-course meal. I felt stuffed, sick and bloated afterwards. I ate without thinking and assumed my metabolism would simply burn it all off.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. The next morning, I weighed myself and got a shock. I had, in a single day, regained over two whole kilograms. I was embarrassed and mortified. It was a major weight loss setback. I felt upset I had lost weeks of the hard work I had put into my exercise routine, and for what? In hindsight the food wasn’t even that good.
It was the wakeup call I needed to get out of the funk I was in before. I was bored and had been slacking. I pledged that I wouldn’t make that mistake again and that I would start to take my fitness program seriously again. I swore off going to Macquarie Centre Food Court, and decided to remove all of the other temptations in my life I knew I couldn’t resist.
It felt good. I felt good. It didn’t take me long to shred the two kilos I had regained; however it was going to take me a lot more to get back in the game and reach my ultimate goal.
To be continued…
