One of the biggest challenges with weight loss

There was a day in early 2020 when I stood on our bathroom scales and for the first time saw nine after one. I’d reached the weight of 190 pounds (86 kilos). Over the years I’d been through cycles of weight loss and again. Maybe in my early 20s I was even heavier than 190. I was at university then, had found the love of my life (so didn’t have to worry too much about my looks!), had been eating a lot, partying occasionally, and not doing any exercise. I then lost weight, then gained, and so on. In my thirties, my weight stayed firmly in the 185ish pound range (83–84 kilos).

At 190 pounds I wasn’t shockingly obese, but overweight for sure considering my high (close to 5'11). Notably, I’d always been active — I had always run at least a couple of times a week. Clearly, my couple of runs weren’t helping me maintain my weight.

I then looked at myself in the mirror and massaged the layers of fat in all the usual places — around my waist and chest. I wasn’t pleased.

That episode wasn’t some defining moment in my weight loss journey. It just stuck in my head. It’s easy to remember because of the figure on the scales — 190.

The journey started a few months later, in the late spring and early summer of that year — the infamous “pandemic” year, or first pandemic year I should say. I wrote many stories about my running and eating and I don’t want to repeat the details in this note. Basically, it was a self-reinforcing circle of increased running, some calorie…