[UpDownAround]

Thinking some more about what is making this time work for me...

I slept in a bit this morning; it was almost lunch time when I got up. I ate my usual breakfast and then came up with something to have to fit in as a lunch shortly after. It occurred to me how different I am thinking of food lately since I have been tracking everything and shooting for a goal. I am looking for things to fill out my required calories instead of trying to figure out how to squeeze things in. I wish I had the magic instructions for how to shift your mindset into thinking that way. I hope it sticks once I get to goal. I think I will always track at least some of my days. Knowing exactly where I stand in terms of what I have eaten and how much I have left makes a huge difference. I prelog some things, like a nice dessert I am planning to have later, so that I then make the day work in what's left. It's okay to borrow between days but I almost never do it.

I have lost weight in the past without tracking, but I was dieting by eating very light and cutting back so severely that when it came time to maintain, I didn't adjust properly. I had no clue what my intake was to lose and what it should be to maintain. I didn't slow my loss toward the end so that only a minor adjustment was needed to go into maintenance. I blindly made major adjustments to how I ate. This time I have the blinders off. I use myfitnesspal.com's web site and phone app. It's pretty good. The point of this is that I strongly encourage others to start tracking everything every day to get a feel for what your intake is to start with and what it is to establish a rate of loss. Even track when it goes off the rails. You don't have to post it for the world to see; you really only need to be accountable to yourself.

[Tucson]

My weight is 182. I have consumed 2000 calories. I snacked on buttered popcorn to boost the calories a bit. I am starting to drink a yogurt smoothie every day. I need to mix this up by making a banana shake, but without icecream. I find that I get a good consistently by first freezing the banana. I then add milk and protien powder. Then I give it a whir in the NutriBullet. I should do this at the start of the day. I have enough pizza to last me at least a couple more days. I purchased the pizza for half off. Nice. My favorite. Papa Johns Pan pizza. Lets see if ny weight wabbles between 178 and 182 like it has been doing.

[99fairies]

Slim fast was great yesterday. It was so easy to stick to. I just drank my 2 shakes and ate a healthy supper. I thought I might get hungry but the shakes are very filling, so all in all it seems to be a great diet so far.

[UpDownAround]

This morning the scale said 179.0, which is 1.6 higher than a couple of days ago. I am not worried about the jitter. I have stayed at goal every day, so it is just the normal bouncing around. If my spikes up are staying in the 170s, that is definitely progress. I tried on some jeans that I haven't worn in 4 years and they fit snugly, but they fit (not over stretched or anything). When I lost this much weight the last time, I had convinced myself that getting jeans that size would motivate me to stay at that weight and I bought 3 pairs. These will fit really well when I lose down to goal. They might even be a little loose, which I prefer.

I am glad I didn't buy any "intermediate" sized pants while I have been losing. I have one pair that are low/mid range sized and some that had become way too big that I belted and wore anyway. So my wardrobe just increased significantly.

I hope the motivation that failed me 4 years ago works this time. This time is different; I have a very different approach to how I eat. Also last time I was running a *lot* to help lose weight and tore my knees up and ended up having surgery. I started gaining weight while recovering from that.

[bizi]

good luck in this journey!
bizi

[bizi]

Ate a lot today.
half an avocado
coffee with half and half.
3 eggs scrambled with spinach and a side of brocolli.
6 oz of talapia fish, 12oz of chunky lentil veggie soup
1/2 cup of tabouli (parsley, quinoa salad)
one hundred calories of chocolate

am full la croix to drink tonight
and then maybe some tea!
bizi

[wildflowerchild25]

Stuck to my points today! Even with PMS and cramps and all I wanted was a huge chocolate bar. I ate one tiny piece and wrapped up the rest of the bar. I had eggs with a bit of cheese, spinach and artichoke chicken, and roast chicken with a little mashed potatoes and lots of green beans.

Tomorrow I am going out with some of the women from my moms church for “ladies night” so I’m going to try to keep my points low during the day to save for dinner. I checked the menu already and I’m probably going to go for a chicken Caesar salad or the seared salmon. Caesar salad is high points bc of the dressing but salmon is expensive so I dunno.

I’m just glad I have at least one day in the books and bonus: I didn’t gain any weight this week. Didn’t lose but didn’t gain.

[UpDownAround]

Near goal maybe; I had one of those inexact entries using a generic entry for chicken spaghetti. Checking the packages for noodles, sauce and ground chicken and thinking about how much I had I think the entry is in the neighborhood.

I have been getting more steps in. Not the 10,000 magic goal but I got 4,000 today according to the fitness watch I got for Christmas. The app estimates that is 165 calories. I don't up what I eat to compensate; I just figure it will help me lose a tiny bit faster. I have averaged 3074 steps a day so far this month. That kind of puts me between sedentary and lightly active on the calorie calculators. I think I am burning around 2,000 a day total, so eating around 1500 should come out to a pound a week. I haven't been tracking the rate exactly; I am trending down and not disappointed with progress.

[bizi]

Originally Posted by UpDownAround

Near goal maybe; I had one of those inexact entries using a generic entry for chicken spaghetti. Checking the packages for noodles, sauce and ground chicken and thinking about how much I had I think the entry is in the neighborhood.

I have been getting more steps in. Not the 10,000 magic goal but I got 4,000 today according to the fitness watch I got for Christmas. The app estimates that is 165 calories. I don't up what I eat to compensate; I just figure it will help me lose a tiny bit faster. I have averaged 3074 steps a day so far this month. That kind of puts me between sedentary and lightly active on the calorie calculators. I think I am burning around 2,000 a day total, so eating around 1500 should come out to a pound a week. I haven't been tracking the rate exactly; I am trending down and not disappointed with progress.

I am so proud of you.
You are doing swimmingly well!
keep up this important job,
It is hard and you are worthy of this effort!
bizi

[Naynay99]

Well I am planning on joining WW tomorrow. And unlike in the past I didn’t binge all week and wait till I actually joined to start eating healthier. So that is a tiny win. I am gonna try to bring lunch almost every day this week.
The only thing that is giving me anxiety is I have a dr appt on Tuesday and I know I gained weight over the holidays and even tho I am trying to do something about itI know my dr is gonna focus on the weight, which is making me dread the appointment. I know he is just looking out for my health but it makes me feel like a total piece of shiit who can’t even manage to control what I put in my mouth... I feel bad enuf on my own I really don’t need more judgement than I already give myself.

Sorry I meant for this to be a hopeful positive post. Ah well. I’m actually feeling good about joining weight watchers bc I am looking it as a way to view food in a more healthy way. Anyway I think it helps that my coworker friends are eating healthier too, should be less tempatation if we r looking out for each other.
Take care all.

[NolaMae]

I do Weight Watchers and last August reached my 75 pound weight loss goal. This was in spite of some of the meds I'm on. I have to admit I gained 6 pounds over the holidays but am back on track now and hoping to get it off soon. Losing all that weight helped more than any antidepressant I've ever been on. Did it make my bipolar and mood swings go away? Of course not. But the fact that I actually started to like myself and the improved self esteem I have did wonders for my mental health.

[Naynay99]

That’s awesome Nolamae!! U inspire me, that is great u have been so successful on WW!

[Tucson]

I have no appetite. I think this will come to pass. Lets see, I ate eggs, and a burger. Oh yes, and drank some soda. That is it. I do not want to loose weight. So I guess I will see what happens tomorrow.

[Tucson]

NolaMae, I am very happy for you. So WW actually works.

[99fairies]

To all you people doing weight watchers... I have a question. Are you attending meetings or joining online?

[bizi]

This truly is a new year for me.
I can not say enough about how grateful I am for my life right now.
Between the zyprexa and the naltrexone my cravings for alcohol have diminished ten fold, and I feel like I can diet again and lose this weight.
I have lost 9.3 pounds in 6 weeks!
I finally feel stable.
It has been so long since I have felt this way.
I thank you all for your support and encouragement.

bizi

[UpDownAround]

Awesome, bizi! I gave up drinking in late June and started my diet in early September. It does make it easier. Besides the alcohol calories, it was when I drank that I got some of the worst binge urges, like plates full of tortilla chips with cheese melted over them.

1.5 pounds a week is a good rate. Nice job!

[hopeless2015]

Gained 3 lbs from the holidays, not bad. My carbs have been at 30 but calories have been coming in close to 2000. Time to get back down to around 1500. I've lost 30 lb and would like to lose another 10-15.

[Zigy]

Originally Posted by bpforever1

I need to diet too. I like eating out and eat too much sugar. I feel tired. I will try to eat some salad tomorrow and eat less sugar.

When you eat sweets your sugar rapidly increases over your normal. Then it suddenly drops and you have a "sugar crash" - you feel tired.

Originally Posted by bpforever1

I need to diet too. I like eating out and eat too much sugar. I feel tired. I will try to eat some salad tomorrow and eat less sugar.

I can't emphasize enough how bad processed sugar is for you.

[wildflowerchild25]

Two successful days in a row! I’m celebrating every accomplishment because I’m tired of feeling so bad about myself.

[Mountaindewed]

I’ve gotten into the habit of just not buying unhealthy foods. My cupboard used to have lots of chips, cookies, muffins and candy.

Now In my freezer are lean cuisines, In the fridge is Greek yogurt and fresh vegetables, and in the cupboard are individual things of peanut and almond butter, and canned vegetables and black beans.

It’s amazing how easy it is to stay on track by just not buying junk food.

I lost a lot of weight these past 2 years. I went from 236 to 156 Losing weight has solved about 95% of my problems.

When I was heavy, I didn’t feel like I fit my personality. I didn’t feel like me. Now I do feel like me.

[bizi]

Originally Posted by Bozdickens

I’ve gotten into the habit of just not buying unhealthy foods. My cupboard used to have lots of chips, cookies, muffins and candy.

Now In my freezer are lean cuisines, In the fridge is Greek yogurt and fresh vegetables, and in the cupboard are individual things of peanut and almond butter, and canned vegetables and black beans.

It’s amazing how easy it is to stay on track by just not buying junk food.

I lost a lot of weight these past 2 years. I went from 236 to 156 Losing weight has solved about 95% of my problems.

When I was heavy, I didn’t feel like I fit my personality. I didn’t feel like me. Now I do feel like me.

congratulations!!!! keep up the good work. I need to empty my cupboards of all the holiday candies that we got at christmas time.
bizi

[bizi]

A solid 10 pounds lost!
bizi

[UpDownAround]

I must be severely dehydrated. I should be celebrating, but not without a little head scratching. This morning I weighed 175.0. I weighed twice just to be sure. That is 4 pounds less than 2 days ago and 2 pounds less than 4 days ago, when I had my previous lowest weighed at 177. Yesterday I was crazy tired and ended up going to bed early having eaten only about 1100 calories, which is about 400 short. So I should try to go over 1500 today. That would not account for the big drop though; it has to be mostly water. Still, I count the lowest number I see on the way down, so 48 pounds lost and 10 to go.

Bozdickens - congrats on that impressive loss!

bizi - awesome!

I want to lose weight but i'm mindful of having failed so many times in the past. I've been looking for a different method to inspire me and i saw one in a dream last night. I've always been impressed with a method of quitting smoking i heard about. (I don't smoke.) You get a cigarette case and fill it with your day's allotment of cigs. You start out at your current use and then cut it down by one per week until you're down to zero.

I thought, why don't i apply this to dieting?! So i'm starting out at my current intake and cutting down by 100 cals a week until i get to 1500. This way it'll be gradual and i'll have time to adjust and get to the grocery store and get cooking. I figure i have been eating 2500 cals recently (yes i know: oink, oink!) so today i will start my first week at 2400. I'll only weigh monthly. (I can't weigh-in today because i already ate breakfast so i'll do that tomorrow. I figure i'm about 220. Yikes!)

Hopefully by doing something different i will have more success.

I've also been exercising since December, for my blood-pressure and mood, on my doctors orders. I'm up to 20 minutes on the tread-mill. I try for every day but it's usually about four or five times a week. My muscles are really sore. I haven't noticed any improvement in mood but my blood pressure is responding nicely.

P.S.: A package of Lifesavers Gummy Sours is 630 calories and i've been having about one a day! Eee!!!