[UpDownAround]

Yesterday. Much like the previous few days.Thinking about going low the next two days to allow more room on Christmas Eve and Day.

[99fairies]

I ate 1500 calories today> My usual is 1000. oh well. I was very hungry today

[Tucson]

My weight is 177. I have consumed 2400 calories. When I am depressed, I am not as discaplined. I guess I should be happy staying around 2300 calories. It is the dessert that is killing me on this. But still I need to gain some weight. Perhaps a pound a week will be OK. Given that I have been maintaining my weight for awhile, and the weight calculator tells me that I need about 2500 calories a day to gain a pound a week, I should stop being paranoid about this. I need to decide what I am going to do without waffling.

I still am trying to figure out the calorie range that will help me maintain my weight for future consideration. If I start exersizing, the calorie count to maintain my weight will change some. But right now I need to gain some weight. I would like to eat more fruit and vegetables. I will have to check the frozen vegetable part of the grocery store and check prices. Banana and fruit yogurts shoukd help with fruit consumption. Boy, do I like that greek yogurt made by Greek Gods. My kind of yogurt.

[UpDownAround]

Today there was no candy or cookies, but I did have a big piece of pizza at dinner. I picked an entry with 400 calories from the food database, but I can't be sure. I accepted it as correct and got my total up around 1500.

[99fairies]

Updown... were you doing a very low calorie day yesterday?

[UpDownAround]

Originally Posted by 99fairies

Updown... were you doing a very low calorie day yesterday?

No. It was posted above - 1519 calories. My goal, as set by the calculator at mfp, is 1520. It calculates that I will lose a pound a week at that level. I think I am losing slower than that right now; counting on kicking up activity level to help move it faster. Today, I am low - about 1200 - in preparation for the next couple of days. I will likely have this low one, a couple of high ones and then another low one to average out at a healthy level that hopefully is below maintenance.

Attaching today. Even at 1200, I managed to have ice cream with pecans. Turkey is good low calorie protein...

[UpDownAround]

179.4 this morning! I think it is another "perfect storm" weigh in and I won't be shocked if it is back up a pound next time (it is down 2 since 3 days ago). But seeing the scale register below 180 absolutely confirms that the weight is still coming off while eating a healthier amount. I did end up going 100 higher yesterday, up to a little over 1300 because I forgot to take medicine with dinner and had a banana so i wasn't taking it on an empty stomach. That also means I pushed it up to within 15% of goal, which mfp's tracker doesn't bark about.

The next 3 days could be tricky; besides Christmas Eve, today is my oldest's birthday and he wants cake with dinner (he wants crab for dinner, so as long as I don't butter dip it, it is pretty low calorie). Tomorrow is Christmas and the next day is my birthday.

[UpDownAround]

Yesterday - ended up with a near normal total, so carrying the previous day deficit of 200 below target into today. Target is a few hundred below maintenance, so I have room for some treats without gaining.

[99fairies]

My parents were here last night and i have lost 40 pounds since I saw them last. All my mom said was that she would not mind losing some weight. It was nice to be noticed for my hard work!

[UpDownAround]

It's Christmas. I went over. Not way over; maybe not even to maintenance. I got up around 1800, which should be below maintenance but I have been a slug lately and I did that 2+ month stretch of really low calories that seems to have lowered how much I burn a little. Still probably below; I think my burn is 1900 or more. But 2 days ago I did a day 200 under in anticipation of going over. If I do another like that I will be back on track for the week.

I got a fitness watch for Christmas (which I asked for) to motivate me to start putting in the steps. But I also got some sriracha pecans, which taste a lot better than that might sound. Just a hint of spicy. I weighed out a half ounce of them; I could have easily eaten 4 or 5 times that much if I had free grazed on them. I also got some Lindor chocolate truffles and couldn't resist having a couple today. Most days I will only have one. I was doing fine until dinner and my wife made apple cranberry casserole. I had to have double helpings of that. That's what put me over; 640 calories (a guess on portions; but likely accurate enough) of oh so good. It was worth it. Stayed away from the rolls, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy but made up for it with that dish. Oh well; I will have to see what the scale says in a day or two. I may get some "jitter", but I know I didn't eat enough to truly change my weight any meaningful amount.

[Tucson]

I have not been calorie counting. I do not know the amount of calories of the home made Mexican food, but it tasted real good. At least for the holidays, I will be posting just my weight. It will be interesting to see what happens. If there are days that I can ascertain the calories for the day, I will also post my calorie count.

[Tucson]

My weight is 182. This comes as a surprise. I do not think my daily calorie consumption has been that high. Where at one part of the day, I had higher than normal calorie food, and at another part if the day, I did not eat much at all. I have been snacking. I have been a little heavy on such things as the syrup and oil for making french toast. Today I will be more aware of the calories of food I eat. I want to see if I do not need to count calories to maintain weight. I have leftover tamales. I wonder how many calories a piece they are?

I know that it is time for me to start dieting and exercising again, but I will likely wait until after New Years to do it. Yea, diet resolutions at New Years are trite, but seem to be necessary for many of us.

Most all of my clothes in my closet are size 10, which is a size where I look healthy and good, but not skinny. I also have some 8s, some 12s, and a couple of 6s (when I'm really trim). I was looking for something nice to wear yesterday and 12s were my only options that I could fit well into. Yes, I'd really like to get back into the 10s again.

I also have size Medium shirts that no longer fit, though I do have several size Large shirts. It's funny, my chest size has increased a bit over the years. Even at the same weight my chest size now is larger than it was when I was 34. I kind of think that Risperdal and Invega were what changed that. Maybe the ONLY positive side effect from those two meds. I'm a woman. I'm sure it wouldn't have been that positive if I was a man.

[UpDownAround]

Originally Posted by Tucson

My weight is 182.

Our "paths" finally crossed. My last weigh in was 179. I suspect it would be 180 or 181 if I weighed today. I am logging every day through the holidays. Today is the last of the "feast days". It's my birthday. I had light breakfast and lunch and I have not been sweet hungry so far today. I haven't been very hungry at all. So I haven't had any of my Christmas candy or nuts. I asked for pineapple shrimp kabobs for dinner, so depending on sides and dessert, this could end up being a reasonable day.

[wildflowerchild25]

I, too, am planning to change my eating habits in 2018. I’m really looking to change my relationship with food. I have had a poor relationship with food ever since I first “realized I was fat” in eight grade (newsflash: I wasn’t fat). i started starving myself all day and then couldn’t take it anymore by night time and then I would binge and hate myself for it. That went on for years, probably until I was about 20. Then I got a bit of a reprieve. But after I had my son it all came back because I felt I was so fat from the extra baby weight. Right after my husband died I went on a hardcore dieting and exercise kick because it helped me deal with the pain. But then I started ballooning up from the raised prolactin and started getting into the binge cycle again. 2017 has been been a whole back and forth of dieting and then bingeing.

I bought a binge eating workbook and I’m hoping it will help me a little bit. I also convinced the dr to lower the depakote and my appetite seems to be reducing, giving me hope I might be able to do better. My depression is also lifting, meaning I’ll be more capable of making meals instead of eating out all the time. My plan is to keep my diet as simple as possible. Fruits, lean meats, veggies, maybe some complex carbs. As little added sugar as possible, but room for a treat here and there. It’s when I deprive myself totally that I fail and binge.

[UpDownAround]

My weight this morning is 180. No surprise; I had gone from 181 to 179 in two days and expected some "jitter". Yesterday was my birthday and I went heavy on the cake after dinner, but managed to get the day under goal (if my estimated on portion of cake is right).

[99fairies]

Happy Birthday Updown!! you are doing so well, keep up the good work!

[Tucson]

I still weigh 182. So much for “jitter” being the reason of my higher weight. Today I am measuring my calorie intake. I have gone from a waist size of 44 to 36. I no longer wear “XL” clothing. Now it is just “L”. My daughter gave me some clothing for Xmas. She wanted to know my sizes. I guessed at the measurements thinking that they were too small. Well, the clothes fit me perfectly. I have never looked this good in clothing except in my twenties. I will begin to post the calorie count of my meals again.

I do not want to gain any more weight. So I will go back onto my diet plan. IOW count the calories to maintain no more than 2300 calories, but no less than 2000. I do not want to give this up. Soon I will start mild exersize. Maybe I will be on an exersize bike for half an hour. Then increase the time on the bike when I am ready. As a side note, starting in January, I will be able to afford some regular food. So I would like a recommendation to one of Trader Joe’s packaged meals. I want to try one.

@UpDownAround Happy Birthday!

Happy Holidays!

PS My birthday will be in a few days on Jan 1. I will be 59. This I am not happy about at all. Time is going much much too quickly.

[Tucson]

I came up a bit over 2300 calories. I went out and purchased more yogurt. Using fruit with seeds do not work in yogurts. The seeds make the drink a bit gritty once finished. I will stick to my plan to see what happens to my weight. I will stay away from desserts for the time being.

[UpDownAround]

I went heavy on candy and dessert (the cranberry apple casserole is more dessert than side) yesterday, which is not a good thing even though I made the calories work. I actually ended up 100 under. If I average the last 5 days, it is just about right at goal. I will try to eat more fruit today.

[99fairies]

I have been so hungry lately and I am gaining. This can't go on. There is no way I'm gaining that 40 pounds back. Any tips on how to decrease appetite?

[UpDownAround]

Originally Posted by 99fairies

I have been so hungry lately and I am gaining. This can't go on. There is no way I'm gaining that 40 pounds back. Any tips on how to decrease appetite?

Not long ago, you were having trouble eating much. What has changed? Meds?

I am torn about allowing treats again. I have been handling it okay (no binges; kept calories in check) but I find sweets make me hungry. Sometimes I will have something sweet when I am not all that hungry and then I will be hungrier.

[99fairies]

My meds are the same. I try to eat between 1000-1200 calories a day, but the last few days I've been eating a lot more calories than that.

Originally Posted by 99fairies

My meds are the same. I try to eat between 1000-1200 calories a day, but the last few days I've been eating a lot more calories than that.

As I have said before, 1000-1200 calories is not enough. Now that you are eating more, likely closer to a normal amount, your body may be trying to hold onto whatever it can to prepare for the next "famine" that you put it through. This will only slow your metabolism over time and cause more frustration.

I encourage you to do some research yourself and see what amount of calories your body should be getting, and follow that amount. Fasting works for some people but it does not work for you, as you have seen. It is not supposed to be a way of punishing oneself for eating too much. Exercise is always a beneficial habit to get into as well.

[Tucson]

Now my scale shows me weighing 178. From 182 on the previous day? Is this possible? I will be watching out for snacking and eating something with allot of calories like desserts. I have this old bag of buttered popcorn next to me. I found myself periodically reaching over and grabbing some to eat. The first few times will not matter much. But if this continues, over time it can add up to allot of calories. This is the problem with snacking. It becomes automatic and keeps on happening.