Posts by adidas19

Yeah I'd say the first step is getting good running shoes.  That helped me.  But you may need to run on a surface with more give.  If you can run on the treadmill, the track, or a softer surface rather than pavement, try it out.  I run on the treadmill and every time I try to run outside I get shin splints. 

My shins are still recovering from running outside the other day.  I talked to my dad about it and he said that I may be running incorrectly.  When we run and our heel comes down first, then the rest of our feet, we're putting a lot of pressure on our shins.  Try leaning forward a bit as you run, and concentrate on landing on your whole foot instead of your heel. 

3 healthy meals each day with a snack looks like a good plan for now.  I'd say add another snack if you end up having a smaller meal.  Eat frequently, and eat healthily.  I also try to concentrate on eating whole grains, lean protein, and fruits and vegetables every day.  But don't deprive yourself.  Once you start getting used to it, if you really feel that you want to lose some weight, and you're able to control yourself better, you can start counting calories.

As far as how long it will take you to get used to it.. I really can't say.  Let me just tell you that it is OKAY to crave unhealthy food sometimes because it happens to all of us.. it's just a matter of incorporating the right kinds of foods into your diet so that you can eat not so healthy things sparingly.  The thing that helped most for me was just remembering that it's important to take care of my body.  I started exercising and started eating much healthier foods- and once i realized how much better these two things made me feel, I enjoyed eating good, wholesome, healthy food.

And, just so you know, it's not surprising that you don't feel full (even after 2000 calories) if you're eating unhealthy food.  If you fill yourself with processed food that has no nutritional value (fiber, protein, etc) it's not going to leave you feeling full

Original Post by robinsue74:

Oh yeah I forgot.  What I do is shake the hell out of the salad with the dressing in it in a container with a lid.  that way the dressing goes way further.

I do the same thing.  My favorite salad dressings are Ken's Healthy Options Parmesan and Peppercorn, and Ken's Lite Asian Sesame.  They are delish.  I'll put my lettuce in a container, pour 1 tbsp over, close the container and shake shake shake!  It gets the lettuce all covered in dressing and it's only about 30 cals. 

I think it's all a matter of your own judgement.  Chances are, if you aren't OVERweight, and you're still trying to lose weight, nobody else is judging you and thinks that you need to lose weight.  I know that I'm much too hard on myself sometimes and I am not overweight.

All through grade school, I was thin.  Throughout my whole life, I never remember worrying about what I ate or how active I was, because I never gained any weight.  But after senior year of high school my metabolism started slowing down and I started to worry about my weight, and that's where it all started.  Now I'm entering my third year of college and after losing about 15 pounds, I'm trying to be happy about the way I look because I'm at a great weight for my age/height. 

I had a great great day yesterday.  I decided that since I was taking my boyfriend out to a nice dinner (and they didn't have nutritional info available), I was going to just not count my calories for the day and enjoy myself.  I ate very well for breakfast and lunch, then we had a great dinner along with dessert (we never order dessert, so I said let's go ahead!).  We also went out to a movie later and I had brought along 100-calorie popcorn that I had popped and bagged ahead of time.  We went to a convenience store before going into the movie and I got gummy worms and candy cherry slices. 

It was a really good day, and kind of a relief that I didn't have to keep track of calories.  I eat really well and track everything I eat- very rarely do I have a "cheat day" or go over my daily calorie intake. 

It's nice because I know this won't affect my weight, because it was one day and if you take a cheat day every once in a while (not once a week!), you'll be more likely to make good decisions

I agree that it's very difficult to follow the "rules" of dieting all the time.  But once I started logging in my calories for the day (ALL of them) I became much more aware of what I was eating.  Now, I really maintain what I'm supposed to be eating throughout the day, but I don't deprive myself completely of the foods I love- I just don't over-induldge.  But I've also found that I look forward to making myself healthy meals, especially when I come home and make something for dinner.  I eat tons of steamed vegetables (keep them stocked in your fridge and freezer), I make big, creative and healthy salads with protein (boiled egg whites, beans, etc), and I drink tons of water. 

Here are my suggestions (besides what I just wrote): Start eating breakfast.  It will get your day going and you won't feel so hungry at lunchtime

Don't eat the same thing every day.. in fact, switch it up as often as possible.  Just make good choices about what you eat.  You'll start looking forward to eating healthier foods when you start feeling better about yourself

LOG your calories! 

Treat yourself, but don't fall into bad habits.  As long as you're staying within your daily calorie intake (see the "calorie target" tab on CC to calculate how many you should be getting each day)

Stay active and love yourself!

Yes, I feel you on this one.  The best thing you can do is either get out of the house (go for a walk, go be with people).  Or maybe do some exercise at home.. ab workouts or leg workouts you can do without any equipment.  I always feel when I do exercises, I don't WANT to eat because I'm feeling the effect of the workout and I'm doing something healthy.  If you really want to eat, steam up a big bowl of veggies. 

If you want to lose weight, stop eating junk food.

I always have a cup of tea after dinner.. usually Bigalow perfect peach (it's herbal tea), and I mix in a packet of sweetener. 

I drink it slowly and enjoy it.  It calms my sweet tooth.  And 0 calories!  If I'm still craving later on, I'll have sugar free jello or fat free snack pack pudding.

Hot tea with sweetener- I drink a cup every evening about an hour after dinner.. it's very satisfying, helps tame my sweet tooth, and no cals!

AND

For a great late-night snack, sometimes I cook up 3-4 egg whites with tons of veggies (spinach, tomatoes, etc) and salsa.. and if I'm craving it, fat free american cheese.  Makes a great omelet and fills me up!  Yum!

It sounds like you already know what to do.  If you feel uncomfortable with your body and want to get healthy and in shape, go for it!  It's great to start off by saying you don't want to be skinny.. and good for you.

Exercise is important, so running is a great way to get in your cardio.  The most effective thing I did to lose weight was to count my calories- CC, obviously!  I run as well, but if you're exercising a lot and not eating enough, your body actually stores fat and that causes you to gain weight.

See what CC says for your recommended calorie intake and stick to it.  Type in your honest height, weight, activity level, and goal weight.. and you should be able to lose the weight simply by keeping track of the number of calories you're taking in each day.

Keep your head up and stay healthy!

Yep, I am definitely eating whatever I want on Easter.  My whole family lives nearby, so my parents host Easter and we have tons of people over and tons of food and I plan on enjoying it. 

I've been eating well, exercising, I've lost weight.  Hey, I will treat myself for one day.  I'll probably cut back my calories on friday and saturday, and hopefully get in an extra work out. 

But I love Easter!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE sushi as well.  The calories in sushi can vary.. different restaurants and stores make them differently and are different sizes.  I usually stick with California roll (which is healthy) and then maybe one roll of another that may not be so healthy (like Shrimp Tempura, because it's deep fried).  If you can't find a good estimate for the calories in sushi, go to thedailyplate.com.  They offer a lot more calorie info on particular restaurants, etc. 

And I agree with above post.. if you limit yourself, and you don't indulge in the creamy or deep-fried sushi, you're fine.

Another thing to try is to make it a GOAL to eat healthy meals for one week.  This means fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean protein, etc.  No fatty and sugary foods that you don't need.. no junk food.  If you need to, break up your meals into "smaller" meals throughout the day so you don't get so hungry. 

See how you feel after doing this for a week.  I know that when I let myself slip into bad habits for a couple days, I'm much less motivated to start eating healthy again.  But when I get into the habit of eating healthy foods (frequently), I'm proud of myself, my body feels better, and I don't want to slip.

It's normal to want to eat and eat when you've made it a habit.  If you're eating all throughout the day (and unhealthy foods), your body expects it the next day.  You're getting used to eating and eating and eating.  Tone it down a notch- force yourself to get into a healthy eating routine.  And yes, exercise does boost your metabolism so you feel more hungry.  But instead of grabbing cookies after a jog, make yourself a healthy salad with protein. 

And continue to drink lots of water throughout your day.

I used to feel this way.  Even though I was glad I had lost weight, I think I have become more self-conscious of my body BECAUSE I became so familiar with judging myself.  When I was trying to lose weight, I would be so aware of what I was eating, how many calories I was putting into my body, how much I weighed that week, etc. etc.  And I was always looking in the mirror.

I've maintained my weight (once I lost about 20 pounds), and since then I've worked on being happy with my body.  It's become important to me to STOP obsessing over calories, and now I just try to eat healthy.  I still keep track of my calories, but it's not like I'm running on the computer to get on CC to write down everything I've eaten in the last hour.. you know what I mean?  Also, now when I look in the mirror I tell myself to be proud of myself for losing weight.  I also tell myself that I am at a healthy weight for my age/height and that I don't need to lose any more. 

It's all about telling yourself that you are beautiful.  It's hard because when you decided to start losing weight, you had to bring on new habits and force yourself to keep up with dieting and exercise.  So you're just used to "pushing" for weight loss. 

Congrats on losing weight.  Still eat healthy foods and exercise, but you should be healthy emotionally and mentally too.  Be proud of yourself for working hard to lose the pounds.