Posts by yodeski

Hi Mary,

I can totally relate regarding food.  I sometimes thing that it must be easier to quit smoking or drugs - at least then you could quit cold turkey.  You can't do that with food, since you have to eat. 

After many, many attempts at losing weight, the only thing that I've found that works for me is to become more aware of what I'm eating.  The way I do that is to write down EVERYTHING that I eat, along with the calories.  For the first week or so that I was doing this, I didn't even have a specific calorie goal, I just wanted to see how much I was eating.  Now, I've been doing this for a month and a half, and have lost 30 pounds.  I've still got a long way to go, but this is longer than I've ever stuck with any other diet.

Another tip, that sort of goes along with the first one, is to measure your servings.  I found that I had a really distorted view of what constituted a serving.  A bag of shredded cheese that is supposed to have 8 servings, I would finish in 2 or 3.  Now, by measuring, I'm eating a lot less.  

One of the main things I've found is that if I have a variety of tastes, I don't need to eat as much, so I try to mix up what I'm eating as much as possible.  On the other hand, I know that some people find it easier to stick to eating just a couple of things, so you need to experiment, and find out what works for you.

But seriously, try writing down EVERYTHING that you eat.  That means that even if you slip, and eat a candy bar / bag of Doritos / whatever your particular weakness is, you still have to write it down, and figure out the calories.  Somehow, seeing it in writing helps me become more aware of my eating patterns.  Knowing that I'll have to write it down makes me think twice before eating stuff I shouldn't.

The final tip I have is, if at all possible, don't keep foods that you find hard to resist around.  Purge the house of brownies, chips, etc, and stock up on healthy, low-calorie foods. 

Unfortunately, yes on both counts.  I just started counting calories a week ago, and was 376 pounds when I started.  I'm now down to 368, with a goal of 200.  I'm male, and 5' 11", and should probably be even less than 200, but if I can make it there, I'll be thrilled.  

I decided I need to lose weight after my wife and I had our first (and only, so far) baby.  Looking at my son made me realize that I really want to be around and be healthy as he gets older, so I need to lose the weight.  It's tough to overcome years of bad habits, but I think that the community on this site will be a big help.  

I hope you don't mind, but I've added you as a friend.  Maybe we can help keep each other on track. 

I had the same problem with work.  For one thing, I used to go out to lunch several times a week with co-workers, and giving that up was difficult.  Plus, there are so many high calorie snacks around, that resisting temptation can be difficult.  After a bit of experimentation, I've found that the key for me is preparation.  I take some time at home in the morning to get my lunch and several healthy snacks ready. With vegetables and fruit, I find I can snack pretty often, and still keep well within my goal.   For me though, vegetables are something I eat because I should, so I always try to bring at least one or two tasty, yet healthy snacks as well - nuts, wasabi peas, yogurt, etc.  The important thing though is to take that extra time either in the morning, or the evening before to plan what you're going to eat.