Well jansa and tamara that makes me feel better. I do get very full on 1400 calories a day. I do my best to get the RIGHT foods into my diet. I am following a diabetic exchange system so I end up with a balance of around 40-50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20-30% fat.
I eat lean meats, nuts, whole wheat grains, low fat milk, fruit and veggies. I rarely have any processed foods, but I do like the 100 calorie packs. I know....nothing worth having in them, but when I am in serious need of something sweet or salty they satisfy me.
I guess my biggest fear is to lose the weight and struggle so hard to keep it off that I give up. That is not my goal here. I want to be healthy. I want to be happy in my body. Not so much for looks, but with what it allows me to do.
My biggest success in the food department has been getting rid of caffeine and soda. I don't have either of it any more. The only exception would be caffeine in chocolate if I have some, but that is very rarely. I think this change has made a big impact on my overall health and keeps me drinking water. There isn't much else to drink!
8/10: 244 (I'm actually not positive. I'm house sitting and I don't have my scale. *sad face*)
I weight ALL the time... but my OFFICIAL day is Friday mornings...
so today... 233.2---down 2.8 from last Friday... YAY!
Everyone is doing so great!
It is a lifestyle change. And that takes time.
But it pays off. < tooting my horn a little >
Since 7/9/07 I have lost 8.5 pounds and at least 7.5 inches - mostly off my chest and hips!
Since 3/29/07 I have lost 21.5 "
On days after I ate garbage... gathering the motivation to work out was all but impossible... and when I actually DID work out.. it was soooo hard... but I've been eating EXREMELY healthy for about a month and a half now.. You know how all those gym ads say "6 weeks"... it's because it's true... You feel a REAL difference if you can eat healthy/exercise healthy for six weeks without a backslide or "cheat"
It sounds insurrmountable... but in 6 weeks you can be are where you are RIGHT THIS SECOND (or worse... ) or you can feel better.
jell: Thanks for the YAY! and YAY! to you, too! YAY for posting your stats and being proud of them... I was inspired by you to actually JOIN a gym instead of doing all my workouts at home... joined yesterday... did a 60 min. lift class today and 30 min on the elliptical.. .it was GREAT! I have my meeting with a personal trainer on Sunday.
I love being part of the journey with you inspiring people!
Another of your comments also resonated with me... (I think it was Michelle who made it). I have to stop linking emotions and food. I want to get to the point where I can see food as fuel for the body and not the pleasure center of my life.
Anyway, good to be here... This is my first post (apart from my stats!) but I have read everyone of your posts with great interest over the last few days. And I have peeked at some of your pictures and they are awesome!
I am happy to report that today I actually ate 1800 calories! That is very little for me, and creates a 963 calorie deficit after the small amount of exercise I did today. I can eat less than 2000! I guess I am just going to have to become an exercise fiend and burn lots of calories because I really don't know if I will ever be able to do 1200. I don't know if I can be that disciplined! Those of you who do that, that is really great.
denise: Totally relate to the "don't want to eat less" thing... I would STRUGGLE and STRUGGLE to stay at 1200 calories NO MORE and it didn't go well for me EVER... I was actually getting depressed with the idea that I would have to eat like that for the rest of my life... but several wondeful people on here have convinced me that the AVERAGE person needs between 11 and 14 calories per pound to maintain weight ...so my thought is even if I'm an "11".. and maintain at 150.. that's STILL 1650 calories a day... and I can do that... but REALLY... I'd be fine at 160...and even if I have SLOW metabolism... that's 1800 calories a day for maintainence. (When I eat like I do now... I average 1650 a day... and I'm good with that... I workout about an hour to an hour and half a day... pretty hardcore, but that's my thing). So, I figure I can stay at that number of calories until I plateau... and then I may try a drop for a LITTLE while... but I'll come back up.
milli...way to not let that scale drive you nuts! When I was over 300, I didn't have a scale that WOULD weigh me, so I'd have to wait until I went for weigh-ins... since then, I'm an obsessive weigher, and I TRY not to let the day to day fluctuations bother me... but four or five days in a row without change make me cukoo!!
jansa--way to drop that water weight... Yeah, the only time I have processed foods or fake sugar is with a protein bar... and it really does make you FEEL great!!!
Kellygreen, I find using the 100 cal snack packs hellps me too. It's better than a whole family size package of cookies or xchips. And I am having trouble letting go mentally of those foods. I spent a lifetime making those foods my #1 goal to eat ;)
I find everyone's posts inspiring. I was feeling so low! I gained 5 lbs this week from overeating from major stress. Felt like quitting and now I feel like trying some more.
-hugs
Thanks Tamara! You are right, and I don't even know how low I am going to be able to go. I am 5'2" and this site suggested 123 for me. I said "yeah, right!" and set it at 135, still not convinced that is a good goal for me. I have been very heavy all of my life, around 250 until 1999-2000 when I went to 330 and stayed there plus or minus 15 pounds until now. One time, when I was in college and was around 240, I dieted and went down to 200. I felt SO thin and fit at 200 (of course I was NOT), but I gained it all back and then some.
I think that being so heavy my whole life, especially growing up, has probably affected my bone density and muscle mass. I could always do a lot "for my size." I even hiked the Grand Canyon (2 days down, 1 day up backpacking trip) when I weighed about 260. I think my body composition might be different than people who were thin growing up and put on a lot of weight later, and that affects how I burn calories now so that I burn a little more because I have more lean mass in addition to more fat. Here is my rationalization:
Once I joined CC, I set my activity level to sedentary (I have a desk job) and log my intentional exercise only. I keep a spreadsheet of calories eaten vs. burned to track this separately from CC and compare theorectical to actual weight loss under different scenarios (yes, I am a data crunching geek, it is what I do for a living!). I have lost 25 pounds in <10 weeks, and this is a lot more than expected if I set my base activity level to "sedentary." It matched the deficit in the "light activity" column (but expected is still slightly less than actual). If I am burning at the "light" activity level PLUS exercise, maybe this explains why I have been trouble maintaining a 1000 deficit according to the "sedentary" calculations - these amounts differ for me by 400 calories a day, so if I strive for a 1000 "sedentary" deficit I might actually be getting a 1400 calorie "light activity" deficit - does that make sense or do you think I am just rationalizing so I can eat more, like any good addict will?
But.... as much as I tell myself this time will be different, it's like an insane alien invades my body and drives me nuts. All sanity leaves and I overeat. I really don't cope well when that happens. And, I don't know how much is physical and how much is mental. It feels like both.
Ever just "feel" hungry? Even after you ate enough food? How do you get past it besides taping your mouth shut?
Hi luzing!
Ever just "feel" hungry? Even after you ate enough food? How do you get past it besides taping your mouth shut?
YES! I have learned that I especially have a hard time not eating on days that I do not get out of the house much and days I do not exercise. For me, exercising seems to help me WANT to eat healthier and eat less. I think it is both physical and mental. I suggest trying to pin down any patterns in your behavior. What have you usually been doing on the days you find you just have to eat and feel you ate too much? If you can find that you eat a lot when you watch tv, for example, you could set rules about tv watching that might be easier to follow than rules specifically about eating. Or if you eat a lot when something stressful happens at work, maybe just being aware of that and keeping healthy snacks (like baby carrots, etc.) around you can help you satisfy your need to eat without going overboard.
I find that when I have to have some particular bad food like ice cream, I go ahead and have it, but I do not buy anything like that (except sometimes single servings) to keep in the house because in evaluating my past eating patterns I realized I ate stuff like that out of habit and not because I really wanted it specifically. If you make an effort to stock your fridge with healthy, low-cal snacks (pre-cut veggies, those 35-calorie "Laughing Cow" cheeses, fruits, etc.), they will be the easiest thing to grab when you just want to eat something and much healthier for you than chips or other stuff.
Also... please get out of the mindset that you "always gain it back." You do NOT always gain it back, you have gained it back in the past but that was in the past and this time you will not! Think positive - you know you are capable!
:)
Edit: And yes, I know I just posted that I am eating more than I would like so I am sort of a hypocrite, but I am eating much less than I was so this is just my two cents :)
Figure out what type of eater you are and you might just find the answer to permanent weight loss.
Take the Diet Profile Test and learn to avoid the pitfalls and self-sabotage that often come with your personal profile.
