I'm in total shock!!!

I was laid in bed this morning talking to my boyfriend- when I had an OMG!!! moment... it totally shocked me!!- but the sums add up and it just goes to show counting calories works and what a fantastic way to lose weight it is....

I just happen to mention to my boyfriend that on Saturday it will be my 1 month anniversary -i.e. it has been a month since I started Calorie Counting and hence a month since I've had a bar of chocolate, piece of cake or bun or fizzy drink...   I can't believe it's a whole month- it doesn't feel that long- the time has flown by!

I'm very overweight- at the start I needed to lose 64 lbs- so my BMI is mid range of 'healthy'.  I've discovered that the meals I ate before were generally OK- I don't have a problem with portion size, etc...  However, I was REALLY bad with chocolate bars, cakes and buns etc...  I would typically have 2 bars of chocolate a day + cakes or buns (and not just the one slice of cake or bun either), I was also drinking a lot of fizzy, sugary drinks...

When I started Calorie Counting I wasn't sure how to go about 'dieting' (I should really say 'achieving a healthier, fitter lifestyle' because I don't consider myself to be on a 'diet'- to me the word 'diet' I associate with the short term, I want this to be lifelong) ?? so I decided my first step would be to cut all this rubbish out of my diet but continue to eat my normal meals (I have been having a daily Calorie intake of 1200-1400)...

My OMG moment this morning was- so if I typically ate two bars of choclate a day and I've stopped doing that for a month (say 30 days)- THAT IS 60 BARS OF CHOCOLATE I WOULD HAVE EATEN AND I HAVEN'T!!!  60 BARS!!!  I just have this mental picture of a huge pile of 60 bars of chocolate- it has totally shocked me and in fact has horrified me- thinking about what I ate previously!!

Then we carried it on- say the average chocolate bar is 180 calories- times that by 60 -that is a massive 10,800 calories I WOULD HAVE CONSUMED- it's scarey!!  They say 1 lb of fat is the equivalent to 3,500 calories- so cutting out the chocolate is equivalent to losing 3 lbs.

I have in fact lost 5 and a half pounds in my first month- but like I say, I was also eating cakes and buns and drinking fizzy sugary drinks too.

I'm still getting over the shock!!! 10,800 calories I would have consumed if I hadn't changed my ways!!! -this is eqivalent to more than WHOLE WEEK'S total calories!!! (1,300 calories a day X 7 = 9,100 calories).

I LOVE, LOVE calorie counting- I love the website, the members and the theory behind it is so stupidly simple- "everything you eat- log it accurately and eat less than you burn"!!! My message to you all is STICK WITH IT- CALORIE COUNTING MAKES COMPLETE SENSE AND DOES WORK -you might see slight increases due to the time of the month, or not drinking enough water that day etc... but as long as you stick with calorie counting- your weight will be on a downward trend!

My other advice is to take small steps- for example, if I changed everything at once I wouldn't have been able to stick to it- the change would have been to drastic/ radical...however, take small steps- one at a time to achieve the fit, healthier lifestyle you desire.   As I've just shown- small changes can make a big difference! My next step is to start exercising- to start working out at the gym. I'm now brimming with movitaion though to make the other changes I need to make.

Good Luck everybody with achieving your goals, keep at it- you will get there!!  Calorie Counting is the best thing going!! (in my opinion!!). 

Sorry for the long post- but I thought it worth it!

Love Jenny XX

That is so Amazing!  I just started my journey and I know how hard it is to give up what you love in a way.  But I also know that when you get to a month time, you do realize you don't crave it as much.  I know my hard thing is that I'm craving fast food, that is my big problem.....I love fast food, and those hunger pains and such are starting to set in.  Keep up the good work and you will see amazing results!

Think of all the money you saved on chocolate as well :D

Congrats on your light bulb moment!

Your words made me smile, Jenny!  You should feel proud of yourself!  You may be losing slowly, but that is the best way to lose because you know you have lost five pounds of FAT and not muscle or water. 

Cutting out sugary sodas is a great and quick way to cut calories.  When you see how much sugar you're drinking, it's enough to make you sick!  Here's a short video that really puts things in perspective-- and also a surprise when he compares the sugar in Coke to the sugar in fruit juice:

http://www.marshallbrain.com/science/sugar-in -soda.htm

Good luck Jenny, you are a strong woman!

Hi ktrichards87... and thank you for reading and replying to my post...

Yes, it is VERY hard giving up- it requires a lot of will power, motivation and determination- but IT CAN BE DONE!! and I can testify cravings for bad stuff do go away -I'm actually now craving healthy stuff! and I feel so much better- full of energy- for not eating all the chocloate, cakes etc... 

If you are just starting and feel you really can't give up on fast food right now- like I say just take small steps, here are a few of my suggestions:

1. Why not order a kids meal rather than an adult one...

2. If you usually have say burger, fries and drink- why not just have the burger- ditch the fries and drink....

3. I don't eat fast food so I'm not sure how many calories are in each meal, but what if you have one less fast food meal a week-  replace that with something more healthy- times that by 4 weeks- you must be saving around 1,000 calories in the month! 1,000 for just ONE less!!

4. Why not just limit yourself to fast food on a specific day, all the other days eat healthy.

Any small changes you can make to reduce the amount of fast food you eat WILL have a positive effect on your weight loss...and I found it snowballs from there- I've found I'm wanting to take more steps now.

All the very best with your weight loss and battle against fast food!!

Love Jenny XX

wonderful! this is deff a great post for newbies. Ive been on here over a year. At first I never went in the forums and I didnt know what a deficit was or the burn meter I just ate the cals it told me to and worked out and some how I dropped 10 lbs in 2 months. Ive also kept it off for an entire yr! Yay for life long changes!

Good job, Jenny!

Isn't it amazing what awareness can do for us? Before this year, I had no concept of how many calories I should be eating, and what it all really meant. Realizing how many calories are in food and how they directly relate to weight is so simple, just so many people lack this awareness.

I'm glad you're feeling good and that this month has flown by for you.

Original Post by kellysarah83:

Think of all the money you saved on chocolate as well :D

That's what I thought too.  You should save the money that you would have spent on candy bars and buy yourself a present. 

Good work! 

My addiction wasn't chocolate so much as it was soda.  Soda used to be all I ever drank.  I would easily consume 50 ounces or more of soda every day (we get it for free at work).  Your post make me add up the calories I've saved since January 12th by not having a single soda...84,000!!!  In the past 5 months I would have consumed 84,000 extra calories had I not quit soda cold-turkey!  Thank you so much for your post...I'm a total math geek and I love seeing numerical evidence of how much healthier I am now!

And congratulations on making such a drastic lifestyle change.  Now that you're starting to exercise, you'll see even more wonderful results. :)

Hi Lisarose 7!

It's totally shocking isn't it when you do the sums!!!  and it's just ONE change too- with me chocolate bars and you soda...

I'm a scientist- I have a PhD in Chemistry, so like you I like numbers and charts...

but I also like the visualise things and have mental pictures... and in your case-

(sorry, I'm in the UK and work in litres not ounces) you were consuming (at least) 1.5 litres of soda a day (=50 ounces),  times that by 145 days (the number of days you've been cold turkey and not drunk soda) ...and that equals 217.5 litres.

A typical bath holds 80 litres- so if you had NOT CHANGED YOUR WAYS YOU WOULD HAVE DRUNK MORE THAN 2 AND A HALF BATH FULLS OF SODA!!!!  can you imagine the bath full of soda ??!!!! times that by 2 and a half and you WOULD HAVE drunk all that....it is just SO scarey!!!!

REALLY well done to you on quitting the soda!!  All the very best, Jenny XX 

Great post.  Wow, what a difference a small change can make!  I love it.  Grats to you.  Small steps are the best.  You don't notice them as much as you would when totally changing your whole eating habit or your entire lifestyle and they still make a positive impact in your life.  One day at a time.  A friend of mine started her exercises with 20 min of walking every day at lunch and lost 10lbs I believe in the 1st month.

You rock!

God bless you!

I agree fully that calorie counting is a great way to go. My vice was Hot Cheetohs! (so bad for you). I don't even want to eat fast food, cheesy stuff, etc anymore because just thinking about the nutritional information makes me sick! LOL