A personal story about 10lbs

I  hope this is allowed.  I think by making my story and goal more public it'll help me stay on track and others may benefit from the info I give here too since I've been successful in keeping 10 of the 20lbs of weight I lost 10 years ago off.

So, here it goes...  I'll update this thread about daily successes or failures as well as with any info I think may be helpful to share.  BUT I'LL KEEP IT TO THIS ONE THREAD -I don't intend to swamp this forum with my personal story.  But, if it gets deleted, I'll take the hint and move this to a Journal entry. 

For reference, I'm female, 5'3", and 31 years old.

Alright, let's start 10 years ago -I was in college and hanging out with boys who were into mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, roller blading, etc.  I was always on the go and my flabby "I'm not good at sports", high school (140lb) body became a fairly muscular and lean 125lbs while trying (and eventually succeeding) in keeping up with them.   Then college was over, and we all went our seperate ways...

About  7 years ago I met the man who became my husband a little over a year ago.  He's 6 feet tall, and almost 300lbs.  He eats for entertainment, out of stress, to celebrate nearly anything, or to console himself over anything not worth celebrating.  About a year into our relationship I stepped on a scale for the first time in a long time and couldn't believe my eyes:  150lbs!  It was a new high for me and I vowed to turn it around. 

I've always had to struggle to keep my weight in check.  What worked when I was single was just a flip of a switch in my head that said "fried foods are gross".  I just concentrated on how disgusting the fat marks on paper plates were after fried food sat there for awhile, the greasy feel they leave behind in your mouth, etc.  Just eliminating fried foods and sticking with diet pop ("soda" if you prefer) allowed me to keep my weight pretty steady.

But, while in "romance mode" with my husband (then "boyfriend"), I ate whatever he ate.  I even got over my distaste for fried foods.  Plus, there was dessert after both lunch and dinner!  No wonder I gained 20lbs so quickly.

I was out of the work when I hit 150lbs, so I went on a near starvation diet from when I woke up until dinner.  I'd eat dinner with my boyfriend, so I'd pretty much get an entire day's worth of calories out of that one meal.  I'd order something "good" (as in low-fat) and not eat the fries, but then there'd still be dessert -no matter how much I begged for us to cut back on the calories.  So, starving during the day was the only way (because I couldn't resist the desert).

About a year and 20lbs later (and employed again), I was back to my college days, wearing club pants, skinny jeans, etc.  Every time I looked in the mirror I was thrilled with what I had accomplished! 

Since then, I've weighed myself every morning.  I had "weight limits" -at first 130lbs.  When I went even half a pound over 130, I'd diet like mad to get back down to 127, etc.  After a while, though, I started to feel like I was missing out on eating those desserts or whatever, and I increased my "limit" to 135lbs.  I stayed there successfully for quite awhile until about a year ago.  For the last year I've been 136, then 6 months ago it creaped up to 137, and yesterday I weighed in at 139.6lbs! 

That's it.  I've gained back half of the weight I fought so hard to loose 7 years ago and I'm not letting it get any higher.  I have a auto racing event in about a month and I'm shooting to be at 135lbs again by then.  After that, I may allow myself to sit at 133-135lbs again since that seems to be a sweet spot where I can have a dessert once a week, etc. 

For the record, I've tried exercising and while it does tone me up nicely and it also allows me to eat a bit more, for the most part I just can't stick to a routine.  It's boring.  If I could get my husband to play tennis with me, or mountain bike or something (for enjoyment) I think it'd work, but since I have no friends who are active around me (Aurora, IL), all exercise just seems like a chore.  I have much more success using it just to "catch up" or "save" calories when I eat a bit more than I should.


Anyway, that's the back-story.  I promise future posts to be much shorter.  And, for the record, I've always used a daily calorie allowance estimate and journal while dieting.  It's the only I've found to keep myself honest about what I've eaten and it also allows me some flexibility to include foods that aren't usually on a diet (last night I had pizza!).  ...So this site is an awesome tool! 

My allowance to not gain is about 1600, and to reach my goal I've got to keep it at or under 1300 a day.  Yesterday I was at about 1200, which I understand is the lowest they recommend you go.  I'm striving for 1200 during the week to save up an extra 250 a day over the weekend when I'm eating with my husband.  The weekend is my downfall.  My husband has the best of intentions, but I just have to remember how happy I was when I looked in the mirror before jumping in the shower just a year or two ago!

Good Luck on your 'Quest!

Hey Ms. Aurora!  Congrats on the weight loss!  I understand about having a less than motivated spouse - my hubby who desperately should be more active and concerned with what he eats, isn't and it affects the whole family.  But as for me, Ms. Lansing IL, I wondered how proficient you are at tennis.  I have played a couple of times, but never had formal training, so if you are interested in teaching and playing sometimes, let me know! I am sure we could find a court midway between our two suburban locations!

Lansing, eh? 
...I played tennis for about 3 weeks in high school and remember having a good time with it.  I haven't played since.  I just threw that out there 'cause it seems like a fun way of tricking yourself into running -even if it is just in the confines of the court!

Um...  I'll PM you about maybe getting together for a "match" or something.  :-)

BTW, my real name is "Erica".

hi.  i wish you lots of luck and admire you sharing your personal story.

i'm new here too and am pretty much your twin!

we are close in age, i started CC just a few days ago at 139.5 and i'm also 5'3".  today i saw my first loss (on CC, i've taken off a bit of weight pre joining). anyway 1/2 lb gone so far YAY!

i spent most of my life in good shape or even on the thin side, always keeping an eye on my weight.  a relationship pretty much ruined me.  a combination of dating a skinny guy who could eat anything and never gain an ounce and later experiencing much stress and financial hardship which led to unhealthy eating had sent my weight soaring up to the upper 160s about two years ago...maybe even 170, i dont recall.  i did atkins and took close to 40 pounds off but obviously it's crept back up there now.  i'm determined to get my self back to being fit and feeling good about myself.

maybe we can be buddies and keep eachother encouraged, compare notes, etc. since we are so similar in height, age, weight and goals.

all the best!

I had my 2nd successful day yesterday although the scale showed no progress this morning.  Oh well, I wasn't really expecting it, I lost over a pound and a half yesterday, so...

My biggest win was at dinner.  A friend of my husband's came over, so that complicated the decision about where to eat.  I don't really like talking about being on a diet around friends (especially this one since he loves talking about how he can't gain weight), so I told my husband to just go and I'd find something around the house.  My husband, however, hates going out without me -he feels like I'm depriving myself when really, I love eating Ramen for dinner 'cause it's 300 calories, which means I have 300 more left over to use to have dessert! 

But, he begged me to come with, so I pulled him aside and told him why I was resisting.  He said "ok" and told his friend we were going to McDonalds (his friend refuses to eat there), so the friend left and we really did go to McDonalds.  I like going there almost as much as eating Ramen at home since I get fries! :-)  (A cheeseburger + small fries = 600 calories or so.)


Today work will be the challenge and I'm not sure what I'm going to do...  Every month we celebrate office birthdays with free lunch and cake later in the day.  Today is the day, and I ordered mostaccoli for lunch.  I can usually avoid the cake.  (Don't get me wrong, it's tempting, but doable.)  But, the lunch...  I usually only get 200 calories for lunch and I generally fail at trying to just eat "some" of an entree... 

Right now I'm thinking that I'm overdue for a blood test at my doctor's office.  I may throw my pasta in the fridge, grab a granola bar, and go to the doctor instead.

So, yesterday I got busy at work and was starving when lunch was brought in at noon.  I gave in to the pasta (I'm italian), but I did it smartly.  The container the mostaccoli came in was about 9 inches in diameter, and at least an inch and a half tall and it was absolutely stuffed with pasta.  "That's enough for at least 4 people" was my first thought, so I knew the portion was way too big.  Instead of carrying the tub-o-pasta back to my desk and trying to guesstimate how much I was eating as I went (dangerous!), I dished out about 2 cups worth and put the rest in the fridge. 

It turned out that those 2 cups just barely filled me up, but I wasn't going to go back to the fridge and reheat more pasta -it was too much work and I knew it would be cheating even more.  So, instead, I hunkered down and concentrated on other things.

By 2 o'clock I was starving again (the one thing I hate about carbs!  -they don't stick with you).  I told myself that I went over by about 100 calories at lunch, so I'd have to skip a 100 calorie snack to make up for it.  But then I had a thought -sugar free jello.  I grabbed a single serving tub of lime and raspberry, cut them into small cubes, and ate them slowly at my desk, letting each one (or one of each to mix it up) melt in my mouth slowly.  That satisfied me and then all I had to do was wait an hour and have my snack at 3pm.  (Bad timing since that's when cake would be served.)

3pm came and went and I was too busy to notice.  At 4pm, work was done, and I went home 100 calories UNDER my allotment!  Sweet!  I got to have a single-serving bag of baked cheetos when I got home as a treat for 120 calories.  (I'm usually starving when I get home from work, and I have an hour until my husband comes home.  That hour is a test of my will each and every day.)

It turned out that my husband had to do some work from home this evening, so dinner had to be quick.  We went to Wendy's and I had my usual Grilled chicken sandwich with only lettuce, a small fry, and a diet lemonade.  It adds up to about 600 calories.  Again, getting to work fries into my diet is a treat, but I do worry about feeding my acquired taste for fries -I love them now, but when I had lost that 25lbs I had taught myself to not like them.  I think I was better off back then...

This morning I weighed myself and I lost a pound and a half.  I've gone from 139.6 to 136.2 this week!  You gotta love the first week of a diet -you never see weight loss that fast again, do you?  :-\  Oh well, my mini-goal was to be at 135 by August 17th, so I'm quite optimistic about that now.  Then I'll have 5 more pounds to go and I'll be back at 130.  Depending on how that goes, I may go on to 125lbs, I look and feel great at that weight, but it was too dificult to maintain before...  We'll see...

Hey Erica, good job on the weight loss.  The scale hasn't moved since July 7 or so... still at 10 pounds.  But it is encouraging to see someone at the weight I so desire to be!  I will get there! :)

Angelic

With the weekend came some semi-planned over-eating.  I kept to my diet for the first half of the day on both Saturday and Sunday, then let myself have one "cheat" on both days (within reason) so I didn't feel deprived as I continue to stick to my more strict diet M-F.  This pattern seems to allow me to remain happy and fulfilled.

So, Saturday I had a mini dessert at Houlihans.  I love the concept, it's $1.99 and the choices are all 200-300 calories according to an online article I found.  They are desserts for normal people while all other restaurants seem to serve desserts made for 4 people to split.  That's crazy.  I love supporting Houlihan's in their "mini desserts"!

Yesterday I gorged on pasta with marinara sauce and had a couple of slices of garlic bread ontop of it.  Dipped in olive oil?  Yeah, a smidge.  :-\  I didn't really intend to eat the bread before the meal, but we waited too long to eat and I was starving.  It's difficult to not give in to temptation when the food's sitting infront of you and almost impossible if you are really hungry.  It's a situation I avoid during the week, but on the weekends...  Well, as long as I make good choices (marinara sauce rather than something cream-based), it seems to work for me. 

This is where detailed logs help.  I can trend my pasta meals and see if they are adversely effecting me.  Every day when I get on the scale I can pretty much guess what it'll say.  I'm fairly consistant in what I eat and I have dieting down to a science (as long as I can stick with it).

So, I came home from the pasta dinner last night feeling like my stomach was going to explode.  It was a HUGE plate of pasta and I finished each and every noodle.  This is another habit I have to break (again), "cleaning my plate"...  When I broke the habit last time I simply divided the food on my plate when it arrived and only ate what I planned to at the beginning.  You just have to enjoy the food as you eat it more -eat more slowly, let it sit in your mouth and truely taste it before you swallow.  It works.  The only hurdle is the guilt over throwing food away.  I simply can't do it with meat.  But carbs and veggies I can, so I plan accordingly. 

I think I need to allow myself treats on weekends, but coming home feeling bloated and overly full is not cool.  I concentrated on how sick it made me feel to be over-full and I don't want to feel like that again.  Next time I will stop earlier to avoid that feeling, save the calories, and reach my goal that much quicker.

Do you mind advice or replies?

robynanne:  Absolutely, post whatever you got!

OK, but let me know if you don't like it.... I'm not a nutritionist by any means.

Since I'm much more overweight then you are, the world of dieting at under 150 pounds is not one I'm really familiar with.  So maybe it's all just different then.  Anyway, your comments about having had a 'good' dinner when you ate a cheeseburger and fries really threw me.  That's not really a "good" meal.  That's a lot of fat and cholesteral and sodium and really nothing that your body needs.  600 calories maybe, but 600 totally bad for you calories, ya know? 

It seems, just from the few meals I've read about so maybe I'm totally off, that the focus has really been on JUST calories when you are missing out on a ton of nutritional needs.  I mean, if you have a plate of vegies - clean that plate!  There is no need to limit yourself or even really to worry about portion control with them.  (Unless, they are corn or potatoes because those are not actually vegies but starches; grains and roots.)  I also wouldn't worry so much about eating pasta as long as there are plenty of fresh fruits and/or vegies in the meal as well and the pasta is more of a side dish.  Also, try to pay attention to if you are hungry or not.  Eating slow will also help that.  If you are hungry, eat more, if not, stop eating.  My toddlers know that but after a lifetime of messed up eating habits, it is really really hard for me to link my eating with my hunger.  I have made a strong effort to offer a wide variety of foods to my kids and let THEM eat when they are hungry.  You'd be amazed, my kids have generations of overweight unhealthy genes and they are in amazing healthy, great shape!

Just my thoughts.  McD's cheeseburger and fries meal is not what I would consider a win.  Fish with whole grain and lentil pilaf and mixed roasted sweet peppers and zuchinni with a summer greens, pecans and oranges salad - a win. :) 

I only seem to be able to concentrate on nutrition or diet, not both at once or I'm stuck with a bowl of broccoli for dinner and on that kind of diet I'll last, oh, about a day.  In short, yes, I have to admit that my focus is on calories alone here. 

On the other hand, I do enjoy semi-good for you foods.  My husband won't touch a piece of fruit unless it's pureed and ontop of ice cream or waffles, and veggies... forget it.  Closest I ever get to veggies when eating with him is a salad.  Well, sometimes (like at Red Lobster) I'll get and eat broccoli as a side dish -I can handle it in smal "good for me" doses, but because we eat out so much it's not all that easy to fit veggies in when you're eating out -especially fast food.  I should point out that McDonalds and the like are usually appx once a week "treats" for me because they are the only way I can fit fries or a hamburger into my 600 calorie allotment for dinner.

Now, at work, we have free food -anything from twinkies and pop-tarts to cereal, fresh fruit, and granola bars.  That's why during the day I eat four 100-calorie snacks and a 200-calorie lunch.  -I'm surrounded by food all day.  Luckily, the 100 calorie per snack limit cuts out most of the junk food unless I plan ahead.  Most of the time, though, I go for at least one piece of fruit and/or a yogurt every day.  That helps me out nutritionally at least a little bit.

I have tried taking supplements because I really can't fit all the nutrition some say I need into my diet and remain both happy and at my goal for calories, but there's so much speculation about how much good they really do (or the harm they can cause), that I tend to go on and off of them.  (Plus, I'm on a bunch of meds and it's hard to add supplements and keep them all straight!)

So, I guess I'm saying that you're right.  My way may not be the right way for those concerned about nutrition, but I feel like I have a fairly good balance struck for myself.  -YMMV.

I got back into the diet mode yesterday and did quite well with it.  No weight loss to show for it yet, but I figure I'll probably be down another pound tomorrow morning. 

I managed to get my husband to agree to eat at a sandwich place for dinner last night.  Other than that, I don't have anything interesting to report except a "win" when my husband ordered a cookie with his sandwich and I resisted.  -I find it much easier to resist at the register than I do while we are eating, though.  Sometimes he'll split the cookie in half and share with me.  It's hard to decline when he does that, but this time he gobbled it up without even offering a bite (then felt guilty about it).  He may be a diet-sabotager, but he's sweet.

So, yesterday was a bit tough for me.  I really had nothing to do at work, and when that happens the day just drags by.  When I'm not occupied I yearn to occupy myself with food.  Not even my every hour and a half snacks were good enough -I wasn't hungry, just wanted to munch endlessly on something... 

Another thing -I have RA.  IT makes you really tired sometimes.  Like way beyond tired, more like extreme fatigue.  It seems to hit me when I skip my weekly MTX treatment (which I don't think I did...), but sometimes it just crops up anyway.  So, that made it hard too.  I wanted to run out and get Starbucks so bad!

For the most part I resisted, although I gave into a 2nd cup of coffee before leaving work just so I could get home without crashing into random objects between here and there (I have an hour-long commute one-way, so...).  So, I was 100 calories over when leaving work, not usually a big deal.

I tried napping until my husband got home, but the caffiene wouldn't allow me to actually sleep.  I did lie there as long as possible, though, just trying to reduce my stress level from a day full of little inconveniences that added up to a lot of frustration because of the fatigue.

So, my husband gets home, and he had picked out a "take and bake pizza" to make for dinner.  Sweet.  Quick, easy, and we don't have to go anywhere!  I put it in the oven and 15 minutes later dinner was on the table.  My pattern with pizza is 2 slices = 600 calories.  It works, most of the time.  For a medium pizza.  This one, however, was a bit bigger.  Halfway through my 2nd piece I wondered how the size difference would play out.  But, I finished the piece, and THEN looked.  -It was 400+ for 1/9th of the pizza.  I love how they always divide pizza's by odd numbers.  Who'd cut it in 9 slices?  Anyway, it turned out I ate 900+ calories for dinner when my goal was 600 (and even they I'd still be 100 over).

So, I faced a 1600 calorie day -not a huge deal since that's the # I'd need to maintain my weight (so, I wouldn't GAIN), but the goal is weight LOSS and I had a bad weekend too.  I was down to 136.x for a day last week, but have been sitting at 137.2 for the last 3 days.  Bottom line, I was frustrated and tired and this just added to it. 

I've drilled the idea that excercise = stress relief into my head, so I decided that instead of complaining about it I could actually do something about it by hopping on the bike and burning some of those calories I over-ate.  So, I grabbed the bike and let my husband know I was heading out.  He declined (no suprise), so I left on my own.  I rode for 28 minutes at an average speed of 11.8mph.  (I was trying REALLY hard to stay above 12 the whole time, but I faded out pretty bad towards the end.) 

The reward for the biking session was unexpected:  I'm a photographer, and I've been chasing this egret and a heron at a local retention pond whenever I see them there (about once a week).  They are spooked off really easily, though, and even with my 500mm lens, I've yet to get a decent image of either one of them.  But, on the trail I rode yesterday (a very high traffic, paved trail around a man-made lake), there was a tree that had to have had around 10 egrets in it + a heron sitting right in the middle of all of them.  They were across the lake, but I think my 500mm will reach.  I'm definitely going  back tonight around the same time (sunset) to see if I can get some "perched" pics.  If the sun isn't too intense I'll go earlier to see ifI can get them hunting as well.  What a find!  I'm glad that pizza was so bad for me ;-)

Inspiring story! Thanks for sharing :)  Something I can actually related, my life had been like that too.  (30 lbs lighter prior to getting married)  My husband is almost double my weight and he's only 2-3 inches taller :(  We ate sloppy and sit all day.  I've been begging him to get us mountain bikes so we can go have a run ride together (I used to ride a bike everyday, 2-3 hrs a day for several years) but it's not happening yet.   He doesn't even like walking for longer than a mile (T_T)

Anyway, I'm doing my own thing.  Eat my own food (because I'm counting calories) and exercise by myself (using treadmill in the basement).  I've been doing this for 2 months and have lost a few inches and pounds.  NOW...my husband decided to join me.  He counts calories and try to go to gym now :) 

My next goal is to get both of us to play sport!  I love biking and always want to try tennis too!

Keep writing!  It's fun and motivated :)

Thanks, merika!

Yesterday was mostly boring.  Same routine at work, then had hubby bring sandwiches home for dinner since I was so bad the day before with that pizza.  But, along with my turkey sandwich, he got me a HUGE 5" cookie.  -A sweet gesture...

I learned my lesson yesterday, though, so I ate the sandwich, then added up my calories for the day, 950 at that point I think.  Then I looked up the calorie count for the biggest, worst cookie I could find (Starbucks) and figured a quarter of the cooke to be about 100-150 calories.  So, I cut the cooke in quarters, chose the smallest one and took it to the living room to enjoy my treat. 

It probably took me about 10 minutes to eat the quarter-cookie because when I allow myself a treat like this I eat it really slowly.  The way most people eat, especially desserts, so fast -they don't even take the time to taste each bite.  It's just a non-stop river of delight rushing from mouth to gut.  But, that's how you take in 1000 calories so quickly.  I figure, if I take the time to actually taste each bite, I'll have the same amount of enjoyment (measured in time) for a quarter of the calories...  So, that's what I did.  Tiny bites; I let it almost dissolve on my tongue, then let the taste go away after I swallow before taking the next bite.  I got my enjoyment that way, anyway, and stayed within my calories as well.

I re-checked my weight loss progression and tomorrow should be the day I see a drop.  I'm still holding steady at 137.2, which means my exercise probably made up for the pizza.  The trend seems to be major low-cal or high-cal days effect me 2 days later, so...

Hi there! Thanks for sharing your story...

I have some advice, and tips:

Firstly, there is a great secret to losing weight, that a lot of people don't seem to know - Eat Healthily!!

You mentioned that you can't think of nutrition and diet at the same time, but they're the same thing! You need to stop thinking of "diet" as a quick fix, and start thinking about it as a way of life. You will be happier and more energetic - That's a promise!

The best thing about vegetables? They are very low calorie and fill you up more!! So, when you had that 2 cups of pasta, and it didn't fill you up, just add some veggies, and I'm sure you would have lasted much longer!!

Exercise doesn't have to be boring. I do a dance DVD, and I enjoy going for walks. They don't even have to hard core dances when you are starting out... just that little change and shock to your body when it starts to MOVE will make the weight come off.


Finally, the best advice EVER is, don't worry or focus so much on the 10lbs - instead focus on being the healthiest and fittest you can be - because then you will look and feel great!!

Good luck to you, I hope that I've helped a bit, xx

Typo - I meant hardcore walks, not dances... the dancing is pretty full on actually! Really gets me sweating, hah.

Thanks for the advice, buttonsxandxbows, but unfortunately eating to be healthy is some of what got me into this 10lb weight gain to begin with...

After loosing the 20lbs and maintaining my weight for 5years, I was in a really good pattern of eating to maintain.  I no longer had to keep a written journal, I kept track of my meals in my head, etc.  I had a system that really worked for me.  But, I fell into a "eating for nutrition" pattern after my Dad had a stroke a couple years ago.  I decided that if I ate nutritionally rich foods instead of my normal snacks, etc during the day I'd be much healthier and the caloric difference wouldn't be that bad.

Well, I can't blame all of my weight gain on that, but at least half of it came on as a result of eating tons of fruit and nuts designed to be a "heart healthy diet".  I didn't know it at the time, but the "healthy" foods (that I actually liked) were pretty high in calories. Well, I knew the nuts were, but I was probably eating 2-3X what I should have been as far as calories go, but just as much as I was supposed to in order to get the heart benefits I was after...  -It was a mess.  In the end, I found out that the stuff I liked was not really the stuff that was best for you (the only veggies I actually like are peas although I can force myself to eat broccoli and green beans as long as they've been cooked to death instead of steamed, although they say steamed is the only way to get all the nutrients out of some veggies).  So, in the end I was gaining weight and the nutritional benefits were far from clear (and never "felt").

Eating for nutrition is a mess for me.  The diet I'm on now is the exact one I used to loose 20lbs in the first place, and I plan on maintaining in the same way that was successful for me for the 5 years until I went and decided to change it.  So, I've learned that lesson -moderation is always the key! 

I should also point out that while I may not have talked in this thread about eating bananas, berrys, and/or yogurt I have.  I don't have them daily, but I do have at least some of them weekly.  I also order broccoli whenever possible (maybe every other week or so), so I'm not TOTALLY deprived of fruits and veggies, but I do understand that I'm coming no where close to the food pyramid either.  ...Eating healthier is always an option, but I'm not radically changing my diet to include foods I simply don't enjoy (or don't have time for, since veggies are generally not available on fast-food menus and we're so busy we often choose to eat on the run to get everything done).  ...I just don't see your approach as sustainable for me.

And, as a side-note, one of the healthy changes that I have kept is keeping an eye on my blood pressure.  I bought a at-home tester for $25 and test myself monthly (unless I see a doctor who tests it, then I ask for their results and make sure they're fairly close to what I get at home).  Hiigh blood pressure is a silent but deadly condition that leads to heart attack, stroke, etc.  I urge anyone who's interested in truely living a healthy lifestyle to make sure their monitoring their blood pressure!  Heck, you can take a free test in Target or Walgreens where I'm at!

Thanks again for your reply, though.  I appreciate the concern and I'll take it as a further reminder to continue with the vitamins.  I know that my intake does not always provide all of the nutritional needs of my body and it may not be an adequate solution, but at least vitamins along with a modest attempt on my part is something...

-Erica

Erica,

Your style sounds a lot like mine, except I think I'm doing better nutrionally because I usually avoid fast food and I weight 30 lbs more than you but hope to get down to your weight.  Typically I have dry cereal while I'm getting dressed or at work with my coffee...I only do that because I decided I needed more fiber in my diet and it's the easiest way to add it.  Lunch is hit or miss, I pick up roasted chickens at least once a week and munch through them for lunches or snacks, other times I go to the cafeteria (good food and easy) for lunch and ditch the fries (theirs are not any good) in favor of grilled veggies, today I'm having a hamburger.  I keep a ton of nuts and pumpkin seeds and protein bars around for when I need a snack and I'm trying to eat more fruit.  I usually have a frozen pizza at least once a week, but I eat my bag of broccoli first so I don't usually eat more than half the pizza (360 cals).  My major eating out splurges come before and after intense workouts and are either hamburgers for lunch (the healthier version), or sushi or steak bites and onion rings for dinner after a workout.