Posts by nightc1

Original Post by amethystgirl: If I make a mistake, and I eat 500 calories more than I intend, that means that I'll have a deficit of 3000 at the end of the week - so I should still lose 0.85 lbs of fat. That doesn't sound too bad, does it? Or put another way - if I eat at maintenance for a day, I'll reach my goal one day later.

Messing up a meal doesn't mean the rest of the day is ruined. Messing up a day doesn't mean the rest of the week is ruined. You can't undo the past, but you can keep improving in the future.

That's really good info that I completely agree with.

Something I like to keep in mind is if I eat an extra 400 calories for a day, the day isn't blown because I can still get back on target for the day by burning 400 calories by doing exercise (like running/walking).   Sure it could take me an hour to burn that many calories (depending on my pace), but knowing there was an actual fix for being indulgent helped keep me on track as did forgiving myself.

Also having a day or so where I eat at maintenance level can actually help keep me from hitting a plateau where it seems I'm not losing anything.  So it's not always a negative to the goal by eat a little extra or whatever that one time.

The only accountability partner I can really count on is myself.   That's not to offend anyone out there, but if I'm not committed to the goal... it's going to be hard to reach it.   The best thing I've found to help is keeping a picture of myself with my wife on my desk at work.   It's from probably 5 years ago when I was at my heaviest.   Talk about motivation!  When I look at that, I can't help but want to stay on track.

I don' t have any issues with sugar..... I'm not sure about this negative view towards bananas.  I mean, for the calories involved I can usually fill myself up with one during a snack between meals.  Plus it's good to have some carbs as it helps fuel exercise.

I have 3 kids... and I do most of the grocery shopping since I enjoy it and my wife doesn't.  I pretty much buy them whatever I feel is fine for them and buy myself what I feel I need instead of  trying too much to get them to eat what I like that will  aid in my weightloss.

This is a common question for the site.  The general rule is don't bother changing your day to day count if you know one big meal is coming or something.  In your case you are cutting your nutrition.   Unless you plan to eat thousands upon thousands of calories above your maintenance level... it's not going to matter.   You are better off eating normal today and the day after and on that day to cut back some (but still eat nutritionally).

It is important to calculate calories but one day over isn't going (in most cases) to result in any gain.  Infact, in many cases having extra once a week is going to help keep you from getting stuck in a plateau during weightloss.

Good article. Considering I'm already a CC member and convinced Calorie Counting is the way to lose weight and change my overall lifestyle... well... it's a bit of a miss on me.  But I know many here come in and ask about the fad diets so hopefully you help some out.

While the calculator is cool and all... having the formula makes it easy to setup up a simple spreadsheet for calculating everything.   I can see where this whole thread could be going.

Original Post by svmom:

Curious......

before reading what was written (basically scanned the chapter titles) I checked your profile and saw that you had dropped 70lbs and then put it back on but are getting back at it again.  What is your recommendation as to how NOT to let life events throw you off course?  You wrote a book for us (and for yourself I presume) which must have taken an enormous amount of time.  How can we follow it, live it and not gain back what has been lost?

BTW - thank you!

Not to answer for HK, but for myself... sometimes you do everything right and then life changes and other things reveal that even with great changes it takes a lot of inner strength to not let life events and other things get in the way of good health, eating right, and the goal of weight loss.   I did great losing weight by calorie counting but fell into a new higher paying job that offered a lot of free lunches and a friend that drank regular softdrinks to play on my weakness (cheapness) for free food.  Other things were at play too ... but overall I've had to grow stronger than I was before to get back on the right path.

I think this is true of anything in life, how many smokers, drinkers or other people with bad problems fall right back into them before ultimately becoming strong enough to overcome them?  Food is in your face daily and building a healthy relationship (since you do need to eat) more than just giving something up... is hard.

There's no easy path.  It's all a lot of hard work... but with dedication and serious inner strength anyone can get there... but just as easy.. anyone can fall off and has to summon up the strength to dive back in.  It's gotta be even harder if you put yourself out there publicly.

Living in a country where everyone overeats because companies want to make money and thus by selling you more food they can charge more and people get used to just eating too much.

Fried chicken is my weakness.  Go look up Popeyes or KFC fried chicken.  Sit back, have a heartattack because it's so super loaded in calories.  Yet it tastes so good.  Look at cookies.  Most cookies are so loaded with calories... and most people were raised to eat more than a few.

For me, I was raised (as I think many were of this age) to clean our plates.  So whatever I get when I eat out I feel I have to eat... especially as I'm paying for it now.   So it's sadly something parents pass to kids without them noticing.

There are kids starving in ethopia so eat everything you are given.

It's a vicious cycle of life that it takes so much hard work to break.  Plus if you do manage to get to a healthy weight (thus in most cases some form of "Skinny") this society likes to ridicule.  Parents love to tell their kids they are wasting away to nothing and by nature feel there must be some drug involved.   My best friend told me I looked emaciated when I had dropped below 200 pounds.  I was in the 190's and I looked emaciated?   Give me a break.

Couple this with a society that believes in being so busy that they can't make the time to exercise and will happily ridicule anyone who does.   I have had several situations where someone made a comment about someone significantly overweight out on the backstreets walking.  I will rise to that person's defense.   I'll make a comment like "I think it's great that person is trying to do something.  We need more people willing to put themselves out there like that."   Usually that'll make people think.  I mean, a healthy life should be encouraged... but it's not.   It's not at the fast food places (even those that claim to have healthy food... most are still overfeeding their customers so they can charge more... or worse cutting the food and charging more than those they are overfeeding).

The sad reality is, when people eat healthy (and often less) that affects a lot of big powers out there in the food industry.

Great suggestions so far... I'd just add to change the exercise routine.  Whatever it is, change it to something completely new.    It's good to do this normally from time to time before even getting to a plateau, but it's a good way to get out of one as well.

"I'm eating btw 1400-1600 cals a day, and I'm 25. I'm within a healthy BMI now, but I just want to stop gaining at this point. I'm seriously lost."

Sounds like before you had an eating disorder.  Maybe the doctors didn't say that exactly but I bet you were eating under 1200 calories and exercising and in the process you messed up your metabolism.  Sadly, you'll have to continue on until your body recovers.  Also, despite your age... bodies do change over time.  If your body has been deprived for a long time and stunted in growth it may be working to catch up to where you should be.

Either way, it sounds like you messed up your metabolism.  It may be time to buy some size 4's or whatever.

Also, you probably should be eating more if you are only eating 1400 to 1600 and you are exercising hard.

EDIT:

Also if you were underating for a long time, it may be you could have damaged some muscles, organs, ..etc... and your body is repairing them.  This will add on some weight... but it's healthy.

You are on the path to recovery.  Keep up the good work and make sure you aren't still underating considering your activity level.

It depends on the HRM.  Mine doesn't subtract what I would have burned just sitting around doing nothing... it's possible the pricier ones may.