I've really let myself slip this past year... and have gained over 15 lbs. For someone my height, that is a LOT of weight. I knew I was gaining... but I didnt realize it was so visible.... I hadnt really seen it until looking at some photos from my 29th birthday party this past weekend. It was like looking at another person. Someone I never thought I would be. I almost wanted to cry.
I eat healthy for the most part.... granted I will confess I've eaten more fast foods recently than is normal for me... and I don't even enjoy fast food.
But I need to kickstart this to get back to my normal weight...
I need some suggestions. I need some encouragement.
definatly try to choose your fast foods wisely. And write down everything you eat. even one little jelly bean should be accounted for.
I know what you mean about the pics. I just have a hard time believeing I am overweight. I just don't believe it until I see pics of myself. Even looking in the mirror a lot of times, i still think i look good. But take a pic of me and I look like a beached whale!!!!! I used to love having pics of me taken, now I don't because they LIE!!!! But seriously, hang in there and watch, really watch what you are eating. And don't forget to get some kind of excersize. the good thing is you haven't let yourself get too far gone. you can change it. Good luck!!
You are lucky that you have had this realization now, when you are only up 15 pounds. For some, that light bulb doesn't go on until the weight is a lot higher.
You can reverse this easily! You know what has put your weight on--it's that fast food. Stop eating it, or make better choices. Virtually every fast-food site lists nutrition information, and you can easily find ahead of time what to avoid. And also, do you do any exercise? Are you physically active? That helps also!
I'm a shorty too, so I know that 15 pounds is a lot on a small frame. On the other hand, like Jay said, it could be a lot more that you have to lose so good that you caught yourself now.
Not only have you admitedly changed your eating habits lately, you're also not getting any younger. Muscle loss starts in your 20's unless you're counteracting that with weight lifting. Loss of muscle causes a decrease in metabolism.
Are you strength training and getting regular exercise? I would think this is the starting point for someone like you who is able to maintain a lower weight so doesn't necessarily have major food issues (unless you've got eating disorder issues and it doesnt sound like that is the case).
Although it hurt so bad looking at those photos of myself this morning.... youre right... it was a blessing in disguise.... I could have totally continued on... oblivious of how much I am outwardly changing... and just let the weight continue piling on.
Maybe I should keep the worst of the lot of them just to remind myself of how close Ive come to loosing myself...
But where should I start?
Exercise? I have a treadmill.... could walk/jog in the mornings...
As for food... I really dont eat so bad... at worst fast food once or twice a week.. easily removed. Counting calories is almost impossible... as I cook everything from scratch... and measure by eye. I dont know how many times I've stared blankly at fitday trying to breakdown some of my recipes lol!!
Definitely exercise! If you can manage 30 mins a day on the treadmill, that would be a great start.
As far as calorie counting goes, I think it is the best, simplest, most straightforward way of losing weight. I too cook all my own food, and mostly just eyeball measurements. The thing is that if you're eyeballing veggies and seasonings, that's fine--you can use guestimates when putting your recipes into Fitday--but you do need to measure and weigh your fats, proteins and starches. It's a habit you'll need to develop. There's quite a calorie difference between a 1/4 oz of cheese and a 1/2 oz of cheese, and not that much difference in volume. If you've gained weight, the likely culprit is too much of the fats/starches/proteins, not the occasional trip to McDonalds.
calorie-count.com has a recipe analyzer about midway down the home page. You can enter all the ingredients for the whole recipe and the number of servings, click and get the number of calories per serving. Check on the lower right to see if it included all your ingredients. If it doesn't recognize the way you described an ingredient, it will not add it in until you change the description to something it can understand.
I think I should invest in a kitchen scale... for instance tonight we are having irish stew.... I just took a leg, bone in, maybe 2 lbs... and trimmed it myself.. and tossed the bone in for added flavor and texture (from the marrow). So obviously what we will end up eating wont be the whole 2lb leg I bought! NO idea how much lamb is in there! hehe.
I will admit also to being an absolute cheese fiend. I am a HUGE fan of French cheeses... and at this moment have 3 different types of very stinky runny delicious Frenchie cheese. I know I've been eating more of that lately... instead of having it as a once in a while.. weekend treat... its almost become a daily pre-dinner snack.. (I've gotten into the habit of putting out cheese and crackers while I am fixing dinner).
Oy... so many little things when you stop and think about it!!
Oy... so many little things when you stop and think about it!!
That's exactly right! When I started counting calories I was absolutely amazed at all the little things I hadn't even noticed before. It was like, "What?! The cheese I put in that was how much?!" But all the little things-- the creamer in your coffee, the handful of peanuts you grab without thinking, the wedge of cheese you have as a small snack-- really start to nickle-and-dime your efforts.
But now that you're aware of your actions, you can totally lose those 15 pounds! Good luck!
Oh, I know which ones you mean. Soft French, Italian and Swiss cheese like Camembert, Tomme, Gorgonzola are irresistible! So I don't buy them. Also, if you find you cannot resist a certain food, keep in mind that it's a symptom of food intolerance. Those types of cheese are high on lactose and fat than for instance Grana Padano, Parmesan or Gouda, so they are harder to digest. You may well be intolerant to certain types of dairy products, it's very common.
Photos can be, as you said, a big shock but also a good wake-up call. I got a pretty good one myself recently
Well.. I dont think I am lactose intolerant.... almost unheard of in someone with as much Dutch blood as I have! I am a big dairy fan.. always have been... and I've never noticed any problems with consuming it.... it just brings me to that happy place... hahahaha!
I just dug around some more on calorie-count... what an excellent site! Really makes fitday seem like a joke imo! Works perfect for us as my fiance is a Brit and we eat alot of British foods.... had bangers last night for dinner (home made from a local butcher)... good luck finding that on fitday.... I did a search on calorie count and got like a dozen results! I just wish there were a way to may your logs public there!
I will admit also to being an absolute cheese fiend. I am a HUGE fan of French cheeses... and at this moment have 3 different types of very stinky runny delicious Frenchie cheese. I know I've been eating more of that lately... instead of having it as a once in a while.. weekend treat... its almost become a daily pre-dinner snack.. (I've gotten into the habit of putting out cheese and crackers while I am fixing dinner).
I regained 12 pounds over the winter by developing a cheese habit. There are 2 gourmet cheese shops in my little town, and I got into the habit of buying a wedge of my favorite (Délice de Bourgogne...mmmmm) plus one other different cheese each week, and eating cheese and baguette with abandon and a glass of wine while I cooked dinner. I enjoyed the cheese, and I enjoyed the ritual--really, what is nicer than some very good cheese and a glass of red wine to mark the end of the workday? But, I gained weight so quickly (after having kept 40lb off for a year and a half) that finally I had to acknowledge that I had to make a choice between eating cheese each day and being slim and looking nice in my clothes.
Part of me really feels that life is not worth living without good cheese. But at the same time, life is worth living without good cheese *every day*. I can have some cheese once a week or so, but I just can't eat it all the time. 1 oz of cheese has about 100 calories. And baguettes are almost as bad. There just isn't enough room in my calorie budget for 300 or 400 calories a day for cheese!
Anyway, back to you. You can enter the info you find on calorie-count into fitday or nutridiary and log your meals that way. (I use nutridiary--it contains the entire USDA food database, which is quite good). In some ways, the whole business of losing weight can be quite repetitive, and you quickly build up a big library of personal foods and recipes in your fitday account. You should definitely invest in a food scale. It's as essential in my kitchen as my calphalon and my food processor Some things are tricky to figure out--like your leg of lamb, but most things are very simple to throw on the scale and make a note of as you're cooking.
Saw some recent photos of myself...
I used to love having pics of me taken, now I don't because they LIE!!!! 
But seriously, hang in there and watch, really watch what you are eating. And don't forget to get some kind of excersize. the good thing is you haven't let yourself get too far gone. you can change it. Good luck!! 
I am a big dairy fan.. always have been... and I've never noticed any problems with consuming it.... it just brings me to that happy place... hahahaha! 
