I started calorie counting Oct 6, 2009 at 192#. I hit my second and secret goal weight of 145# on June 18, 2010 eating an average of 950 calories over that time and exercising 1-2 miles/day. I have ridden horses throughout the entire weight loss period but I did not start Walk Away the Pounds (WATP), ellipticals, weights or resistance bands until I had lost 25.8#. Carrying the extra fat was enough exercise for me. I was following these 3 principles of weight loss: 1. Calories are for losing weight; 2. Exercise is for fitness; 3. Food is for nutrition. All three are important for good health but are not interchangeable.
I have successfully lost and maintained weight loss 3 times in the past: 2 times with Weight Watchers (life time member) and once with South Beach. My success with these programs did not teach me as much as my last attempted weight loss failure on NoS. With NoS, I gained 7 # in 18 months. This occurred by not weighing regularly as I had done in the past, not knowing calorie counts, not knowing 3500 cal=1# and most importantly that a calorie is not a calorie. These diet programs or in Nos case a moderate eating program had done the thinking for me. As I found out, it is very easy to over eat with one plate filled with “healthy” food.
After trying on my capris that I could not even zip on Oct. 6, 2009, I had an enough is enough moment never again will I be in this place. I needed to do the thinking for myself which has proven to be critically important. I determined my calorie budget and the corresponding rate goal. I learned what calorie counts there are for various foods. I got my out WW scale out and started using it along with my measuring cups and spoons. I had made the horrific mistake of not weighing myself regularly. I had for years weighed once a week. I succumbed to the idea of just using my clothes as a guide and it turns out there was a lot of room to expand into my clothes especially at the larger sizes. This time it was daily weighing. Not an obsessive but dedicated routine, once in the morning on an accurate and easy to read Tanita scale. So my never to be broken rules for the rest of my life are:
1. Weigh daily when at home
2. Record everything I eat.
This will minimize me living on the isle of denial. I also had to overcome my preconceptions of calorie counters as obsessive celery eaters. CC has shown me another enjoyable way to eat and appreciate food. It doesn't replace the ideas from WW or SB but builds on them. NoS has broken me of my snacking habit which I do like. I would rather have 3 larger meals that 5 smaller ones. This larger meal pattern fits into the way the rest of my fit and trim family eats. NoS also helped me develop a sustainable way of establishing a habit which is also essential to successful maintenance.
Keeping the weight off has been on my mind almost since the beginning of this process. CC has built in portion and accountability. I have also experimented to see if fructose/sucrose (within healthy foods not candy) or grain calories effects my weight loss which I can say without a doubt that they do. The next step is to determine by how much. I continue to fine tune the CC process. My next goal is joining the National Registry For Weight Loss. 3FC has been an essential part of my journey. Thank you each and everyone who posts!
48 Pounds Lost
Dhani 
