Sounds like we are in the same boat! This morning I was 180, even though I have been hovering around 176-178 mostly. Come join me, we can chat. Maybe post food diaries, exercise logs, etc?! (she said as she eats a chicken cutlet for breakfast...why?!?!?!?!)
One of the most important things, I think, has been to really realize how unhealthy my weight it (the doc said I am officially OBESE. Anyone who knows me would probably beg to differ, thanks to how I carry my weight, but it doesn't change the cold hard facts) and that my motivation is to not become skinny, but to get to a healthy body weight and eliminate unnecessary risks.
[snip]
So it's good. I am in probably the best place i have been yet on this journey -- resolved, positive and content with this new lifestyle.
We sound pretty similar. I am also considered medically obese at 5' 3" and 170(ish) lbs, but I'm a size 8, I am curvy, I am muscular...and on and on and on.
I have also started a new journey and finding MY perfect plan, not what's right according to anyone else, and feel great about where I'm starting and where I want to be. Glad to meet you!
Lol, I've had some odd cravings lately too. I usually eat chicken or turkey, but last weekend (for breakfast) I told my husband that I wanted a steak. More like, I needed a steak. He was fine with it (as men aparently flock to red meat, lol) and we had steak and tomato slices for brunch. Why the craving? No idea, lol. But it was delicious. I usually eat pretty light for breakfast and lunch, have a snack when I get home, work out (not lately, more below), then have dinner. I will start using MyFitnessPal again after TOM leaves. It worked really well for me, but I stopped using it for a few weeks to see if I could eat well without the app. Turns out I need it to stay accountable. Are you on MFP or any other calorie counting app?
So, I'm working a ton lately, which means I come home exhausted . The good thing is, I have overcome the urge to overeat after a long day, but the stress is still there. I'm hoping this stress goes away over the weekend (get to catch up on sleep) because I know it can effect my weight loss. Between the long days and TOM, I'm hoping the scale wont get too mad at me, haha!
What are you doing for diet and exercise? I do a food prep over the weekend so that I always have healthy food on hand during the week. This week was chicken paprikash (more of a chicken stew than a traditional cream sauce) for dinner and chicken soup and half sandwich with avacado for lunch. For breakfast I usually do oatmeal or yogurt with fruit.
For exercise, a neighbor and I usually walk around the neighborhood 3 days a week. I've recently joined Planet Fitness and started weight lifting too. I can tell you more about my workout plan if you like. How about you?
For breakfast, I have 2 cups of coffee, a fried or boiled egg, 1-2 slices of Canadian bacon or 2-4 slices of turkey bacon, and a green smoothie. I actually eat my "breakfast" over a 2-3 hour period of time. Breakfast is new to me; I have never regularly eaten it but it's part of my new plan. I get too hungry before lunch and end up snacking on junk food.
Lunch varies, but I try to make it protein heavy with 1/2 raw veggies. I don't avoid carbs but I am a carb addict so I do my best to keep it low (and my standards of low carb probably equals someone else's normal/high carb, lol.)
Snacks are raw veggies & hummus, trail mix, cheese sticks, or rice cakes & nut butter.
Dinner is 4 oz protein (mostly chicken, I'm not a huge fan of red meat...and I just realized I've had red meat two nights in a row!), a carb/starch (especially if I haven't had carbs for lunch), and green veggies, raw or roasted/grilled.
Although I am trying to watch my carb vs protein vs fat intake, I rely most heavily upon calorie counting.
I work out hard, 6-9 times a week! I do group fitness training, similar to a Crossfit model, but IMO more cardio and no heavy Olympic lifting (although I love heavy lifting!) The trainer is AWESOME and so, so motivating. I go every Monday-Saturday, unless I'm out of town, and on days where I don't have a lot going on, I'll go twice.
I have always considered myself a pretty good eater--- I love veggies and they are the mainstay of most of my meals. I once did a 28-day Vegan challenge and loved it because I got to eat grains, haha -- I am pretty sure I have an inflammatory reaction to most grains so I try to minimize them from my diet....
BUT I also have a few hang-ups about food/social eating and I don't like to make a spectacle of my "restrictions" so I tend to go with the flow when eating with others and just reduce my portions. We have a large, close-knit group of friends and share meals with various families frequently.
For me, breakfast is generally a Greek yogurt or an egg on a light English muffin with a slice of cheese. Sometimes I just eat a salad or raw veggies for breakfast.
Lunch is typically a giant salad -- I am loving these Lean Cuisine Salad additions you get in the freezer section -- they take the guesswork out of the calories, etc. If I am out on the road, I will find some brown rice sushi.
Dinner is trickier because we have 3 kids, and there is that spectacle thing where I want to model normal eating and not always be having something special. So we try to grill chicken or chicken sausages, veggies, etc and have a carb-type side dish for the kids. If we are making pizza, I will have hubs make me a super thin crust and I will load it up with veggies. If we have pasta, I make spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles for myself.
I get bored with the same things all the time so I like to mix it up. I am definitely looking for inspiration in the kitchen.
I love my current workout routine -- kickboxing (the kind at a martial arts studio, with a bag and gloves) 3x a week and walking/hiking with friends the other days.
I was doing MFP but wasn't losing so I switched to WW online. Once I get to a plateau, I might switch it back to MFP.
The scale isn't moving so much right now so I think I will take measurements soon -- I *think* I am starting to tone up a little?!?!?!?
1bighog - I love hummus! And wow - 6-9 times a week of working out - Awesome! It's amazing what can happen when we find the right type of workout for us. Walking with my neighbor has been super motivating.
TheFinalFifteen - Kickboxing - woot woot! Sounds like fun. I totally understand how eating in social situations can be tough. The hubby and I decided that if we do decide to go out, it's either to a Mediterranean or Sushi place, where we can eat a larger volume with less calories.
This morning on the scale = 178!!!
I'm soooooooooo glad this week is over, talk about crazy busy I am totally sleeping in tomorrow! Hoping to reset this weekend.
Hi guys. So I have been keeping kind of a journal of this journey, maybe even to use someday as either a book or excerpts for a book -- so I thought I would sahre today's words with you :-) ...
March 30, 2014
Why does it have to be so hard? Why have I been at this for 7 weeks and still not seeing much progress?
My 4-pound loss was a short-lived victory and with my “crabby time,” a term adopted by my kids and now utilized by my husband, my weight shot right back up to 180 – the very sequence of numbers I was hoping to have fled forever.
But then something funny happened – I took a getaway with Jeff and we stayed at a genuinely beautiful hotel with old-world charm and incidentally, lots and lots of mirrors. It made me realize how few mirrors we have in our house – by coincidence or design, I’m not sure – and I didn’t expect that small fact to be so helpful.
In my mind, I am a gigantic ogre that clip-clops over bridges and crushes flowers, stomping out small buildings and hitting toddlers in the side of the head with my enormous *** when I walk past them.
What I saw in the mirrors was a well-proportioned woman with undeniable curves that won’t change no matter how much weight I lose. I saw a woman who is not small and dainty, but instead curvy and muscular, and it dawned on me that 40 pounds of weight loss – which would put me at the very high end of the spectrum for healthy body weight – would be far too much.
I got to thinking about those BMI charts and their inherent evilness. I started thinking that maybe it’s up to me to decide what “healthy weight” means and while I know I am not there yet, maybe it isn’t as far off into the distance as those charts would have me believe.
So there it is for this rainy Sunday, as I bake a cake – YES, I AM BAKING A *******ED CAKE – and remember that baking a cake – and maybe even eating a slice – is not evidence of my fatness and ogre-like tendencies, but rather an expression of the fact that I like to bake.
It’s time to stop trying to deny myself pleasure – it’s time to learn how to swim the waters rather than just staying afloat or worse – pretending I’m happier on land.
I like your journal post. I agree with you about the BMI charts, which I've heard are geared towards men anyways. With women, we all have different body types, so where we hold our weight really has an effect on our ideal body weight. BMI charts do not seem to account for different body types.
What kind of cake did you bake? We had pumpkin spice coffee cake for breakfast this weekend because the hubby and I were both craving something sweet. We didn't feel bad about it either!
I just finished up food prep for the week, and my meals are:
Breakfast Options
1/2 cup Greek plan yogurt + 1 cup fruit
1/2 cup oatmeal + cinnamon or ginger
coffee (obviously, lol)
Lunches - I usually make one type of lunch for the week - It's easier to pack and carry to work
Spinach salad with carrots, tomato, 1/4 cup shredded pepperjack cheese, and 1/2 cup Tex-mex season chicken
Granny Smith apple
1/2 cup Chex mix
Dinner Options
Shredded pork tacos
Turkey chili
Snacks
Banana
Fiber One granola bar
For my weekly goals, I'm determined to work out at least 4 times this week and get back to tracking calories on MFP. As tedious as it is, it works for me. We'll see how it goes!
MyFitnessPal gave me a caloric goal of 1460 calories per day. I checked this calorie goal against another BMR (basal metabolic rate) calculator and got the same calorie goal. However, if I happen to work out like I did today, I can consume more calories. For example, I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and burned 280 calories, so now I have a total of 1740 calories that I can eat for the day. So, it really depends on how much you plan to work out each day.
Basically, if I burn 3500 calories in a week, then I'll see a 1 pound weight loss. You also adjust your calories when you've dropped in pounds.
Calorie counting isn't the easiest, lol. The only way I've been able to keep it up is by prepping my foods over the weekend and portioning them out for the week. This is the only way I don't deviate from my portions or go up for a second helping. I factor in two snacks for the day, usually pre and post dinner are when I feel like I need something sweet, so I'll have an apple or a granola bar.
I guess weight loss in and of itself isn't easy. I look at everything else in my life, and there's a measure of accountability - Don't go to work = No money, Don't pay bills = No house/car/internet - but with weight loss, no one really makes you do it until you get to the point where you get sick. Then you get the doctor holding you accountable, higher insurance rates, money for doctor bills, etc. I suppose with the overabundance of food, there will always be a challenge to eat what you need and not what you want. (I'm totally thinking about Chinese food right now!)
There are many different thoughts on calorie counting - does it work (for me it does), does it make you OCD (probably, lol), should you eat back your calories after a workout (depends on when you work out - I work out before dinner, so I eat according to my goal). I haven't even looked into maintenance calories yet, but that will come once I reach my goal.
My weight loss journey has been a very educational one. I've learned a lot about metabolism and energy, as well as food absorption, food types, nutritional facts, etc. As I've progressed along, observing my eating and behavioral habits has also helped me gain perspective of what I need to do to feel healthy along the way.
With that, I listed some questions that I had to answer throughout my weight loss journey. I posted my answers below, and I'd be interested in hearing your answers too! It's always interesting to see what works for others.
Q: When do you weigh yourself?
My Answer: I used to have issues with my scale, but now it's more of a curiosity thing. I usually weigh myself in the morning and then after dinner just to see how much weight I'm holding onto throughout the day. I've read somewhere that your stomach can hold about 3-4 pounds of food, which is what I usually see after dinner (around 183-184). Then in the morning, it's metabolised and I'm back down to 178-179.
Q: What are your eating habits?
My Answer: I have tried eating various ways, and it works best for me if I eat light for breakfast and lunch, with a snack before I work out, and have my bigger meal for dinner. I experimented with a larger breakfast and lunch, only to find that I still come home wanting to eat a larger dinner. This also made me eat later into the night, like around 10pm, which interfered with my sleep schedule. So, I compromised with myself and saved my calories for later in the day. I also found that eating a larger breakfast and lunch made me ready for a nap by 2pm - Can we say food coma? Now that I've found my eating routine, I'm satisfied after dinner, which is finished by 8-8:30pm.
Isn't it weird how we're such creatures of habit?
Q: When you start to go off plan, what brings you back?
My Answer: I have learned not to fight with my body anymore. If it wants carbs more than my willpower can let me shake off, then my body gets carbs. Now, I eat a decent amount of carbs daily (fruit, granola, oatmeal) but sometimes I just crave some pasta - usually if I've been working out consistently. Of course, we know cravings can lead to other bad food decisions, so I just try to make the healthiest choices I can.
I just went "off plan" about 3-4 weeks ago. I was working out a lot when the pasta cravings came, then TOM showed up, and then I noticed that I wanted fried food like every day. I gave in for the most part with acceptable foods - spicy Thai food for my extra need for carbs, and falafel to settle my fried food craving. I stopped counting calories after I realized that my body was having a field day, lol. However, I gave myself an end date (after TOM was finished).
I guess what gets me back on track is letting my body enjoy itself for a bit and then making a conscious decision to get back on plan.
That's all for now. Happy Monday!!
Last edited by coffeeshopgirl; 03-31-2014 at 09:30 PM.
I love what you have to say about just enjoying yourself -- one of the things I have had to realize without feeling defensive is that one of my reason for being overweight is not about having a broken relationship with food, or trying to cover up my emotions, but simply because of the pleasure I take in eating. I love food, I love the pleasure of flavor and texture and I love to bake and cook. So that's that :-)
Still, for my own health, I think it's best to try to control that passion a bit!
Last edited by TheFinalFifteen; 04-02-2014 at 12:17 PM.
Reason: typos!
I am also considered medically obese at 5' 3" and 170(ish) lbs, but I'm a size 8, I am curvy, I am muscular...and on and on and on. 
. The good thing is, I have overcome the urge to overeat after a long day, but the stress is still there. I'm hoping this stress goes away over the weekend (get to catch up on sleep) because I know it can effect my weight loss. Between the long days and TOM, I'm hoping the scale wont get too mad at me, haha! 
However, I gave myself an end date (after TOM was finished). 