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Old 03-06-2011, 02:53 PM   #16  
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I've been morbidly obese for nearly all of my life. I was put on my first diet in kindergarten, and I've been dieting ever since (I'm going to be 45 in a couple weeks). In the past 40 years, I've spent more time ON a diet than off one (It does such that gaining can be acheived far more rapidly than losing).

I've felt exactly as you express in this post, except I hate the gym even more than I hate calorie counting, so I can feel doubly screwed if I decide to go down that path.

I only started succeeding when I learned to stop seeing weight loss as a horrendous chore that sucked. We're taught to see weight loss that way, but it doesn't have to be.


You have three ways to look at weight loss and weight management.


1. You can choose to look at weight management as fun, interesting, and exciting (and you can make it that way).

2. You can look at weight management as a chore, but one that is emotionally neutral (like brushing your teeth). Certainly not something you dread, just something that isn't the highlight of your day.

3. You can also choose to hate every minute of weight management and see nothing positive about it at all.


At least you've found that you can see exercise as #1 (I'm not there yet, except for swimming).

I've found that weight loss can be as fun and as interesting, and as exciting (and conversely as evil, horrible, boring) as I choose to make it.


I chose an exchange plan, because checking boxes seems like a game. Calorie counting seems like math (and I never liked math).

I make grocery shopping fun. For example I love fruit. I've always loved fruit, but I never thought of fruit as fun or exciting. Now I do, because I make choosing fruit a mini-adventure. I explore grocery stores and ethnic grocery stores and markets, and farmers markets as if I were a tourist. I look for fruits and varieties of fruits I haven't tried before.

I do the same with vegetables and other food items. Looking for healthy condiments and pickles, ready-to-eat items.

I made sticker charts with little rewards for every 5 lbs lost.

There are so many ways to make weight management fun. It doesn't have to be miserable and boring. Miserable and boring is just our "default" setting because it's how it's most commonly done.

You don't have to love every minute of your plan, but you've got to design a plan (or change your views toward you plan) so that you experience more positive than negative. Because you will quit (with good reason) when the negative outweighs the positive. And the way dieting is usually done, we set ourselves up for failure by tipping the balance towards the negative.

So you have to find a way to make this a more positive experience for yourself.

Last edited by kaplods; 03-06-2011 at 02:54 PM.
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Old 03-06-2011, 03:50 PM   #17  
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I have mentioned this before, but to me, calorie counting is like having to take daily medication. It has it's moments of feeling 'outside' the norm of life but in the end, it saves my life. The more I just do it and make it a routine part of my day, the less annoying it is.

Here are some tips that work for me.

Invest in a nutritional software, mine was $30. This way you can set up your favorites foods, create recipes, group common foods together and soon it takes merely a few minutes to enter foods. If you eat the same things most days, often it is no more work than copying over a previous meal. They all help with finding calories ranges, keep track of all kinds of things like exercise, measurements, medications, periods, blood work....you name it. Mine even allows me to build my own tracking data base. lol...I could even track how many times a day I sneezed if I wanted to. That's the beauty of your own personal software...you get to set it up to your needs. And you don't have to be online to use it.

Invest in a digital food scale. Great reality check. Get one that has "tare" ability. Then you can take your plate, put it on the scale, zero it out, add food one at a time (like building a sandwich) and zero it out between food items. Saves time. I have a small dry erase board on my fridge, I mark down my amounts and tally it up later. I find it much easier to weigh food in the bowl/plate I am going to eat from than using measuring cups and spoons.

I plan my next day's meals the night before (can be done weekly too). I enter it all in. Then each evening I make any adjustments to the amounts or the foods I entered to match what I actually did eat. I pull a report to see what my average is, which helps me with any adjustments I need to make.

Most packaged goods don't need to be weighed. Enter the nutritional information for one serving and then pay close attention to how many servings are listed. Then you can enter the number you ate. Let the nutritional software do the work for you. You hate half a bag? 4 servings to a bag? Easy...select the food, enter 2.

If you cook up a big meal, have storage containers ready to fill. If you made a pot of soup, scale the individual ingredients as you throw it in the pot, cook, divide the entire pot into equal servings and enter the all the ingredients in the recipe section, and you then have your calories per serving already figured out. Once entered, just use the same recipe!

Very easy calorie counting...use prepared single serve items like cheese sticks, pre-made hamburger patties, etc.

And most importantly, pay more attention to calorie averages rather than a single day's total. Force yourself to record binges, if they happen. Make only one rule about your diet, that you RECORD it all. This is the only way to become fully aware of what you eat over a long period of time and how it affects you, your weight and your eating habits. Averages keep things in perspective, overeating now and then get blended in with the low calorie days and you may often be surprised that it is not as bad as you thought when you focused only on the one day.

And last tip, PLAN a higher calorie range for holidays and special occasions. Restaurants are always going to be caloric, take the time to check out their nutritional information menus on the web and jot down on a piece of paper some meals from favourite places and keep it in your wallet. It's so much easier to have a meal you know you can have before you get to the restaurant. if you are at a restaurant unexpectedly, try to opt for a meal that has mostly individual items of food. Eggs and bacon for instance would be easier to count later than a plate of spaghetti.

It all comes to be second nature after awhile. Soon you can use a standard calorie count for an apple, rather than weighing it, be able to gauge when you've had 'half" a bag of something and so on. You'll know which foods that need weighing and which ones you can figure a standard count for.
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Old 03-07-2011, 10:55 AM   #18  
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I HATE to count calories and luckily, the diet that works best for me doesn't make you count calories.

I feel that when you are ready to make a change, you will be UP for it. Not that everyday will be a joy, but you will feel great about being good to yourself and working toward your goal.

Everyone has down down days. How ever could we see the joy when every day is joyous? You will get over this!

Have a great day!
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Old 03-07-2011, 11:24 AM   #19  
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yup this is a great place if you just need a moment to moan, whine, complain or scream..haha

i actually don't mind calorie counting at all, and i keep a little paper going with my daily totals and throw away the messy pages of adding..so its kinda neat...something i will be able to look back on later and be wow i have come far.

i envy anyone that enjoys exercise...in my head i want to enjoy it.. i am going to start walking in the warmer weather, for now, i just do a little weights, or some wii games etc..... did the first week of c25k but it got cold outside again..so now im just waiting it out. sometimes i try to just walk around our house...but we got a lot of stuff and you can't get very far without having to turn around haha!!

but you have been counting since dec and stressed out with your paper...so yea!!!! you deserve your day of frustration. and congrats on sticking to your plan so long...oh and p.s. judging from your picture of your face...you don't look like you weigh as much as you say, and you are already very pretty..so you are gonna be one **** of a drop dead knock out vixen type...if you aren't already!

oh..and i feel you about the best years of your life...i will be 32...and sometimes i look back and think...i ruined my childhood and teen years being fat...my 20's are gone...sometimes it makes me cry...and other times i say..hey i can make my 30's what i want...and these can be the best years of my life..
best of luck on your journey
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Old 03-07-2011, 02:06 PM   #20  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by emac318 View Post
I am just beginning my new plan for weight loss... this very minute. I have been reading through posts for the past hour in my bed trying to decide what I want to do to lose weight. Unfortunatly, there is no forum entitled "Im new, don't know what I want to do, need help deciding from someone who has lost the 130 that I want to lose." I ran across this thread, and loved that I was in the same boat as you reallytrying. I really am horrified by the thought that I have to count everything. My life is hectic enough without having to figure up what the calories were for the bagel I just ate and writing down every nuance. Sigh...... I don't really have an alternative ideas though.... Let me know if you want a buddy. I'd love to have one, I think I need the accountability. We are around the same starting weight and have about the same amount to lose, and are the same age (from what I can descern from your post). We could figure it out together?
Its great you have decided to start your new weight plan.. ( "Im new, don't know what I want to do, need help deciding from someone who has lost the 130 that I want to lose.") would be a great new thread lol I am new here also.
I understand your frustration in counting calories. It really works. Its hard but it works. I have lost a lot of weight before. I always seem to find it again lol
This time I am counting calories and I plan on keeping it up long after the diet is over. I think that is where I went wrong in the past.
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Old 03-07-2011, 02:34 PM   #21  
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awwwww girl, i think most of us fill that way at some point hang in there I am rooting for you.
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Old 03-08-2011, 09:22 PM   #22  
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Hey! it happens. For me, I count calories and watch what kinds of carbs I eat (I am insulin resistant so I have to make sure my blood sugar doesnt spike) For me, I plan on when I get to maintenance weighing in every 2 weeks to keep myself. even if I go off key for 2 weeks I cant gain 100 lbs in 2 weeks is my thought. I count calories, but I eyeball most things so I don't have to weigh every time miniscule. It works for me. I mainly eat protein and veggies with one or two meals having a grain (normally only my breakfast which is usually toast or a whole wheat bagel) I also have time I go walking a lot. For now it works for me. For my mother however, she likes weight watchers, she will not under any circumstances count calories period. That is ok too. Its whatever works. Have fun with it you can do it !
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Old 03-11-2011, 11:18 PM   #23  
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Thank you guys for the encouragement. It really is nice. I was just having a bad day as I have said. The calorie counting has gotten much better. I am actually enjoying it, to an extent. Been four times to the gym this week and am feeling so much better. I am so lucky that I actually love the gym. I look forward to it and I like the feeling of sore musles; it makes me feel like I am doing something. The nice thing about counting calories, is for me it works and I never feel really deprived. If I want that croissant, I shall eat it. It just means I won't be able to have that glass of milk at dinner. I try to stay within the range of 1200-1600. I am excited about the changes that I am noticing in my body in a relatively short amount of time. I started the gym about two and half weeks ago and coupled with my diet, I have had three seperate people remark on how I looked thinner. This gives me motivation and inspires and excites me to keep on going. Superficial, I know but still...

@Kaplods and Martini, thank you for your input and tips. I do try to by stuff that the caloric values are clearly marked. Sometimes it can be hard with fruits, veggies, etc., but there are sites on the web that help with that. I try to eyeball stuff (like 1/2 a sausage, well I know how much that should look like) rather than weigh it because I have no idea where to buy a food scale in the UK. And I am trying to make this fun, and see it as a VERY exciting thing because I am changing my life forever and that makes me ecstatic. Also, I do try to plan for 'cheat' days. I allow myself one cheat day a week and that's it. Thus, it helps me from binging. And someone up there said something like 'Which do you not like more? Watching calories or being overweight?' That definitely puts everything in perspective.

@Sharona, thank you! You have a good day as well!

@reptogirl, thank you so much for your sweet compliments. You made my day, seriously! Thank you! It really was just a day of frustration, that's all. And, with working out, there ARE days I don't want to do it because of sore muscles, tired, busy, etc. But I just tell myself 'Don't think about it, just get up and do it.' So, I roll out of bed and go. Once I am back, I feel so much better and accomplished and that beats any feeling I have of 'Blah, don't want to' that I have. Also, Scotland is sooo cold (completely different than my native Florida) so I couldn't go running when it was this cold. That is why I joined my university's gym. 110 dollars for the year with an olympic sized pool thrown in! So, I get what you are saying about warmer weather for sure. I just can't jog when my nostrils are iced over.

@halfofme, Thank you. I'm rooting for you too. =)

@SMS, I'm glad you can relate. I wish I could give up grains, but I just switched to whole grains. I don't eat as much as I did (I now have maybe two slices of bread a day or three) but I don't have you strength for just one like you do. Kudos to you though, seriously. That is determination. And you're right, it is about what works for you. Thanks for your encouragement as well. We can do it! =)
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Old 04-05-2011, 07:19 PM   #24  
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This has been an excellent and helpful thread.

I have started calorie counting SO many times, and get thrown off when I get to a food that I can't get an exact count for--such as a homemade dish. (Perfectionism does me in.)

I'm at the point somebody mentioned though, where it's worse to stay my size than to keep trying to do something to change it.

Reallytrying, I'm glad you're feeling better!
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Old 04-05-2011, 07:46 PM   #25  
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I know you're over it but I can so relate, I am horrible with the food. Give me workouts ANY day, I like tracking when its easy. I miss fit day, the online version is too slow with my slower-than-dialup internet. And I have a MAC now not a PC (I miss my fit day!) programs like that made it so easy to record stuff. I liked that I tracked activity with it too. And could make charts (i'm nerdy like that!). Doing it on my own , well... i end up quitting after a couple days. :-|
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