[wish4fit]

Hello there!

I am brand new to the site and pumped to shed some pounds! I was hoping to make a few friends here who can relate to the calorie-countin lifestlye....

A little about me....In my history of dieting, I have been a calorie counter for a relatively short time. Before counting calories I tried just about every single diet there is, and even found success a few times. The problem is I always gained it back. Finally, I decided that to change my life for the better I had to drop all the fad diets and stick to a sensilble, healthy way of eating. I have maintained a steady weight for almost 2 years now by being more aware of what I eat, how I prepare food, and yes - watching the calories! The problem is the weight I have been maintaining is about 30 pounds heavier than I'd like to be! Even though I eat a healthy diet and lead a pretty active life, I'm not losing because I'm not dieting. I need to push myself a little harder to really do the job and that's why I am here.

Oh yeah, and did I mention I'm getting married in 4 and half months? The wedding has given me the added incentive to really make the change. I just bought a gorgeous wedding dress and I want to feel just as gorgeous when I'm wearing it!

I live in a busy city where I walk alot everyday. Two weeks ago I committed myself to going to the gym 5 days a week for both cardio and weights. So far so good! I started doing 1200-1300 calories a day, but find that in the evenings I am always starved. What can you do for that??? Nonetheless, I am committed and feeling good. I hope to find some other people to enjoy this feeling with

ANGELA

By the way, is it cool to post a bio on the 'introduce yourself' page or do I have to do something special first ?

[rebeleagle1965]

Hi Angela! Congrats on your upcoming wedding! I hope you find this forum as helpful as I have. Being able to come here every day has truly motivated me and helped me stay on track. I'm new to counting calories myself. I've gained and lost several times in the last 7 years (pregnancy), but this is my first time ever trying to take the lbs off this way.
As for the cravings in the evenings, don't starve yourself. You can either rearrange your eating plan so that you still have a few calories to blow in the evening when you already know you will be hungry, or just keep some low-cal snacks around for the times you have to have it. I am a HUGE fan of Hunt's sugar free pudding snack packs. 60 calories, 3 grams of fat, and I get my chocolate fix. I've been trying to remember what the "calorie deficit" foods are. I'll have to do a little research and start a thread.....i.e. like apples I think-I remember hearing a long time ago that there are foods that burn more calories to digest than they contain. That would be the best kinds of go-to foods when you just have to have SOMETHING and don't want to blow your day's progress. Also, beware of what KINDS of food you are eating for dinner. I just did Atkin's for a month, and while it wasn't for me, I read everything I could get my hands on and learned a lot. Eating carbohydrate rich foods causes huge rises in insulin levels, and then a kind of "crash", which in turn makes you crave more. Even if you stay in your caloric goal, if you are eating bread, rice, pasta, etc in the evening, this may increase your brain's hunger signal later on. Knowing how your body reacts to certain foods can be helpful no matter what your plan is. Play around with what time of day you eat different kinds of foods and see how the cravings change.

[hockeyfan7]

Welcome Angela! I'm sure you will be a beautiful bride.

One thing you might look at is based on the amount of exercise you are doing in a day and the number of calories you are burning is whether or not 1200-1300 calories is too low. If you are eating 1200 calories and burning 500 or 600 of them off, your body is only getting 600 to 700 calories a day and that's probably too low.

Depends on your height, weight and age, but you might check it out. That could be why you are hungry.

[tresor]

Welcome Angela. I'm on Day 4 of calorie counting and using FitDay. I've used FitDay before to count calories but I didn't care where the calories came from. My goal now is to eat the right kind of foods and to eat foods that will satisfy me so I won't give in to crappy stuff that's just empty calories. So far I am doing really well and love the support and motivation that comes from these boards. Look forward to hearing from you.

[srmb60]

Ah, here's the blushing bride. Hi Angela!

I allot my calories so that there are some left for evening snacking. I have always eaten in the evenings and I see no reason to stop now.

BTW ... I'm supposed to be painting imitation columns to decorate the church with. Don't tell Dd the bride to be that I put it off all day

[wish4fit]

Thanks ladies for such a warm welcome!! You are all so helpful and encouraging, it's fabulous! I think I am going to become an addict - and fast!

Sincerely,
Angela

[kindred]

Go to the gym in the evenings. 2 years ago when I belonged to a gym the only time I could go was the evenings do to our schedules. I would go around 6 and eat a light meal when I got home. I found that the evenings are the HARDEST for me. So i was busy during that time and when I got home from the gym I felt so good that I didn't want to stuff myself like ushual. Last summer I was able to jog in the evenings and again that helped with not over eating at night.

Now I do not belong to a gym and I babysit in the evenings. So my workout time has to be in mornings unfortunatly.