Nobody is born with the knowledge to cook and eat healthy, don’t worry. Search the forum, the internet or the library, consult with some friends or a nutritionist and get some new ideas. And why don’t you switch to diet soda? I don’t think it’s that different from the regular one.
Counting calories is not that difficult, when you get used to it! Every time I cook, I weigh every ingredient on a small kitchen scale I have and calculate calories. At first it is a lot of counting, but after some time you know how a 4 oz. chicken steak looks like, how much potatoes you can put on your plate or how much salami on your bread. It’s a lot to learn, but after some time you don’t have to think at all. Of course, sometimes you go to a restaurant and you just can't know all the ingredients – but you just take an approximate number. People are made to adapt and the small portions will start to feel right sooner than you think.
Losing weight is also very hard – you basically have to get rid of habits you had almost all your life. So don’t put yourself down if you don’t succeed the first time. I practically don’t know anybody that had their first diet, lost the weight and kept it down forever. You’re bound to have some bumps down the road. This is my second longer diet in the last five years, but I’ve had hundreds of 1hour to 14days diets.
On the days that I just can’t get the diet started it helps if I weigh myself in the morning, so I’m reminded of what you’re supposed to do today. It also helps me to think about losing weight as a reward not as punishment. Healthy food is also tasty (but you already know that) and after you eat it you feel better, the shower after a workout is a little piece of heaven and when you reach a weight or exercise goal you’re the king of the world. You deserve all that!
There has been a lot of good advice already, but I'll add in a little bit too.
Portion control is absolutely something to be mindful of. Know your portions. A meat portion is 3-4oz, a pasta portion is 2oz uncooked or around 3/4-1 cup cooked, a rice portion is 1/2-1 cup cooked, etc. A very basic plate should be 50% vegetable, 25% meat, and 25% starch.
With pasta, I like to cook only what we are going to eat. Weigh out 2oz of pasta per person. I like to mix my pasta 50:50 with sauteed onion, peppers, mushrooms, and spinach and then top with sauce. I like my meal to be a large bowl for my stomach and eyes, but it's important that I get my 50% vegetable into my meal.
Stews, soups, and chili servings are around 1-1.5 cup portions. When you cook them, look for leaner meats and use plenty of vegetables to bulk them up. I even add diced zucchini, squash, or a can of pumpkin puree into my chili to make it creamier.
I love to cook large dishes and separate them into the recommended number of portions according to my recipe, then freeze in individual portions. This helps me so that I can't munch on any leftovers, I save money by cooking less and having fewer foods spoil, and I always have something healthy on hand that can be ready within minutes.
Hi Free me, I understand how you feel, dont loose sight of what you want to achieve, pick one thing you can do and do it everyday and move on from there.
If you are drinking sodas or any flavored water or drinks I would consider starting to replace all of these with water. but thats just me. start where u can.
I'm sad to say here I am back again, and unfortunately even heavier When I first joined this site, probably close to 2 years ago (I made a new name starting fresh right?!) I weighed in at about 275. Now I'm at 310, how did I get to 310 you ask? Good question, because I changed nothing in my life style (good or bad!). One thing I did do was start a job, and that is how I got to 290 pounds. Not sure why or how as I changed nothing but starting that job, I thought it would help me lose weight by getting out of the house and off my butt but instead I gained weight. Then what happened? I went on Zoloft for my extreme anxiety. That helped top me off at 310 pounds so I stopped taking the medicine (and I'm just trying to deal with the anxiety) but I didn't loose the weight. So please people tell me how you do it? I think about loosing weight everyday of my life and have for years but I still haven't done it. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I don't know how! How do you lose weight? Count calories you say? How do you do that? How do you account for every ingredient in a dish, every calorie? How do you know your portion is right on track with the calorie count? I legitimately don't understand it? Some things I have done (I haven't lost any weight from this but I'm still keeping up with them). Cut out soda. I still drink it sometimes but its more like 1 or 2 times a week compared to 1 or 2 times a day. Cut out fast food, again maybe once a week (bad habit) but a lot less then I usually do! I don't know how to cook healthy, I don't know how to eat healthy. In general I cook meals that can last awhile which usually includes pasta. Money is on the tight side, so cooking a big pot of chili, spaghetti, beef and noodles, etc is usually the way I go to help it stretch. Portion control is a problem, I'm trying to work on that but when I really go gung ho with it I usually end up hungry all day and keep snacking, going back for a little more etc. I love fruits and veggies! It's not that I have a problem with "healthy" foods because I don't. I enjoy eating fruits, vegetables, salads, turkey burger etc. I don't eat them enough I know that. I suck at calorie counting, and my portions are to much. I don't have any "healthy" recipes. I can't take this anymore. I'm 24 and i will be 25 this March. My kids will be 6 and 4 this year and I just cry knowing that they are growing up and I will never be able to run and play with them while they are little. We went to King's Island last year and they needed a chaperone on almost every ride, I couldn't ride them. I couldn't fit. I just feel this impending doom that I'm dieing and I can't and won't leave my babies behind. I'm sad, depressed, desperate but I don't know what to do. I'm tired of thinking about it *daily* I'm ready to just do it. Please someone tell me how do you it? How do you lose weight, how do you get your portions under control, count calories, whats your healthy recipes? My goal this year is to definitely fit on the rides at king's island this summer! I need help
I am going to add you as a buddy...my heart goes out to you, truly....I started my journey on another program 3 weeks ago starting weight 310. I am here to vent, talk or just chat. My name is Theresa
