Quote:
Originally Posted by Angela83155
I've read your story and you are a true inspiration. I'm currently obese and fear the same things you did. I don't want to go under the knive. I know how to "eat clean" but I would like an example of a day of your dieting and if you can, please share some recipes. How did you handle cravings? Any info you can provide is appreciated!
Angela from NJ
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Hi Angela (and an update for all interested)
It has been 6 years since I made this post. Plenty has changed in my life since then. I am happy to say that I am still more than 100 pounds lighter than when I started. Which is to say, I have gained back 80. I'll try to address your specific questions, but know that I am no longer in the head-space I was in when I was in the midst of the weight-loss journey. I can't go back there as it was really obsessive and (in retrospect) probably very unhealthy. I think I ended up giving myself an eating disorder to be perfectly frank, one that I am now dealing with.
A day of dieting example: every day was the same. I counted calories obsessively and like a maniac. I NEVER went over my current calorie goals. The amount of calories I allowed myself changed over time, but it was always around 1200 a day. This is not a lot of food. Most of these calories were in vegetables because I could never wrap my head around small portions, and vegetables have the lowest calorie count. I also drank TONS of sparkling, calorie-free flavored waters. Probably upwards of 6 liters a day. I think the beverages are the only thing that got me through the day because I was able to have something in my mouth that tasted good, and kept my empty belly happy.
How did I handle cravings?: I don't know. Honestly. This is how I gained back 80. I can no longer talk myself out of the cravings. With that said though, I still do not eat anything with sugar (or honey or agave) in it. I just don't bring sugar into my house at all. My sugar cravings have totally stopped because of this, so I am not tempted when I am out and about either. I also keep myself very minimal on bread (or pasta or rice) intake. These two things alone are the only reason I have not gained back everything. I try to be 100% no bread, but those cravings sometimes knock too hard to say no to day after day. My problem is with healthy overeating - example: instead of saying 'no' to some peanut butter (all natural, no sugar), I will end up eating 500 calories worth, because that's how many calories are in 1 heaping tablespoon and goodness knows if I stick a spoon in that container, its gonna come out loaded...
A few Recipes:
http://gift4myself.blogspot.com/p/breakfasts.html The whole blog talks about my journey. I would suggest that you start at the oldest entries and work your way backwards. The latest 10 or so are just depressing because it is me slowly losing the maintenance battle, and probably not encouraging to read
One suggestion of a thing that really and truly helped me was that I had micro-goals. I love lists, and I love crossing things off of lists, so having loads of goals really kept me on track. This is another problem I think I have now. There is only 1 goal in my mind: get back to where I was. There is nothing for me to mini-celebrate as I knock it off my list. All my goals are also on my blog at
http://gift4myself.blogspot.com/p/goals.html You can get the idea from there of things you can set for yourself.
Good luck! I wish I could be of more help. You CAN do it. It sucks, it's hard, but it is possible. Even if you are like me and lose a whole lot and then gain some back, the losing it is the important part. I am still 1000 times healthier now than I was back in 2009. Let me know if you have more questions. I am happy to answer