Hi everyone,

I just want to introduce myself....new to this board but not to the weight loss challenges.

I am currently doing an Artist Way group where you write 3 morning pages a day....I've lost 13 lbs just by doing that. The author, Julia cameron noticed that many people started to lose weight during her 12 week class so she wrote a book called The Writer's Diet where you walk daily and write 3 mornings pages.

In week 9, she talks about creative U-turns...those abandoned projects along our path. I realized I have abandoned my weight loss goals and also do use food to supress emotions. The morning pages have been very helpful in getting clear.


So here I am, with a renewed spirit, alot of hope and a weight loss plan.
Counting cals 1700/day and 4 hours of exercise per week. I am hoping to lose 1 -1 1/2 lbs per week, or 5 lbs a month.

I do think there is a positive energy hearing about others success and also offering and receiving encouragement.

So, I hope I can be an active part of this calorie counting thread....my challenge is follow thru when life gets crazy....I call it "learning to stay"....often I do escape to food.


Thanks for listening....looking forward to connecting.

Thanks,
Thinkerbell

Hi. Sounds like you're on a good solid plan and have some reasonable goals. Welcome to 3FC and the community!

,

Thinkerbell!!

Welcome - it sounds like you are off to a good start!

Lori

Hi Thinkerbell. I'm averaging about 5 pounds a month too. Glad to meet you.

Dear Retiredone, lorilove, chick in the hat and photo chick,

Thanks for the warm welcome! It is so good to be connected to others who are doing it!

May I ask how you record your calories? Do you write it down before of after your meal? Once a day? do you write it down at all?

I am concerned about getting "obsessed"....I know myself well enough to know that in the long haul, that doesn't work well me for.....yet I also know that awareness and accountablitly is key....so I am looking for a graceful way so that I can be commited....for life!

Thanks in advance,
Thinkerbell

Welcome to 3fc tinkerbell.. there are many sites where you can record your Calories.. i started out with fitday which is quite good but moved on to Calorie king becuase it had an australian version which made it easier for me..

awlot of peopel use the daily plate and like that .. for me ck is the best .. whay not browse though them..

www.calorieking.com
www.fitday.com
www.thedailyplate.com

have a look through them and see which one you find easiest to use..

i personaly prefer to write it down after a meal .. becuase i weigh my food and i dont like to do the guessing game at the end of the day .. it very easy to foprget what you have or havent had in the day .. of course if im not at home i write it in later.. with the online sites it6 adds the calories up for you as long as you put your serving sizes in correctly you cant go wrong.. good luck..

these boards are great.. so dont be afraid to ask questions.. there is bound to be someone that knows..

Have fun Amy

Amouse,

Thanks for the links..... it really adds up the calories?! Wow....ah-mazing! I love, love, technology and the inter-net....it feels like magic!

Thanks,
Thinkerbell

A just went to the sites and I am feeling confused as a am techno-challenged.....any advice....what am I looking for?

It seems that calrie king is not free....but do all the sites have a calorie counter?

Any and all advice appreciated!

Thinkerbell....not thinking so clearly LOL!

I like Fitday 'cause it's free and I can log in form work or at home. It is a bit of a hassle to set up initially - I enter a lot of stuff I eat all the time as a custom food. Now it takes hardly any time at all. It not only adds up the calories, it figures out the percentage of calories coming from protein, carbs and fat - which I really like. It has a place to enter your exercise as well...and reports to check progress.

I plan my meals for the day , staying within my calorie allotment. I use the trusty pad and pencil method and check things off so I don't miss something or forget and eat something twice. This works for me as I don't have to be at the computer and can carry my little notebook with me in my purse.
I use the Calorie King Calorie Fat and Carbohydrate Counter for calorie counts. This little book is loaded with useful information, as an example calorie counts for restaurants an fast food. I wouldn't be without it.

I use thedailyplate.com - it's actually part of the Livestrong.com site now, so don't get confused if you wind up switching back and forth between the two.

There's a free area and a pay area to DP, and I have paid for membership (I'm a big believer in supporting those sites that I use). But you can still use the calorie counting part and the macro tracking as part of the free side.

Generally what I do is I put in my full days worth of food in the morning - it's my plan for the day, based off of the menu I create on the weekends. Then I tweak it as a go along. If I wind up not eating a snack, I remove it. If I eat something different, I change it. But mostly it lets me know exactly where I am in my calories at any given time, so I know if I have any wiggle room.

Then the rest of the day I really don't have to think about it.

.

Thanks so much very much! I did play around with the Daily Plate a bit and I must admit it's pretty cool!

I'm glad you mentioned the old-fashioned pencil and paper method too!

Feeling a bit overwhelmed....but your excellent advice does help....I'm certain it will get easier and less confusing the more I play around with it....I need to remember, progress, not perfection.


I also wanted to ask.....does anyone drink their breakfast? ie smoothies or a milk-based product?

I am not a breakfast eater....I know, I know...it's the most imprtant meal of the day......but as I was planning my meals, I noticed I don't include dairy...and I was wondering if I could turm my dairy requirements into a delicious drink-able breakast?


Any suggestions?

Thanks again,
thinkerbell

I have done smoothies for breakfast in the past, but I generally wind up feeling unsatisfied. I like food. I usually wind up having either yogurt or oats for breakfast, although lately it's been a 1/2 pb sandwich with some kind of fruit butter.

.

I'm just the opposite of PhotoChick. A smoothie really fills me up. I usually throw in some fresh or frozen fruit, skim milk powder, and if it's for breakfast a couple of spoonfuls of bran cereal. Then I put in orange juice to blend it all together. If you measure the amounts then you can just enter them in your calorie counter program and know exactly how much breakfast is.

I use fitday myself and like it quite well. And I guess I am a bit obsessed with it as I enter after every meal most of the time because unless I write it down I tend to forget some of the things I've eaten. I think losing weight is an obsessive activity at the best of times. The more I do this it becomes second nature and not quite so obsessive.

You don't need a really big breakfast to help fuel your day, especially if you're not used to eating at that time of the day. Start small and build up to a bigger breakfast if that's what you want to do.