Hi everyone,

I'm so glad to have found this forum!

Last week I had a bit of a breakthrough ( or breakdown) about my lifestyle and needing to change it.

I'm less than a week into calorie counting and exercise. 1500-1600 a day and walking a mile. I guess I feel a bit like I should be doing more? But I don't want to burn myself out trying to exercise more and get discouraged.

So my question is how did you all start? Did your small steps pay off?
I always feel impatient when starting something new and this is no exception. Also I think I'm going through sugar/carb withdrawal.

Thanks!

Welcome!!!

I'm relatively new to this process myself but I have found tons of support and great advice from the kind folks around here.

I know all too well the frustration of wanting things to move faster but, for me small, livable changes are best because these are the changes that are most likely to stick in the long term. Those small changes do make a large positive difference on our lifestyles and, as we go forward, the small changes will build on each other and before you know it you're living a life you never imagined!

Keep moving forward one step at a time!

I started by committing to movement everyday and not putting crappy food in my mouth.

When I started I ate about 1800 calories per day and exercised for 30 minutes about 3 times a week.

Sounds like you are off to a good start to me!

Thank you for the replies. Feeling a little better each day.

I knew when i started my diet over a year ago, that I just had to do it. I started by just tracking my food, every single bite, good or bad. I used (and still use) a nutritional software. This made it easier, helped me see what I was doing with all kinds of reports and so on. In the beginning my only goal was to get use to recording everything and break the habit of thinking each day had to be perfect. In fact I soon learned to watch my averages rather than my daily totals.

Once I was comfortable with counting, I started reducing my calories. I did not set a limit....I instead worked on getting as many days as I could under 1600 calories, but if I could not, I did not throw up my hands and quit. I did not give up any foods, instead I worked on getting as many healthy choices as I could manage. After awhile I went very low calorie, my average for the whole year ended up being about 1300 calories and I lost 78 pounds.

In my second year, I am doing the same thing, reducing my calorie average and lowering my carbs as I am pre-diabetic. I know exactly what foods help me feel my best and which ones cause me to binge and crave.

I feel my success is coming from taking a completely different approach than I ever have before....by making my calorie counting a normal activity of my daily chores. It isn't based on a perfect record, it's based on a persistent record. I enter my foods for the day in the morning, correct it at the end of the day for any changes to my planned meals and that's it. At this point, my software has all of my recipes I normally prepare, all of my usual foods, and I can copy menus from previous days making the whole data entry part minimal.

I cannot fail my diet unless I quit recording it. Forcing myself to see the consequences of bingeing in black and white really have opened my eyes. In turn, seeing how many days I can eat well really boost my motivation to get to goal.

I'm recording everything on a iPhone app called Lose It. I love it. Super easy, lots of bells and whistles. It records exercise as well.