Hi everyone, i'm Anna...about a half hour ago, I finally replaced the battery in my scale and stepped on it. 170 lbs. I can't recall ever being over 150, and even that was too much! 135 was my weight through high school, and that is where I would like to get to. 35 lbs to get rid of! But how? I have never tried a diet, I don't have a lot of self control with eating. I recently married this year (coincidentally the weight has been gained this year as well) so I have a husband to cook for. I sit behind a desk all day, he is in the hot sun pouring concrete, so obviously our calorie intake needs are quite different. Anyhow, I don't even know where to begin to get this weight off. Any welcoming thoughts, or starting tips would be most helpful, and I look forward to meeting you all in my journey here!
Although I have been on many diets, I do not have much advice but one thing i learned is to get rid of junk food. One or two things are sometimes okay depending if you can control your portions. Fruits and veggies are good to have a lot of. If you feel the need to snack, going for an apple or grapes rather than for cookies or cake will really help. You might not notice right away but its a step towards your goal. Also what works for me is counting calories. Even if I go over my daily calories by a little, I consider it better than if I didnt count calories at all. Also I would say get as much protein and fiber in your diet as you can (without going over a good amount of daily calories). It seems to keep you fuller for longer so you dont feel as much of a need to snack. Im very picky when it comes to dieting which is why i dont have more to tell. Many others will have great advice as well. Just hang in there until you find something that works well for you without having to struggle too much. A little struggle is sometimes good though in my opinion.
Welcome! Those darn scales.... I can completely related on having to cook for your husband being a source of difficulty in weight loss. What I did was starting cooking a meat and a side that he would like (maybe chicken and mashed potatoes) and then a salad or veggie, which he wouldn't eat. I'd eat the meat and veg and he'd eat the meat and mashed potatoes. It's a little extra work, but for me it always meant that we were both getting what we wanted/needed. You'll figure out something that works for you! And there are tons of people on this forum with other advice. You can do it!
Well, for me, the first step was a food journal. You can do this either on your phone or through the net, but I found it most useful just to use a notebook and pencil. I tracked for a week and was AMAZED at the crap I ate! This was years ago and I do things differently and I'm still trying new things and learning as I go. BUT, the food journal was my first step to honesty and really helped me see what and how much I was eating. Plus, I wanted definite proof if my weight didn't budge to what I was doing. The hard core truth was, I was flat out eating too much! I wasn't in the mindset like I am now that I can have whatever I want in moderation. I just ate... and ate... Not even all that unhealthy!
So, my advice would be to start there and then make changes according to what you see. You may see you're eating junk and crappy carbs... you may see that your overall calorie intake is sky high... or you may see that you don't get a good balance/intake of anything. OR, you may see the opposite and wonder, huh? Could this be medical? Either way, you will have a 'map' of your life and be able to figure out where to go from there. Good luck!
What I did was starting cooking a meat and a side that he would like (maybe chicken and mashed potatoes) and then a salad or veggie, which he wouldn't eat. I'd eat the meat and veg and he'd eat the meat and mashed potatoes.
I do this too. We have four gas rings on the hob, which limits things a bit, so a standard meal might be meat, mash, his vegetables, my vegetables. I generally have about a tablespoon of mash, and he gets a gigantic heap of it to fashion into a gravy boat and float his peas in. I've recently had to mix things up a bit with the plates though - we each had a large one, and it wasn't helping my portion control at all. Nowadays my main trouble is convincing him that no, me eating less doesn't mean he gets more meat. It just means what lasts him one meal will last me two.
The numbers on my scale bought me here...
