Kerla's diary

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Kerla

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Hey there!
Here's some info about me:
I'm 22 female. In 2017 I was at my heaviest (116 kg) and was able to lose 40 kg. In spite of this, I feel like I do not know much about losing weight in a healthy way, because back then, I just started eating less and that was it. I wasn't controlling my calories or anything like that. Then I got depressed and got almost all my weight back.

Current weight: 95.5 kg
Goal weight: 74 kg
Height: 166 cm
BMI: 34.7

I know 74 kg is still not the best weight for my height, but that's the lowest I have ever gotten and I was really happy with that, so I'm going to try to get there again and if I can do it, then I'll try to go even lower. According to a calculator, a healthy weight for me would be between 51 to 68 kg.

My plan?
I'll be honest and say I am a bit lost. Like I said, I didn't know what I was doing in 2017, I was just eating less, and probably way less than I should have.
I downloaded an app to keep track of my calories and according to it, I should be consuming 1860 calories a day so I'm going to try to stick to that.
As of now, I am not doing any physical activities. I am planning on changing that soon though. I will start swimming possibly this Saturday and to be honest, I am TERRIFIED. I love swimming but I never do it because I don't want other people seeing me in a swimming suit, but I'll try to get over that fear. I'll update you guys on Saturday and tell you if I actually went to the swimming place.
I also want to start drinking more water because I literally forget to drink, so I'm also going to be using the app to track my water intake.
I think a reasonable goal is to lose 500 gr a week. What do you guys think? Any help will be much appreciated!
 
Hey Kerla, you started a diary!

Your plans and goals seem quite reasonable to me, and well thought out. Others with more expertise than I will probably comment.
Kerla said:
I am TERRIFIED. I love swimming but I never do it because I don't want other people seeing me in a swimming suit, but I'll try to get over that fear.
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I can relate to that feeling, I grew up in Florida swimming everyday, almost the year around, I loved swimming. And unfortunately I let being fat keep me out of the water too much, but I learned that the only one who really cared much about how I looked was me, so I overcame it, you can too. Remember that you probably look better than you think you do, and no one else's opinions are more important than your health, so just do it.

Just starting this should have you feeling better and better about yourself, stick with it and it can only get better!

Looking forward to following your diary and your success!
 
Hi Kerla and welcome! I see you´re still 20 kg below your highest weight, which is excellent. 1860 kcal sounds like a pretty good number to start with. Try and build your diet around things that a) are enjoyable, b) fill you up, c) keep you full for a long time, and d) will keep you healthy long-term. For me that means eating enough protein and fat and keeping my refined sugar intake relatively low but whatever works for you while keeping you healthy is fine. Does the app you use keep track of your vitamins/minerals/protein?
About working out: exercise is excellent for our bodies in countless ways but it´s not key to weightloss. It´s ok to not start out with a lot of exercise if it makes you anxious. At the same time: moving your body in a pleasant way can really help build a better relationship with that body. Incidentally: I want to restart a sport I haven´t done in a while and have been having trouble finding the courage. Want to make a pact? You go swimming on Saturday and I go to the climbing gym even though we´re both afraid what people will think of us.
 
LaMaria said:
Want to make a pact? You go swimming on Saturday and I go to the climbing gym even though we´re both afraid what people will think of us.
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We have a deal. You should do it, climbing sounds like so much fun!
As for vitamins and minerals, my app does not keep track of that. It does tell me an estimate of how many carbs, proteins and fats I should be consuming. I have always thought carbs were really bad but apparently I went overboard with my protein and I had 133 g of carbs left to consume. So maybe I should be eating more carbs?

UPDATE
So here's an update of my first official day tracking calories. It turns out it's not as easy as I thought lol. I think I should get myself a cooking scale because at times I wasn't so sure how many calories my food had... but anyway this is what I did today.

Breakfast - Total: 380 kcal
Coffee with milk
1 slice of bread
1 egg

Lunch - Total: 474 kcal
Chicken
Salad

Dinner - Total: 714 kcal
2 meat empanadas

Snack throughout the day - Total: 290 kcal
Banana
Yogurth with cereals
Cereal bar

Total: 1858 kcal
I met my goal for the day and also drank 2 liters of water.
Exercise: 15 minutes on a stationary bike (burnt 150 calories). Not much but I went from doing nothing to doing something so I'm happy!
We'll see how I do tomorrow.
 
Kerla said:
here's an update of my first official day tracking calories. It turns out it's not as easy as I thought
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It gets easier, as you learn how many calories different foods have and to eyeball accurately. I can do it a lot faster, and probably more accurately than when I began. Its also a good education, you pretty quickly learn what foods are filling and low calorie, and which ones aren't.

A small scale is a big help, they don't cost much, I use mine a lot.

Great start!
 
Kitchen scales are amazingly helpful, not only for baking. Carbs aren´t bad (although hugely unhelpful if you´re trying to reach ketosis) but they do typically bring with them a lot of calories and if you eat them without fiber (either in the form of fruit/veggies/beans or because you´re having wholegrain whatever you´re having) they can wreak havoc on your blood sugar, causing cravings afterwards. I eat plenty of carbs but as long as I keep away from refined sugar and have "white" bread/pasta only in combination with plenty of veg I´m fine.

Also: thanks for joining in the Saturday Morning Beat the Awkward pact, now I can´t back out!
 
Hey, Kerla! Good to meet you - and I think you're off to a flying start to the new, lighter, rest of your life! I totally follow about not wanting to be seen in a bathing suit, because I'm the same way. :( But I can see you have a brilliant pact in place with @LaMaria which should help with that - great!
I think 500gm a week will be easily achievable - and I look forward to reading your tales of triumph! :D
 
@alligatorob it's crazy because sometimes I think I'm eating way too much and then I check the calories and it's not much, then I think I'm not eating enough and see the calories and it's a LOT. When I saw the amount of calories empanadas had I was shocked, I usually eat like 5 or 6 of them!

@LaMaria thanks for explaining, you seem to know a lot about nutrition! I got myself a scale today :D I'm really happy with it, it looks so cute, I have decided to give her a name. What should I name her? Suggestions are accepted :p

@aiminglow thank you for your encouraging words! I bought myself a new bathing suit that looks cute for motivation haha

DAY 2

Breakfast - Total: 380 kcal
Coffee with milk
1 slice of bread
1 egg

Lunch - Total: 714 kcal
2 empanadas that were left from yesterday

Dinner - Total: 276 kcal
3 low calory sausages
salad

Snack throughout the day - Total: 349 kcal
Banana
Slice of bread with tomatoes and cream cheese

Total: 1719 kcal
Water: 2 liters
Exercise: 20 minutes in the stationary bike - burnt 200 calories

I'm still amazed my sausages only had 47 kcal each :O
I feel like in 2017, when I first lost weight, I was eating way less than this. The thought of weighing myself is making me nervous. I will do it on Tuesday :confused:
 
I think I'll join you & LaMa in your pact. I haven't swum since 2017. In the next month I will get out in my swimsuit & swim in the ocean. Thank you for the nudge, Kerla :)
 
@Cate yessss, join the dark side. Or the healthy side, I should say haha!
I'm glad you're motivated, I am too. I'm looking forward to this Saturday and to share my experience with you guys :D
 
I have started reading other people's diaries and I'm starting to think that maybe I'm eating too many calories. Now I am not sure...
Maybe I should try to go for 1500 tomorrow
 
Hey Kerla, for slow weight loss I kinda thought you were ok. Going down to 1,500 calories should also be ok, and you might lose the weight a little faster. Sort of depends on what you want to do, and what you are comfortable with.
 
I say stick with your current calories for a week or two and only lower them if you should need to. You'll need to lower them at some point as you lose weight (because smaller bodies need fewer calories) but for now make good use of them to get proper nutrition in. Everyone has their own path to walk but if it works with slightly higher calories why go lower?

About the scales... I haven't seen her, but I like the sound of Barbara.
 
I went to sleep super early yersterday and forgot to post my update for day 3 so here it is.
Yesterday was lame, I wasn't feeling good about myself and on top of that, it was a very hot and humid day. I hate summer.
Also my mom gave me clothes as presents and surprise surprise they don't fit lol

DAY 3
Breakfast - Total: 380 kcal
Coffee with milk
1 slice of bread
1 egg

Lunch - Total: 742 kcal
Rice with tuna, avocado and cream cheese

Snack throughout the day - Total: 188 kcal
Banana
Cereal bar

Total: 1310
Water: 1.5 liters
Exercise: 20 minutes in the stationary bike - burnt 200 calories

I think I need to start eating more veggies but truth to be told, I don't like them :|
Oof, the weekend is coming and I'm hoping I won't be tempted by my family's food

I'll post about today this night or tomorrow morning!

LaMaria said:
I haven't seen her, but I like the sound of Barbara.
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I love Barbara, she's great :p
I am now more confident when counting my calories, I've been using her a lot!
 
Kerla said:
Also my mom gave me clothes as presents and surprise surprise they don't fit lol
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I have never in my life gifted clothes to people because I don't know anyone's size (not that those mean a thing anyway) and I'd hate to offend people with things too big or make them feel self-conscious with things too small.
Kerla said:
I think I need to start eating more veggies but truth to be told, I don't like them :|
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We really need to get that "delicious veggie recipes" thread going. Is there any kind of veg you like?
 
Imagine shopping for clothes and finding something you actually like and it actually fits you. Wild concept haha.
Yeah... for Christmas my sister got me a shirt that was an M. AN M??? lol. Me neither, I'd never get anyone clothes.

I don't like anything leafy... but I'll throw some lettuce in a salad. I like carrots, onions, corn and peppers. Not a fan of beans but I'd eat them if I had to. I'm having an existential doubt, are pumpkins fruits or veggies? o_O anyway, same as with beans, I don't love pumpkin but I'd eat it if I had to.

I don't really know how to cook and season veggies to make them taste good. I don't know if it's just in my country or if this is a universal thing but I feel like people see veggies as a side thing, like the main meal is meat and maybe you eat some veggies as well. Where I live we eat a lot of red meat which is not great.
I would loooove some recipes
 
Kerla said:
I like carrots, onions, corn and peppers.
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That´s not a bad start, actually! How about green peas, or sugar snaps? Most "boring" veggies taste better when you bake them in the oven or pan-fry them with a touch of butter (not a whole stick like tv chefs do...). I roasted chickpeas with soy sauce and sriracha a couple of weeks back and for the first time in my life I actually loved chickpeas instead of having them because I know they´re healthy. Beans I usually mash with a ready-made spice bland (like taco seasoning or something like that), then they´re great in wraps and such. Will go and figure out if someone´s already started a veggie thread and if not I´ll start one.
 
I love eating raw veg like baby carrots, celery, snow peas & having them with a little hummus. Are you in Aus, Kerla?
I'll add some veggie ideas to the veggie recipe thread over the weekend.
 
Not dropping out of our pact in any way but I have to move my gym visit to tomorrow because I'm going on a short hike with a friend this morning. Accountability!
 
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