As I begin again....

dockatie09

dockatie09

New member
I'm sure that most people understand how discouraging it is to start a diet, then you get some success, then you lose it all in some horrible cake-eating incident. I have recently had this occur, with a 7 lb weight loss and than a 7 lb weight gain. I really want to do this right this time, and as such I have seen a dietician and got a "real" diet.
I hope this time will be different, especially with the support from you all.
 
Woohoo! Go you!

Good move with the dietician. With effort and the support here, you can make a success of your diet. Good luck! :)
 
Day 2 and a quick weigh-in question

As a review of yesterday, I am proud of the fact that I ate the right amount of calories (1700) and the right amount of fiber (25 g) that my dietician recommended.
I also went to the gym and spent 40 min on the elliptical machine, 10 minutes stretching and 10 min doing sit-ups and other ab exercises. It makes it a lot easier to have my husband to go to the gym with me. I don't worry as much about people looking at me - I feel somehow like my wedding band is my little shield that keeps the scary men away.
I should toss out there that we just got married 2 months ago (our two month-aversarry is tomorrow!), and I got married at my heaviest weight ever. If I had put some forethought in to this, I would have tried to lose some weight before the wedding, but with all of the details to plan and with being in school full time, I never seemed to find the time.
What has been working for me lately is scheduling my workout in to my outlook calandar. I schedule my meals and gym in, right along with my classes and my drive time.
I think my next little goal, after a few weeks of making sure I'm eating enough fiber, is to make sure I'm eating enough protein, but I'm trying to take it one day at a time so I don't get obsessed with it.
Oh, and my weight is the exact same today as it was yesterday.
Does anyone have any advice on how often to weigh in? Many of you seem to weigh every day, and I tend to do the same (I think it's the little bit of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in me), but I would really like to know how people feel if they weigh once a week vs weighing every day.
Thanks guys!
 
You're doing fabulous :D:D That's great! Keep up the wondeful work!

Right now I weigh 2 or 3 times a week. Once isn't enough for me....I'm to curious, but weighing every day is discouraging to ME, because I don't like to see the up and downs. I just like to see the downs! My husband(SaturdaySaint) weighs every day though, and that is perfect for him. He likes to keep track, and see where he is and where he's going :D I think it's different for every person!
 
Day 3 has begun

I am trying to think of every day as a new day, if only because you can't change anything you did yesterday.
I am not trying to say that I "fell off the bandwagon" so to speak, but I do keep going over my day in my mind, and I wish I would have gone 5 more minutes on the ellipical trainer, or did 10 more situps. One thing is nice- having a diet planned out for me makes feeling guilty about food virutally impossible. I could say I feel bad because I ate so much at dinner, but I don't - I ate what I was supposed to eat at dinner. It feels so great, and new, and different, to be feeling NOT GUILTY about food.
As I said, though, today is a new day. I have decided that daily weigh-ins will be my method, and I hope that discouragement won't get to me, but it is the only thing keeping me going to the gym. The fact that the scale hasn't changed at all is making me go to the gym, work out hard, and not cut corners. It has only been 3 days, but who doesn't feel bad when they step on the scale and the number is the highest number they've ever seen?
I'm ready for that number to change. I almost feel like if I stare at the scale long enough, the number will change on it's own ;) And, as I keep trying to remind myself, at least the numbers aren't going up.
A few years ago, someone told me that it isn't hard to work out- all you have to do is schedule it in to your day. That is another way that I keep going - by having it written in to my Outlook calandar.
As for food yesterday, I ate my usual 1700 calories, 111 grams of protein and 28 g of fiber. I drank 88 oz of water.
I hope that every day of this diet will go as smoothly, but if the numbers never change, you might see the cranky side of me! :D
Good luck to all of you, and I am thinking of you as I am sitting in my medical school classes. Let's try to keep ourselves healthy, if not just for the image of being thinner, but for the health benefits of delaying heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Our families are worth it, our friends our worth it and OURSELVES are worth it!
 
I need to see changes in the numbers on the scale so I weigh in once a week! If I don't see it move I get discouraged, like this week, and I am already eating mroe than the weeks before.... damn!
Hope you find your balance soon, Mila
 
welcome to the forum! you definitely got it right, and this time the weight will stay off because of your new eating lifestyle!
 
I weigh in once a week - it gives me a chance to see how I've done without the discouragement of not seeing the numbers move on a daily basis.

Don't forget that a work-out can come in many guises, so even a slight alteration to your regular daily routine can result in some free time to do some sort of exercise.

keep up the good work :)
 
I've gained some ground and lost some weight!

It was quite the surprise to me this morning to see a change on the scale, but it was a very pleasant surprise. I don't know how accurate the weight is, but I am pretty happy about it.
Anyway, I stuck to my calories yesterday (1700 cal), and I walked on an incline last night on the treadmill for an hour. I had no idea what a huge difference that incline makes!! I was exhausted by the time I was done and ended up going to bed an hour earlier than usual.
Also, I took my measurements yesterday too, so I will be able tell if that gets any better.
I have decided to go with weighing every day, by the way, because it feels so good to see any change in numbers. If I get to the point that the numbers get discouraging, then I will go down to once a week.
I am just glad that I will get to go home for Christmas next week with some change in my weight.
My family holidays, however, center around food and how much you can eat. I am feeling a little bit apprehensive about how to explain my new eating habits - especially because the heavier people in my family think that I look fine and shouldn't lose weight and the thin ones always think that everyone should be losing weight. I guess the key is to not care what they think, or at least not feel like I have to explain myself. I am going to have to be really careful while I am home, too, because no one has a food scale or a calorie book. I will have to stick to web resources and try not to eat out very much.
Anyway, have a great day and good luck to all of you!
 
I've lost another pound!

:rolleyes: For some crazy reason, there was another number off the scale today. I don’t truly understand why, except maybe my most recent weight gain (I lost 8 in 6 wks, then gained them back within a week while sick and eating holiday cookies) wasn’t a true weight gain, so it’s coming off really easily.
Yesterday my husband and I went to the gym and I did 45 min on the treadmill on a program (it was variable inclines, so it was pretty hard and kind-of fun), but then we had to get home so he could finish some homework. I felt a little bit guilty about not doing any weights, as muscle burns more energy than fat does at rest, but I can do some when we go tonight. My favorite part to work out is my legs, I think because they are the strongest part of my body. I am a true pear shape, with small shoulders, arms, and chest, and a larger bottom half. The one benefit to the larger bottom ½ is that I have really strong legs and I can quickly notice progress in my muscle formation there.
I wonder what the final result of my weight loss will be. It is most likely I will stay a similar pear shape, but I can hope that along with the difference in clothing size, I can make some more muscle tone in my legs so I won’t feel like they are as noticeable. Especially living in such a warm climate, and being in a bathing suit a lot, I feel like legs get a lot of attention.
I think I haven’t yet mentioned my other motivation for losing weight, and why I am starting this diet right at this point in my life. I got married two months ago, and in August (in 9 months) we will be going back to my husband’s home country to get married again with his family in attendance. The problem is this: Americans are viewed by his family as big fat people, and all of them are really thin. The bigger problem is that I am heavier than I have ever been, and the biggest problem is that my husband’s girl cousins are…. well, beautiful. And not just the pretty in the face kind, the 5’ 10” and 110 lbs kind. They are the kind of women that would fit right in on the catwalk, and I am feeling so intimidated just by their pictures! They have the classic waif body shape, and though my husband obviously wouldn’t be attracted to his own cousins and obviously he is attracted to my perfectly pear shape, since when has a woman’s body image been about what a man thinks about her? I think that a lot of times women judge themselves off of other women’s bodies, and I am feeling really intimidated by these women. I am not alone in this feeling – my sister-in-law is also American and going on this trip next summer, and she feels the same as me. WE DON’T WANT TO BE “THOSE FAT AMERICANS!!” We want to be those proportionate, curvy and not waif-like, happy and cozy Americans. We have great husbands and great lives, and we want to have great bodies too.
How’s that for motivation? It’s what I think of every time I take my vitamins, or drink my water, or say “no thanks” to the endless rounds of Christmas cookies at school.
I should also say, I guess, that he is feeling the same pressure to slim down – he doesn’t want to be viewed by his family when he goes home as that fat almost-American. He has gained probably 40 lbs since he left there eight years ago, but come on, he was a teenager! He is trying to tone down with me too, so we have fun going to the gym together.
Anyway, have a great day everybody and take care of yourselves!
 
Holding Steady

I'm at the same weight today as yesterday (yay!) which means that it probably wan't just a fluke. I'm really excited to be making some actual progress. I ate my normal 1700 calories yesterday, and had a GREAT workout at the gym (a monster treadmill program for 60 min, 10 min of stretching and then a good abs workout). I was pretty happy with it all.
I feel like I am using the gym and this time that I spend planning my weight loss is kind-of my escape from how busy my life is. I am preparing for finals, I am trying to get ready to go home for 2 weeks to see my family, and I am trying to get ready for the board exams, and overall I should feel pretty stressed out. I do sometimes, but overall, I feel like I can just turn to the gym to let out some of that energy and stress and get away from it all. After all, I have a great excuse for not answering my cell phone, or emails, or text messages, because I was at the gym!
On a different note, the people we live with right now are really great and fun and are very important in our lives, but they eat SO differently than us. My husband and I got up this morning and ate Total cereal, some berries, some milk and a cup of coffee. They ate eggs, sausage and french toast with plenty of butter and syrup. Mind you, these are VERY healthy people and they are both thin and take good care of themselves. I have to keep reminding myself that they are at a different stage in their lives than we are; they are at weights that they want to maintain so they can splurge when the want to, and I am not really able to splurge that much at this point if I want to make any progress. Still, it is hard to pass up French toast!!
Alright, on with my day of studying. I will hit the gym tonight for a break.
Good luck to all of you!
 
Down another pound!

We went to the gym last night around 8pm, and I know we should have felt like losers for going to the gym on a Saturday night (there were about 25 people there, whereas on a weeknight there are hundreds), but I was happy to go. I worked out REALLY hard and was so tired by the time we got home that I gave myself an additional 75 calories to make a protein shake. Therefoere, I ate 1775 calories yesterday but I burned probably 200 more calories at the gym than normal so I don't feel bad.
We have decided to take today off from the gym, it seems like with the amount we are working out, 6 days a week is enough. And, I think I am using the gym as an excuse to not study for finals :eek: .
I am down another pound to 152, which means that I have lost 5 lbs this week. I wonder if I should make another appointment with the dietician and make sure I am still eating enough - she told me I should be losing 1-2 lbs per week. I really want to this right this time, and not diet just so I can gain all the weight back again as soon as I stop eating like this.
Anyway, off to studying for finals... and to not going to the gym :D
 
Back up a pound

I'm back up to 153, but that's fine by me... we took yesterday off from the gym. I ate my nomal 1700 cal, however.
Today is my first day of finals, and it is going to be quite a sacrafice to go to the gym every day, but it is too important to me not to. I just need to make good use of my time.
Wish me luck-
 
I feel like each day is a repeat of the previous...

I am studying as hard as I possibly can for my final exams, but I am feeling so burnt out on the whole thing. I am exhausted in general, and I am really feeling the competitive nature of my school right at the moment.
I did awesome with my diet yesterday, sticking to 1700 calories, and even turning down gingerbread cookies (though they will be incorporated in to today's food!). I went to the gym and worked out for an hour and 10 minutes. I felt guilty the whole time because I felt like I should be studying, but whatever. I am feeling at this point that consistency in my actions is more important than the extra hour of studying. If I don't know it by now, I won't know it for the test (that's my philosophy!).
I am continuing to worry a little bit about going home for Christmas, and the 4-5 large parties I am going to go to. I don't have to worry about alcohol calories (I can't drink) but I still have to worry about standing there and munching, just because there is food available. And how do you calorie count at a party?! It is so confusing.
Oh well, in the long run, a few days won't matter. What will matter is that I don't eat significant amounts of rich foods on average days, and I should enjoy the holiday season with my family.
Hope all is well-
 
ah sweetie, don't worry bout it-we all hit these hard times, trust me-I just graduated and am going to be going back 4 more next year (grad school). losing weight is rediculously hard during school...but i know you can do it. one step at a time-like maybe this week work on portion control then when finals are over put your workout into overtime!
 
Yes, I did eat the gingerbread cookies

But I just ate a couple of the little ones, and I weighed them on the food scale so they are included in the 1700 cal I got yesterday.
So to relieve some of my worrying about school, I took some notes with me and read a little while I was on the treadmill - it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I actually multitasked and got some homework done, that made me feel a lot better about working out during finals week.
It has been much easier to eat well lately, by the way, because my husband is really starting to get the idea of why I am eating less. I wrote him out a few days of food of what he should be eating, and he is now appreciating how difficult it can be to eat well every day. He is not used to counting calories and making food choices, so it is interesting to watch his progress. He is slowly learning that a bagel has more calories than bread :p
Ok, on to another final. I have today, tomorrow and Friday... and then home for 2 weeks! Yay!
 
I jumped off the bandwagon

and landed in a big pile of chocolate-dipped candycanes and gingerbread cookies. That's right, I ate well until about 7pm last night, then just went for it- I ate just about everything in sight. I think the problem is a combination of feeling upset about some recent events at school, being in the middle of finals week, having a cold and being just overall exhausted. AND I didn't go to the gym. I feel really bad about the stuff that I ate, but I totally am an emotional eater.
What do you all do about emotional eating? What is there to do instead of eating everything in sight when you are upset but too sick to go to the gym?
Anyway, I will try to do better today.
 
Don't feel bad about the finals thing...I only lost 1 pound my week of finals lol But, somehow my body made up for it the next week by loosing 4 :) So, no sweat! You'll be fine!
 
So, it has been quite a while since I've written on here, but it is because I am really not sure what to say. I gained weight over the holiday season because it was the MOST STRESSFUL week of my life. It was truly aweful, with family drama, and a family member telling me that I've gained weight and that I'm fat... it was really upsetting, especially considering that I had LOST 8 lbs!
Now I have gained all of that back, and I started over again at New Year's. I have been to the gym for an hour every day, I have eaten a steady 1950 calories, and nothing has changed. I upped the calories, by the way, because I kept getting sick when I was only eating 1700. I am willing for the weight loss to take a little longer if it means that I won't get colds or the flu as often. Since I upped the calories, I haven't been sick once.
I am just so frustrated by all of the family stuff. It has been very difficult trying to manage all of that with school and my anxiety problems in the first place. Sometimes I swear I am losing my mind :D
Overall, though, it has been really upbeat around here since New Year's, especially since I have been sticking to my goals. I feel good about that, and I hope that the scale will reflect some of the effort that I have made this week. I have to restrain myself from weighing multiple times a day. I want to just weigh once a week or something, but I am somewhat obsessed with stepping on the scale every morning. I am restraining myself for now.
I miss the simplicity of high school, when I didn't have to work to keep weight off, it just wasn't there. I could eat whatever I wanted, and I was active enough in sports to keep weight off. I wish that I could be like that again, but I'm not at all interested in sports! I guess I need to learn to love the gym, and I have definitely learned to love the elliptical machine. I am trying to learn to love the weights too, but that is taking a little more time and effort.
 
Oh, and I forgot to mention - my 26th birthday is in May, and I want to lose the weight before my birthday. I want to look the best I can by then. Especially b/c it will be bathingsuit season...
 
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