Get healthy in 2016. Goal: Not caving in to self-tantrums and lose 40lbs in 4 month.

AngryPanda

AngryPanda

New member
My ideal weight is 130lbs but I've always hovered between 155-160lbs at my lowest, so I always get a mental block and unconsciously stop at 150lbs then gain the weight back. I ended up gaining 20lbs in 2 month last year, putting me from a little chubby to legitimately fat/obese. I realized that without actual lifestyle changes and a change in mentality/thinking, I will always gain back the weight I lost and will never be fit and healthy. I'm not a teen anymore so my body is no longer as tolerant of so much weight gain and unhealthy habits.

2016 Goals (and note to self)
  • Exercise: sweat 2-3 times a week, but light aerobic exercise (or even just some stretches/jumps) every day.
  • Healthy tastebuds: eat mostly vegetables, fruits instead of desserts, and meat/egg only 1-2 times a week.
    • Your body don't NEED baked goods full of fat and sugar.
    • Fruits and vegetables CAN BE DELICIOUS.
    • This is NOT depriving yourself and IT IS DOABLE AND REASONABLE, vegetarians do it all the time and they are not depressed or dying of malnutrition!
  • Portion control: Eat 1 fist size during breakfast, and no more than 2-3 fist size during lunch/dinner.
    • A little hungry the hour before meal is normal, YOU WILL NOT STARVE, I PROMISE.
    • This is about size of normal Japanese bento. If a whole nation can eat this much and not throw tantrums/get depressed about it, you can, too.
  • Weight management: weigh yourself everyday before breakfast, or at least once every 2-3 days.
    • If you are afraid of seeing a number you don't like, avoiding it will make it worse. OWN IT so you can move past it.
    • It's normal for weight to fluctuate, but if your weight has been increasing for 2 or more days, however small, GET IT BACK DOWN, no excuses.
    • If you overindulged/binged, cut down your following meals until your weight is back to normal, not before.

Reminder: this lifestyle is not to punish or deprive myself, it's a HEALTHY lifestyle. Plenty of people do this to keep themselves thin, and they are still happy and enjoys life. Food is not the only pleasure/reward, find pleasure/enjoyment in other things please.

Ideally I would lose 40lbs in 4 month (then STAY THERE), I know it might take a few months more than I planned, but if I think that way I will slack off, lol. So realistically 8-10lbs per month, but no less than that.
 
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170.4lbs today. I lost a few pounds last month and was hoping to start the New Year with this number, but good enough. The tough part/real journey starts now. I will allow myself a little cheat day on Friday, and by cheat I meant 1 serving of meat, not a bunch of fatty fried junk food. Cheat days are ok, binge days are not ok.
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Solid plan. Welcome aboard and remember to enjoy the journey and celebrate all the small victories along the way.
 
KnowAndDo said:
Solid plan. Welcome aboard and remember to enjoy the journey and celebrate all the small victories along the way.
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Thanks! Still fine tuning the details of the plan, like making sure my cheat days don't turn into binge days and finding other things I can reward myself or do when I'm stressed other than food. =X
 
:) Sounds like you´ve been getting on your own nerves... I like your "talking to myself sternly" voice :) Welcome to the forum!
 
LaMaria said:
:) Sounds like you´ve been getting on your own nerves... I like your "talking to myself sternly" voice :) Welcome to the forum!
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Thanks! I.... admit I'm very good at whining (and have been too laxed for too many years), so I need to buckle up. It's better for me to talk to myself sternly than have someone else do it in a potentially embarassing/unwanted situation, I think.
 
Hi AngryPanda & welcome to the forum. I do the same. I'm my own worst critic, but am getting better & do give myself some credit when it's deserved. Being kind to yourself is important too I think. I would not call Fridays a cheat day. We have a small "treats" platter on Sunday nights, but I don't think of it as cheating. It is a planned part of my overall diet. Once you set up new healthy patterns & see the rewards you should be able to make new & sustainable habits. In the meantime you should get some good support in the forum. Cheers, Cate.
 
Gained .5lbs today BOO and figured out something I wish wasn't true.... I've been eating whole grain the past month (whole grain bread, oats, brown rice etc) with 1 part carbs, 2 part vegetables. Usually when I wake up hungry it means I lost a little weight. Well, yesterday I ate Chinese pancake for carbs, it's just water and white flour. And the meal was half carbs and half vegetables, today I woke up a little hungry and GAINED weight.

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Looks like not all carbs are created equal. I'll have to keep the 1:2 ratio of carbs:vegetables or eat whole grain instead of refined carbs if I don't want to feel hungry. Back to whole grain and more vegetables for me, and I hope to see a lower number on the scale tomorrow. >:[
 
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Whole grain and more veg definitely sounds healthier... But half a pound really isn´t more than a fluke, so don´t beat yourself up. You don´t have to be perfect, but monitoring your body so you know how it will react does mean you can make more informed choices, which in turn means you get to decide when a less healthy choice is actually worth it.
 
Oh AngryPanda. Half a pound is nothing. I can vary 2kg in any one week. My weight goes up/down, up/down..... I agree though that less refined or processed food the better. If a slight gain upsets you only weigh once a week. Stick with it. It will get easier as you go. Cheers, Cate.
 
Thanks, LaMaria and Cate!

I expect some fluctuation, but I was a little grumpy that the number reflects what I eat a little too... accurately? Part of me will always try to find ways to cheat/be a glutton, lol. It is good to discover more about health and how food/my body is related tho. Last month I was shocked and grumpy at the discovery that, while healthy, one serving of nuts and avocado is about half of what I thought it was since they are high fat. Thus solving the mystery of why I wasn't losing weight eventho I was cutting out most of the sugar and fat in my diet.
 
Welcome to the forum :)

YOU can do this, we all have bad days, those that succeed are the ones who can move past those bad days and push on to success.
 
I'm 169lbs today! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

I was stuck at 171 for weeks last month. I was a little unhappy and losing motivation and craving meat/fast food, so I told myself fine, you ate healthy for a month so let's get that McDonald's big breakfast but because you have decided to be healthier, let's not feel guilty about it, NOT overeat and get back on track right after, ok? That sausage/egg/cheese biscuit and 3 pancakes were absolutely GLORIOUS. I enjoyed every bite of it. It made me happier and motivated me to stay on track again, I only ate 2 kiwis the rest of the day since I wasn't hungry (despite being tempted to eat more cuz I'm so used to three meals, real meals).

I decided weeks ago I will try a fast this weekend and has been reading up on how to do it safely. The indulgence yesterday gave me extra motivation to keep myself disciplined without feeling angry/grumpy like I'm depriving/punishing myself. Don't know how much weight I will lose or if I will gain it back, but I'm happy and my body is up for it, so I'm doing it. First time doing a fast, it's weird how time passes more slowly when I'm not thinking about food/eating all the time (because I can't right now, and I'm already done thinking what I will eat next week 5 times already). I'll update on the fast on Mon, for now, time to go do some new year cleaning/organizing. Cheers! =)

Funny of the Day:

If only losing weight was as easy as losing my cell phone, my keys, my temper, or even my mind.... I'd be SO skinny!
 
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Still 169 lbs today, but I did a water fast yesterday and it was more meaningful and less torturous than I thought. The idea of not eating for a day sounds ridiculous to me, and definitely something I don't think I'll be able to do at all. I've been really dehydrated lately and healthy enough for a fast, so might as well give this water fast a try. I started the day with 2 cups of matcha, then 6 cups of lemon/mint/cucumber infused water throughout the day. I felt mild hunger, a little irritated and some brief headache in the afternoon but they soon passed. My stomache growled during dinner, it haven't done that since high school (coicidentally the last time I wasn't fat). I told myself that I will stop as soon as I felt truly hungry or truly sick, but I didn't. The difficulty is more due to not giving in to the urge to eat and cravings, and I don't think I felt true hunger (hunger that lasted longer than 20min that makes me feel OMG I can eat a cow right now!!!).

I was rather shocked. I expected to be STARVING by the end of the day, or when I wake up this morning at least, but I wasn't. The two hunger spells I experienced were not severe and passed within the hour. It was more of the craving for real food (seriously wanted some nuts and meat...) that was difficult but I persevered...... If it was me last year, I would've grabbed food the moment I thought of it.

I didn't shed a single pound (I guess I was dehydrated and my body needed the water) and didn't experience any severe side effect except mental temptation. However, I was surprised that, my body is capable of more than what I thought I could. That I CAN accomplish what I set out to do, if I stop being afraid and persevere. That even if I'm still mentally unwilling to lose weight and afraid of the process, my body is ready for it. You shouldn't do it too often, so I think I will wait 2-3 month before trying it again.

It's a 1 day water fast since I'm a beginner, so today it's time to break the fast healthily. I'm breaking it with a fruit fast, watermelon all day today. I kind of want to continue with apples all day tomorrow, but I don't want to be grumpy at work so I'm going to make kitchari and bring it tomorrow to be safe. The toughest part will be the array of chocolate my co-worker always put out!!! Peanut M&Ms, ferrero rocher, and reese...... it's going to be a truer test of my will than the waterfast. :ack2:

ps. this is the main reference I used for breaking the fast: http://www.allaboutfasting.com/breaking-a-fast.html
 
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Way to prove to yourself what your body is capable of! Don´t go overboard though, a fruit fast is still a fast. Especially don´t fast for weight loss, it takes three and a half days to lose a kilo of fat, which definitely isn´t worth it. Better to give your body everything it needs while not always giving it what it wants.
 
LaMaria said:
Way to prove to yourself what your body is capable of! Don´t go overboard though, a fruit fast is still a fast. Especially don´t fast for weight loss, it takes three and a half days to lose a kilo of fat, which definitely isn´t worth it. Better to give your body everything it needs while not always giving it what it wants.
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True, I was mainly curious and I know that any fasting weight I lose (if any, lol) will be temporary anyways. I'm making kitchari today and bringing it to work tomorrow in case my body needs real food, and hopefully it will keep me away from the tempting array of chocolates. But I'm so shocked! My brain is like "I'm ready to stop fasting any time" and my body's like "hm? nah, I'm good right now". And I'm like "I HAVEN'T EATEN FOR A DAY! and there's a plate of watermelons right here!" and my body's like "not hungry yet, later."
 
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AngryPanda said:
........ that was difficult but I persevered...... If it was me last year, I would've grabbed food the moment I thought of it.

I didn't shed a single pound (I guess I was dehydrated and my body needed the water) and didn't experience any severe side effect except mental temptation. However, I was surprised that, my body is capable of more than what I thought I could. That I CAN accomplish what I set out to do, if I stop being afraid and persevere. That even if I'm still mentally unwilling to lose weight and afraid of the process, my body is ready for it.
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Doing the water fast has proved to you that you are capable of doing this & you are ready. You persevered. You did it! That alone was worth the exercise. You are stronger than you thought you were :)
 
Hi panda! I was reading your goals and blog and noticed your portion sizes . Not all portions are equal if that makes sense . I have a pretty solid plan I've been following for about a month and I'm down 16 pds and 28 inches . If you'd like some tips and info let me know ! You can also check out my blog to see some yummy recipes jessiegimeno.blogspot.com

Have a great day!


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Hi Ya! :seeya:

WELCOME! :grouphug: I look forward to following your journey and getting to know ya! :)

I can understand your frustration!! I have been stuck in the 190's then 180's forever... At 42 now it is so much harder for me to lose.

Every time I make great progress and I'm on fire with fitness I become ill or have dental work it seems and throws me completely off track..

Hoping and praying for a HEALTHY 2016! lol

You Can Do This!

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That is so true Stacy! I was in terrible physical condition due to lack of exercise in 2014 so I started doing couch to 5K, then I twisted my ankle ~week 5 so I stopped and end up gaining weight. Then I took it up again in 2015 and had some back problems so I stopped. *sigh* Right now I'm focusing on eating healthy and light exercise so that my body won't be so fragile when I do exercise!

Today's update: 167.6 lbs today! I meant to break the water fast on Sat with a fruit fast (watermelon only all day) on Sun, but my body finally caught up with me. I was feeling aches and weakness of the body by dinner, so I had some kitchari (rice & mung bean) yesterday. Will incorporate vegetables (spinach with miso/walnut dressing) tonight, then eggs and meat tomorrow. Nom nom nom.

I know the lower weight is because of the fast, hope I can keep it (and then bring it down) this week. I'm starting to be more aware of portion sizes and sugar but it's so hard when there are bowls of Reese, hershey's, and ferrero rocher chocolate 4ft away from my desk at all times. Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going -- Jim Rohn. Right now I need to motivate myself 13483 times a day to not give in, hopefully they will become habits soon.
 
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