Hope4Loss' Weight Loss Diary

Hope4Loss

Hope4Loss

New member
Hi All,

I am just at the beginning of my journey, having started a food journal 3 days ago. I am a foodie and LOVE food, and come from a food-driven family and culture, so this is already tough. I have started working out with a trainer 2x's per week lifting weights, and am slowly building in cardio at about 4 times per week. These are not huge cardio sessions, maybe 30 minutes to one hour. Anyway, the food diary is my biggest change, as I am now becoming more conscious of just how much I was overeating - a lot. I am aiming for 1300 calories per day as that has worked in the past and is still within a healthy and manageable range. I am having a great time cooking at home, but am a bit food obsessed. Am hoping this food fixation will go away? Now that I am cutting back it seems to be all I think about. Before counting calories, I estimate I was easily packing in 2500 calories daily. I now weight more than ever. My goal is to lose 35 pounds. I am short 5'3", so if I weighed 126 or something like that I would be a size 6 and at a healthy weight. Not going for a supermodel's size just normal and healthy. I want to feel proud of myself again and not embarrassed all the time. I'm sure others can relate, thanks for letting me vent a bit.
 
Hi Hope4Loss & welcome to the forum. 1300 cals seems like a good, sound base to me. Being obsessed with food is difficult. Try to turn your obsession into eating healthy. Losing 35lbs is very doable. I think most of us can relate to feeling embarrassed about how we let ourselves become overweight. Don't be afraid to share how you're feeling in here. Most of us have been in the same boat. I am constantly learning.
 
Thanks, cate and dynamic range, for your replies and encouragement. I have been doing better with the diet management but am still not there yet. I sure do have a weakness for processed food. Today was almost perfect but my husband and I went out for dinner (going out to eat can be the toughest aspect of this new lifestyle), and I was doing great at first - ordered steamed mussels, had them leave out the cream, did not eat the bread that the server brought, drank only water. I was doing great until the mussels came with about 2 cups of French fries. I ate all of them. Boo. Goes to show I just cannot have something like that in front of me. Overall, I went over my 1300 by only about 150 since I had been so good all day. However, still a work in progress.

Yesterday I went to an exercise class and boy do I hate looking at myself in the mirror. It is so uncomfortable. Trying to push through it, though...
 
150 over is not the end of the world, you are off to a good start, but completely cutting out foods you perceive as bad can lead to problem binges later on, the key is learning to eat the not so good foods in moderation.
 
I love the feedback and support that I get here - thank you all so much.

Guess what?! Good news! I weighed myself this morning and I'm down by 3 pounds! It's encouraging, going to keep trucking'. The most helpful thing for me has been counting my calories, combined with more exercise activity. DUH. But I count EVERYTHING.
 
Oh my gosh I feel like I was reading my own life on your original post where you were talking about cooking and being a foodie and being so fixated on food now that you're trying to lose!

I too am super food (and wine!) oriented and I love love love cooking (and eating).
As far as I was concerned "portion control" was a dirty word!
Congrats to you on the losses and I hope it continues for you! But you def aren't alone on the foodie front!
 
Made it to CorePower today. This is the second time this week I have attended, and I am going to keep it up. I'm just on the level one classes, but for me those are hard! I will graduate onto harder classes, but right now this is great for me. Anyone used CorePower or hot yoga/Vinyasa and seen results? I know it's mostly about the food, but exercise plays a big role in keeping me motivated.
 
Congrats on a great week & the 3 lb loss. Eating out is very difficult & you did well considering. You wouldn't expect to get fries with steamed mussels. You did well only being 150 over that day.
 
I am struggling! This is hard! Okay, now that I've got that complaining out of the way....does anyone else feel like when their eating gets better, the exercise goes down and vice versa?? I have been really working on the eating. I'm still not acing that but I keep trying and I am doing better than before. I am in the middle of a gym rut as I am switching gyms, and trying to locate a new one. Hopefully this will all be settled by next week, but who knows.

Has anyone had good results with CorePower? What are the workouts that work for people here for fat blasting?
 
Hope4Loss said:
I am struggling! This is hard! Okay, now that I've got that complaining out of the way....does anyone else feel like when their eating gets better, the exercise goes down and vice versa?? I have been really working on the eating. I'm still not acing that but I keep trying and I am doing better than before. I am in the middle of a gym rut as I am switching gyms, and trying to locate a new one. Hopefully this will all be settled by next week, but who knows.
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Here's what often happens to people...

You start your weight loss journey and make the decision to eat healthier and exercise, both of which are excellent decisions. You start eating healthier which often means you start eating less which sometimes means you don't eat enough - when people first start 'watching what they eat,' they often don't eat nearly enough calories. Then, you go out and do a bunch of exercising - weight lifting, cardio, etc - and find yourself getting very, very tired. Then, because you're so tired, you don't exercise as much - you think the exercise is making you tired so you cut back. However, it's not JUST the exercise that makes you tired - it's the fact that you're not eating enough.

So, it's not uncommon to pull back on the exercise when you start eating healthier because many people have a hard time balancing the two. You either eat way too few calories and don't have energy or motivation to exercise OR you exercise way too much and compensate by eating way too many calories.

It takes balance. You need to cut back on calories and/or burn calories through exercise in order to lose weight but you also NEED calories to give yourself energy while you exercise. If you don't eat enough, you will lose energy and lose the motivation to exercise. If you exercise too much, you will crave energy and want to stuff your face full of food. You just need to find balance between the two and find out where you're the most comfortable.
 
Hey Chef,

Yep, you nailed it. Thank you. What I have been learning these past few days is that I don't have to be perfect right out of the gate. That is pressure I can't live up to. For instance, as you say, I have been tired a lot and having cravings.

Here's what's different, though, and right now this is working well for me: Today I wanted something really "substantial" for lunch. I looked ahead of time at restaurants and their menus, and found a taco place that actually posts the nutrition value of everything on their menu! Since I'm logging everything I put in my body, this is great. I looked and planned ahead, and got one ground beef taco, which was 300 calories. And that's it. I am so happy and proud of myself because I am learning I can still have some of the food I "used" to eat, I just eat less of it and much more consciously. I'm happy that I planned that out ahead of time and stuck to the plan. Although this food item is not something I would ever eat on a daily basis, I was craving it and figured out a way to eat proportionately. This is exciting stuff. The old me would have had 2 tacos plus rice and beans and maybe dessert, with no consciousness of what I was putting in my body.

It's a lot easier to make the transition to better eating if I don't tell myself "I can NEVER eat X." Instead, I'm trying to eat in balance and take a daily broad view of how it all works together.
 
Hope4Loss said:
Here's what's different, though, and right now this is working well for me: Today I wanted something really "substantial" for lunch. I looked ahead of time at restaurants and their menus, and found a taco place that actually posts the nutrition value of everything on their menu! Since I'm logging everything I put in my body, this is great. I looked and planned ahead, and got one ground beef taco, which was 300 calories. And that's it. I am so happy and proud of myself because I am learning I can still have some of the food I "used" to eat, I just eat less of it and much more consciously. I'm happy that I planned that out ahead of time and stuck to the plan. Although this food item is not something I would ever eat on a daily basis, I was craving it and figured out a way to eat proportionately. This is exciting stuff. The old me would have had 2 tacos plus rice and beans and maybe dessert, with no consciousness of what I was putting in my body.

It's a lot easier to make the transition to better eating if I don't tell myself "I can NEVER eat X." Instead, I'm trying to eat in balance and take a daily broad view of how it all works together.
Click to expand...

That is good stuff right there! Congrats on planning ahead and sticking to your plan!
 
Hope4Loss said:
he old me would have had 2 tacos plus rice and beans and maybe dessert, with no consciousness of what I was putting in my body.
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I still do that sometimes :( But I think the conscious part is the most important bit!!!

It's all about a shift in your thinking. I had a pretty unhealthy Sunday and I've actually felt apologetic towards my body and making sure I'm eating properly :D This would have never happened a few years ago!
 
Hey Guys,

I haven't posted in a while, but I am back and need support! Why does it always seem that when I have two good weeks and start to make some progress, I then start to backslide? I have been taking two steps forward, one step back with the clean eating. I know that clean eating is the most essential part of weight loss, and I still have about 25 pounds to go. I had an amazing first 2 weeks where I really cleaned up my eating, counting calories and using portion control. The first 5 pounds melted off. Week three arrived and I started to waver, and I only lost 0.6 pounds in one week. I'm trying to tell myself that at least it's still a loss, and that weight loss is not a linear process, etc, but I know the truth: my diet is slipping. I have been having cravings. Tonight I had a Coke - a completely needless 200 calories of sugar that actually just made me feel gross because it's such utter junk food. But I was craving it beforehand like a pregnant woman!! I've had other "cheats" as well, that's just a small example. It's like my body is freaking out and sending signals to my brain to not eat clean. So, my goal is to break this down into smaller, more manageable chunks. What I want to do is string together one week of solidly clean eating starting tomorrow. Letting go of this week's mistakes. I really don't want to lose the progress I've made so far - 2 weeks is a long time to have to climb back out of a hole (if I put back on those 5 pounds). Two weeks is a long time to waste just to have to reset and get back to net zero.
 
Heeeey, first of all you've lost 5.6 pounds already!!! Hope you've given yourself a pat on the back for that!

Self-sabotage is disheartening and frustrating, I've been there many times. 'Doing well' for a while and then almost forgetting why I was trying to eat better and move more in the first place.

What's worked for me this time, apart from writing on here (and I've only been doing this again for less than a month) is making myself believe that I am NOT 'depriving' myself when I don't stuff my face with bread or cake. I'm actually being kind to myself - fuelling my body rather than filling it with crap. When I get cravings I ask myself just 'how much' I actually want it and if just I fancy it or if I'm trying to eat away my stress (I'm an emotional eater big time) I think it's fine to have things you really like from time to time but MOST IMPORTANTLY: NOT to beat yourself up about it.

Hope4Loss said:
So, my goal is to break this down into smaller, more manageable chunks. What I want to do is string together one week of solidly clean eating starting tomorrow. Letting go of this week's mistakes.
Click to expand...

You could actually write your plan out here so it becomes more 'concrete' :) and YAY for letting go of this week's slips.

Developing a healthy relationship with food is tough and takes TIME but we can do it :)

All the best for your shiny new week!
 
Alright everyone, I have a question. Is it true that weight loss comes in fits and starts and is not a linear process? As I mentioned earlier, the needle has been stuck for me at 151.4, and I record every single little thing that goes into my mouth. As a result of this consistent logging, I have looked over what I am doing and as I mentioned my goal is to cut out completely the "cheats." It's only been a few days but I am doing better. Gonna keep going. But I never dramatically went over my 1300 calories for each day. So, upon closer inspection, I thought I could reduce my added sugars, and I need to get in exercise that really pumps up my heart rate (I'm already walking, but not very fast, just to get places like random acts of fitness stuff).

Have other people hit weight loss plateaus? What accounted for it?
 
Well, I weighed myself this morning and hit my lowest weight in a long time - 148.2! I still have about 20 more pounds to go to be at my ideal weight. I'm only 5'3", so I'm still overweight. But I am happy to have landed in the 140's! I know my weight will fluctuate a pound or two - it seems to when I eat salt, a big meal, or depending on my cycle.

I have to admit, even though I have been logging everything religiously for about a month (just a few days shy of my month anniversary of starting this journey in earnest), so I have been working hard, it's still a little hard to believe. I mean, this is actually working. It's crazy. I am just in a little bit of disbelief that doing this the old-fashioned way (cutting calories, cooking at home, trying to stay away from sugar, balancing macrobiotics) actually works. You mean, no fad dieting or laxatives or extreme exercise routines actually works???? Apparently it is....!!
 
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