Weight-Loss I'm not sure what's right and what's wrong...

[the_walrus0]

I have had the worst sort of dieting lifestyle. When I was thirteen I decided to just eat less and move more. Simple, but what I didn't know was that I was only eating 800 calories a day, at 220 lbs. I was also exercising for two hours after school, pretty vigorously. If I wasn't sweating and almost exhausted then I thought I wasn't working out hard enough.

I lost sixty lbs in a short period of time, about 1 lb a day. I thought this was normal, it was amazing in fact, to weigh myself everyday and weigh less. Then I started dressing more fashionably, started making friends, and just assumed that my troubles were over because I had lost weight. I was still about 30lbs away from my goal weight, but I got caught up in a teenage rebellion. I drank often, but took drugs when I wasn't. I wasn't eating enough to be gaining, but very very slowly it came back. Now I am almost 20 years old, 5'8 and 235 lbs.

I've learned that I can't cut out too many calories at once, and that not all calories are equal. I am just confused at to how much protien, carbs, fiber and good fats that I need. Google tells me a lot, so is there any general rule I can go by? I am just looking to lose weight slowly, through small changes.

 

[the_walrus0]

Also, if anyone decides to respond to this, are there are small changes I can make towards a healthier lifestyle? I have slight OCD and I hear all the time not to eat processed foods, to try to eat organic, to get more veggies, to do this and that I feel like if I don't do all of it as soon as I decide to change my lifestyle that I'm failing. I inevitably binge. So I guess I am trying to take baby steps. Not eating carbs for every meal of the day, taking vitamins, drink more water, less diet soda, fiber fiber fiber...

It's just really daunting. I take on this whole cold turkey deal and I end up losing twenty pounds and then falling off the wagon until I've gained it back. I cycle through a depression and then try again. I just want this to end and I want to be healthy, but I can't do it all at once. If someone has small suggestions maybe? Baby steps, baby steps.

 

[San2]

Baby steps are the best you can make. A lot of tiny steps can bring you a long, long way.

You already had some good ideas. Replace soda and sugary drinks with non-sugar stuff. If you can stomach it, drink water. If you are like me and can't drink plain water, try flavoured water, or a bit of squash and dilute it. Also, iced tea is great (as in, prepare some tea of your choice and stick it in the fridge - not the sugary stuff you can buy).

That would already be a great step in the right direction.

You could also do things like take the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator when you are out. Park your car (if you're driving) a bit further away from the shop, so you have a little bit extra to walk. Things like that.

Uhm....maybe try to make it a habit to have at least one kind of fruit and one kind of vegetable per day (if you don't do that already). Look at what you usually eat, and replace one snack with some fruit of your choice.

The one thing that helped me, and I admit it was a pain in the backside, but I made a food journal. For one week, I wrote down everything that I ate or drank. And I mean EVERYTHING. Even if I licked a spoon off while cooking.

At the end of the week I sat down and had a good look at that journal, and it helped me a lot to see where I could make changes to what and how I eat. Maybe that would help you as well?

I hope any of this is helpful. I know you can do this. I agree, it seems like a daunting task, but it can actually be quite fun. Just keep doing what you do - take it slow, one step at a time. You'll get there eventually.

 

[the_walrus0]

=) Thank you for all the tips. I don't take elevators because they scare me to death, so that one isn't hard. I think I actually overdue it on the water. I drank like twenty 8 0z glasses yesterday. By the end of the night I was peeing every ten minutes. D: I guess I just need to remember that it's going to take time. I know I can lose weight, because I am losing weight. It's been two days and already four lbs is off. I'm sure it's 'water weight', but I know I don't have any medical problems.

It's just my head and my lifestyle.

I just recently got rid of egg yolks. I was eating two eggs scrambled in the morning with a 100 cal white bagel thing. Now I am eating a half cup of egg whites with a strip of turkey bacon and some veggies mixed in. I think that's a good thing. I'm also drinking a serving of V8 juice. I have no idea what people think of the V8 fruit fusion, but I like it. I should probably be eating the actual fruits though.

It's really hard for me to stomach too much in the morning. I'm already not very hungry and that's also when I eat my vitamins.

Anyways, before I start telling you all my diet problems...I just wanted to say thanks for the suggestions. I guess I've been slowly learning things over the last six years of dieting and researching.

It's time I stop kicking and screaming and just do what I know has to be done. No anorexic 900 calorie diet is going to get me where I want to be. x.x It's gotta be slow and...sweet. >.<'