Journey to a better me

SilentK

SilentK

New member
Hello,
New to the concept of keeping a diary but I am really struggling to lose weight and figure expressing my feelings and keeping track of my days might help to motivate me more again. I am from Florida, I recently graduated college and work as a graphic designer. I gained weight in college the first bit wasn't so bad but in the last year of school I really gained a good chunk more like 40 pounds on top of what I had already gained. Add to that before ever gaining weight I was not happy with my weight to start, and now I am an upset mess trying to lose weight.

I want to lose about 80 pounds I set a reasonable goal of losing 2 pounds a week. I have restricted my calories to 1200 a day, and stuck to that very strictly for about 3 weeks now. I workout 4 days a week for about an hour each time. I have cut out most carbs and I cut out almost all added sugars. I have not eaten a single food made outside the house other than one tropi chop from Pollo Tropical the other day. I make all my own food and pack it for work so that I know how many calories I consume all day. I drink only natural no sugar no calorie drinks, such as teas and carbonated water, and of course lots of water.

Today I had smoothie for breakfast, celery and carrots for lunch with a light veggie dip. I drank only water and carbonated water all day. And for dinner I made gluten free low carb edamame pasta with turkey and a lite sauce. This is about how all my days go, changing out some parts of it for other different low calorie foods. I consume a range of 800-1200 calories a day on average.

The reason for me starting this as diary for myself is that I am losing motivation and feeling helpless with my diet, because I have been at it for a little bit now and I don't expect miracles but I have only lost about a pound over the course of a month. Even before really counting calories and watching sugar like I am not I have been cutting back and eating healthier fro about 3 months.

I broke down tonight and cried (again) because I feel so helpless in this and I feel like my efforts are in vain. I am a positive person and I don't want to feel defeated, I hate that, so to feel this way it is killing me. I just want to become healthy and happy with myself. I get depressed looking in the mirror right now and I don't like that I feel like that. I want to change, I need to change. But I am trying to figure out how.
 
Hi K, and welcome to the forum!

First off: I admire your determination. That said: I´m not surprised you felt like crying yesterday. 800-1200 kcal a day is not enough to keep your body going in the long run and under-eating can lead to emotional distress. If that´s the amount you´ve been eating for the past weeks and you´ve been exercising on top of it all systems must be on red alert. About the weight loss: were circumstances for your first weigh-in (time of day, amount of clothing, level of hydration, gut filling) comparable to the last one? If they were, you might want to consult with your gp or a dietician to find out what´s going on. Because while I think 2 pounds a week is a lot for a woman to lose in the long run I would have expected to work short term considering all you´re doing.

I really hope that didn´t come off as too harsh and I wish you all the best on your journey.
LaMa
 
Hi, silentK & welcome to the forum. I think you are under-eating. 1200 should be your minimum. Wanting to become healthy & happy with yourself is a really good plan. You have shown that you are capable of sticking to a really restrictive plan, now it's time to research healthy eating a bit more & up your calories. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but your body is under stress & it needs nourishment. I make sure I have protein with every meal.
La Ma just posted while I was typing & I just read what she said.
This is a very supportive & caring place. I like that you have found us. Seeing a dietician would be wonderful. Looking at a healthy eating pyramid & following that would also be a good plan in the meantime. Many of us use phone apps to keep track of what we eat/exercise etc. My Fitness Pal is a common one.
A couple of links to healthy eating pyramids are-
https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-guide-healthy-eating
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/
You will get it right. Having the will & determination, finding a healthy way & then perseverance will do the trick. I feel certain that you can do it.
All the best, xo Cate
 
Hello to both of you and thanks :)

Most days I generally eat 1200 calories some days are lower. I use the nutritionix app to count calories and watch my nutrition, I have found it much easier for me anyway than my fitness pal which I used the last time I tried dieting. The reason I set that amount is because my friend was the same weight and height years ago was instructed to do exactly what I am doing now but a little more extreme. So I never thought 1200 was too little. I have been making sure to eat enough protien and fiber but I was starting to wonder if I was still consuming too little calories because of what I had read online. And yet I read so much about restricting to 1200 calories and it being a safe number to lose weight. So overall I am a little lost when trying to figure out how to get it to work I think that is why I decided to join a community and I am glad I did now.
Thanks!
 
When eating a lot of fibre, those calories net out (meaning that you aren't actually getting a lot of those calories because they just push through you).

Take a look at : http://www.fitness.com/tools/calories_per_day/ to determine how many calories you should be eating. Now, this doesn't mean that it is safe to do it ... it's just a rough guideline.
 
I tried eating more today rather than feeling like I was hungry half the day. I feel like I have more energy but I know I probably can't eat as much as I did today to lose weight. I looked at what is recommended for my height weight and age and it said 1500 calories a day to lose weight. I will probably try that now and try working out a little more I was before but only 4 days a week and not super intense workouts. I am just trying to figure out something that works for me I have never tried to lose so much weight before and it seems a little overwhelming. My main goal from the start is to cut a lot of the added sugars and just really eat much healthier food. So this weekend I try again to figure it all out. Thanks for that site, that is where I found the information for calories. This weekend I really am going to take the time to rethink it all over again.
 
That sounds so much healthier! I really hope you'll feel better this way AND lose the weight you want to get rid of.
 
I've lost large amounts of weight in the past. I've regained part of it now...:banghead:....but in the past I've lost over 80 lbs. I ate around 1400 to 1500 calories every day. It's doable. Just stick with it. Welcome to the forum! :)
 
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