Hi Marissa,
I don't know how I missed it, but I'm sorry your diary hit 4 pages before I found it!
First I wanted to CONGRATULATE you on the weight you've lost so far! That is truly fantastic!
I read back through your diary and your calories seem really low. This could cause problems later on - if you're only eating x amount of calories now, and go into a plateau - you would not have much room in your caloric intake to reduce or make adjustments.
Like Mal mentioned, when she was at your weight, she didn't go under 2200 and I would imagine 2200-2500 you'd still be able to lose weight - and that still only works out to 8 calories per pound of body weight. I've read and heard here that you shouldn't go under 10 calories per pound of body weight.
I think the hardest thing about having a lot to lose, is that so much time and effort goes by before we *see* the differences. Have you taken measurements and before pictures? Keeping track would give you a good visual on the progress you're making.
Looking at the big picture was beyond overwhelming for me, I had to break it up into goals that I could celebrate as I got to them - but you have to find what works and motivates you.
You don't want to be where you're at - you want to reach your goal - remind yourself of those goals every day. Keep them focused and you'll find those "slip ups" aren't as often as they used to be.
That's the difference between a diet and lifestyle change.
A diet means you'll lose weight while "dieting" then regain it once you go back to how you used to eat. That's not what we want. We want to get this off and KEEP it off.
That comes from really changing how we deal with food.
You CAN do this - it truly is one meal at a time!
I'm glad you're here!
