New - Hoping for mutual support and accountability

S

SperryWA

New member
Hello everyone,

I'm 27 and have been slightly to severely overweight most of my life; I think I became obese sometime when I was about 18 or 19. A few years ago, I went through a great weight loss program and was able to lose about 40 lbs. Once the program was finished, the weight came back. I'm currently 5'7" and about 220 lbs (down a few lbs in the last month).

I have a pretty good idea of how to be successful in losing weight and being healthy, I just need some extra accountability to make sure I actually do what it takes. Please feel free to give me a hard time about not maintaining a journal, etc. :)

My short-term goal is to lose 15 lbs in the next 3 weeks (when I return to work). My long-term goal is to reach and maintain 140 to 150 lbs.

I'm also very interested in advice for how to care for skin, maybe witty remarks to the comments from co-workers and friends and anything else associated with successful large weight loss - the "I wish I would have known"s.

Thanks in advance for your support and feedback - I hope I can provide some in return!
 
Hi, and welcome :)

What strategy (/strategies) are you using to lose weight? Are these things you're going to be able to maintain (more or less) long term? (That, so far as I can tell, is the secret to keeping the weight off) If you don't have one, I highly recommend calorie counting (which I talk about here ad nauseum, I can give you the details if you want).

Regardless of your strategies, your first step should be to read the stickied posts (at least the ones by the original poster) around the forum- they have some really useful information. The next thing to do, for motivation, is to look in the before/ after section. Then look in the diary section, for motivation and also ideas as to how you go about your weight loss. (My diary's linked in my signature, and you're more than welcome to steal ideas from me) Then go and start your own journal.

Remember that this is a long process and you should be gentle on yourself. As long as your behaviours, patterns, and habits get better over time, the weight loss will come. (I didn't lose weight for a couple of weeks into this journey, now it's coming off at the maximum level that's considered healthy- 2.2 pounds a week for the last three weeks).

Now where's that journal?! :cuss: (only joking, not time to be hard on you yet :p )
 
Welcome to the forum; it's definitely a great place for acountability, motivation, advice, etc... but you only get out of it what you put into it!

15 pounds in three weeks sounds like a pretty hard goal. Usually, people lose 1% of their body weight each week, so for you that would be 2.2 lbs per week or 6.6 pounds in three weeks. Best of luck to you and I look forward to seeing you succeed!
 
@amy1985

I'm currently eating pretty carefully and just got going with the exercising (finally stopped raining, although I need to stop using that as an excuse). A typical day for me is:

Breakfast:
1/2 cup egg whites with a sliver of butter - 80 cal
2 cups coffee with 1% milk - 80 cal
Berries or fruit - 50 cal

Lunch:
Lean protein (chicken, ham) - 150 cal
Yogurt/protein shake - 100 cal
Fruit - 50 cal
Veggies (raw) - approx 50 cal

Snack:
Varies, but I try to keep around 150-200 cal

Dinner: This is where it gets rough because the kids demand carbs! lol
Lean protein (about 4 oz) - 150 cal
Veggies (raw, stir fried, or steamed) - 50-100 cal
Bread/noodles/rice - 100-300 cal
Sauce (salad dressing, stir fry, spaghetti, etc) - 100 cal

I also usually have either a glass of wine or a beer (150 cal) with dinner.

So, a typical day is between 1200 and 1500 calories. Of course, weekends are worse, with the occasional 800 calories of pizza or maybe a few beers on a Saturday. Clearly, I need to cut back on that; my idea being one "cheat" meal per week is about right.

I am in the process of trying to convert my coffee habit into a tea habit, but I'm also breaking a diet soda habit so it's slow going :) This is very sustainable for me and I've been maintaining for several months already. I am planning on giving up beer/wine for my short term goal, but not long term (my husband and I make wine and beer at home for fun).

I think my eating strategy is on the right track for long-term success (and sanity), but I clearly need to add more exercise into the plan. I have been quite lazy over the winter, and so far this spring, I've only really gotten exercise as part of house cleaning or yard work. I spend a fair amount of time on the computer (both at work and as a MMORPG gamer); so I'll need to overcome that with at least 30-45 mins cardio per day and strength training a few times per week.

Hope I didn't bore you with specifics, but I figure someone else can get something out of my plan and maybe you can point out flaws that I'm not considering! Oh, and I am planning on keeping a food journal (even though I hate doing it) - so advice for how to make that less painful and time consuming are welcome!

@dwwise83

You're right about 15 lbs being a lofty goal. The only thing that makes me think it's possible is the last time I got serious about diet and exercise, I lost about 8 lbs of water in the first week. So, I'm hoping that I'm carrying around some excess water :) If not, I'd be happy with 5-10 lbs in the 3 weeks.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about the carbs themselves. It's the calories (that may or may not come with them) you need to think about. (Also, could you make something for your kids but not have it yourself?)

Your diet looks good. I tend to find dinner is always my biggest meal by far. Are you tracking calories using a program? I've found that to really help me keep in control.

Have you calculated your calories for your needs? You don't want to undereat either (as I've advised elsewhere, calculate your daily maintenance calories and reduce that number by 500-1000), as this runs the risk of slowing your metabolism, which will give you more health problems in the long run.

On tea, there's a thread on this here: http://weight-loss.fitness.com/nutrition/46468-tea-talk.html I don't know what tea costs over there, but here it's relatively inexpensive to buy gourmet tea and have it pretty much every day. It's a lovely thing (I have a tea and coffee habit- 0.1% milk, no sugar)

Hope some of these ideas help, and best of luck with your weight loss journey.
 
According to online calorie needs calculators, I'm in the right ballpark (2100 to maintain so 1100 to 1600 to lose fat).

What program(s) do you recommend for meal tracking? I've done a couple of free trials in the past, but haven't cared for any of them much.
 
The one I use is called cron-o-meter, which I have as a program (free download), although I understand you can also use it through their website. It has a database of US foods and you can add your own foods to it (it'll tell you as little or as much as you need to know, I turned off most of it- some of it I hadn't even heard of!- and left it with what I can readily track through nutritional information- calories, carbs, sugars, protein, fat, saturated fat, sodium). Adding of foods can be a little tedious but once it's in, it stays in. It'll recommend a calorie range for you but that's based on maintenance, and you can change it (I'd recommend setting the minimum for what you're aiming for, as that's the number that will be used to calculate whether you're reaching your goal). You can also change your percentages of macros (carbs, protein, fat) and it'll tell you what you need to eat to eat those percentages. A problem for you may be that it seems to measure in grams (that suits me perfectly, so I haven't seen if there's a way to change that)- it also means you'll need a good idea of how much things weigh (I'd recommend a scale, ideally digital, in any case, it just makes everything that much more precise). If you look at my diary then you'll see the kind of information I can glean from the program.

Fitday also gets a good rap around here, although I have no experience with it, and myfitnesspal gets mentioned sometimes too. I gather Fitday is free, I don't know about the latter.
 
Hi sperry is that WA in Australia or America?

Looks like you already know all about counting calories but I wonder about the value of your breakfast. To be honest, i find the idea of eggwhites rather yuck and believe it a great mistake to pass up the yolk. Look up eggs nutrition on wikipedia. They will tell you by passing up the yolk you are passing up half the protein of an egg as well as vitamins A, D, E and K. Whoever started this stupid fad about egg whites oughta get a kick in the pants. The fat in an egg yolk is not going to harm you or hold your weight loss program back at all. I see that you eat butter instead. Isn't that a bit counter productive?


Carbohydrates are not bad for you. Over eating is. Too much sugar and too much fatty food is bad for you. Refined and simple carbohydrates are the problem, not carbohydrates per say. Even white pasta is not the bogeyman that people make it out to be. Its only a problem if you eat a huge portion and smother it with cheese and creamy sauces. Pasta is a really important dietary source of energy. When i go on my cycling tour next month, spaghetti is my main source of energy. It works in weight loss and when you need lots of energy. i've done it before. IT really keeps me going and its easy to cook and yummy. Its easier than all the other complex carbs for my tour - though i know that most poeple are not on cycling tours and do not need to eat pasta every day the way i do when i'm on tour (when i'm cycling 6-8 hours a day). HOwever, i know most people like pasta and it upsets me to see people giving up good food they love for yet more and more meat and weird non food things like protein shakes and energy drinks and bars. These things are for sports people. They shouldn't be for dieters.

People are eating so much chicken. I find it staggering. Yet people don't stop to consider how chickens are raised these days and what they are fed on. In Australia hormones haven't been added to feed for 40 years - so the chicken board's website tells me. And the antibiotics that are routinely fed to chickens in their drinking water are not those used for human health which sounds like it might be a good thing but you are still eating that medicine one way or another and who knows what sort of effect it has on our bodies. Even if it is harmless, it still pays to know what they are being fed, doesn't it? Are hormones fed to chickens in other countries? People should check it out. Also what sort of stuff is put into your meat products?

Carbohydrates have become such a dirty word but its not carbohydrates that are the problem. Its refined and simple carbohydrates.

Sorry about the heavy lecture but i keep reading on this site all the people who are ditching plant foods for meat. So my tone is not really anger at you but the whole diet industry shebang that is encouraging some really bad dietary trends. There are some big prices to pay for this in terms of the environment and so on and so forth.

All that said, keeping a food diary is a good idea. I'm doing it. I write down everything and how much, although i don't count calories. When it comes time to reduce what i am eating, it will be easy to see what i have to change. Its also easy for others to see who may want some ideas about what to cook, how to cook it and how to work out some healthy meal plans.

I do wish you all the best with your plan. I know you are new but don't let my spiel put you off this site. Its busy site and that is always a good thing.
 
@fortyfour

WA, America...I should edit that to clarify!

You have a lot of great concerns...I'm going to attempt to explain my rationale without sounding defensive :)

With the egg whites, I'm trying to cut cholesterol (my family has a history of heart disease on both sides and, last I heard, cholesterol is still a concern when coupled with that). The amount of butter I use is pretty minute...I should weigh it out, but if a "pat" is 1/3 inch thick, then I use something like 1/4 of a pat, which is <10 calories, 1ish gram of fat, and about 3mg cholesterol (compared to ~200mg in an egg...and I eat the equivalent of 2 eggs each day). I do also eat whole eggs occasionally, but I think 2 whole eggs every day is probably an unnecessary amount of cholesterol.

As far as carbs, I went through a short period of insanity about 8 years ago where I tried the Atkins diet...it lasted about a week and I boycotted it when I got sick of not eating fruit! I'm not actually avoiding carbs with the way I eat...I'm just trying to get most of my carbs from fruit and veggies as opposed to wheat and corn products. Also, I am not (yet) doing long runs or bike rides that would require the type of wheat carb-driven energy you benefit from with your rides; but I do acknowledge the benefits there.

Regarding the (un)ethical treatment of chickens; I am very aware of that issue, and unfortunately, it is a problem with all meats. When I do eat chicken (or any meat), I look for "free-range" etc, which probably isn't chicken paradise, but it may be the closest I can get until I can afford my own farm. Also, last year, I purchased a bulk amount of grass-fed beef from a local grower, which is something I'd like to continue and extend to my other meat products. I am not planning on being a vegetarian/vegan, but I have made it a point to cut back on the amount of meat I eat.

If you haven't already, I recommend watching the film "Food, Inc." which may cause you to reevaluate your thoughts about eating corn and wheat products - especially if you're in the US. Another great source for people concerned about the amount of meat consumed is Mark Bittman, who maintains a blog and has written several books about eating more sensibly.

With all of that said, I am interested in what your daily meal log looks like. I'm always open to new ideas, but personally I try to follow the "all things in moderation" wisdom.
 
Thank you for not getting defensive. And your response is interesting.

Still with the eggs read what it says on wiki because its says there that research shows that negative effects of cholesterol from egg are negligeble (?spelling sorry).

I highly commend you on the effort you made to eat grass fed beef. In Australia (we i'm from) we are lucky that most of our beef is grass fed though i think there is a common trend to "finish" off the cattle in barns with grain. I don't think that would be too dreadful since its such a short period of time. Our lamb is also grass fed. I raise my own chickens and ducks now but mainly for the pleasure of it and for their poo. We only kill the males so that we don't have too many of them as they can be a problem. I really do'nt mind if i don't eat them at all though i've got four big fat ducks to kill and one i've just defrosted today to sort out. I think its more of a sin not to eat them since i had to kill them.

I don't know if i have heard of food inc? What's wrong with wheat and corn. We don't eat that much corn in this country. Mexican is much bigger in America than here though of course we do like it.

My diary is in the link below. For lunch i'm going to have home made felafals in a wrap with salad. Unfortunatley there was a lot of oil in cooking those felafals but i think i've found the solution now. Read more about that in the vegie dish cooking club i started and am trying to get more people involved in.

Its good to see you are trying to fit in more fruit and veg. I am loving eating more of them. So i am hoping i can maintain this diet forever now, though i will bring cheese back in when i get down to my goal weight.

All things in moderation is a good motto if you can do it. I've come to the conclusion that i can't. And i think i will be fine going without my biggest weaknesses. I don't miss them at all.
 
The problem with wheat and corn, as I said specifically in the US and not sure about other places, is the industries that are responsible for their production. Corn is more than just mexican food, it's in just about every commercially prepared food. The following is a list of common corn derivatives:
dextrose
dextrin
maltodextrin
corn syrup
glucose
glucose-fructose
fructose
invert sugar
corn starch
modified starch
starch
corn oil
vegetable oil
margarine
shortening
These are multi-billion dollar industries that have found ways to market every possible by-product AND get subsidies from the government AND have the lobbying power to create some really scary legislation.

I won't post a link because I'm a little unclear still about the rules for links, but if you do a search for "food inc", it should be the top hit and then pick "About the Issues" for an idea of what the film covers.

Falafel sounds great; we had salmon cakes and salad :)
 
I had a quick look at food inc page.

About links here. Basically they dont like links that will lead people away to other weight loss sites. They don't want spam either, nor blogs links. All is fair enough if you ask me.

You can post stuff if its pertinent to the discussion or useful information. I'd say just go ahead and try posting links if you think its relevant they will soon tell you if its not.

Back to the topic. I'm not a fan of big agribusiness either but i am not going to stop eating wheat or corn because of it. That would be crazy. I'm trying to do permaculture at my place. Its going slowly. But i will never be able to produce my own wheat. I'm not sure i'd even want to. I would love my own cow and goats though. Just not enough land.
 
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