The Chronicles of Sam's Lifestyle Change!

M

moonspots

New member
All my life I've always been a bit chubby but it never really bothered me and I was just a bit overweight, not obese. My first year of university, I even lost a ton of weigh and was feeling really good about myself. But then, long story short, a lot of things happened in my life and I was hit very hard by depression. In about a year or less I gained about 70 pounds and now weigh the highest I ever have. I hate being the size that I am and I know it's not healthy for me. I feel like at this size, people treat me based on my size and not who I am. ):

My biggest problem is my addiction to Pepsi. I don't like any other pop but I love Pepsi. At one point I was probably drinking 4-5 cans a day. Then this past winter, I got a really bad stomach flu from my job, and ended up being off for two weeks, unable to eat or drink anything but water. After that, I had no desire to drink pop and I successfully stayed away from it for about 3 months! And it was amazing how much better I felt not having the pepsi in my diet! I ate better generally because greasy foods didn't seem to taste as good without it but also mentally, the difference was huge. I no longer constantly felt groggy, my terrible mood swings disappeared, I wasn't nervous/paranoid all the time and I even stopped feeling depressed! That right there was the happiest moment in my life, to just know that I don't have to feel like that all the time.

But then, of course, I was at a friend's house one night and she was having a pop and I was like it's not fair, why can't I enjoy the things I like? Well one thing led to another and now I'm hooked again and I can already see all my bad habits coming back. The caffeine makes me crazy, it's not good!

So I'm hoping that by posting here, it will help me have the self control to stop drinking pop again, start eating healthier and lose this weight! I want to feel like me again!



1. Answer these questions before starting your diary.

-- How much weight do you want to lose? Around 100lbs

-- What is the timeframe for reaching your target weight? As long as it takes. Ideally a year but I'm not rushing it, I want to do things right.

-- How do you want to accomplish your goal (what methods do you want to use)? Changing my diet and exercising more.

-- Who or what can support you in reaching your goal? Friends and family.

-- How realistic is your goal? I think it's pretty realistic? It puts me at my goal weight and I'm not trying to overdo it or push myself too fast/too hard so that I crash.

-- When will you start? Sunday, May 15th, 2011.



Other questions you might want to consider answering in your diary, to get you started, and avoid that white page writer's block are: (stolen shameless from Geam's diary)

What is your current height and weight? Almost 5'1 and around 210.
If you were at an ideal weight now, what would that weight be? 120
At what weight would you like to be at four months from now? Around 200, give or take a few pounds.
Why do you want to lose weight? To be healthy. I don't want to get diabetes or have heart problems. I also want to feel good about myself and have the energy to do things!
Do you want to lose weight for a specific life event such as wedding or reunion? If so, when is that event? No.
What obstacles could get between you and your weight loss goals? Addiction to Pepsi, comfort-eating.
Why do you think that you now have a weight problem? I comfort/stress-eat. When I was depressed, it was just a mess.
What lifestyle changes do you think would help you lose weight? Quit drinking pop for good! Add healthier choices to my diet, start exercising regularly again.
Have you lost weight in the past? If so, what has worked in the past to help you lose weight? Eating healthier, sticking to a strict gym schedule.
Why do you believe that you did not lose weight or you gained the weight back? Depression.
What, if anything, has not worked for you in the past in helping you to lose weight? Why do you think it did not work? Cheat days. It's either all or nothing. I don't have the willpower to not just fall back into old habits.
Would you try writing down all food and drink consumed for a given period of time? Yes.
Do you cook at home often? If so, what do you cook? Steak, chicken, pork chops, potatoes, peas, corn, nachos, eggs, hash browns.
How often do you go out to eat? Where do you go? McDonald's, a lot. Or local pubs. Though I went out last night and just got a water! Was very proud of myself.
What are your three favorite foods? Steak, mashed potatoes, creamed corn.
What are your three favorite restaurants? Outback Steakhouse, Tony Roma's, ummm, can't think of anywhere else.
What are three things you can do differently when it comes to food? Portion control, more veggies, drink only water
If you woke up tomorrow and your body was exactly the way you want it, what would be different? I would have a flat stomach, my thighs wouldn't be so huge, my face would be thin again, and I wouldn't have excess fat on my back/hips (omg, I have never had this before I got this big, I've always had a chubby stomach/thighs but that was it, so I just can't stand these 'new additions' haha)
Do you eat when you are not hungry? Yes
Do you binge eat (large amounts at a time)? Yes
Do you hide your food or eat in secret? Yes
Do you eat when you are sad, nervous, or depressed? Yes
Do you eat as a reward? Yes
Do you eat while watching TV or using the computer? Yes
What do you normally eat for a meal?
Breakfast- eggs and hashbrowns
Lunch- usually leftover dinner from last night
Dinner- a meat and some sort of potato, maybe veggies
What type of snacks do you eat? Chips, cookies.
In terms of exercise, what, if anything, are you currently doing? I work at physically demanding job for 6 days, then have 2 days off. 5 days are 3-4 hours, while 1 (and sometimes more) are 12 hour days. Think lifting weights, briskly walking and squats all rolled into one.
Where do you go for exercise? A local public gym? School/work gym? Home? The dairy farm I work at.
What, if anything, are your three favorite types of exercise? I love biking, horseback riding, and the elliptical machine.
What is your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly motivation to move towards your goals? I want to look in the mirror and see 'me' again, I would also like to ride my horse and not feel like I'm squishing him. ):
Do you have rewards for certain goals? Not yet but I should probably set some, it would be good motivation.

So yeah, I guess this is the intro to my journal and the real journey starts tomorrow! Hopefully this time the changes are for good. But I've gotta go to bed now, my 4am shift comes early! haha
 
Hi Sam! (Are you male or female?)

Well done on taking the first step, this journey ain't easy but its downright rewarding. When you see that weight coming off, its amazing! Oh and the compliments start rolling in. Good luck!! You CAN do this, failure isn't an option! :)
 
I'm female!

And thank-you! I am hoping by pushing myself to post in this everyday, it will motivate me. And it's nice to know I'm not the only one out there working on it!


Sadly, I was supposed to have this weekend off but got called in (there are only two employees, so if the other guy can't work, that means I have to) and I don't like my job as it is and I neeeed my days off so it really stressed me out. ): Not that it is an excuse but I think that's why I got off to a rough start today.. Really didn't start eating healthy at all today as I had mcdonald's when I got home from work, then went to my dad's for a surprise birthday dinner for me.. Which I couldn't decline, even though I was full of course! So add a bit of turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, and a lot of shrimp and a chocolate bar and you have my day's worth of food. Oh, and two pops but that's the last of it, so no buying anymore! I find quitting cold turkey works best, weaning myself off of it always leads to me drinking more.

But tomorrow I'm gonna try and do much better! My birthday's on thursday and I was going to let myself have a super bad lunch as a reward but I realized that I have to stop rewarding myself with food! It's just bad. So instead I'm gonna let myself go tanning and get a haircut! It'll make me feel good AND adds no calories, haha.

Anyway, I'm aiming for 1500 calories a day and even with all the junk I ate today, I only hit around 2000 (maybe a bit over) which is still at least in my not-gaining-weight zone. Phew!
 
Ugggh, I was doing so well today but coming home from work I was just craving SOMETHING! But I didn't know what I wanted so I ended up eating a bunch of junk I didn't need. ): Oh well, I stayed within my 'maintenance' but I really wish I could control my cravings! And eat smaller portions.

But, the good news for today, no pop! And I got a lot of errands accomplished which made me feel good.

Onto my 9th straight day of work tomorrow, yuck! Hopefully come thursday (day 1 of my 2 days off) I will be a little less stressed out and can focus more on my goals!

I am also trying to build up my stamina/learn to run. I'm just taking baby steps right now... I started out at 4 mins on the treadmill today and I'm gonna try to keep bumping it up, 1 minute at a time.
 
Controlling cravings is a killer. Sometimes I give in, but If I don't then I quickly get something else that has less calories but will make me feel full. It works sometimes :)
 
I'll have to try that!

I worked all day yesterday so didn't get a chance to post... Needless to say it was a bust! Ate waaay too much junk.. Same with today. I even bought more pop, UGH! What am I thinking?


I was almost ashamed to come post here but then I realized that even though I am not meeting my goals yet, posting in this journal is definitely helping. And a lot of the stuff on this site is so inspiring, especially the before/after thread... Let's just say I'll be dumping out all that pop I bought!
 
Every day is a new day :) Learn from what you've done, try to work out why you've done it, and make plans to make it better for the future (for example, when I'm craving sweet things, I make sure I'm stocked up with fruit).

Would it help to post what you're eating? It's not a major thing for me anymore, but back when I first joined (not that long ago) one of the things that sometimes stopped me from eating certain things was "do I really want to have to admit to that?"
 
The biggest problem for me is that I'm a very picky eater! I tend to like bland things but they can get awfully boring! I am trying to incorporate fruit and veggies but it's so hard, because there are so few I like. I can tolerate raspberries and oranges so I am starting with those! But even the raspberries, while eating them, I wish they were a little less sweet.

Veggies I'm not much better, though I do love peas, corn (does that even count? haha) and cooked carrots (so they are soft). And peppers occasionally.

I just have to start trying harder and not give in to myself (I must say, I'm very persuasive... haha!). Now that my work weeks should be back to normal and not so crazy, I'm going to start scheduling my days so I can actually cook meals before work instead of grabbing fast food or out of the freezer stuff 'cause it's quick and convenient.

I'll get back on food-logging track tomorrow... Thanks Amy, that's definitely a good idea about actually having to admit to stuff.. I certainly don't want to! (like the late night pizza slices I just munched on, uggh, why, I wasn't even hungry??).
 
So many things to say about your situations.

Maybe the problem with your veggies is the way they are cooked. If you could try cassseroles or using herbs and spices you might find you enjoy them more. Boiled and steamed can be really boring.

Try my ratatouille recipe at the beginning of my diary or on the vegie dish cooking club in the club section.

I feel sorry for anyone who does not like fruit. I love fruit.

I am glad you going cold turkey on the pop. When you have an uncontrollable hankering for something like that cold turkey is often easiest. I do it with all sweet foods.

I think for you you should try to exercise total self control. Make a commitment. Decide in advance what sort of foods you are allowed to eat and what not. If its something a bit non-diet, then restrict yourself to say once a week or even less often. And be strong about it. Be committed.

The as to a strategy to lose the weight, Figure out your maintenance calories and just lower it a bit. Don't be in too much of a rush to lose weight. Because you have a physically demanding job it might take a little while to figure out how much you can eat and feel good about in terms of not getting hungry. So start at maintenance and lower it by say 100 calories a week until you find you are comfortable. Be strict about not going over hte limit though and try to eat mostly low fat healthy foods such as dairy, vegies and fruit, complex carbs - such as multigrain breads, oats or other non sugary cereals, pasta and rice, proteins such as lean meats, eggs, not too much cheese. When you eat these sorts of foods, you can fill up and feel good and they keep your hunger away for longer than if you eat things like chocolate and other simple sugar refined carbs. Any of the nutritious foods that are high fat such as cheese, nuts, avocado, eat only in small quantities. Eat vegetable oil for cooking, olive oil for salads. Either give up butter or don't use very much.

Try to eat about two pieces of fruit a day. If you like oranges that's good. When i eat oranges, i buy naval oranges which are the yummiest and i peel it with a knife, cut it up into nice pieces and i enjoy it on an aesthetic level. I eat with a fork. For some reason this is so much more pleasant than eating it in quarts. They are sweet though.

To figure out your maintenance calories, find a bmr calculator and enter the data requested. If you working 4-5 hours a day in a physical way, you may want to use one of the higher factors but it wouldn't hurt to choose the next one down to start with either.
 
Try different fruits and vegetables. They're a key part of a healthy diet (and a great way to keep things low calorie while getting to eat a lot- important for people like me who have massive appetites). (And Andrea- fortyfour- is right about trying things done in different ways. Or even just try things you haven't tried before. If you don't like onions, for example, have you tried leeks in their place?)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top