coyote1
New member
Hey all. It's really inspirational and supportive to read your posts each day - keeps me motivated and reminds me to 'stay good' haha. Anyway, I noticed almost everyone has a specific plan, i.e. eating a certain amount of calories or restricting which foods are eaten and exercising regularly. However, I'm not planning to do that.
Trying to keep this brief: I was overweight/obese since around age 9, and it wasn't until I was 16, 5'4 and 214 lbs that I realized I had a problem. I vowed to get down to a healthy weight. After 2 years of a vegan diet and gym trips, I was down to about 175 lbs. I weight to college then at age 18 and without thinking about it, began to eat healthier. I usually ate alone and the cafeteria's vegan choices were limited, so each meal was small and quick. By the end of 2007 (after my first semester there), I weighed 159 lbs. I was so excited! I had no idea that I had been losing weight. Of course, like so many weight loss stories, there was a turning point. I became vegetarian again instead of vegan, I stopped exercising, and started eating all the time. I knew I was gaining weight but I ignored it and thought it'd go away on its own. Didn't happen, and I had a very rude wake-up call in May 2010 when I was weighed at a doctor's office - I was right back at 214 lbs. I was annoyed because I had been so close to a healthy weight and I completely ruined my efforts and put myself back on square 1. Not only that, but I was spending the summer abroad in China and I felt like I was going to be a terrible representation of my country. Well, after 2 months I lost 25 pounds through eating less and walking everywhere. Again, I had no idea that I was losing weight. When I got home, I had a very hard time adjusting to American food. I found myself disgusted actually. I was restless and constantly wanted to walk or do something else physical. It all came together and made me realize something.
To me, weight loss isn't about what you eat or what you do. It's not supposed to be something you think about. Think of all the skinny people out there that eat crap and never move and still look great. I know it's a simple equation of calories in vs. calories out, but again, do naturally skinny people count calories? Nope. They don't have to. I finally realized my problem was compulsive eating - eating when I wasn't hungry. I read a couple books on the subject that all said the same thing: some people lose their natural instinct to stop eating when they're full. I definitely did. Realizing this in combination with my new weight loss gave me determination to change things once and for all.
I don't weigh myself very often (maybe 4 times a year) and I don't plan on changing that. I'm done trying to count calories and I'm done restricting my food choices (though I'll always remain a vegetarian). I'm not holding myself to strict exercise either. I'm simply going to live like everyone else was intended to - eating only when I'm hungry and stopping when I'm not.
I walk between 60-90 minutes every day and I eat only when I feel hunger. I've been doing this for 2 months now. I last weighed in in August (about 180 lbs), and as much as I want conformation that I'm losing weight because I can't see a difference, I've never been able to see myself losing weight in the past, so I don't think I'm touching the scale til the end of the year.
So, from those experienced in losing weight, will my simple strategy of no-scale, no-diet, no-gym work as long as I remain somewhat active and maintain a healthy caloric intake? Most importantly, can I trust my body to tell me what a healthy caloric intake is - i.e. when I'm hungry, I actually need more calories?
Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this and respond. Sorry if this is longer than it should be, or if I should post this somewhere else.
Trying to keep this brief: I was overweight/obese since around age 9, and it wasn't until I was 16, 5'4 and 214 lbs that I realized I had a problem. I vowed to get down to a healthy weight. After 2 years of a vegan diet and gym trips, I was down to about 175 lbs. I weight to college then at age 18 and without thinking about it, began to eat healthier. I usually ate alone and the cafeteria's vegan choices were limited, so each meal was small and quick. By the end of 2007 (after my first semester there), I weighed 159 lbs. I was so excited! I had no idea that I had been losing weight. Of course, like so many weight loss stories, there was a turning point. I became vegetarian again instead of vegan, I stopped exercising, and started eating all the time. I knew I was gaining weight but I ignored it and thought it'd go away on its own. Didn't happen, and I had a very rude wake-up call in May 2010 when I was weighed at a doctor's office - I was right back at 214 lbs. I was annoyed because I had been so close to a healthy weight and I completely ruined my efforts and put myself back on square 1. Not only that, but I was spending the summer abroad in China and I felt like I was going to be a terrible representation of my country. Well, after 2 months I lost 25 pounds through eating less and walking everywhere. Again, I had no idea that I was losing weight. When I got home, I had a very hard time adjusting to American food. I found myself disgusted actually. I was restless and constantly wanted to walk or do something else physical. It all came together and made me realize something.
To me, weight loss isn't about what you eat or what you do. It's not supposed to be something you think about. Think of all the skinny people out there that eat crap and never move and still look great. I know it's a simple equation of calories in vs. calories out, but again, do naturally skinny people count calories? Nope. They don't have to. I finally realized my problem was compulsive eating - eating when I wasn't hungry. I read a couple books on the subject that all said the same thing: some people lose their natural instinct to stop eating when they're full. I definitely did. Realizing this in combination with my new weight loss gave me determination to change things once and for all.
I don't weigh myself very often (maybe 4 times a year) and I don't plan on changing that. I'm done trying to count calories and I'm done restricting my food choices (though I'll always remain a vegetarian). I'm not holding myself to strict exercise either. I'm simply going to live like everyone else was intended to - eating only when I'm hungry and stopping when I'm not.
I walk between 60-90 minutes every day and I eat only when I feel hunger. I've been doing this for 2 months now. I last weighed in in August (about 180 lbs), and as much as I want conformation that I'm losing weight because I can't see a difference, I've never been able to see myself losing weight in the past, so I don't think I'm touching the scale til the end of the year.
So, from those experienced in losing weight, will my simple strategy of no-scale, no-diet, no-gym work as long as I remain somewhat active and maintain a healthy caloric intake? Most importantly, can I trust my body to tell me what a healthy caloric intake is - i.e. when I'm hungry, I actually need more calories?
Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this and respond. Sorry if this is longer than it should be, or if I should post this somewhere else.
