It Begins Today

thedietpilot

themedalist wrote: »

thedietpilot wrote: »

Well, well, well.... We've reached the end of my first day back in diet mode.

I successfully warded off most temptations... and managed to consume approximately 1400 calories. (Was hoping to stay at or below 1200, but 1400 isn't bad in my opinion.... I would have done some exercise to help burn off the excess, but I can't currently due to a bad back.)

Good news is that I didn't have any rice today, and I only had one slice of bread.

I had 7 unique servings of fruits / vegetables today. At least 8+ cups of water.

I'm feeling good about this.

Just need to come up with creative solutions to stay on track and avoid giving in to the tendency to let emotions dictate what I should eat....

How was everyone else's day today?

1200 or even 1400 calories a day is pretty low for a male. How did you arrive at that number?

I plugged in my weight, height, age, and gender into MFP, and I set my goal to lose 2 pounds per week.... And so the target number MFP came up with was approximately 1200 calories per day.

thedietpilot

Thanks for the motivation and encouragement, guys!

Today is my Day #3.

My Day #2 went well.... But first thing in the morning, I decided to alter my goal a little bit: I had originally set my daily calorie goal to be 1200ish, by losing 2 pounds per week.

As some of you posted above, it's important to take baby steps and to not overwhelm myself. And this indeed is a life-long journey, not just a short term "crash diet / fad diet".

Therefore, I changed my daily calorie goal to be 1770, by losing only 1 pound per week.

That seems to me to be more realistic and doable. At least I have more flexibility to eat foods that I want without feeling as deprived. And I'm okay with this rate of weight loss. (Maybe I'll revisit increasing my weight loss rate to 1.5 or 2 pounds after some time, once I get adjusted to this new lifestyle.)

And that seemed to work very well! I came in at 1690 calories, so I was 80 calories shy of my target of 1770 for the day. Was it easier than limiting myself to 1200 calories? Yes. I still had to fight cravings and temptations throughout the day, but through positive self-talk, I was able to ward off any "evil" thoughts of eating processed junk foods and carb-laden foods.

I had about 7 - 9 (depending on how you measure it) servings of fruits and vegetables yesterday. And I feel great! I even had about 8 glasses of water.

Today is my day #3 and I am ready for another exciting day on my journey. Yesterday, my wife went grocery shopping and bought a cart-load fruits and vegetables. So I've got no excuse now! We've got a plethora of varieties to choose from to help us throughout the day.

I was tempted to jump on the weighing scale today... And I confess that I did. The numbers hovered near my original starting weight... So I just jumped right off. Obviously, looking at the scale after only 48 hours is ludicrous. I'll just put it away until next week.

I KNOW that I will succeed, so why even look at the scale?


So how was your day yesterday, everyone? And what is your plan of attack for today?

ZBuffBod

The very best of luck to you. My one advice would be not to give up everything at once. Make small changes or you'll find yourself right back where you started when you begin feeling deprived. Most folks who lost weight and kept it off successfully will tell you moderation, not deprivation.

You've done well to introduce more fruit and vegetables, but neither are eggs bad for you. You need that protein and fat too. So why not try something like egg beaters scrambled with some veggies for breakfast...and even throw in some low fat cheese. That can be less than 200 calories for breakfast. One serving of egg beaters is only 20-25 calories. In fact, if you want to go the egg route, one egg is 50-75 calories depending on size.

Find foods you enjoy while on this journey, because if you don't, you will fail. Again, the best of luck on this worthwhile journey.

daisy_janinex

I'm trying again too - feel free to add

kristimason3

What a great post. It sounds like you are doing this for all the right reasons which is a major key for success! As a licensed massage therapist who spent 2 years studying medical massage and having a husband who suffered a terrible back injury about 5 years ago I have to ask..are you receiving regular massages? It has drastically improved my husbands quality of life. Surgery leads to scar tissue and adhesions, which can cause mobility issues and ongoing pain. I know it is often expensive, however if you can find a school close to you (much cheaper rate) and make a weekly appointment it might be extremely beneficial. There are also plenty of instructional videos on YouTube if your wife is willing to help. Another great treatment for chronic pain is meditation. There are also many free videos on YouTube for guided meditation. Back pain sufferers often find alot of relief from the combination of massage therapy and meditation. The better you feel the easier this journey will be for you. Good luck! I wish you and your family love, light and an amazing new year to come full of positive change!

144emily

Today I am on Day 1 and also doing well - so happy for you that you feel so committed! Keep it up! We can do it!

themedalist

thedietpilot wrote: »

Thanks for the motivation and encouragement, guys!

Today is my Day #3.

.....

Therefore, I changed my daily calorie goal to be 1770, by losing only 1 pound per week.

That seems to me to be more realistic and doable. At least I have more flexibility to eat foods that I want without feeling as deprived. And I'm okay with this rate of weight loss. (Maybe I'll revisit increasing my weight loss rate to 1.5 or 2 pounds after some time, once I get adjusted to this new lifestyle.)

..........

I think 1770 cal per day is much more reasonable than 1200 and will help you stick with it. Weight loss success is dependent on patience, perseverance, and determination and having a sustainable eating plan is really important. Keep in mind that online calculators that give you a suggested calorie target are just estimates. Without going through expensive and time-consuming metabolic testing in the lab, you can't know your true BMR and TDEE range. An online tool such as MFP will give you a starting point which you can refine over time. You may well lose 2 pounds a week eating 1770 cal. Time will tell.

IndigoSue13

Good luck! You CAN do this. Sometimes writing down your commitment and sharing it, as you have, helps to keep that commitment strong.

themedalist

Also, I would highly recommend getting a digital scale. Best $20 I ever spent. A digital scale will give you the most precise estimates of the calories in your food and that's essential to an accurate food diary. In my experience, most people who aren't losing weight on MFP are underestimating how much they eat (just using measuring cups/spoons or eyeballing it) and/or overestimating how much they burn through exercise. Accurate logging on both fronts is critical.

This short, 3 minute video on calorie estimation is a real eye opener:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

TossaBeanBag

Your motivational song - "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor"
- Drowning Pool
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HORkT4a2MhQ

thedietpilot

kristimason3 wrote: »

What a great post. It sounds like you are doing this for all the right reasons which is a major key for success! As a licensed massage therapist who spent 2 years studying medical massage and having a husband who suffered a terrible back injury about 5 years ago I have to ask..are you receiving regular massages? It has drastically improved my husbands quality of life. Surgery leads to scar tissue and adhesions, which can cause mobility issues and ongoing pain. I know it is often expensive, however if you can find a school close to you (much cheaper rate) and make a weekly appointment it might be extremely beneficial. There are also plenty of instructional videos on YouTube if your wife is willing to help. Another great treatment for chronic pain is meditation. There are also many free videos on YouTube for guided meditation. Back pain sufferers often find alot of relief from the combination of massage therapy and meditation. The better you feel the easier this journey will be for you. Good luck! I wish you and your family love, light and an amazing new year to come full of positive change!

My wife has given me back massages... And for those brief couple of minutes, it has indeed made a difference and provided some relief from the back pain.

Yesterday, I tried meditating. (I don't really know how... But I just sat in silence and focused on some distant object, clearing my mind, for a few minutes.... and I did begin to feel relaxed.)

You know what is interesting? I did notice that whenever I get angry, agitated, or stressed, my back pain gets worse!!!!

So I guess it pays to be in a good / relaxed mood at all times, to alleviate back pain.

thedietpilot

144emily wrote: »

Today I am on Day 1 and also doing well - so happy for you that you feel so committed! Keep it up! We can do it!

How did your first day go? Today I am on Day #4.

thedietpilot

It's the weekend, everyone!

Anyone who has ever been to a beach knows that every once in a while, you have to be ready for the "big wave" to come to shore. Weekends (for me) are like that when it comes to the challenge of eating healthy.

It's more like a tsunami.

I come from a big family / community that when we get together, we eat huge feasts of unhealthy foods, laden with rice, breads, food cooked with lots of fatty oil, and tons of spices.

Today is Day #4 of my diet journey... And it is also my first weekend day.

My first three days were easy. (I am getting accustomed to changing my lifestyle to eat more healthy foods now.) I am a huge bread and rice eater, and I am happy to report that I did not eat any rice or bread yesterday. I know this is not sustainable in the long run, because it is inevitably something that I enjoy eating, and I can't deprive myself of it forever... but nonetheless it was nice to go through the entire day without it yesterday.

What is weird about yesterday (Day #3) is that despite not having rice and bread, I still ended up eating about 2000 to 2100 calories!! So good old MFP says that in 5 weeks, I will have only maintained my weight.

But what is interesting is that of those 2000 to 2100 calories, I had at least 8 full serving sizes of fruits and vegetables. I had no bread. I had no rice. But I had some nuts, some beans, and some corn... and some food cooked in fatty oil. (It's AMAZINGLY / LETHALLY deceptive that one tablespoon of oil contains 100 calories.)

But for what it's worth, I did eat very healthy yesterday. Pretty much all natural foods. Very little in the way of processed foods. I even consumed about 40 grams of fiber!

This morning, I decided (for entertainment purposes only) to check myself on the weighing scale. It's one of those $40 digital scales you can buy at Walmart. It had some kind of error... Even with nothing on the scale, it would read 4.4 pounds... After tapping it many times, it finally read 0.

And when I got on the scale, it was within 1 pound of my starting weight.

But who cares. I don't care what the scale says. I'm going to keep moving forward at full speed.

Today, being a weekend... I actually declined an invitation to attend a gathering where they would be serving all kinds of unhealthy foods. It's a shame I had to do that, but being only 4 days into my diet, I feel I would be too vulnerable to succumb to the temptation to "cheat" on the diet.

But I feel pretty good about my decision to decline. Maybe after I have lost 10 to 20 pounds, I'll feel more confident going into a party and making smart decisions to eat... or maybe by then I can afford to "cheat". But not yet. I feel too vulnerable to put myself in a situation where there is a lot of good, unhealthy food at my fingertips.

How about everyone else? Do you guys face any challenges on weekends (or at any times you get invited to parties or peer pressure from colleagues to eat out with them)?

srcurran

Weekends can be a challenge for me, too, but I try to eat less during the week to make up for the slight increase on Saturday and Sunday. Still hungry all the time, but liking the results. We'll see how my blood work comes back shortly after the new year.

DeWoSa

I need to see a lot of food in front of me to keep me feeling undeprived. So, I eat a bag of Bird's Eye Steamfresh vegetables every day -- for a grand total of 136 calories. If I just had a little 3 oz piece of chicken on my plate and a dab of potato, I would feel sorry for myself indeed. But pile up the veggies, and that plate looks full and is filling.

I also eat a snack before bedtime (Cheerios, applesauce, yogurt), so I don't graze after dinner. I know I have a snack still coming!

Ditto what other people have said about motivation. Motivation comes and goes. Committing to eating according to your food plan, even when you don't want to, contributes to success.

To deal with weekends, eat a little bit less during the week so you have more calories for the weekend. It's like money. If you have $100 to spend every day, and you only spend $90 for five days, then you have 50 extra bucks to spend the sixth day.

Best of luck to you!

thedietpilot

So was everyone's weekend? Did you survive? Did you go through any challenging situations?

I survived. Today, I survived on a banana, an apple, and a cup of sliced oranges until 3:30PM... after which I ate a salad and some chicken wings. Later in the evening, I was a little hungry, so I rewarded myself with a little taste of rice, and a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup... (I think a little bit of a treat can go a long way in keeping the momentum going psychologically.) And I still came in at only 1400 calories for the day.

What is ABSOLUTELY ASTOUNDING is how LOW a HUGE BOWL OF SALAD is in calories!

When you think about the sheer volume of food that is contained in fruits and vegetables, compared to other foods, it is mind-boggling how low in calories they are. I ate two cups of salad and I was full / satisfied... and when I checked the calories on it, it was barely 100 calories!

A cup of oranges took me a few minutes to eat, and I was good to go for the next couple of hours... Clocked in at less than a 100 calories as well.

I am ready for Monday! :-)

And I hope you are too.

If you ran into any roadblocks over the weekend, don't give up. Just get back on your feet and start anew on Monday!

Oh, and yesterday, I decided to work some cardio into my routine... My bad back is finally starting to feel a little bit better, so I decided to push myself, take a chance, and do some cardio...

I did Day 1 of the Beach Body "21 Day Fix".... (I did all the "modified moves" since my back was still not well enough for me to do anything too aggressive.)

And boy did it feel good. I hadn't done aerobic exercise like that in months.. (I've been walking, and I used to ride my bike during the summer time, but nothing as intense as an actual exercise DVD!)

Talk to you all Monday!

thedietpilot

I look forward to Mondays. You know why? Because I feel like I am in better control of my eating habits, due to the predictability of my daily routine.

thedietpilot

Man... It's important to stay strong.... We have a guest staying over at our house for the next few days, and they obviously aren't dieting. So we have to balance being accommodating while maintaining our own diet. We've already made it clear to them that we are dieting. So let's see how this goes.... So far so good.... Maintaining a balance...

techinteaching

Remember to Earn what you eat... exercise first... I have a "date" at my gym Thanksgiving at 9AM... then I can have my stuffing (single serving) with my bird!!!