Introduction: Trying Again

fitlisa66

This site was recommended to me by my wellness coach and apparently I had signed up before but didn't make good use of the tools, and now I am back.

I have to admit, I really dislike tracking my food and exercise. I am trying to explore why - is it an issue of honesty, time, convenience? I have cited all of these as obstacles in the past. Maybe, too, it has to do with a tendency for impatience with myself. What I mean is that if I do everything "right" for a week or two and don't see any change in how I feel, look, or what the scale says, I am ready to give up again - or maybe that's just further justification. Another issue that seems to come up is one of guilt. If I eat something "bad," I don't want to write it down because I feel like a failure, so won't write it down, which, of course, leads to a lapse in tracking. If I haven't exercised in awhile, I'll feel guilty about that, too, and will avoid looking at my "progress" or other kinds of reports.

So anyway, I probably make things more complicated than they need to be. Maybe someone out there has a similar reaction to tracking and can give me some heartfelt and honest suggestions, I don't know. I do know that once upon a time, when I first joined Weight Watchers, I tracked my food like it was a new religion and lost a significant amount of weight. Then I went to grad school and eating "right" fell by the wayside. I have never been able to recreate that success, despite joining and quitting weight watchers a several more times, and wonder if the fact that I am over 45 now has anything to do with my inability to loose weight. My chiropractor blames metabolism and says that it doesn't matter how much I watch what I eat or how much I exercise, I won't loose weight if my metabolism is off - that it needs a "jump start" if I am ever to loose weight. Then he tries to sell me supplements - so I don't know what to believe.

So, here I am, desperate and deflated once again, feeling powerless over my ability to eat well, get to the gym, or track my food.

Linzer140fit

While I do believe getting older can make losing weight difficult I do not agree with your chiropractor at all. There is a free BMR calculator at www.bmrcalculator.net and this site probably uses the same way to calculate. Two people may be the same age, height, weight and have the same BMR but lose weight at different rates with the same calorie intake. So once you you've input your info in here and start tracking your food and activity, (it's very important not to over estimate your activity level and intensity) you can determine what works for you. Just because the screen is telling you , "If every day were like this you'd weigh 135 pounds in 5 weeks." Well that may work out right, or possibly not. The muscles in your body are your metabolizers. If you are exercising/using your muscles you are increasing your metabolism during that period of time and your metabolism is at an increased level for a certain period of time post exercise. Your exercise does not need be extreme. Activity, exercise and increasing muscle strength mass will boost your metabolism. You can do it!!

Linzer140fit

Sorry..here's something else. One is I've done WW before and been successful but am trying this now. I've found the tracker very easy to use here, it has found everything I've put in. Also we don't eat that differently day to day and you can go to your previous days stuff and click on the items to add to the current day. It is very user friendly.

I love junky food. Track everything. LIttle things add up quicker than you realize and if you don't write it down your not going to know what is going on or why you're not making progress. Also if you write it down and find you had an absolutely INSANE day of eating, go back over it and examine it. Was this that necessary, what was going on that day, was there something I could have swapped that for (that I like!!)..that would not have been as painful to my total. I have done this. It will help, day by day you will see yourself make different choices and the number coming, down, down , down to within an acceptable range of what you're aiming for. From a WW meeting...after having a bad day of eating, tripping up...."when you're coming down a flight of stairs and you trip/stumble do you just say "Oh screw it, I tripped!" and then proceed to fling yourself down the remaining stairs? No, you catch yourself, right yourself, and continue walking down the stairs." Slipping up here and there and enjoying your food does not mean you just don't try anymore. Good luck to you.

fitlisa66

Thanks Linzer140fit for the tip about metabolism and especially for the great analogy of tripping down stairs. Both VERY helpful!

Adara44

If you think about how you feel having to write down unhealthy food when you are getting ready to eat it, maybe that can help you decide on a more healthy option, instead! If I get frustrated about not seeing progress, I think about how I at least am not in worse shape. It shows me that all the work I did at least helped me maintain. Sometimes it takes a little while to reach a goal. I do think it is harder to lose weight as you age. I remember being 19 and thinking I would be able to eat whatever I wanted, forever. Ha! The fastest I ever lost weight, was when I ate 5 times a day. I do think there is truth to it boosting your metablosim. Try to stay positive and if you have a bad day, remember there is always another one, tomorrow! Good luck!

hadiachatila89

Hey you're not the only one who hates tracking. I never believed in it but I am doing it because it is helping me add up what I eat. I chose to be for a long time at the same weight because of bad self image and a lot of diets followed by binge eating. And now that it has been a long time since I'm off diet and in good terms with food I started using it and I too uploaded this app few years ago but never really used because I was too anxious too. My relationship with food now is so much better than before because I decided to eat whatever I want but in moderation. Since then I didn't diet nor have I lost weight and I needed that for my mental health. I don't believe in the strict diet anymore and I do have my mini Dove chocolate daily. My problem is with serving and misjudging the real amounts of calories. Hopefully this app will help me lose weight slowly without the need to obsess over food. My advice is to make sure you're eating your healthy food before having your daily treat this way you'll not over do it because the body doesn't ask for sugary foods unless it's lacking nutrients so fill your body with good stuff first. And exercise has really helped adding what I can eat too.

thedecuirs

I too started taking then quit. Even went through a phase of lying to the app. So I understand. I decided to get back to taking because my nut said that if the people who take off the weight and keep it off... 75% of them track every day even after five years. Couple that with the fact that I know me. When I track I am more mindful of what I eat. Not that I am eating perfectly healthfully all the time. Nope. But life doesn't take perfection. You won't gain all the with you lost back because you ate a piece of cake, but if you are diligent abd honest about taking, maybe the piece of cake will be one small and rare piece. That's the beauty of taking. Learning to make better choices more often than not.

You can do this.