I ahould be so much worse off than i am

amandachesneyac

I'm juggling three teenagers, a terminally ill husband, a 3 hour commute(round trip), 10 hour shifts 5-6 days per week.
Food prep, exercise and sleep have been pretty low on my list of priorities for a very long time now. For the past few years, weight gain has been consistently 10-20 pounds annually. I don't watch the scales too closely, the numbers rise and fall, but as I've gotten older, they just don't fall like they used to. I've tried a few crash diets since i hit that dreaded 200 pound mark, and each time, I've gained more after falling off the wagon than I'd managed to take off.
This time, i decided to be a bit more sensible, i wanted to start with just looking at what i ate through the day, while giving up energy drinks and sodas in favor of unsweetened coffe, tea, and water.
Yesterday's log blew me away at over 5000 calories. A normal day for me consisting of some dollar menu items from the drive thru and a few snacks from the convenience store during my shift.
I don't excercise anymore. I stopped weight training nearly 20 years ago when i became pregnant for my oldest son. I've been working in the quality lab for over a year now, it's about as sedentary as factory life gets. I don't understand how I'm not gaining pounds daily rather than yearly, and suddenly it makes perfect sense why i simply cannot function on a 1200 calorie diet.... But where I'm at is clearly too much. How do i calculate a realistic number for myself? How do i accomodate adding in some bodyweight excercise and running? My cardio ability is shameful and now that I'm at least 50 pounds over my comfort zone in weight with a slight apron i will not tolerate, toning seems really important again.

VintageFeline

Put your stats into MFP, to lose 1lb per week. You will get a reasonable calorie goal nowhere near 1200. Log exercise. Eat some of those calories (50% is recommended until you have been at it long enough to know if you can eat more by watching your losses).

That's it. Over time you will learn what to eat to make your calories stretch as far as they can while fitting in the things you love so you don't feel deprived. You won't lose it overnight but it will be sustainable.

And be kind to yourself, you have a lot to deal with, we all have little blips here and there.

sp3161

I lost 15 pounds several years ago by eating the calories it told me to eat. I would eat back the exercise calories. I would also one day a week eat about 300 calories more.

You have a lot to deal with but you can do it. Best of luck! You can't change the past but just do better from this point own.

trigden1991

Eat less. Your schedule is busy so it will free up more time.