Introduce Yourself
Replies
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CurvyDreamer66 wrote: »Hello everyone. I'm Jessie. I'm 28. A first time mom. I want to lose 180 pounds total. I'm trying to go keto. Im also doing fasting. I like to Bullet journal. I love Disney. I love Rachel hollis. Im getting married.. I just don't know when because of Covid.... The plan is July 4th. I'm always looking for friends feel free to add me.
Hi @CurvyDreamer66,
Welcome to LL.
Congrats on the first child and getting married.
If Keto+fasting makes it easier to stick to your calorie goals then it is worth pursuing. If not, there are other ways to stay in a calorie deficit. Remember that sustainability is how weight is really lost so scale results do not immediately indicate that a plan is the right one for you.1 -
@CurvyDreamer66: Hi! I'm looking at getting married sometime too; we're waiting on him to have a solid job again before buying the ring.3
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Hi everyone. I am 33 and have struggled with weight ny my whole life. I work in retail management and am a mom to a 10yo boy. At the worst point, when my son was a toddler I was at 288lbs, when I saw that number in the scale I was horrified and lost about 45 lbs, but gained most of it back. This is my third go at MFP and hoping to stick to it this time.
Stats:
5'1"
Starting weight: 272 (July 2020)
Current weight: 243
First goal: 235 (what I weighed when I got pregnant with my son in 2009)
2nd goal: To reach ONEderland
Ultimate long term goal: will reevaluate as I see how my body looks and how I feel5 -
Hi everyone. I am 33 and have struggled with weight ny my whole life. I work in retail management and am a mom to a 10yo boy. At the worst point, when my son was a toddler I was at 288lbs, when I saw that number in the scale I was horrified and lost about 45 lbs, but gained most of it back. This is my third go at MFP and hoping to stick to it this time.
Stats:
5'1"
Starting weight: 272 (July 2020)
Current weight: 243
First goal: 235 (what I weighed when I got pregnant with my son in 2009)
2nd goal: To reach ONEderland
Ultimate long term goal: will reevaluate as I see how my body looks and how I feel
Hi there and welcome!
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Oh, maybe some context might help.
I quit smoking cold-turkey about 6 months ago. I was a chain smoker, doing about 55-60 cigarettes a day, averaged over 25 years (started smoking at 15). Also, I was (and still am of course) morbidly obese, and suffering from a lot of health problems (had a stroke five years ago, high blood pressure, pre-diabetic etc etc).
In the span of one month since I quit, I gained 9kg (~20lb), I presume exclusively consisting of fat. I managed to reach 178kg (392lb), the heaviest I've ever been.
And then I thought..."well, you managed to quit smoking and take care of your lungs dude, why don't you take care of the rest of your body now?" I've been the classic yo-yo dieter for 15 years now, and looking back, I think I always tended to half-*kitten* it and not take myself and my body seriously. Time for a change!
Five months in, I've lost those 20 pounds I gained and then 63 more for good measure. I'm 309lb now, and have a long, long, loooooong road ahead of me to fix myself.
I'll do it though, nothing is going to stop me. And I'm going to have fun on the way too! This time I'm sciencing the *kitten* out of this.
I pity that poor fat, it has no chance! None I tell you!
Dante - what program is this? I love it!! Is this someplace in MFP - because if so - can someone show me how to find it?1 -
benjaminlight wrote: »
Dante - what program is this? I love it!! Is this someplace in MFP - because if so - can someone show me how to find it?
It is a tracker like MFP, called Cronometer. I started using that before finding out about MFP, and I'm still using it now. Its' main limitation is that the food database is not user-made but curated.
Which is both a boon and a curse, depending on the amount of processed/bought of the shelf foods you consume, and how compatible their labels are with the built in bar code scanner. Also, there is zero social aspect to it (no online community etc) which is...why I'm here..C:
I'm following a diet where almost everything eaten is either a generic food or a food cooked by me, so I have zero problems with using USDA/NCCDB as my main source of information for logging. Your mileage may vary though!
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MandiSaysHey wrote: »Hi everyone. I am 33 and have struggled with weight ny my whole life. I work in retail management and am a mom to a 10yo boy. At the worst point, when my son was a toddler I was at 288lbs, when I saw that number in the scale I was horrified and lost about 45 lbs, but gained most of it back. This is my third go at MFP and hoping to stick to it this time.
Stats:
5'1"
Starting weight: 272 (July 2020)
Current weight: 243
First goal: 235 (what I weighed when I got pregnant with my son in 2009)
2nd goal: To reach ONEderland
Ultimate long term goal: will reevaluate as I see how my body looks and how I feel
Hi @MandiSaysHey,
Welcome.
So other than joining our group what will you do differently this time?
The one thing that always catches my eye is any indication that a person believes that more willpower and discipline is part or all of the answer. That was a big part of my thinking for 30 years of failing. It was when I reversed my thinking that made the difference. Instead of forcing myself to stick to a plan, I made the plan easier to stick with.
In my past I would have blinders on. I made weight loss the only thing I could see. It was my goal and my focus. I only cared that the scale was going down. I didn't consider that how easy it is to lose the next pound is more important than the speed of losing it. If the next pound is easy then the one after that should not be so hard... and so on...
Sustainability is the key to getting lots of weight off. It may mean ditching some old ideas about only eating healthy, it could mean losing weight a little slower, it could mean both, or it could mean something else entirely.
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Good Sunday to everyone ☘️🌸🌻
New to the group. This is the group I have been looking for bc I have over 90lbs to lose. I have lost 13.5lbs so far. A1c dropped to prediabetic range. Moving in the right direction.
I’ve always considered myself a proud big girl! Today, this weight is hard to carry around. My self esteem is low and, this is the hardest hurdle yet. Mind over Matter, so for me to get my mind over the weight, sore ankles, aching knees, diabetes, failed relationships with ex’s and friends...to combat it in a matter of fact way is difficult. To say the least.
I tried therapy. Complete waste of time. I’m told to look up YouTube videos on visualization or meditate. So I’m going to skip the obvious and seek expensive therapy.
If money was no object, i would hire an trainer to come to my home. And work me out 5 days a week. And have one of those food delivery services that follow your calorie count.
I know it’s best to do this by myself, but I think the support of a group would help.
Looking through some other groups people are losing 20lbs. I WISH! 😄🙃
Please reach out. Comment. Gently. And I promise to return the same!
BordeauxBee5 -
BordeauxBee wrote: »Good Sunday to everyone ☘️🌸🌻
New to the group. This is the group I have been looking for bc I have over 90lbs to lose. I have lost 13.5lbs so far. A1c dropped to prediabetic range. Moving in the right direction.
I’ve always considered myself a proud big girl! Today, this weight is hard to carry around. My self esteem is low and, this is the hardest hurdle yet. Mind over Matter, so for me to get my mind over the weight, sore ankles, aching knees, diabetes, failed relationships with ex’s and friends...to combat it in a matter of fact way is difficult. To say the least.
I tried therapy. Complete waste of time. I’m told to look up YouTube videos on visualization or meditate. So I’m going to skip the obvious and seek expensive therapy.
If money was no object, i would hire an trainer to come to my home. And work me out 5 days a week. And have one of those food delivery services that follow your calorie count.
I know it’s best to do this by myself, but I think the support of a group would help.
Looking through some other groups people are losing 20lbs. I WISH! 😄🙃
Please reach out. Comment. Gently. And I promise to return the same!
BordeauxBee
It is possible, you're with the right people. I started this year at 296 and said Oh, HELL no! and as of last Friday I am FIFTY pounds lighter, and five sizes down. I wouldn't have believed I can do it either. Especially since I can't eat "clean" due to food intolerances. And foot arthritis means I'm not going to add walking or running, and the gyms are shut due to COVID. But I am doing it. And you can too. It's just day by day and meal by meal, and if you eat your calorie budget or just below, you'll succeed. I believe in you.
Therapy can help you with the self-esteem. It can help you with some of the negative self-talk that will go on in your head no matter the amount you weigh. And so it's good, because that negativity will make it a bit harder to do.
But all you have to do is stay under calorie, however you prefer it. I eat candy bars every day, and chips. Other people can do it by eating a lot of vegetables, or going keto. But it's whatever works for you. I know you can do it.1 -
Hi! I’m glad to meet you! Please friend me. I’m proud of you for reaching out. This is the best group!BordeauxBee wrote: »Good Sunday to everyone ☘️🌸🌻
New to the group. This is the group I have been looking for bc I have over 90lbs to lose. I have lost 13.5lbs so far. A1c dropped to prediabetic range. Moving in the right direction.
I’ve always considered myself a proud big girl! Today, this weight is hard to carry around. My self esteem is low and, this is the hardest hurdle yet. Mind over Matter, so for me to get my mind over the weight, sore ankles, aching knees, diabetes, failed relationships with ex’s and friends...to combat it in a matter of fact way is difficult. To say the least.
I tried therapy. Complete waste of time. I’m told to look up YouTube videos on visualization or meditate. So I’m going to skip the obvious and seek expensive therapy.
If money was no object, i would hire an trainer to come to my home. And work me out 5 days a week. And have one of those food delivery services that follow your calorie count.
I know it’s best to do this by myself, but I think the support of a group would help.
Looking through some other groups people are losing 20lbs. I WISH! 😄🙃
Please reach out. Comment. Gently. And I promise to return the same!
BordeauxBee
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AlexandraFindsHerself1971 wrote: »BordeauxBee wrote: »Good Sunday to everyone ☘️🌸🌻
New to the group. This is the group I have been looking for bc I have over 90lbs to lose. I have lost 13.5lbs so far. A1c dropped to prediabetic range. Moving in the right direction.
I’ve always considered myself a proud big girl! Today, this weight is hard to carry around. My self esteem is low and, this is the hardest hurdle yet. Mind over Matter, so for me to get my mind over the weight, sore ankles, aching knees, diabetes, failed relationships with ex’s and friends...to combat it in a matter of fact way is difficult. To say the least.
I tried therapy. Complete waste of time. I’m told to look up YouTube videos on visualization or meditate. So I’m going to skip the obvious and seek expensive therapy.
If money was no object, i would hire an trainer to come to my home. And work me out 5 days a week. And have one of those food delivery services that follow your calorie count.
I know it’s best to do this by myself, but I think the support of a group would help.
Looking through some other groups people are losing 20lbs. I WISH! 😄🙃
Please reach out. Comment. Gently. And I promise to return the same!
BordeauxBee
It is possible, you're with the right people. I started this year at 296 and said Oh, HELL no! and as of last Friday I am FIFTY pounds lighter, and five sizes down. I wouldn't have believed I can do it either. Especially since I can't eat "clean" due to food intolerances. And foot arthritis means I'm not going to add walking or running, and the gyms are shut due to COVID. But I am doing it. And you can too. It's just day by day and meal by meal, and if you eat your calorie budget or just below, you'll succeed. I believe in you.
Therapy can help you with the self-esteem. It can help you with some of the negative self-talk that will go on in your head no matter the amount you weigh. And so it's good, because that negativity will make it a bit harder to do.
But all you have to do is stay under calorie, however you prefer it. I eat candy bars every day, and chips. Other people can do it by eating a lot of vegetables, or going keto. But it's whatever works for you. I know you can do it.
Welcome @BordeauxBee!! And congrats on your progress so far. Getting that A1C down is amazing!!
This is a great, kind, supportive group through all sorts of ups and downs. You can absolutely do this. I started last August at 257, and have lost 60 lbs since then (and still have another 50-ish to go). I tried many times before, but always gave up after a month or two (I made it too hard, compared myself too much to others, etc...). I'm honestly still amazed that I'm still here and still losing. I didn't even add in any exercise until this last spring...lost the first 40 lbs through diet alone.
I eat what I like, I count the calories, and I try to hit my goal more days than not. Through the last year, I've been able to dial in my diet a bit more - learning that protein early in the day makes me feel more full, carbs for breakfast make me hungrier in the evening, and that I like to save room for a nightly treat. Everyone is different - Lasting weight loss is about finding the easiest path for you.
The self-esteem bit is probably the hardest part for many of us. I think most of us have learned that losing weight itself doesn't actually solve our other problems. I'm 60 lbs lighter, my anxiety is still through the roof, I often feel like a failure, like I've let down friends and family, and constantly worry that people don't like me. But. As I've worked to address those other issue (thanks, therapy!), my approach toward weight loss has dramatically improved. And as I've done a lot of thinking and introspection during my weight loss, I apply those insights and lessons to my other life issues as well.
(I second therapy, btw. It can take a while before you find the right approach and therapist that clicks with you, but I absolutely believe it can be helpful for anyone and everyone. Getting therapy to help with my anxiety has been the single best decision I've made in the last decade, and has spilled over to improvements in all other parts of my life.)
It took me years to get there, but I loved my body at my highest weight - its curves, its softness, its strength. But my knees were sore, I was feeling much older than I am, I got out of breath going upstairs, my blood pressure was creeping up. Ultimately because I loved my body, I knew I had to do something different to care for it. The change in how I physically feel has been amazing. No more knee issues. I can walk and run and hike to my heart's content. I can (kind of
) keep up with my toddler niece. I did a cartwheel! My blood pressure has dropped. I can sprint up and down the stairs. I have so much more energy, and love being able to use my body in ways I wasn't able to before.
Don't worry if it seems slow, if you mess up, if other people lose faster than you, if you spend the next three weeks eating ALL THE HALLOWEEN CANDY (who, me??). Just keep coming back every day, look at everything as a learning opportunity, and adjust as you go. You'll do great!!
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BordeauxBee wrote: »Good Sunday to everyone ☘️🌸🌻
New to the group. This is the group I have been looking for bc I have over 90lbs to lose. I have lost 13.5lbs so far. A1c dropped to prediabetic range. Moving in the right direction.
I’ve always considered myself a proud big girl! Today, this weight is hard to carry around. My self esteem is low and, this is the hardest hurdle yet. Mind over Matter, so for me to get my mind over the weight, sore ankles, aching knees, diabetes, failed relationships with ex’s and friends...to combat it in a matter of fact way is difficult. To say the least.
I tried therapy. Complete waste of time. I’m told to look up YouTube videos on visualization or meditate. So I’m going to skip the obvious and seek expensive therapy.
If money was no object, i would hire an trainer to come to my home. And work me out 5 days a week. And have one of those food delivery services that follow your calorie count.
I know it’s best to do this by myself, but I think the support of a group would help.
Looking through some other groups people are losing 20lbs. I WISH! 😄🙃
Please reach out. Comment. Gently. And I promise to return the same!
BordeauxBee
Hi @BordeauxBee,
Welcome to LL.
Great job on the 13.5 pounds.
Even though I started this group I can claim very little credit to how great it is. The people here are amazing. There is something to be said for people who have a better understanding of where you are, where you have been, and where you are going. We are big enough now that there is a reasonable chance that even if I do not understand something you are going through someone else will.
I appreciate that the people who have only ever had 20 pounds to lose have their own set of problems. I even firmly believe that many of them can give great advice to those with far more to lose. But they will miss things. When I hear someone with 90 to lose talking about exercise the first thing I think of is make sure you take care of your joints. I know because my knees are in pretty bad shape.
Also during my time I noticed that there was not a lot of guidance/information for people with a larger amount to lose. I searched and searched. It seems that people that started as heavy as I did were expected to immediately consider weight loss surgery.
I also noticed that I was one of the few vocal really large people in the MFP community. When other people with large amounts to lose would show up for help I realized I needed to interact with that person. But they never stayed so I never knew what happened. That bothered me. I cared about these people. They were "my people".
I knew the chance of this group succeeding was a very long shot. MFP has probably 10,000 user formed groups and most of them either never made it to 3 user or 10 posts or they did well for a short time and then died.
It didn't die and now you are here. I am hopeful you stick around and share your good days and bad ones with us. Let us celebrate the good ones and rally around you during the bad ones.
Remember that perfection is not a necessary component for weight loss. We all just have to be good enough most of the time.4 -
NovusDies, I couldn’t have hoped for a better welcome! Thank you so much ☺️
Happily more of “us” are coming out. I’m here and am ready to be part of the group. Prepared to share.
With that being said...I have finished off the other half of my 3.1oz box of Snocaps. If it’s not the result of stress that I seek comfort in foods or portions not within diet boundaries. It is hormones. The uncomfortableness of the emotions are like, just give it what it wants. Eat some chocolate or some French fries and regain your sanity.
When it comes to hormone cravings they seem to just creep up on me. I don’t realize that I am pacifying a hormonal temper tantrum with cheap chocolate till I’m halfway through the box. Normally, I keep my favorite 80% dark chocolate on hand, but since the pandemic I can not find my favorite brand.
I know I have to work on this 😔. Progress over perfection. Hopefully, I will resolute this soon.
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BordeauxBee wrote: »NovusDies, I couldn’t have hoped for a better welcome! Thank you so much ☺️
Happily more of “us” are coming out. I’m here and am ready to be part of the group. Prepared to share.
With that being said...I have finished off the other half of my 3.1oz box of Snocaps. If it’s not the result of stress that I seek comfort in foods or portions not within diet boundaries. It is hormones. The uncomfortableness of the emotions are like, just give it what it wants. Eat some chocolate or some French fries and regain your sanity.
When it comes to hormone cravings they seem to just creep up on me. I don’t realize that I am pacifying a hormonal temper tantrum with cheap chocolate till I’m halfway through the box. Normally, I keep my favorite 80% dark chocolate on hand, but since the pandemic I can not find my favorite brand.
I know I have to work on this 😔. Progress over perfection. Hopefully, I will resolute this soon.
@BordeauxBee
It is funny you characterize it as a tantrum. I often view my battle with my inner child. My child wants what it wants now. He wants food pleasure. He doesn't care that in constant excess he will leave me with a life that is so disabled that food pleasure is one of the few remaining pleasures I am left with. That is where I ended up.
Have you ever tried to explore how food became your "medicine"? Sometimes our food habits come from parents or other people in our lives. It doesn't help that we live in places where "comfort food" is such a common thing to say and to believe. I suppose you know that eating is a placebo. Funny thing about placebos is that they do work and there have been studies in which people given the placebo were actually told what it was and it still worked for some. The unfortunate thing about this placebo is that there is collateral damage.
Seems like your battle will be on two fronts. Minimizing the initial problem while also finding a healthier alternative to calm the storm. I wish I were trained to help. I can really only give high level ideas of things to try.
One of the things most of us have in common is that we struggle keeping the autopilot off. Eating is necessity, an instinct, and a habit. The autopilot is a well rehearsed repetition of stimuli that is normally followed by food. If I sense a situation that normally involves food my autopilot kicks in and says "You don't need to divert mental resources for this, I know what to do" and it finds food. That situation could be hunger, craving, something you see on TV or on your counter, a time of day, boredom, stress, illness, excitement, hormones, a friend coming over, and the list goes on. You might be in the car and see that you are in the kitchen and even eating food but you are not really in the drivers seat. You are on your smartphone. Because eating is a necessity and an instinct eating food habits are formed very quickly and establishing habits that control eating are not. Initially those new habits can be quite uncomfortably and unsettling.
My point in all this is to look for battles you can win. Sometimes we focus too much on the hard one to overcome we don't always realize that 10 easier ones are holding us back more. We all have multiple food cues. I am not certain I will ever even identify all of mine. I have been feeding myself since I was about 12. That is 38 years of habit formation. For all I know if I see a particular kind of tree it might make me want to eat a doughnut... I don't know. I do know some of them and some we all have in common like if you leave something you enjoy eating where it can be seen easily you will want to eat it. You don't have to eat it but you will want to eat it. When you divert mental energy to resist the urge you are weakening yourself and you may need that mental energy later. I think we all have a finite amount of discipline. While it does replenish itself it is not immediate. I need to take steps to avoid using my discipline unnecessarily so that when it is necessary (and it always will be) I am not worn down.
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As always, well put!
Growing up, I was a daddy’s girl. I was always asking to tag along with him. We went to restaurants sometimes and some mornings we’d have a great breakfast. My earliest memories of munching with my pops, I was sitting in a booster seat at the kitchen table 😆.
On the other hand. Anytime while we was out, if I seen a Barbie or toy. He would buy it for me. No questions, no comprise. I didn’t turn into a shopaholic. Never been accused of seeking attention.
Growing up I was the only chunky one at home. My mom had a little weight but some would describe it as “carrying it well”.
Everyone has a vice. As I got older, food became mine.
My solution is to try to keep healthy alternatives in the house. With this pandemic going on I try to limit my time outside. Therefore, the cabinets and the fridge might be light on nonessentials.
Happily, I ordered delivery but it was a salad 🥗. Lol, a $17 salad. Falafel. My nutritionist said no to falafel because it fried. Cut me break! It isn’t everyday or week or month that I have falafel. 😝
But I hear you NovusDies, you don’t want to undo your progress by giving in. Learning food cues may be a little hard. I know of the one. I shared it with a dietitian once for help with it and she laughed in my face.
Yesterday I read how the group was mentally preparing for Thanksgiving. What they would or wouldn’t eat. Their plans to not over eat! That was incredibly helpful.
Thank you NovusDies
-BordeauxBee
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BordeauxBee wrote: »As always, well put!
Growing up, I was a daddy’s girl. I was always asking to tag along with him. We went to restaurants sometimes and some mornings we’d have a great breakfast. My earliest memories of munching with my pops, I was sitting in a booster seat at the kitchen table 😆.
On the other hand. Anytime while we was out, if I seen a Barbie or toy. He would buy it for me. No questions, no comprise. I didn’t turn into a shopaholic. Never been accused of seeking attention.
Growing up I was the only chunky one at home. My mom had a little weight but some would describe it as “carrying it well”.
Everyone has a vice. As I got older, food became mine.
My solution is to try to keep healthy alternatives in the house. With this pandemic going on I try to limit my time outside. Therefore, the cabinets and the fridge might be light on nonessentials.
Happily, I ordered delivery but it was a salad 🥗. Lol, a $17 salad. Falafel. My nutritionist said no to falafel because it fried. Cut me break! It isn’t everyday or week or month that I have falafel. 😝
But I hear you NovusDies, you don’t want to undo your progress by giving in. Learning food cues may be a little hard. I know of the one. I shared it with a dietitian once for help with it and she laughed in my face.
Yesterday I read how the group was mentally preparing for Thanksgiving. What they would or wouldn’t eat. Their plans to not over eat! That was incredibly helpful.
Thank you NovusDies
-BordeauxBee
Food cues can be bizarre. I would have no problem laughing at some of mine. I would not appreciate if others laughed unless I was inviting them to laugh with me. Yes old Columbo reruns make me want to eat chili. That one is not really a problem since chili is usually manageable calories. It is the cornbread that is the problem...
I am not a fan of arbitrary rules. Is there a specific reason you should not eat fried foods? I mean I know they are higher in calories and can make budgeting that day a little more difficult but I have never stopped eating fried foods. I just don't eat them nearly as often.
All the food I have eaten while losing weight has been healthy. It just hasn't all been conventionally healthy. When I tell myself I can't have something, even if it is something I don't normally want, then I want it more. By managing my cravings and having treats I improved my sustainability. This means the treats greased the wheels for my weight loss. This means that I owe some of my weight loss and my drastically improved health to treats. This makes treats healthy.
The only place that does not work is if it is food I struggle to moderate. Then I have to suck it up.
I like your idea of reviewing the habits and thought processes of people trying to figure out what flexible means to them. The holidays are a tricky time and it usually demands the most flexibility. We probably all have someone who will be standing there with hopeful eyes holding out a plate of something we can't really afford calorie-wise hoping we will tell them how great it is and confirm it by eating an entire portion. Sure most of the time we have to say no but geez... those hopeful eyes... it is the holidays. Of course a good plan on paper doesn't mean a good plan in execution but it is better to try than to just decide you can't control anything.3 -
BordeauxBee wrote: »As always, well put!
Growing up, I was a daddy’s girl. I was always asking to tag along with him. We went to restaurants sometimes and some mornings we’d have a great breakfast. My earliest memories of munching with my pops, I was sitting in a booster seat at the kitchen table 😆.
On the other hand. Anytime while we was out, if I seen a Barbie or toy. He would buy it for me. No questions, no comprise. I didn’t turn into a shopaholic. Never been accused of seeking attention.
Growing up I was the only chunky one at home. My mom had a little weight but some would describe it as “carrying it well”.
Everyone has a vice. As I got older, food became mine.
My solution is to try to keep healthy alternatives in the house. With this pandemic going on I try to limit my time outside. Therefore, the cabinets and the fridge might be light on nonessentials.
Happily, I ordered delivery but it was a salad 🥗. Lol, a $17 salad. Falafel. My nutritionist said no to falafel because it fried. Cut me break! It isn’t everyday or week or month that I have falafel. 😝
But I hear you NovusDies, you don’t want to undo your progress by giving in. Learning food cues may be a little hard. I know of the one. I shared it with a dietitian once for help with it and she laughed in my face.
Yesterday I read how the group was mentally preparing for Thanksgiving. What they would or wouldn’t eat. Their plans to not over eat! That was incredibly helpful.
Thank you NovusDies
-BordeauxBee
Food cues can be bizarre. I would have no problem laughing at some of mine. I would not appreciate if others laughed unless I was inviting them to laugh with me. Yes old Columbo reruns make me want to eat chili. That one is not really a problem since chili is usually manageable calories. It is the cornbread that is the problem...
I am not a fan of arbitrary rules. Is there a specific reason you should not eat fried foods? I mean I know they are higher in calories and can make budgeting that day a little more difficult but I have never stopped eating fried foods. I just don't eat them nearly as often.
All the food I have eaten while losing weight has been healthy. It just hasn't all been conventionally healthy. When I tell myself I can't have something, even if it is something I don't normally want, then I want it more. By managing my cravings and having treats I improved my sustainability. This means the treats greased the wheels for my weight loss. This means that I owe some of my weight loss and my drastically improved health to treats. This makes treats healthy.
The only place that does not work is if it is food I struggle to moderate. Then I have to suck it up.
I like your idea of reviewing the habits and thought processes of people trying to figure out what flexible means to them. The holidays are a tricky time and it usually demands the most flexibility. We probably all have someone who will be standing there with hopeful eyes holding out a plate of something we can't really afford calorie-wise hoping we will tell them how great it is and confirm it by eating an entire portion. Sure most of the time we have to say no but geez... those hopeful eyes... it is the holidays. Of course a good plan on paper doesn't mean a good plan in execution but it is better to try than to just decide you can't control anything.
I remember when I first started dieting back in June of this year, after being diagnosed with severe Fatty Liver, that all fried foods was bad, and I avoided them so hard. I figured I couldn't lose weight eating it, and the dietician told me to avoid them (limit once a month), and avoid added sugar, because that's almost worse for your liver than the fatty foods.
I was so strict with my diet that I have no idea how I didn't burn out.
It's now almost November, and while I'm still avoiding as much added sugar as possible (not only for my liver, but also because I'm a type 2 diabetic, though I think my a1c has dropped to pre-diabetic stage now, whoo!), I'm not as scared of the "fatty" foods as I used to be. I'm still consistently losing weight, which is one of the best things for fatty liver. I have let myself have a little bit of fried/fatty food lately, but within moderation. If I do let myself eat it, then the next day I tend to stick with more of the traditional "healthy" foods to kinda, I dunno, balance it out?
I know that if I was still as strict as I was back in June, I'd probably have given up by now. I stressed over everything, from how many carbs I ate, how much protein i got, if it was "good" protein for my liver, how much sodium I had, forced myself on a low cholesterol diet as well. Made sure my fiber was high, stressed if I had too much calcium... I mean, I was so freaking strict.
It feels good to have a better mentality with my food now, and it feels even better to know that, hey. I can have that small french fry and quarter pounder from McDonald's once in a while, and what do you know, I can still lose weight!
I started at 390 pounds in June, and I am now down to 329.4 pounds. And I'm finally starting to not fear my food anymore.5 -
Hopefully these apps will help with noticing patterns of eating. Currently, there are three apps that I am adding my every move and bite into.
One day at a time...one day at a time.
- BordeauxBee 🌺🍀🌸🌼🐝2 -
What I found for myself as a general rule with fried food is that if I'm trying to keep the meal under 600 calories, which I usually am, I can have one thing fried. So I can have a fried chicken sandwich, but I need to have chips with it. If I want to have onion rings, I need to have them with a grilled chicken sandwich. Hamburgers with onion rings, while tasty and a favorite meal, are something that's waiting for maintenance.
I've largely given up on fried potatoes because they just don't have enough bang for the buck for me, and I'm supposed to be avoiding nightshades anyway; they make my arthritis pain worse. (It's not a 1:1 thing, but I learned through experimentation that if I eat tomato and potato in ordinary amounts for three days, I'll be aching and miserable on the morning of the fourth day for no apparent reason.)
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AlexandraFindsHerself1971 wrote: »What I found for myself as a general rule with fried food is that if I'm trying to keep the meal under 600 calories, which I usually am, I can have one thing fried. So I can have a fried chicken sandwich, but I need to have chips with it. If I want to have onion rings, I need to have them with a grilled chicken sandwich. Hamburgers with onion rings, while tasty and a favorite meal, are something that's waiting for maintenance.
I've largely given up on fried potatoes because they just don't have enough bang for the buck for me, and I'm supposed to be avoiding nightshades anyway; they make my arthritis pain worse. (It's not a 1:1 thing, but I learned through experimentation that if I eat tomato and potato in ordinary amounts for three days, I'll be aching and miserable on the morning of the fourth day for no apparent reason.)
I also avoid having multiple fried things at a meal. My overall menu is generally on the lower fat side so having two fried items can sometimes "unsettle" things. That and it is harder to make it fit in a calorie day and get enough hunger control. I do not find fat satiating. I know some do.1 -
Hi everyone! I'm about a month into my current journey and finding MFP very helpful for me. I was sick for over 2 years and went from my highest weight ever (320) all the way down to 170. Everyone told me how great I looked, but my family and I knew that I only got to that weight because of how sick I was. I went into a remission of sorts and when I was able to eat normally again, all my food issues came back. The quarantine has been hard as well and I found myself overeating a lot, and managed to gain back over 100 pounds. I got really ashamed of myself for letting myself get back to (not quite) where I was before and felt like the only "good" thing out of being sick was ruined.
Anyway, I decided instead of feeling sorry for myself, I was going to lose the weight the healthy way, so here I am! After one month, I'm down around 15 pounds and feeling really good. I still have a long way to go, but I've been reading this forum and tracking what I'm eating religiously, so I feel like I can do it this time, and keep it off.3 -
AlexandraFindsHerself1971 wrote: »BordeauxBee wrote: »Good Sunday to everyone ☘️🌸🌻
New to the group. This is the group I have been looking for bc I have over 90lbs to lose. I have lost 13.5lbs so far. A1c dropped to prediabetic range. Moving in the right direction.
I’ve always considered myself a proud big girl! Today, this weight is hard to carry around. My self esteem is low and, this is the hardest hurdle yet. Mind over Matter, so for me to get my mind over the weight, sore ankles, aching knees, diabetes, failed relationships with ex’s and friends...to combat it in a matter of fact way is difficult. To say the least.
I tried therapy. Complete waste of time. I’m told to look up YouTube videos on visualization or meditate. So I’m going to skip the obvious and seek expensive therapy.
If money was no object, i would hire an trainer to come to my home. And work me out 5 days a week. And have one of those food delivery services that follow your calorie count.
I know it’s best to do this by myself, but I think the support of a group would help.
Looking through some other groups people are losing 20lbs. I WISH! 😄🙃
Please reach out. Comment. Gently. And I promise to return the same!
BordeauxBee
It is possible, you're with the right people. I started this year at 296 and said Oh, HELL no! and as of last Friday I am FIFTY pounds lighter, and five sizes down. I wouldn't have believed I can do it either. Especially since I can't eat "clean" due to food intolerances. And foot arthritis means I'm not going to add walking or running, and the gyms are shut due to COVID. But I am doing it. And you can too. It's just day by day and meal by meal, and if you eat your calorie budget or just below, you'll succeed. I believe in you.
Therapy can help you with the self-esteem. It can help you with some of the negative self-talk that will go on in your head no matter the amount you weigh. And so it's good, because that negativity will make it a bit harder to do.
But all you have to do is stay under calorie, however you prefer it. I eat candy bars every day, and chips. Other people can do it by eating a lot of vegetables, or going keto. But it's whatever works for you. I know you can do it.
Thank you for your encouraging words AlexandraFindsHerself1971.1 -
Hello, everyone!
I'm about eight months into this round of weight loss (been here once before!). I’m 57 years old - 5’9” – 190 lbs (woohoo!)- vegetarian/relatively clean eater – accustomed to being very physically active.
Quitting smoking 4 years ago just about did me in. Along with a messed up head, I gained 85 lbs. I wasn’t thin to begin with, but was living comfortably at a pretty muscular 190. A few months after I quit smoking, my brain and then body went haywire. I was gaining 4 lbs a week – like clockwork – every Sunday morning I used my neighbour’s scale to weigh myself and I was 4 pounds heavier than the previous week. My eating didn’t justify the gain, but it happened. I've spent the years since then freaking out. Yo-yoing up and down the same 20-30 pounds.
In these same 4 years, I’ve been hindered by a few injuries. The first compelled me to quit smoking and then there a few more so that I had to give up my work as a landscaper/renovator. So I’m adjusting to new activity levels and figuring out how to fit physical activity back into my life.
I finally managed first to stabilize my brain and then my body and have lost 85 pounds!
I'm back to 190 lbs. Most of this weight loss has been since the covid lockdowns began, and I have faithfully used MFP to track and make nutrition decisions. Now that I have hit my original goal, I am not happy with how this weight sits (hangs!!) on me. I have lost a lot of muscle because of my lifestyle change, so 190 doesn’t feel or look as good as it did. I want to work toward 160-170 pounds. I’m not sure exactly because I don’t know how that weight will feel, nor how hard it will be to maintain. So 170 will be my next goal and then I’ll take stock again.
Since April I’ve been eating 1000-1300 calories – aiming for 50% carbs / 25% protein / 25% fat. I walk a lot – somewhere between 2 or 3 hours of brisk walking a day. Occasionally – maybe once a month? – I’ll have a pizza night with a friend, and maybe once a week a sweet treat of some sort, a Big Daddy cookie or a chocolate bar. This has not been too terrible of a system to maintain. Until recently. Now, I just can’t seem to do it anymore. I think when I had lots of extra body fat to use as fuel my body tolerated this deficit, but lately I’ve been ridiculously hungry – to the point where I have started eating before bed. Not junk. These are not snacking cravings – but actual hunger.
So it seems the best bet is to change things up.
With the wealth of information available on this forum, I’m a bit overwhelmed and feel unable to make a decision on what to do now. I’m terrified of having the pounds roll back on.
I’ve messed around a bit the past month with “refeeds,” eating at maintenance two days a week which MFP pegged at 1900 calories when I chose sedentary which seemed the safest bet. But eating like that left me feeling really anxious, and guilty! I think I do better with a consistent routine.
I’m considering:- a deficit break for a few weeks or a month and then getting back to what I have been doing up to now. But I just hate giving up the exhilaration of losing weight and am really afraid I’ll completely lose control and not be able to get back on track.
- accepting that I really can’t maintain this deficit and up my daily calories to something manageable (1500 – 1600??).
Both of these options feel like I am copping out. (Yes, I probably have some disordered eating issues - always have and now even more so after these 4 years of eating/weight chaos.)
I wrote all of this in the Motivation and Support section and NovusDies gave me some excellent advice and invited to join this group.
The short version of his advice was to take a 4 week break. Eat at slightly above maintenance, and eat back my exercise calories.
I set MFP to do that last week - and the first day had me set to eat 2900 calories. I just couldn't do it - so instead I thought I would work up to it. The first few days 1600-1800 calories a day felt good - still a deficit but a world of difference.
But there are definitely some challenges with adding food! It is frightening.
Halloween day I had my four year old grandson over, and guests over for a late lunch type meal, in the backyard because of Covid - and it is cold, so we had a fire going and everything was lovely but not at all like the past months have been. Without my nicely ordered eating system things took a turn south. I was halfway through shelling out and I was getting hungry. I had opened a bottle of wine to have a glass with my neighbour (an old Halloween shell out routine of ours), but this year she wasn't interested - though she did give me a handful of little chocolate bars, which I didn't decline. Wine and cheap chocolate on an empty stomach wasn't the best idea. By the time I blew out the candle in the pumpkin I was ravenous. I wasn't prepared for that at all. I ended up ordering pizza and dessert and drinking the entire bottle of wine myself (I'm not usually much of a drinker).
So much for 8 months of mindful eating establishing new habits!
Anyway...things have been more under control yesterday and today. And I've left my MFP settings to "gain .5" and "include exercise calories" - most days that gives me close to 3000 calories to play around with. I'm trying to keep my focus on eating healthy foods until I feel comfortable and to not worry too much about how many calories I've eaten. I have lots of calories to work with! When I feel less anxious, I'll bring in a few treats and see how that goes. My grandson is back with me on Wednesday - I think he will help me choose something :-)
I'm thankful to be a member of this group. I've been peeking around a bit - and it feels so good to be in the company of others who seem to be on a similar journey to mine.
Thank you for the invitation!
1 - a deficit break for a few weeks or a month and then getting back to what I have been doing up to now. But I just hate giving up the exhilaration of losing weight and am really afraid I’ll completely lose control and not be able to get back on track.
-
Welcome to Larger Losers....you should fit right into this group!.....1
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@lauriekallis
Welcome!
I love the long post, too - I'm not the only one who writes paragraphs! lol
I'm struggling to learn myself how to give myself permission to be human and to slow things down. Right now I'm sitting at a 1650 calorie limit daily which is supposed to be 1 lb/wk, but setting it to 1 lb/wk is still kicking off the guilt (not to mention that for over a month now, I haven't even been able to stick to that and have found myself at or above maintenance most days). The head space battle is truly the worst. And I get so much the fear of losing control and regaining - I dropped 90 lbs in 2012 and managed to regain all but 5 lbs of that by 2015. I restarted losing weight in 2017, lost a little over 100 lbs, then plateaued that fall and for the next 18 months regained 25-30 lbs. I finally restarted losing weight slowly in 2019, which kicked into high gear in the spring of 2020, but since July, my loss rate has been slowing down until I hit October and hit a huge stall and a struggle with regaining. I don't know how much of the nearly 14 lbs I saw on the scale yesterday was water and how much was actual fat; the good is apparently 5 lbs of it was water anyway, since the scale dropped 4.5 lbs this morning. Its very frustrating! I know beating myself up and making myself guilty doesn't help, but knowing what I should and shouldn't do and that my thought patterns aren't good and actually fixing them are two vastly different things!
So I'm quite willing to listen when you need to vent your frustrations if you'll listen to mine - and maybe you can give these folks here a break from listening to my whining all the time lately lol2 -
Hi everyone! I'm about a month into my current journey and finding MFP very helpful for me. I was sick for over 2 years and went from my highest weight ever (320) all the way down to 170. Everyone told me how great I looked, but my family and I knew that I only got to that weight because of how sick I was. I went into a remission of sorts and when I was able to eat normally again, all my food issues came back. The quarantine has been hard as well and I found myself overeating a lot, and managed to gain back over 100 pounds. I got really ashamed of myself for letting myself get back to (not quite) where I was before and felt like the only "good" thing out of being sick was ruined.
Anyway, I decided instead of feeling sorry for myself, I was going to lose the weight the healthy way, so here I am! After one month, I'm down around 15 pounds and feeling really good. I still have a long way to go, but I've been reading this forum and tracking what I'm eating religiously, so I feel like I can do it this time, and keep it off.
Hi @tebtosca4,
Welcome to LL.
You should not feel ashamed. Not even a little. Your first round of weight loss was a blessing from a curse but because of the circumstances you never had a chance to change your habits and mindset. The reality is for most people it takes a few iterations to get it right. You now know that a lot of physical weight loss is not really the main issue. You create a deficit, wait enough time, and off it goes. The mental aspects are what can be more challenging. I often say that I can't just lose the weight but I have to lose the habits and mindset of the person who gained it.
I am in the process of "defending" more than 250 pounds of loss. I am worried enough that I have been studying like a madman. I cannot assume that the weight will be gone and it will be peaches and cream the rest of my life. I have to absolutely make that happen ever bit as much as I created the calorie deficits to get it all gone. For some people flipping those mental switches will be easy. They probably won't even know they did it. I can't rely on that. I was heavily disabled at my highest weight. I am enjoying my life now. I am not ready to relax yet.2 -
lauriekallis wrote: »Hello, everyone!
I'm about eight months into this round of weight loss (been here once before!). I’m 57 years old - 5’9” – 190 lbs (woohoo!)- vegetarian/relatively clean eater – accustomed to being very physically active.
Quitting smoking 4 years ago just about did me in. Along with a messed up head, I gained 85 lbs. I wasn’t thin to begin with, but was living comfortably at a pretty muscular 190. A few months after I quit smoking, my brain and then body went haywire. I was gaining 4 lbs a week – like clockwork – every Sunday morning I used my neighbour’s scale to weigh myself and I was 4 pounds heavier than the previous week. My eating didn’t justify the gain, but it happened. I've spent the years since then freaking out. Yo-yoing up and down the same 20-30 pounds.
In these same 4 years, I’ve been hindered by a few injuries. The first compelled me to quit smoking and then there a few more so that I had to give up my work as a landscaper/renovator. So I’m adjusting to new activity levels and figuring out how to fit physical activity back into my life.
I finally managed first to stabilize my brain and then my body and have lost 85 pounds!
I'm back to 190 lbs. Most of this weight loss has been since the covid lockdowns began, and I have faithfully used MFP to track and make nutrition decisions. Now that I have hit my original goal, I am not happy with how this weight sits (hangs!!) on me. I have lost a lot of muscle because of my lifestyle change, so 190 doesn’t feel or look as good as it did. I want to work toward 160-170 pounds. I’m not sure exactly because I don’t know how that weight will feel, nor how hard it will be to maintain. So 170 will be my next goal and then I’ll take stock again.
Since April I’ve been eating 1000-1300 calories – aiming for 50% carbs / 25% protein / 25% fat. I walk a lot – somewhere between 2 or 3 hours of brisk walking a day. Occasionally – maybe once a month? – I’ll have a pizza night with a friend, and maybe once a week a sweet treat of some sort, a Big Daddy cookie or a chocolate bar. This has not been too terrible of a system to maintain. Until recently. Now, I just can’t seem to do it anymore. I think when I had lots of extra body fat to use as fuel my body tolerated this deficit, but lately I’ve been ridiculously hungry – to the point where I have started eating before bed. Not junk. These are not snacking cravings – but actual hunger.
So it seems the best bet is to change things up.
With the wealth of information available on this forum, I’m a bit overwhelmed and feel unable to make a decision on what to do now. I’m terrified of having the pounds roll back on.
I’ve messed around a bit the past month with “refeeds,” eating at maintenance two days a week which MFP pegged at 1900 calories when I chose sedentary which seemed the safest bet. But eating like that left me feeling really anxious, and guilty! I think I do better with a consistent routine.
I’m considering:- a deficit break for a few weeks or a month and then getting back to what I have been doing up to now. But I just hate giving up the exhilaration of losing weight and am really afraid I’ll completely lose control and not be able to get back on track.
- accepting that I really can’t maintain this deficit and up my daily calories to something manageable (1500 – 1600??).
Both of these options feel like I am copping out. (Yes, I probably have some disordered eating issues - always have and now even more so after these 4 years of eating/weight chaos.)
I wrote all of this in the Motivation and Support section and NovusDies gave me some excellent advice and invited to join this group.
The short version of his advice was to take a 4 week break. Eat at slightly above maintenance, and eat back my exercise calories.
I set MFP to do that last week - and the first day had me set to eat 2900 calories. I just couldn't do it - so instead I thought I would work up to it. The first few days 1600-1800 calories a day felt good - still a deficit but a world of difference.
But there are definitely some challenges with adding food! It is frightening.
Halloween day I had my four year old grandson over, and guests over for a late lunch type meal, in the backyard because of Covid - and it is cold, so we had a fire going and everything was lovely but not at all like the past months have been. Without my nicely ordered eating system things took a turn south. I was halfway through shelling out and I was getting hungry. I had opened a bottle of wine to have a glass with my neighbour (an old Halloween shell out routine of ours), but this year she wasn't interested - though she did give me a handful of little chocolate bars, which I didn't decline. Wine and cheap chocolate on an empty stomach wasn't the best idea. By the time I blew out the candle in the pumpkin I was ravenous. I wasn't prepared for that at all. I ended up ordering pizza and dessert and drinking the entire bottle of wine myself (I'm not usually much of a drinker).
So much for 8 months of mindful eating establishing new habits!
Anyway...things have been more under control yesterday and today. And I've left my MFP settings to "gain .5" and "include exercise calories" - most days that gives me close to 3000 calories to play around with. I'm trying to keep my focus on eating healthy foods until I feel comfortable and to not worry too much about how many calories I've eaten. I have lots of calories to work with! When I feel less anxious, I'll bring in a few treats and see how that goes. My grandson is back with me on Wednesday - I think he will help me choose something :-)
I'm thankful to be a member of this group. I've been peeking around a bit - and it feels so good to be in the company of others who seem to be on a similar journey to mine.
Thank you for the invitation!
I see you made it @lauriekallis!
Welcome.
You might not appreciate me saying this but I am glad you were "imperfect" on Halloween. Perfection is too hard. I credit my dalliances over the line to relaxed behavior as one of the things that allowed me to get where I am.
I know you are anxious about how to eat but consider one of my favorite things to say "More nutrients than you need are more nutrients in your pee." I practice the overall philosophy of 80/20. It does not mean I calculate it precisely. I believe if the majority of my food is variety of nutrient dense food the rest doesn't matter. My doctor that checks my blood work every 4 months cannot disagree... and he checks just about everything.
@PAV8888 posted a research paper that I wish I had bookmarked. It suggests that people in a long term calorie deficit may be more susceptible to sticking a toe or a foot across the disordered line. I have certainly felt my toe across there at times. It is another good reason to take your month break, imo.
I really think you should start channeling some of your mental energy towards how you will take all this forward another 5 years. What are you doing that is too much? Is what you are doing flexible enough to deal with 5 years of life? Does it make you happy enough? A lot of people say forever. I think a 5 year plan is enough. I know I want to keep my weight off for forever but what is the point in putting together a forever plan that will likely have to adapt anyway?
I know some parts of it will be a struggle but I really believe you will end up appreciating this break. Left unchecked your fatigue might really crash you into a wall. One of the ways I know it is happening is I feel my grip loosen. As soon as my calories start to creep a little higher here and there I know I have to address it before it becomes a REAL problem. For me a real problem is eating everything in sight and I have done that in the past on some of my overly harsh attempts to lose.
I think we have to always remember that while we know we are in a controlled deficit that will end our body does not know this. I can't ask my body what it knows but it stands to reason it is thinking "Hey, I am not getting enough food. Help me. I am going to die if this doesn't stop." It seems like it would be a stressful situation, right? Breaks combat this. It temporarily flips off the famine switch. It restores hormones and other chemicals to their proper levels. It stops slowing down things like nail and hair growth to conserve energy. If the body is stressed the mind will be stressed, right?
End of novel.
2 - a deficit break for a few weeks or a month and then getting back to what I have been doing up to now. But I just hate giving up the exhilaration of losing weight and am really afraid I’ll completely lose control and not be able to get back on track.
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Hi @NovusDies and @lauriekallis
I don't recall the paper. I wish I did or that you did.
I have probably mentioned in various posts that, in general, engaging in a large deficit for people who are susceptible to eating disorders (whether previously aware or unaware of them) seems to be a consistent trigger to bring them about.
The larger the deficit and the longer the time period the more likely it is for that to happen.
The amount of calories mentioned and
the description / post above is full of cautionary danger flags and I'm very glad to see/hear that action to make changes has already been taken.
Just to mention something on the up and up here: the reactions of the starving person who is described above make perfect sense based on all the hormonal changes starvation brings about.
So situation is definitely a bit of a pickle, and I extend my sincere wishes and hope that with a normalization of eating at maintenance levels for a sufficiently long period of time things will settle down without a necessity for further intervention. But I note that enlisting the help of specialists, (especially if not able to move forward on our own) is a smart play!!!
1 -
I’m having issues copying the names. Welcome all. So glad you’re here!!1
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Hi @NovusDies and @lauriekallis
I don't recall the paper. I wish I did or that you did.
I have probably mentioned in various posts that, in general, engaging in a large deficit for people who are susceptible to eating disorders (whether previously aware or unaware of them) seems to be a consistent trigger to bring them about.
The larger the deficit and the longer the time period the more likely it is for that to happen.
The amount of calories mentioned and
the description / post above is full of cautionary danger flags and I'm very glad to see/hear that action to make changes has already been taken.
Just to mention something on the up and up here: the reactions of the starving person who is described above make perfect sense based on all the hormonal changes starvation brings about.
So situation is definitely a bit of a pickle, and I extend my sincere wishes and hope that with a normalization of eating at maintenance levels for a sufficiently long period of time things will settle down without a necessity for further intervention. But I note that enlisting the help of specialists, (especially if not able to move forward on our own) is a smart play!!!
Hi @NovusDies and @PAV8888
I'm enjoying this break - and trying to figure out what "maintenance" calories really are for me. I've been eating in the 1800-2000 range since October 26 (except Halloween :-)) - which has been just a comfortable amount of eating for me - healthy foods plus treat most days - and my weight has stayed pretty stable. Fluctuating between 189.2 and 192.
MFP suggests that I should be eating almost 3000 calories / day to maintain my weight. There is a significant discrepancy! Today I bought a kitchen scale - and I'm going to be very precise with my measurements to see if something has gone awry there. But I don't think I've miscalculated by that degree!
I have been seeing a disordered eating specialist for several years to work on the psychological aspects of eating. Some extreme responses to my earlier weight gain left me bingeing. That seems to have settled.
My doctor is not terribly pleased with my weight loss. But, I just was not terribly happy carrying around the extra 85 pounds that piled on very quickly after I quit smoking. I'm feeling a bit more like myself now, and am ready to experiment/relax a bit and learn how I can maintain a healthy feeling weight as a non-smoker.
I am very aware that I am treading a fine line.
I truly appreciate all of your support!
I'm also trying to figure out the best way to communicate/respond here. I'll get there soon!
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