Rant - regretting birthday

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  • emmies_123
    emmies_123 Posts: 513 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Others have already covered why you need to be patient and not stress over the celebratory indulgence as the true impact is probably not as bad as you think. Wondering about your numbers though.

    What do you have your rate of loss set at? If less than 20 lbs to lose then you should be aiming for 0.5 lb/week.
    That may give you a higher calorie target than 1200. It may help you not feel like these celebrations are unmanageable.

    You said you’ve lost about 11 lbs in the last year.
    Do you use a food scale for logging accuracy?
    Do you log and eat back exercise calories?

    When I started Journey I had 20 to lose, so at 9-11 off I'm about halfway to goal. I have rate set at 0.5, still get 1200 calories. And honestly when I don't have large calorie items in the house this is fine. Eating regular portions, I normally eat about 1050-1200 a day and feel content. But I can't maintain that and eat out or have cake.

    I do exercise and eat back about half. I had to find a workaround for this, as my brain will see the MFP number is green and go "we can have that extra thing". So instead of logging full time of exercise I log half the time (30 min workouts logged as 15, etc). I also only use the "Calisthenics, light" for anything I do not involving weights, as that gives the lowest burn estimate. When I was logging full time, or using "aerobics" I found that eating back calories was making me plateau at best, and go slightly up at worst. This sounds complicated but it works and is easier than rewiring my brain.

    I do have a food scale (digital) and log accurately at home. I pre-bag work snacks/lunch so I know I"m only eating a serving. When we do go out, if I can't find the restaurant we went to on database I choose another restaurant's item of the same name. So far I have found restaurant logging matches what the menu's say for calorie count, so I'm comfortable with estimates system.
  • emmies_123
    emmies_123 Posts: 513 Member
    88olds wrote: »
    emmies_123 wrote: »
    and might as well give up.

    I call that the Why bother? voice. The Why bother? voice is the prelude to quitting. Look at the big picture. How would this have gone if you had no program at all? Regardless of how this episode plays out you are acquiring knowledge you can use going forward.

    Weight loss has a learning curve, a really long learning curve. Stick with it.

    Oh god the size of the slices I would be eating if I didn't have a program in place! Once I got a desk job my weight bloomed up 30 lbs in a year. Which was a lot for me, I had always been the same size since high school, but it still didn't show under clothes so people didn't notice. I started slimming for my wedding and managed to lose 10 lbs being fairly restrictive with diet and cycling on stationary bike (which i hated). Gained back 5 after wedding, then started journey here last April.

    I'm honestly constantly amazed still by the changes I've made. I actually look forward to going to the gym on weekends now...I'm working on myself verrrrry gradually so there isn't really a noticeable difference in my physique. I haven't gone down at all in sotmach/hip measurement. But I feel better energy-wise, and I'm hitting strength training milestones slowly.