A Better Man and A Better Body

shel80kg

So.... I have been starting and stopping various discussions for quite some time on this precious website. I have achieved goals, in part, with the support of the knowledgable and often challenging folks that volunteer their time and expertise to the likes of me...just one of the users..who in fact uses food for all of the wrong reasons.

Here I am again. Lost a lot of weight and now the uphill climb again to urge myself back into careful, responsible and healthy eating because...as you guest it, the weight returned with avengance as I returned to the old patterns of wayward eating impulsive consumption of the worst types of foods for our bodies and our weight goals.

I am not going to ramble on about the reasons and excuses. Falling ill, a sick wife, overly busy at work...blah blah blah. I have to own my eating patterns and impulsivity. I do.

I will start slowly this time around and give myself a week or two of just recording what I eat. Then, following that....I will do the confronting task of weighing myself and doing my measurements. I will start the walking and exercise program at the end of week 1...maybe earlier. probably earlier.

If anyone reading this is needing to reboot and start over...join me. Strength in numbers.

Wish me luck and I will write again soon...no doubt.

Humbly
Shel

AnnPT77

Wishing you the best again here, Shel: I'm not in reboot-ville, more like just boring old maintenance, so not a great buddy-candidate, but I'm cheering for you to succeed!

shel80kg

Thanks Ann,
Nothing boring about maintenance. You are doing so well. I feel optimistic and focused. Logging food always works for me. It’s a great reality check. You know no matter how smart the brain is…. We can outsmart ourselves. Time to be honest and consistent.

shel80kg

I'M VERY HUNGRY! (perhaps Hangry???). I blew my success up and I cannot deny my frustration and disappointment with myself. It's strange because I think I am a person who is heavily influenced by others (no pun intended).

A GP I saw in July commented on my weight loss and quipped that I had a 1/500 chance of keeping the weight off and I left his clinic feeling confronted and annoyed. But....either he was right because of the dumb way(s) I lost the "extra person" I was carrying or I am destined for a life of obesity.

Regardless, I am back in the game and experiencing day 2 with motivation and discipline...(slightly less enthusiasm than yesterday but no quiet trips to the corner store and narry a chip has past through my chops in the past week or so)

What a tough gig, it is...eating with intention and mindfulness and following the necessary rules of the game. But, we are machines and there is no escaping the physiology of this amazing vessel that carries us through the ebbs and flows of our lives. We either look after our bodies or we risk everything for the fleeting "pleasures" of stuff that can never make us happy or content.

Bring on day 3.

Shel

springlering62

Shel, first off, I’d get rid of that doctor and find a new one. Mine has done nothing but congratulate me on my success- each and every time. She always remembers to do so.

You deserve a doctor who provides support. Mine told me from the get go that losing weight would solve many of my health issues and always have me literature on a simple diet. She never made fun of or criticized me, just gently and patiently kept making the same suggestion til I actually listened.

For me, I know myself. I know if I think “aha! Reached goal! Can relax!” I’ll fall right back into bad habits.

I will be weighing and logging til I’m too feeble to do so, and with the changes I made, that should be a very long time.

Just commit yourself to whatever plan works for you, and understand, no matter how loud those bakery cookies and other delights call, you’re doing this for life.

For “life”. Improved Life.

ddsb1111

Here’s a general question on this topic for anyone who wants to chime in- When you have a significant amount of weight to lose, which usually comes with a generous calorie allowance, how do you strike a balance between eating satiating, nutrient dense foods and including treats so you don’t feel deprived?

For those who’ve regained some or all of the weight, do you think it’s because the approach was too extreme, or does balancing healthy foods with treats just not feel satisfying enough?

For context, my TDEE is in the 1500s, and I can’t imagine how amazing it would be to work with 2500+ calories. It seems like it would be so much easier to include everything I want and need, making it less tempting to fall off track. Is that not the case for you?

What’s the biggest challenge you face, even with a higher calorie target? I’d love to hear your perspective, explained to me like I’m 5, so I can better understand your experience.

springlering62

I lost a significant amount, and it seemed easy.

Maintenance has been much, much harder, especially after I had to gain weight back. For a while, I had a license to increase calories and it was fricking awesome.

I held carefully for several years.

Several months of international travel last year messed me up. I logged religiously but I stopped paying attention (actually, I made excuses - gotta try this, oh it’s special because I’m travelling, probably won’t have a chance to try that again, and…..what’s one more gelato?!)and came home ten pounds heavier. I’ve lost four, and would like to lose about six more.

I’m maintaining, but. struggling to lose anything.

I do get the higher calories others dream of. I’m supposed to be losing half a pound a week at 2320 per day.

But remember, the difference between me and your 1500 is only six Oreos, a big bakery cookie or soft pretzel, a plate of cheese and crackers, a Hershey bar. It probably seems like whinging, viewing me from the other person’s side, but you still have to both count the calories, and make those calories count.

For some reason, folks see the calorie spread and equate it to lots and lots and lots of extra food. It’s still the same old calorie grind.

My experience right now is, oh I won’t eat the exercise calories back so I can get it off, and then every week or two I have a massive day. That sends my 7-day average up way higher than I’d like, and makes me feel like I’ve failed. It’s no different than the person eating far fewer calories and then binging and complaining they’re not losing. I’ve been pretty static for two or three months. I thought “plateau” but a quick look at my diary blows that idea out of the water.

Nope. Simply binges, not a plateau.

I’m trying to buckle down and re-learn what got me here. If I’m honest, it’s eat more so I don’t have the need to “top up” every week or so.

It’s always always always a learning process, a “get to know me” process,

And I’d also like to add, it’s not like I’m “lucky” or something. The reason I get more calories is because I bust my *kitten* working out to get them. It’s simple. I like to eat. I like when my jaws are moving and I’ve got food in my hand. That’s one reason I’m always in motion or doing needlework. Idle hands are the tool of the Fat Devil, and his pitchfork is a real fork that goes straight to the scale. It’s just the confusing think is running from the devil behind you gives you more calories, and thus more temptations in front of you. It’s a vicious cycle.

AnnPT77

ddsb1111 wrote: »

Here’s a general question on this topic for anyone who wants to chime in- When you have a significant amount of weight to lose, which usually comes with a generous calorie allowance, how do you strike a balance between eating satiating, nutrient dense foods and including treats so you don’t feel deprived?

For those who’ve regained some or all of the weight, do you think it’s because the approach was too extreme, or does balancing healthy foods with treats just not feel satisfying enough?

For context, my TDEE is in the 1500s, and I can’t imagine how amazing it would be to work with 2500+ calories. It seems like it would be so much easier to include everything I want and need, making it less tempting to fall off track. Is that not the case for you?

I don't really want to digress Shel's thread into a debate topic, but I have a fairly strong reaction to this part.

Generically, I suspect that at a biochemical/physiological level, it's likely just as difficult for a large person with a big maintenance calorie budget to go a certain percent below that budget as it is for a smaller person with a smaller person with a smaller budget to go below budget by that same percent. (They have higher nutritional needs, too, not just higher fueling needs.)

Back in the newsfeed days, I actually had a woman unfriend me because I said something like that on a thread where she was bemoaning her maybe lower than average calorie needs, kind of expressing resentment toward demographically similar people who had higher maintenance calories thus had it easier. It seemed odd to me to assume that it's necessarily easier.

I suspect individual people do have different biochemical/physiological/psychological responses to a given calorie reduction, but more an individual (maybe genetic) thing, not "easier for people who need more calories".

I do think it may be socially easier, in some ways, with a larger budget. For example, if I go out for dinner with people who are bigger than me, I may feel some impulse to eat as much as they do, FOMO basically. The biggest person at the table maybe could keep up with the smaller ones and still be within calorie budget. But that kind of thing is a blip in the big picture, probably.

What’s the biggest challenge you face, even with a higher calorie target? I’d love to hear your perspective, explained to me like I’m 5, so I can better understand your experience.

ddsb1111

I have a lot of thoughts and questions, but my main priority is to avoid derailing the original post. While it felt related at first, it now seems to come across as more of a debatable topic. I want to emphasize that I’m coming from a genuine place and hope no one perceives any intent of superiority. If it’s alright, I’ll move this discussion to the debate forum to continue the conversation there.

springlering62

Didn’t seemed contentious at all. If you didn’t want to know you wouldn’t have asked.