Hello!

mysunshinelife

I'm back after a long leave for a few months. I felt like counting my calories wasn't helping anymore. It was becoming more of a stress in life so I took a long break. I'm not going to go at this hard but it turns out I wasn't doing as bad as I thought. When I checked in I was actually 1 lb away from my goal weight so I guess the break wasn't so bad. After all. I am back because I want to have slight accountability for the foods I'm eating and I'm still enjoying life. How is everyone doing in life and in their exercising journey??

totameafox

Hello Sunshine.

I think at the beginning of losing weight most people see counting calories as a burdensome chore. At first glance it is overwhelming. Back in 2008 I did it by only buying food from the grocery store that had the entire package calories on it. I was eating mostly frozen meals. At that time I didn't even think about looking anything up on line or seeing if there was a way to track. I did lose 42 lbs that way.

But sadly counting calories is the only solid way to lose weight. You have to know what you are putting in your body. That said, it doesn't have to be a chore. Especially with tools like myfitness pal. Add a kitchen scale and you have the two tools you need.

When you enter food into the log for a specific meal, that food stays there. Such as breakfast. most people stick to the same foods for me It's just 4. Eggs, cottage cheese, jello and chia seeds. i can either import them in from a previous day or spend two seconds to click for boxes and a button and that food is logged. I use the scale to measure the cottage cheese and a measuring spoon for the chia seeds. Even if you vary what you eat from day to day, the food diary stores 20+ foods for each meal section.

I also use the recipe maker for meal prep. for meals I make over and over that may vary with an ingredient or two, I adjust in the recipe and then use it for every serving of that meal.

I also plan a head. So i make entries into the food planner for two to four days in advance and then I eat according to that plan. If i decide to deviate, it's easy enough to change.

I believe Ann mentioned in one of her other posts that she puts her boxed food, ex crackers, on the scale and removes what she is going to eat so that the negative weight is what she enters into her food log. Which to me is ingenious.

Over all it's also a matter of adjusting the mind set. Losing weight and being healthy takes work and effort. Even once the weight is gone, it is still going to take work and effort. How arduous it is going to be is your choice to make.

You don't have to do it alone. If you would like friends and a place to vent and complain or to celebrate your wins, join my community. I'll be happy to be there along your way.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/147555-speak-friend-and-enter