Living by NUMBERS

StacySkinny

This topic is an offshoot of a great topic posted by MDVOID asking what, to us, is the most difficult part of losing weight.

For me the most difficult aspect of losing weight is the repetition of having to keep record of EVERY THING. This is something that has been gnawing on me for a while. And I really wanted to ask for some advice, motivation, encouragement, anything that will help make this a little easier.

I get up, weigh myself - log what I weigh. If I want to eat something I have to measure what I'm cooking and weigh what I'm cooking - and then log every calorie that goes into my mouth. I count every cracker, weigh every fish fillet. I go to exercise and have to track the miles, the steps, the minutes - and then log what I exercise. Lather, rinse, repeat. Every day. Three to four times a day. Every single day ...for the rest... of ...my ...life.

My entire life has become numbers, numbers, and more numbers. It's tiring and it's boring. It's the hardest thing for me when it comes to this entire weight loss journey.

I pray that there is a time in my life when I'll be able to eat like a regular person and not have to count everything. But even when I reach goal weight I know I will have to watch like a hawk everything I eat and be very vigilant with everything from calories to physical activity, and I will probably still need to log everything. This is the daunting reality of what it means to be a fat person getting thin. I don't want to think about it because it makes me want to cry.

Does it ever get easier? Does it ever end? Or is this a situation where it's just tough sh*# and just suck it up and deal with it ...or go back to being fat.

Ryhenblue

I think there are a lot of people that don't measure out every portion. There should come a time at where you can look at something and know how much it is. It might not be exact but it's close. If you're running for 30 minutes a day then you should know about how many calories you burned. It gets easier.

bjberry

Here are some sight clues for controlling portions:
1. A 3oz serving of meat is about the size of a deck of playing cards. 3 oz of fish is the size of a checkbook.
2. You know how each kitchen has the big plates and little plates? Eat your meals on the smaller plates.
Half of this plate will hold 1 cup of vegetables, 1/4th of the plate will hold the 3oz of meat, and 1/4th of the plate will hold 1/2 cup of potatoes, rice, or other grains.
- Eat your cereal from an 8 oz juice glass (it holds the 3/4 cup or whole cup of cereal and one/half cup milk and is easier to not over do the cereal portion.
- You know the little four oz cups you bake in? Fill them up for a 1/2 cup portion of ice cream or frozen yogurt, etc. You cannot overdo your portion, that way.
3. Buy the 100 calorie portion controlled snacks. They take care of the snack urges without killing your calories for the day.
4. Use salad spritzers on your salads--you do not overdo the dressing, but you still get flavor on your veggies.
5. When eating out, get a to-go box with the meal. Shovel half of your meal into the box, immediately--bringing your portions down to healthy size. Take that home and have it for your next meal.
This all came from:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4724842_use-portion-control-weight-loss.html.
Have fun trying these ideas. :drinker: (and drink lots of water.)

HealthyChanges2010

edited...sorry my post simply got too long. LOL:blushing:

RominaSullivan

Hi!

I do log in everything and every day, but I don't do it in such detail. I usually overestimate a little just in case, and move on. I feel like if I did things that detailed I would drive myself crazy. It may make you more self conscious than you need to be. This is a pretty hard thing to do already, don't put more pressure on yourself. I'm pretty sure you are making the right decisions without having to count every ounce :-)

I'm getting close to my goal and I feel very happy! I don't feel like I have to obsess about this as much. I'm sure (or at least I hope) that once I reach my goal and keep working out I'll be able to maintain the weight without suffering. I feel like all of the time that this weight loss journey is taking me, is serving me as training for my new lifestyle. I'm learning to find my healthy balance.

Good luck!!

RominaSullivan

Ohh and if you do find the need to weigh yourself everyday because that's just who you are (I'm the same way), make sure you know what causes weight fluctuations. Once you understand the reasons you won't be too hard on yourself when the scale shows you a higher number. I weigh myself everyday to keep myself in check (it motivates me, while others feel the opposite) but I only record it once a week.

Here's an article about it:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4716731_understand-daily-weight-fluctuations.html

HealthyChanges2010

:smokin:

StacySkinny

Hey guys! Thanks so much for the great advice!

Becca - awesome post. I appreciate you taking the time to give your advice and encouragement! I'm really glad you wrote such a long reply because everything you said hit home for me. You're really a sweet heart to go out of your way to help like that! *big hugs*

Romina - thank you for the article. It really explains a lot and I think it will help me to not get down on myself when my weight fluctuates day to day.

Thanks to everyone who posted. Good advice you guys. It helps to have people like you to help keep me going!

Aww, why did you remove your post, I thought it was great, Becca!

Behavior_Modification

I want to read Becca's post! :sad:

Behavior_Modification

Hi sweetie,

I may have mentioned before that I am a very numbers oriented person. I like statistics and mathematical equations and stuff like that. I have a very logical brain that looks at things scientifically.

Some of the numbers I embrace, some I do NOT.

The whole 3500 cals = 1lb of weight equation is one I have learned to NOT embrace. Because it simply does not add up in real life. There are so many other factors to losing weight that calorie consumption alone cannot be the end all tell all. I used to think that if I could calculate how much I was exercising and how much I was restricting food, I'd be able to equate how much weight I'd lose. Nope. It just doesn't work that way because you can't over do it, you can't under do it, and the types of food you eat are just as important as the calorie count. I've learned to read food labels to make sure I'm getting quality food instead of just counting calories.

Heart rate is a number I've learned to embrace. I never realized how important it was to keep track of your HR while you're exercising. I've belonged to 4 gyms over the past 8 yrs and am no stranger to exercise...but I wasn't pushing myself hard enough. I would go do 40 min on the eliptical before and think oh I did so good because I did 40 min, but in actuality I wasn't doing nearly enough good because I wasn't getting my HR up far enough. When I started w/ the trainer he wanted me to get my HR between 130-140 for beginning. At first it was hard to do, but gradually did get easier and then I kept challenging myself to see just how high I could get it, sort of like a little game for myself. Well after my first 4 week program of that goal, he switched it up on my and wanted me to aim for 150 and then 160 for part of the routine. For example we'd do 3 min at 140, 1 min at 150 and 1 min at 160 and then repeat. You want me to do whaaaat? 160? You're kidding, right? I NEVER got my HR up that high when I was exercising on my own. But now that I know how important it is, I do pay attention to it.

The scale is one I do NOT embrace anymore. I used to give that damn thing so much power over me, over my mood, over my motivation, over my determination, over my overall attitude towards weight loss. It took 4 whole months of paying attention to just how much the scale fluctuates to get me to finally decide that the scale just isn't that important and I can't pay attention to what it says because I know in my heart that I'm going in the right direction even if that stupid thing says different.

Some other numbers I've learned to embrace are on my food diary. I've learned the ratios that work for me and that allows me to eat a well balanced diet so that I don't have the urge to binge. For example, I try very hard to make sure that my carbs are never twice as much as protein, my sugar is never higher than protein, and my sodium does not go over 2400. For me I use those numbers every day all day long to try to keep to that pattern all day so that I don't overdo it with carbs or sugar, because that is what will send me into binge mode. I don't pay attention to the goals MFP has set for me because after working w/ the nutrition coach, I've learned that a different set of ratios is what is going to work for me. I think protein and fiber are much more important than what MFP says, it will fill you up better. But anyways, that is just what works for me and my body type.

I have also learned to embrace the numbers regarding portion control. Yes it is a HUGE pain in my rear and it does get extremely time consuming, but it does get easier. I have learned to make time for it. It still sucks, but I know it is what I have to do so that I can accurately log my food and stick to my formula. So, I'll bring out all my cereal stuff and sit down while talking on the phone or watching a movie and portion it out for myself and make a whole bunch at a time. I portion everything ahead of time so that it is ready for me when I want it. Pretzels, nuts, cheese squares, cottage cheese cups, yogurt if I buy a big one. And then I make time on Sunday nights to cut up my fruits and veggies for the week and portion all of those out. Sometimes if I don't have enough time or run out by the end of the week, I'll bring a little cutting board and knife to work w/ me. I need portion control assistance. If I eat nuts out of the can, I'll eat way too many, If I scoop cottage cheese into a bowl, I know it will be more than one serving....etc.

That's about all for now. I guess my thoughts are that numbers are a pain in the butt, some are helpful, some aren't and you'll have to make those determinations for yourself on what will work to keep you on the right track and motivated.

labelleariane

You expressed so well what I learn form my journey.
thanks for taking time to share your experience!

I totally agree!

Hi sweetie,

I may have mentioned before that I am a very numbers oriented person. I like statistics and mathematical equations and stuff like that. I have a very logical brain that looks at things scientifically.

Some of the numbers I embrace, some I do NOT.

The whole 3500 cals = 1lb of weight equation is one I have learned to NOT embrace. Because it simply does not add up in real life. There are so many other factors to losing weight that calorie consumption alone cannot be the end all tell all. I used to think that if I could calculate how much I was exercising and how much I was restricting food, I'd be able to equate how much weight I'd lose. Nope. It just doesn't work that way because you can't over do it, you can't under do it, and the types of food you eat are just as important as the calorie count. I've learned to read food labels to make sure I'm getting quality food instead of just counting calories.

Heart rate is a number I've learned to embrace. I never realized how important it was to keep track of your HR while you're exercising. I've belonged to 4 gyms over the past 8 yrs and am no stranger to exercise...but I wasn't pushing myself hard enough. I would go do 40 min on the eliptical before and think oh I did so good because I did 40 min, but in actuality I wasn't doing nearly enough good because I wasn't getting my HR up far enough. When I started w/ the trainer he wanted me to get my HR between 130-140 for beginning. At first it was hard to do, but gradually did get easier and then I kept challenging myself to see just how high I could get it, sort of like a little game for myself. Well after my first 4 week program of that goal, he switched it up on my and wanted me to aim for 150 and then 160 for part of the routine. For example we'd do 3 min at 140, 1 min at 150 and 1 min at 160 and then repeat. You want me to do whaaaat? 160? You're kidding, right? I NEVER got my HR up that high when I was exercising on my own. But now that I know how important it is, I do pay attention to it.

The scale is one I do NOT embrace anymore. I used to give that damn thing so much power over me, over my mood, over my motivation, over my determination, over my overall attitude towards weight loss. It took 4 whole months of paying attention to just how much the scale fluctuates to get me to finally decide that the scale just isn't that important and I can't pay attention to what it says because I know in my heart that I'm going in the right direction even if that stupid thing says different.

Some other numbers I've learned to embrace are on my food diary. I've learned the ratios that work for me and that allows me to eat a well balanced diet so that I don't have the urge to binge. For example, I try very hard to make sure that my carbs are never twice as much as protein, my sugar is never higher than protein, and my sodium does not go over 2400. For me I use those numbers every day all day long to try to keep to that pattern all day so that I don't overdo it with carbs or sugar, because that is what will send me into binge mode. I don't pay attention to the goals MFP has set for me because after working w/ the nutrition coach, I've learned that a different set of ratios is what is going to work for me. I think protein and fiber are much more important than what MFP says, it will fill you up better. But anyways, that is just what works for me and my body type.

I have also learned to embrace the numbers regarding portion control. Yes it is a HUGE pain in my rear and it does get extremely time consuming, but it does get easier. I have learned to make time for it. It still sucks, but I know it is what I have to do so that I can accurately log my food and stick to my formula. So, I'll bring out all my cereal stuff and sit down while talking on the phone or watching a movie and portion it out for myself and make a whole bunch at a time. I portion everything ahead of time so that it is ready for me when I want it. Pretzels, nuts, cheese squares, cottage cheese cups, yogurt if I buy a big one. And then I make time on Sunday nights to cut up my fruits and veggies for the week and portion all of those out. Sometimes if I don't have enough time or run out by the end of the week, I'll bring a little cutting board and knife to work w/ me. I need portion control assistance. If I eat nuts out of the can, I'll eat way too many, If I scoop cottage cheese into a bowl, I know it will be more than one serving....etc.

That's about all for now. I guess my thoughts are that numbers are a pain in the butt, some are helpful, some aren't and you'll have to make those determinations for yourself on what will work to keep you on the right track and motivated.

StacySkinny

Hey, Diane. Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know what you've learned. I think it will be very helpful. The protein to carbs ratio is something I've never heard before, I'll keep that in mind.

I appreciate the great advice, hun!

HealthyChanges2010

Hey guys! Thanks so much for the great advice!

Becca - awesome post. I appreciate you taking the time to give your advice and encouragement! I'm really glad you wrote such a long reply because everything you said hit home for me. You're really a sweet heart to go out of your way to help like that! *big hugs*

Aww, why did you remove your post, I thought it was great, Becca!

Oh did you see it? Good! Ya know I felt like it got to long and I got embarrassed. LOL I have no clue why, really all I was doing is sharing things that worked for me over time and passing that info onto you. Promise next time I'll leave it be and suck it up long post or not. LOL

Glad you read it though

Sorry Diane...wish I had left it now so you could have benefited from it as well. I get delete happy to often anymore, I type out a comment/reply and then go back and edit it all out. Not sure why, but I find myself doing that far more lately.

I learn from ppl all the time on here, probably should let others learn a bit from my journey as well..

StacySkinny

I learn from ppl all the time on here, probably should let others learn a bit from my journey as well..

heheh Exactly! You have a lot to teach, so don't be embarrassed if your posts get really long. You never know when something you've typed could really hit home for someone and give them a real light bulb moment, you know? Have more faith in yourself! *big hugs*