New and need support!!!

heathercd

So I have been lurking around MFP for a little while, but decided that I wanted to introduce myself. I have decided to make a serious change in my lifestyle. . .I have struggled with weight my entire life. The only time I was ever thin was when I didn't eat enough. I finally got over that, but then I was eating whatever I wanted for several years. I'm done with all of it. I think I need a serious change that has to be strictly regimented. If it isn't, I tend too often to stray and go back to old habits. This site looks like a perfect place to help me initially start out!! Looking for anyone to keep me on the straight and narrow, and to help me out if I stray so I come right back again!!

Thanks

theidarisafa

You are seeing this all wrong.

It can't be so strict that you can't follow it for the rest of your life.

It's about educating yourself.

Fitness and health is a journey NOT a destination. You can NOT fail yoursefl. If you eat something "bad" all it means is that you could have eaten something better(healthier) for you.

That's all.

And losing weight at a drastric rate of more than 2lbs per week is possible, but NOT always sustainable long term.

You didn't get to your weight overnight and it's going to take a while to get to the thinner happier you

Focus more on how you feel, NOT so much the lbs on the scale. How your clothes fit.

I'm doing it different this time. I'm a young guy, 26, but have been heavy my whole life. I used to think that very regemented thing is what I needed. I went months going great, then binged and ate horribly. NOT good.

this time, I incorporate my favorite foods into my daily calorie counts. If I go over, I got over. But I know that I'm working towards my goals.

You can always email via this site if you need modivation. I read a very good book called "women food and god" by gene roth. It really opened my eyes to why I overeat.

It's NOT about the weight, but its NOT NOT about the weight" is what she says. Which means that if tomorow the weight was gone tomorrow, you'd still have the same problems that you have now in your life. Same job, same house, same car, same kids(if you have them) same spouse(if you have one)

Your clothes might fit better, but that's about it.

Weight is NOT the entire thing. You're a whole person. When you start eating better, eating some of the stuff that you used to eat will make you feel sick.

Anyway, just don't be too hard on yourself. Somebody said on here that they think of themselves as an athelete. Would an athelete beat themselves up? No, they'd eat right and train for their sport.

Well, you're training for life. To be able to live a longer healthier life. That's your training. Educate yourself. Eat better, go to the gym.

you're an athlete in training ;-)

georgiagorwell

Well Thedarisafa, that was a nice welcome lecture for heathercd. You've probably made her feel great for wanting some control over her eating habits.

heathercd, nice to meet you. How about planning your meals ahead and putting them into MFP before eating them? Obviously you don't want your eating habits to be heavily regimented for the rest of you life, and thedarisafa has a good point that it is a life style change you need, not just a strict diet then 'going back to norm'. There is nothing wrong with a strick diet to kick start a healthy new way of eating but a different way of eating needs to become the norm eventually.

Feel free to add me if you like, I am looking to lose 70 pounds.
Good luck

heathercd

Huh!

Interesting, I suppose I should clarify a little bit by what I mean when I say "strict".

Had you asked me 7 years ago what I mean by "strict", I would tell you that I wanted to eat under 700 calories a day. I would tell you that I wasn't happy unless I was feeling hungry. I would give you a great sordid tale of how much I hated myself.

I don't hate myself anymore!!! I'm in the best position of my life! I have a wonderful job, a gorgeous husband, a house and I'm in school for my master's degree. I'm not trying to say that I need to heavily control each day.

I WILL say, however, that I have been very relaxed in my nutritional approach recently and it hasn't worked out for me. I make myself breakfast and lunch but then when I get home, I eat while making dinner, or I have a few glasses of wine 2-3 nights a week. I have fallen out of regular gym attendance. I'm not saying that I'm going to hold myself to this ridiculous standard, but I certainly AM saying that I need stricter guidelines for myself if I ever want to get anywhere with my health.

I hope that makes more sense!!

Also, Thedarisafa, while I totally appreciate your reminder to go for the long haul, not to be regimented and inflexible, you would have realized my actual outlook on weight loss had you read my profile. Just sayin'. :laugh:

kimcat73

Welcome Heather! We are glad to have you and feel free to friend me. We can all use lots of support here. You're gonna love it here!:)

theidarisafa

didn't mean to be mean.

Meant to be realistic.

sometimes we beat ourselves up about our weight and what we eat and it stops us from making progress.

Or we restrict too much, then binge too much.

There has to be balance.

that's all.

But I think by strict, she means "planned out" which means learning about healthy eating and making meals and snacks ahead and portioning them out so that she stays on here goals.

Which is a fine idea to have.

and MFP definitely helps to track the calories and weight loss.

bameas

I have recently joined and I can relate to a lot of the other posts. I have struggled with my eating habits for many years, either not eating enough and being slim or eating whatever I wanted and how much I wanted and, well that has put me about 25 lbs heavier than i want to be. i think portion control is a huge issue. I tried to diet in the past with not much success. I would be eating what I thought were "healthy choices" but what i didn't realize is that a serving of cereal isn't a whole bowlful, it is only about 1 cup so while i thought i was only eating 110 calories (without the milk) i was actually eating 2 to 3 times that much. I have also realized that it is ok to have a "treat" and not to beat myself up over having a cookie or piece of cake. This has to be a lifestlyle change and if i had to give up sweets for the rest of my life I don't think I could do it. What i have found though is by knowing how many calories are in that cookie and how long it takes me to burn off those calories through exercise, i don't really want it most of the time. Anyway I don't mean to ramble on I am also looking for support and any ideas anyone might have on how to stay on track.

mrsannett

Hello there!!! Welcome aboard and good luck on your new journey. We are all here for support.