10% of my starting weight GONE

Pandorian

SO, I told myself I'd wait til I had achieved this 10% of my starting weight (330lbs) lost before I'd post a success story, today is that day.

At the end of November I went shopping (at a second hand shop) for clothes for a Christmas party... in order to get the new to me clothes I had to select from what they had for 54's. End of December I started here on MFP logging everything that passed my lips with calories (no tea/coffee/water logging because I drink them black or plain) I've since bought 2 more rounds of "new to me" pants. First ones were at the end of January I believe and they were a 48" already. I went out this weekend and bought a pair of 46" Shirts I've come from a XXXL to only a XXL, it still depends on "who" makes it though as shirts seem rather short and expose my stomach at the slightest whim so I try to buy the tall version of shirts from the few stores who carry them to make sure I don't wind up exposed while working.

I bought a new belt, and have managed to reach the last prepared hole in it, I'm going to use the leather punch on the farm to extend the life of the $35 belt, but yesterday I FORGOT my belt and even my 48's were falling off, when I crouched down to pick something off the floor I felt them slipping so a quick trip to another aisle and I had a belt that fit without going to a big and tall store to purchase.

I started a new job during the weight loss and that has changed my activity level from mostly sedentary to largely active, and today I revamped my goals to allow for that as I'd spent 3 weeks at the same weight, then last week I had a pretty bad spike day for calories, which finally kickstarted my loss again.. 3 weeks within spitting distance of my first goal!

I adjusted calories again which put me to 2030 calories a day, at my new target ratio of 35% carbs 35% protein and 30% fat, 2000mg Sodium, 40 grams fiber. It's a goal. I know I don't get the ratio right every day but I certainly work towards it.

I promised one of my friends on here that I'd post progress pics once I got to 10% loss, so I'll take those and add them to the thread later.

Food-wise I wish I'd bought a scale when I was working with the Dietician, I tried that for a year and couldn't get anywhere with the pen and paper logging and under-estimating portions, (I had to be, I gained 15lbs over what I started with them at over that year and the next) Logging on MFP is awesome, if you weigh your food and accurately log your intake the program really does work.

I do eat my exercise calories but haven't made time for the gym since I started the new job, scared I guess of wearing myself out at the gym and then not being able to do the 8 hours at the job on top of it.

I garden, and really enjoy being able to pick something in my backyard and have it on the plate for dinner, strawberries are right on the verge of picking, had one yesterday that puts the hot-house strawberries to shame! Yum.

deeharley

Great story. And Good Work!!

georgette924

Congrads, and keep it up!!!

jrathome2

Good for you!! Keep up the great work!

DyannAlvarez

Love this story! Congratulations and way to go! Great success to encourage us all!

alynnbennett

Congratulations!!!!! Keep up the good work!

karenleona

Congratulations!!! you are well on your way!!

halfmarathon52

Great job! It's great when you can see your progress paying off.

sabrinalg

Congrats!!! You're doing it! Hard work and determination definitely pays off.

GooBeGone

congratulations!!!! :drinker: <--water

fitzie63

You have done extremely well. You might consider dropping your calorie level down some more. Remember, FAT grams are far more damaging and play a large part than protein and carbs. Up the PROTEIN, carefully watch those carbs (go for COMPLEX carbs ... vegetables & fruits ... rather than simple carbs). Make certain you're taking in not less than 64 ounces of water daily. The sodium can also play havoc in your system with water retention. I have copied and pasted, below, suggestions I sent to another MFP friend who has lost a lot of wt. (113 lbs) but is going through a super-long plateau period.

"

1) How many fish meals are you eating each week? Recommended: a minimum of four fish meals (more is better).

2) How many red meat meals are you eating each week (includes pork, sausage type, hot dogs, etc.). Recommended: Try to eliminate all those from your menu plan if possible.

3) Switch to white meat of chicken and turkey (without the skin…that skin is 100% fat and that includes the good-tasting crispy stuff too).

4) Avoid all deli meats, sausage meats, hot dogs, etc. They are all very high fat and high sodium. E.G. Four ozs. of sliced turkey breast from the deli in the market = more than 1000 mg. of sodium. Considering the newest RDA guidelines only allow us 1500 mg. in 24 hours, it doesn’t give you much else to eat for the entire day.

5) Two-thirds of your lunch and dinner plate should have low calorie vegetables. Stay away from loading them with butter, margarine, etc. Avoid the creamier salad dressings. Instead: try the balsamic vinaigrette dressings and be certain to measure with individual measuring spoons while leveling off excess with a knife (don’t use the eating spoons for measuring).

6) Stay away from eye-ball measuring (use those individual measuring cups/spoons). That goofy comparison measuring will make you fat (e.g. the size of a deck of cards, the size of tennis ball, the size of your fist, etc.). That’s a bunch of rubbish. I know because I piled on an additional 10 lousy pounds on top of what I already had using that method. The reason it doesn’t work is: we’re hungry when we use that method and our sub-conscious mind causes us to over-estimate the portion sizes. Guess-ti-mating portions makes us fat.

7) Eating out: try to avoid doing that as much as possible. To begin with, the restaurants load the food with higher sodium content and those tasty chicken strips at McDonalds are both high fat and high sodium (body water retention, big time).

8) Dump all the soda pop drinks. Yes, even the DIET sodas will make you fat … more water retention. Perrier water: loaded with sodium. Club soda: loaded with sodium.

9) Alcoholic beverages: even the “light” beer is not only loaded with sodium but alcohol messes up the metabolism factor in your body. Alcohol metabolizes, like everything else, through the liver. It turns immediately to glycerol which raises the TRIGLYCERIDES in your total CHOLESTEROL profile. That converts to FAT. Every alcoholic drink (beer, wine and mixed drinks without sugar content) destroys liver cells. The destroyed liver cells are replaced with FAT, therefore, an alcoholic or regular social drinker (person that has 2-3 drinks every day) ends up with a fatty liver. How do you think they got that fat gut they’re packing around? Too many alcoholic binges on that fatty liver ends that person up in the emergency room and getting admitted to the hospital for a big time G.I. bleed (from their mouth and/or their rear end). Watching a patient die of liver cirrhosis in the ICU is not a pretty site. It’s heart-breaking to see that good person suffer.

You don’t have an alcohol issue but I’m being graphic about the problem so you can better understand how the product slows our weight loss program down~~~big time. Even one glass of red wine (4 oz.) can cause1-2 lbs. weight gain the next morning."

Keep up the great way you've been going. You ROCK!



I am not sending you these tips as a criticism. They are just little helpful things I have learned over my 55 year long struggle of battling the yo-yo weight control problem. Hopefully, some of the tips might help you gain more success.

Pandorian

I'm sure some of the tips will... you picked a good week for the fish question, I had fish for lunch and dinner last night (sole lunch and herring dinner) today is salmon for lunch and herring for dinner so there's 4 fish meals

As for decreasing the calories not right now I'm not. I was at 1800 calories for the past 3 weeks while I was stuck at 298 lbs. Last week I had a spike day and was higher on calories for a lot of it and I finally got a loss, so I just adjusted today my activity level (to better suit the new job) in order to get a higher calorie goal as that's how I've gotten clear of both 3 week plateaus so far... more calories. Body really does get used to what you're doing and changing it up certainly can start things.

Never (ok almost never, ie MAYBE once a year) are hotdogs even considered as a consumable item. Hardly ever use salad dressing, if I'm going to eat carrots / celery / lettuce I'm not going to pile on something with more calories in a tablespoon than I'd get from eating a pound of

Big yup on the "no eye-balling" I use a scale for everything, only way I can accurately log

And I'm ending here because I've gotta get ready for work

sugarbeans

Congrats on reaching your first goal and I look forward to reading your success stories more often. It is great to have them, this story is a true inspiration for me=)