WAY over my Calorie Goals!!

Liz_White

So, I know WHY I'm overweight. I overeat and underexercise... but I had no idea I was eating THAT MUCH! I constantly crave sugar, pop, and fast food! I could be the postergirl for Biggest Loser!! I need help!! Quickly, before I hit 300lbs! Any suggestions on how to cut it all down without driving my body over the edge?

mistyb47711

You just gotta do it.....cut everything down and most out.....I have i can coke a day....I eat out once a week and Im not much on candy so thats not a problem for me......put everything in your counter and start working towards the green numbers and out of the red....only exception i see about red numbers is protein, fiber and sugar but the sugar has to come from healthy eating.....Good luck you can do this!!

azdiazfamily

Just keep track of it with using this site/app. It really does help to count ur calories.. Good luck!

Bellyroll

keep tracl of it on here and seeing it will help u

jmatthews75

Thats why this site works wonders for me, If I write it all down, everything, even that cookie you grab on the way by the pantry just because its there... log everything, and if you don't improve, you can see why. Its a control thing, if I know I have to write it down, I avoid it because I am saying to myself, I DON'T NEED THAT. That is the secret to success, it makes you more aware of everything you do.

lstnlondry

most importantly, take your time, make changes slowly so they will last, if you say NO to everything then you can disappoint yourself & feel like you have failed. I'm happy you are taking care of you.

tavery3700

First thing, Stop drinking pop completely empty calories.

Change your eating habits, No fried or fast foods.

Sugar ,only one thing a day ( eat something under 200 calories)

Also take a 30 minute walk every night or at least 3 nights each week.

Just try this for 2 weeks , I promise you will see a difference.

It's hard but you can do this. YOU MUST

d_llopez

Me, Me & Me again. But it just clicked for me one day. Follow your calorie intake. Write everything down from milk to that small tsp of sugar. EVERYTHING COUNTS. You won't go wrong.

natersmama

one thing at a time. one day at a time. i know for me if i say "no pop. no candy. no chips" all i want is pop, candy and chips! lol. so log everything. but budget in what you enjoy. denying that you want it could lead to a binge if you're an emotional eater like me. i plan what i'm going to eat the night before. if i dont, my mind goes nuts and i grab bad choice after bad choice all day long.

glendeb

I have cut back heaps. I still have a biscuit or similar every day - otherwise I would binge and eat the whole packet.

Also what helped me was searching the database for the food I wanted and deciding if that 100-200 calories is actually worth it.

corgifan

Schedule in your treats so you have something to look forward to and aren't depriving yourself. I gave up soda (I drink diet) during the week and allowed one sat and one sun. I found I started to crave sweets less once I did that. Other things that helped were getting sweets out of the house or out of site. Once you cut back on sweets for awhile and get past the initial "withdrawal" stage, you very well might find yourself finding naturally sweet foods like fruit to be enough. Try very ripe grapes, pineapple, and berries for sweets. I also made "ice cream" by freezing bananas and then running them through a food processor with some peanut butter - creamy, filling, nutritious, and nowhere near a bowl of Ben and Jerry's!

The other BIG thing that helped (is helping) me is to friend people and keep my diary public. It keeps me accountable.

Remember though, you didn't get overweight overnight and much like stopping a speeding car, you need to slow it down before you can turn it around. Focus on some smaller changes right off and incorporate others in once those become habits. Too much too soon is tough.

cerysrhi

swap your food choices I used to love pop I still have it but instead of full sugar I now have sugar free and only 1 can a day, I love sweets and just buy the 10p mini bags of haribo or a pixie stick each day that curbs my sugar craving and as for fast food have it on your treat night or make wise choices you can go to MacDonald's and order the salad without the dressing or go to subway and have a healthy 7 sandwich

Nana_Anne

I agree with one thing at a time. This is a life style change not a diet or quick fix. I don't hide anything on my diary because that's old behaviour and who am I kidding anyways. All my friends understand and we all have those days. First thing is your here. So pull up a char and get comfy and stay awhile.

dlafarga

I use to eat fast food several times a week and I use to LOVE soda and sweets. But trust me, girl you will not miss any of it! Once in a while I indulge in fast food. maybe once a month or once every two months and sometimes even longer.

At first you crave it so much. I work in retail and we sell sodas all over the store and even in our break room. There will be times you cave in. It is OKAY. I use to cave in a couple times a week. Then eventually it was once a week and eventually i changed to drinking diet soda once week. And eventually you just forget about it. I can't remember the last time I drank soda and I don't crave it.
Fast food is the same thing. You eventually forget about it and realize it's not worth it. I'd rather indulge in some home cooking. When you decide to make a healthy lifestyle choice you learn to appreciate foods you didn't before. For instance, tostadas and tacos and anything homemade like that use to be mediocre for me. And now when I get to eat it, there is literally a party going on in my mouth.

Trust me when I say that after you change the way you eat and you learn portion control, home food will taste like the most delicious thing ever!! and fast food will be unappetizing for you and even not satisfying. I can't remember the last time I had fast food. I prefer to go to restaurants maybe once every two weeks. Hope this helps!

Liz_White

You are all AMAZINGLY helpful! I am here for the long haul... however long that may be! I can't wait to be posting my success story!! :happy:

leopardlushh

I used to be a die hard fast food junkie and sugar addict!!! After leaving home, where I was never allowed those foods, my weight started skyrocketing. And personally I've tried cutting it all out at once...doesn't work. I always end up giving in so now I've learned to incorporate some cravings in my diet and some carbs to satisfy my indulgences and it's working out alot better! Eating a couple of cookies w/lowfat milk WON'T stop me from losing weight...eating the entire row w/milk and some Mc'Donald's will.

minnie86

I've been there, and each day is a new opportunity to stay healthy. Sometimes I fail, but I keep trying.
I would suggest that you enter what you plan on eating the day before. Play around with it. If you feel something has way too many cals, try to find an alternative. I really try to always have snacks with me so that i don't become a hungry monster and eat anything that's on my way. If you plan, you will be much more aware of what you are eating. Play around with your cals until you find what makes you feel good. A big thing for me was cutting down sugary drinks. They don't fill me up, so I eat as usual, but they were making my calories super high...try to find alternatives. I am now drinking more water and iced tea (made at home).
I know this is hard, but you will get used to and do amazing!

Pebble321

Don't make it too hard on yourself, give yourself small and achievable goals.

My first goal was to record everything i ate. I didn't commit to change, just to record. I found that just knowing I had to write down what I was eating made me think twice about whether I really wanted it.

Once you have a few days of eating written down you will be able to see where there are high calories and low nutrition. Things like soft drink (soda) and snacks like chips and chocolate and cookies can make up a huge number of calories and give you nothing but sugar. Find something like this to cut out and you will have made a great start.

Then start working on your meals one at at time. Read up about healthy breakfast ideas and commit to a healthy breakfast every day. Do this for a week, then move onto lunch and dinner and snacks.....

Add in some exercise. Even walking for 15 mins a day is a great place to start. Or play something fun and active with your kids - it's great exercise and everyone will be happy.

You will see that making small changes will have a BIG effect, especially now you have decided to do it! Go for it

bigfatbino

Hi Liz,

Like you, I was SHOCKED when I first saw how much caloric energy I was eating during a normal day. And I loved my Wendy's and Hot Dog On A Stick and Big Fat Burrito's. I loved cooking, as long as it had butter, bacon, and gravy. After seeing the numbers, I banned myself from eating anywhere that had a drive-thru window as part of their marketing and customer service.

The biggest challenge was the first three weeks of change for me. Exercise literally made me sick i.e; I coughed for three days after my furst "run" around the block, which took 10 minutes (and it's a small block).

Week two, after the coughing died down, I ran 1.5 miles, and started forcing myself to eat a head of cabbage (boiled, salted lightly, with extra virgin olive oil) once a week. I found myself with a lot of time for "bathroom reading materials". My energy level seemed really low. But I forced myself to walk every day, and run if my legs weren't in too much pain...I walked a lot, and ran very little.

Week three, I didn't feel better, I didn't feel worse, I just felt "different". That's when I noticed I was having to take my belt in.

Week 4, the energy hit me. I started feeling much better. And it's only gone uphill from here. I ate a cheeseburger from Burger King the other day because I was in a rush...and I can't believe I used to think that tasted good to me.

Now, 4 months and 40 lbs later, I can run nearly 10 miles with mostly running, and very little walking, I'm excited to see fresh cabbage, blood-red cherries, and firm apples at the market instead of "Chicken nuggets, only $5.99".

I'm sorry if this seems long, but I really wish you the best. I know it is hard, and you don't need a "Biggest Loser" anything, because you're the BOSS of this, and you can do it. You'll be amazed at how quickly it can (and will) happen for you.

Good Luck, and I look forward to reading about your great success

paganstepmomma

I had lost weight and then I has a huge life change and stop exercising and eating well. So I'm restarting with the same things that got me going in the first place. Cut out soda first. It's the easiest place to rack up empty calories and there's no nutritional value. When I originally started working on my health the prices spiked and I was over spending that much so really looking at how much you're spending can help too. I realized how I liked water best (cold with ice...lots of ice!!) and then I rediscovered 100% fruit juice for when I needed something sweet. Much better nutrition wise (howdy vitamins nice to see you!) and over all it was cheaper because it's easier to find coupons for it and I didn't need as much since I was drinking so much water.

Start out with one thing at a time though when it comes to cutting down or cutting out things. Like don't run and dump all of your soda down the drain. Like if you buy 10 2 liters every 2 weeks, try buying only 8 and then 6 and so on and so forth.