I'm not so new...

geckochick16

Good morning! I have been using MFP for about 2 months now, although I have never posted in the forums. I was hoping to get some opinions / thoughts / suggestions so I thought I'd give my "story".

Like I said, I have been working at losing weigh for about 2 months now. I tried the Paleo diet first but found that I was getting nauseous thinking about the food I had prepared which made it difficult to eat since I was basically forcing myself to eat. My sister told me about MFP so I decided I would try it out.

I can say that I do not eat the calorie amount that has been calculated for me as I would like to lose more weight than 1-2 pounds a week. I know this is not going to last long when I get closer to my goal weight but for now, I am trying for 3-4 pounds a week. I have been trying to consume 1300-1500 calories a day (even though MFP suggests 1880 calories a day) while using Turbo Jam DVDs as my workouts. I currently am working out 6 to 7 days a week.

I am trying to get healthy and slim down because I want to be fit and healthy for myself. I have a huge incentive to lose weight because I am getting married in October 2013 so I would like to look the best I possibly can. That being said, I do not have a particular number in my head that I would like to weigh on my wedding day, I just want to have done all that I can to get as slim as possible by then.

I have found that I have become very obsessive about my calories and working out. For instance, I get depressed and upset if I do not get my planned work out in due to time or feeling run down. I feel like even if I am tired or run down I have been trying to push through it to workout but then I don't feel that I am performing optimally so then I worry then I am not burning enough calories. I start to worry when I get close to the 1500 calorie amount because I think I am going to minimize my weight loss.

I started out eating only 1200 calories a day when I started on MFP but figured that I wasn't fueling my body enough for the 1+ hour workouts I've been doing. The workouts mix cardio and weights (sculpting) so I feel that I am well rounded on that front.

I try to eat clean but I find that looking up some of the fresh fruits and veggies is difficult as there are different calorie counts for say a cucumber. I then overanalyze and cannot determine which one is "correct" so I go with foods that are packed that I can easily measure. For example, I eat Cheerios, skim milk and a container of the Mott's Healthy Harvest Summer Strawberry Applesauce for breakfast, a Luna protein bar for a snack, a Lean Cuisine meal, salad and tablespoon of romaine lettuce for lunch, air popped popcorn and 1/2 ounce of dry roasted peanuts for a snack, and then some sort of lean protein like boneless skinless chicken breast and steamed veggies for dinner.

I stay within my calories so the salad dressing varies depending on my mood or I may go with a Special K Flatbread breakfast sandwich in the morning. I read that I should eat clean so I worry that eating the packaged foods I listed above are stalling my weight loss progression.

Also, I used to weigh myself daily (even multiple times a day) and if I had not lost more than 2 pounds in a week's time I would be angry / depressed the rest of the day. I try to remind myself that it is the journey through life that I need to enjoy but that thought escapes me at times and brings me down.

I know the stress I am adding to eat my calorie amount and work out is not helping my weight loss but I don't know how else to deal...

Sorry this is so scattered but I am trying to give everyone as much detail as possible since I really feel like I could be doing better.

I would love to hear what you think / suggest for me to change or continue doing since I am really in a rut about my weight loss. I don't know that my mind set is healthy nor is my sort-of, half-existent goal of slimming down as much as possible without a number in mind. (If I had to pick a number, I would love to lose 100 lbs or more before my wedding)....

Thank you all for reading this. I appreciate any comments.

:happy:

geckochick16

Just bumping for consideration...