One Day At a Time - The Challenges, The Fun

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tram54
tram54 Posts: 6
in Introduce Yourself
I am a 58 year old male who has been overweight most of my life. About the only year I can remember being 'thinner' was following my sophomore year in high school, I lost a bunch of weight over the summer (hoping to impress a girl I had a major crush on :-) ), but of course when she chose the 'jock' over me that fall, I started to put it right back on again. I have gained and lost probably over a ton in the past 40 years. Currently I have about 100 lbs too much on this frame. When I made my last visit to my doctor, she told me about this site. It took me a few days, but I finally came here and I am so glad I did. I believe I have found my answer!

So far - here is what I have learned that has made the experience exciting. #1 - I don't necessarily have to give up all my favorite foods (which is something I always did while dieting, and ultimately, failing!). The key is to make smart choices - space out the favorites, and watch what else you eat the same day to 'balance out' the total. #2 - I find the searchable database to be a godsend, letting me find foods that I like that are low or reasonable in the amount of calories so I can plan much easier ahead of time. So much easier than going to the store and spending HOURS picking up products and looking at the labels. #3 - The Exercise tab - showing how many calories you can burn doing almost anything - and how it automatically adds to your daily available calorie intake on the Food Tab. I had recently gotten back to playing golf again (something I had stopped doing a long time ago) and I was SHOCKED to see how many calories I could burn simply by doing something I enjoyed (I walk and pull the clubs on a hand cart). #4 - By using this tool, my new journey now becomes a DAILY goal instead of something long-term. It almost becomes like a little video game - seek and find what I can eat (or how much exercise I need to do to balance off what I have a craving for) with the daily goal being keeping under the calorie goal in total. I have always been able to succeed on diets for a single day - it is the long term part that always failed me. So, now, I think of this as a DAILY challenge only. I've been here a little over a week now, and have succeeded every single day. My 'goal' weight loss was 1.5 pounds a week; but thanks I guess to some exercise (good ol' golf) and this site helping me find things to eat - I lost 4 lbs. the first week. I am pumped!!!

I wouldn't mind making some friends as well here on the site, and hopefully my sharing some of what I have felt in starting my journey will help some folks who are just getting started or need a little encouragement. Counting the calories DOES work (and can be fun if you make it your challenge) - despite some of the diet 'fads' that say it doesn't.

Alex

Replies

  • ooHelenoo
    ooHelenoo Posts: 2
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    Hi Alex,

    Good to hear your story! I'm at a similar stage. I haven't really bothered dieting because I assume I can't do it - the few times I've tried I haven't managed to stick to anything. I have had this impulse to write down what I eat in the hope that this will (a) help me eat less and (b) help me eat more wisely. So I am glad to be here.

    I am also hoping that this will apply to my spending too - I find that money gets frittered away too easily (I'm only talking small amounts, no need for financial advice!) and I think the two are connected, to do with consumption.

    I like the way you put "fun" in your post... I hope it can be fun, in some ways, as it's hard to choose lifestyles without fun. I think some of the enjoyment will be in taking control?

    I won't write more because I don't trust myself to stay around as I'm only on day one - but I hope that this is the first step in the right direction, and that MFP is as helpful to me as it seems to be for other people.

    Alex, good luck on your journey. One day at a time!

    Helen
  • doxie_mom_db
    doxie_mom_db Posts: 11
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    Hi!

    I've been on MFP before and lost 40 lbs with ease. On that journey, I learned that the constant support of people with the same challenges is vital. I couldn't have done it without them. Unfortunately, life got in the way and I gained the weight back plus some--dang it! :explode:

    I looking to build a support team (just like you) that will help cheer me on when I need a boost, give me an ear to vent to, and friends to celebrate my victories with. I promise to do the same for you!

    Let's do this together. We can do it! :flowerforyou:

    Just send me a friend request if you are interested.

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