OK, so I'm gonna use the Msg. Boards

peggymdellinger
peggymdellinger Posts: 151 Member
edited January 29 in Introduce Yourself
I've been tracking my calories for a few weeks now, and lurking here... looking at weight loss pics, tips, tricks, advice, etc... Thing is, I'm trying to change my life. I'm 31 (32 this month) and I'm afraid to turn into my father who, at 66, has a pacemaker, diabetes, and an assortment of other medical problems related to a life of poor diet and being overweight. Over the last couple of years I've gone from eating whatever I want to cutting out sodas, then fast food, then refined grains, then to more organics, then to more veggies, reading ingredients, avoiding GMO's... now counting calories and figuring out what a portion of something should actually look like. It's been very gradual, so I'm ready now to go "all the way". Luckily, I love to cook and have a thing for spices so all of this healthy food has been very tasty. I have 4 year old twins and a supportive husband. I started out 4 weeks ago around 252 lbs (at 5'5") and I'm down to 247 now. I've also started walking my dog a few days a week, I have a job cleaning 2 nights a week, and I'm lifting weights 2 nights a week. I guess that's it so far. Thank you all for your posts (upon which I lurked) which have helped to inspire me a great deal. (is it just me or are the calories burned for exercise that come up on here high?)

Replies

  • mebepiglet123
    mebepiglet123 Posts: 327 Member
    Hi welcome
    I don't think calories burned come up high on here... My heart rate monitor tells m I've burned more, but I always log mfp calories.

    How much have u lost in last few weeks
  • peggymdellinger
    peggymdellinger Posts: 151 Member
    I started at 252 about 4 weeks ago. I last weighed on Saturday and was at 247. I'm trying not to focus on the weight... more on how portions look, what foods I'm eating, and caloric intake. I figure I'll weigh about once a week. When I'd "diet" in the past I'd weigh every day, agonizing over ever mili-pound. I just can't do that; it's too stressful. lol.
  • farway
    farway Posts: 1,251 Member
    I started at 252 about 4 weeks ago. I last weighed on Saturday and was at 247. I'm trying not to focus on the weight... more on how portions look, what foods I'm eating, and caloric intake. I figure I'll weigh about once a week. When I'd "diet" in the past I'd weigh every day, agonizing over ever mili-pound. I just can't do that; it's too stressful. lol.

    Welcome, I advise you to not just eyeball what a portion looks like, get some digital kitchen scales, ideally ones that can be "tared" [reset to zero] as you go. In grammes I suggest as these are smaller units than ounces, but as you are US guess ounces may be your preferred unit

    Scales are the way to go, not volume, there is a recent thread on pitfalls of using volume [cups] versus weight

    No need for fancy expensive scales, just some from supermarket or on line

    Best of luck
  • peggymdellinger
    peggymdellinger Posts: 151 Member
    Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Got curious about my weight so I got on the scale... 244.8 as of about a minute ago. Nice...
  • beautyonthebeach83
    beautyonthebeach83 Posts: 99 Member
    Hi there, welcome. :) I overhauled our diet too, for health, not weight loss since I only (re)started calorie counting 2 months ago. We're totally organic now and don't eat at restaurants anymore (well, only one---an organic one about once a month or less.) Just wanted to say hi because we seem to have some stuff in common, at least on the surface. Also, I want to second the food scale! I bought mine at a Weight Watchers meeting 9 years ago and it's still kicking. I love the thing.
  • JustPeachy044
    JustPeachy044 Posts: 770 Member
    Great job so far! You have gotten off to a running start.

    i second the vote for a scale. it especially helps me with measuring meats.

    also, if you haven't yet, take some "before" pics. and measure. the scale is not always your friend...sometimes it shows a gain or no loss and yet you are toning up. it's good to have multiple measures. take a new pic (same or similiar clothing) every 10-12 weeks. it will help tell your story...

    glad you are being active, lifting.
  • DMicheleC
    DMicheleC Posts: 171 Member
    Hi well done on starting your weight loss journey, but remember don't look at this as a diet its a life change, that kind of helps me when I start off. I was diagnosed with diabetes in March of this year, and that was my wake up call, as it is in my family they said I already had the genes, but because I was overweight I increased my chances of getting diabetes. Also the exercise will help the weight loss so you are doing all the right things. You should be really proud of yourself, keep up the good work.
  • Sagefemme76
    Sagefemme76 Posts: 45 Member
    Hi there. What a great start! I've recently got back into logging after falling off the wagon for a while. This site is great and helps keep me motivated. Add me to your cheer squad, if you'd like:smile:
  • missyrawien
    missyrawien Posts: 37 Member
    Hi there, great job so far! Great that you're focusing on health not the number on the scale! If you're worried about portions another good tip is to try and make everything you eat a bit colourful, nice salads with bright green leaves and red tomatos, fruit salads, soups and curries etc. Just having your food look interesting can trick your brain into thinking you're eating something bigger, better and tastier! Also if you try to make even small things full of flavour, e.g. using lots of spices for curries and soups and using smaller amounts of stronger cheese, you feel more satisfied than if you've just gnawed some celery!

    Hope you keep going, you're doing so well, we're all here for you! :D
  • peggymdellinger
    peggymdellinger Posts: 151 Member
    Thank you everyone! :)
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