Whoo boy...

WorkingOnMe3
WorkingOnMe3 Posts: 32
in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone.

I'm new here. Just joined today. They say when your life is a mess start with your home and then yourself. Well, the house is in good shape. I, on the other hand, am not.

Mom to 3. I'm 5'6" on my shorter days and 5'7" on the taller ones. I've always been "thick"-big rear end and thighs type- but only "fat" for 13 years. That's plenty long.

I don't exercise, won't lie. I work a day time desk job, 7.5 hours a day. I hate any type of cardio (I would though wouldn't I?) unless it has to do with dance. I love to dance.

I was born and raised in the south so if you had dinner at my house you'd have a glass of sweet tea, with an unhealthy meat, a veggie cooked in pig fat, some kinda potato and a nice slice of corn bread. It's not like that every night but you get the drift.

I know I need big changes in my life. I know those changes need to start with me loving me and taking care of me. I'm just not sure how to get that jump started. I don't want to fail.

The good things are that I can move a little each day to ease in to working out. I love to cook. I love being in the kitchen. I just know how to cook in unhealthy ways. Another good thing is I like veggies, salads, lean meats, nuts, fruits, etc. But I'm not creative at all and I do live on a budget.

I like this calorie tracker but let me tell you it is completely overwhelming. Every little morsel. But I'm sure I can handle that.

I guess I'm looking for what most newcomers are looking for. Tips, advice, suggestions, and support.

Glad y'all got to meet me!

Replies

  • Cyclingbonnie
    Cyclingbonnie Posts: 413 Member
    Okay, you like to dance, so dance. That is a really good exercise, a lot of my friends who do not like to exercise (don't get it, but accept it ... I personally love to exercise) do Zumba and/or Step Aerobics. Great cardio workouts. So the starting exercise will be easier if you come to it through something you like. Exercise should be fun and not a punishment. Exercise is to get you fit and healthy ... not for loosing weight. You loose weight in the kitchen.

    I'm also a southern girl who loves my cornbread, pintos with ham, fried chicken, etc. I'm here to tell you that you can still eat southern with a few changes to make it easier. There is a recipe section here that I use like crazy. I take my recipes and put them into it, state how many servings it would be and MFP tells me the calorie/fat/carb/protein/potassium/sodium/sugar break down. It has also taught me to accept smaller portions as a serving when I saw how terribly high some of the things I ate were. I quit using things in my vegetables, they are steamed or sauteed for the most part. It took a while, but I actually like my corn without butter these days. I eat roasted or broiled chicken most of the time ... but ... occasionally I treat myself to some good old fashioned fried chicken.

    One of the big things is this ... nothing is off limits ... if you like it and deny yourself something, you will give up and eat it. So the approach is to allow yourself the things you like. If that food is high calorie allow it occasionally, work them into your calories. I plan those big calorie treats for a heavy workout day, a day where I will burn a lot of extra calories. It works. Some people call it a cheat, but I don't ... I call it a treat.

    If we approach this as a temporary fix, we will just find ourselves back where we started a few months or years down the road. We have to make this workable in our everyday life, and accept that this is a life style change, not a temporary change. Also, let's face it, if we like it, we will want it, and will eventually have it. So the trick is to control how much and how often.

    Good Luck!
  • kao1114
    kao1114 Posts: 51
    Welcome! Although at first this site can seem overwhelming and putting in EVERYTHING you eat a bit tedious, once you get the hang of it and find the shortcuts, it will be much easier. Give yourself time to explore the site. I am not a big exerciser but I do love to dance! If you have an Xbox Kinect, I recommend getting the Dance Central games. They get you up and moving and it's something you can do with family and friends. Take it one day at a time, one healthy decision at a time and before you know it, you will be where you want to be! Best of luck!
  • WorkingOnMe3
    WorkingOnMe3 Posts: 32
    Thank you both!!

    I've never cared much for a steamed veggie but I do like them broiled or grilled or sauteed.

    I think logging will take me some time and then speed will pick up.

    I guess what I'm mostly afraid of is meal planning. How do I grocery shop now? It seems like each meal will have to flow into the next like a flawless club mix or something. Know what I mean?
  • sbro32
    sbro32 Posts: 130 Member
    Love that you said flow like a flawless club mix. I am no expert at this, but I've been reading these forums for a long time and can tell you my favorite ones are by a member here named Side Steel. Look him up and read his stuff. Smart, down to earth stuff. Best of luck to you!
  • Leigh_b
    Leigh_b Posts: 576 Member
    Hi! An Welcome :). Once you start logging you will get the hang of it. Once you begin to understand how many calories are in things you will start to naturally make healthier choices because you will understand which choices fit into your new healthier world and which ones don't.

    Check out Cooking Light. They have a great magazine and an awesome website - lot of healthy/nutritious recipes - but always very tasty. I've been a subscriber for over 10 years and use it every single week to make meal choices for me and my family.

    And you are right, you will need to become a planner. I plan all of my meals on Saturday afternoons. I get my latest issue of Cooking Light and log on to their website and sit down with a nice cup of herbal (unsweetened) tea. I have a grid with each day of the week written on it - first I determine what we are going to eat each night - taking into account what other scheduled things we have that week. Then I make my grocery list with everything I need to get in order to make those meals. Breakfast and Lunch are a bit easier - we have a rotation of about 10-15 items that we eat for these meals so I just make sure we always have that on hand: greek yogurt, whole wheat toast, natural peanut butter, oatmeal, bananas, baby carrots, cottage cheese, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, etc.

    Starting a workout program can be intimidating and discouraging at first. I started running 2.5 years ago. Today I consider myself a runner. I love running, I can't imagine my life without running in it... but when I started I HATED it and I couldn't imagine how I would ever keep doing it. It was HARD. It was BORING. It SUCKED!!!! You will have to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and push yourself harder than you have ever pushed yourself, but if you dig deep and really try you will be surprised by what you can do and you will love who you are becoming and then you won't want to stop.

    If you want some extra support and advice along the way... read my profile to see if you would be interested... and send me a friend request.

    Good Luck!!!!
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    Thank you both!!

    I've never cared much for a steamed veggie but I do like them broiled or grilled or sauteed.

    I think logging will take me some time and then speed will pick up.

    I guess what I'm mostly afraid of is meal planning. How do I grocery shop now? It seems like each meal will have to flow into the next like a flawless club mix or something. Know what I mean?

    Change your grocery shopping as you learn a new way of eating. Start with what you like, but measure how much you eat and count the calories. Try to cut down on salt, and substitute healthier fats for artery cloggers. (Olive oil, corn oil vs bacon grease.) You will not succeed long term if you eat totally separate foods than those you serve the family. I learned that lesson the hard way, by losing a lot of weight on a specifc low calorie diet and then going back to eating with the family. I regained every pound and then some.

    Serve yourself measured portions and count the calories. You may have to enter your recipes into the calorie calculator to know how much to eat. We bought a food scale from Amazon and restaurant style dishers in 1/4, 1/3, and 1/2 cup sizes. The food scale was a less expensive purchase than the dishers, but we were sick and tired of using measuring cups. They work, but they aren't as convenient. These tools make portion control easier. For example, I can choose a half cup serving of mashed potatoes and get an accurate calorie total. Estimating leads to gradually increasing your portion sizes, and then you don't lose weight..

    Avoid trigger foods that you know will lead to eating more and more. Potato chips fits that category for me.

    Learn which low calorie or foods you can turn to when you have the munchies. Celery is a great example. It has a nice crunch and takes more calories to digest than it contains. Don't fill it up with peanut butter or pimento cheese, though, or your calorie count zooms.

    If you blow it, forgive yourself and make a healthier decision next time.
  • WorkingOnMe3
    WorkingOnMe3 Posts: 32
    Love that you said flow like a flawless club mix. I am no expert at this, but I've been reading these forums for a long time and can tell you my favorite ones are by a member here named Side Steel. Look him up and read his stuff. Smart, down to earth stuff. Best of luck to you!

    I will definitely check him out. Thanks!
  • Katsquest
    Katsquest Posts: 4 Member
    Welcome! This is a great community. Support is crucial!
  • WorkingOnMe3
    WorkingOnMe3 Posts: 32
    Thanks for the replies everyone! Y'all have been very helpful so far. I like this support thing. And to think I was just looking for a calorie counter.

    I think slow and steady is going to be the name of my game.

    So I bought a food scale. This will be tricky and a but time consuming but like the planning I think I'll get the hang of it and get faster as I go.

    Seems my calorie allowance will be 1400 and from what I gather that increases as I log exercising. This is definitely a new concept to me. So I shouldn't be hungry or feel deprived. I like the idea of eating what I want as long as I can "afford" it.

    I can't financially afford to throw out what groceries I have on hand and go buy all new foods but I did pick up a few things that I wouldn't purchase on a regular basis. I can also try cooking what I do have in different ways. I should try a couple of new recipes each week until I get the hang of this.

    I'm not sure what trigger foods are but I'm sure I'll learn soon enough!

    Yes running sounds like a bad dream at this point. I think I'll start walking each day and look into Zumba.

    Thanks again y'all and I'm sure I'll post as I go.

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