It Begins Today

2

Replies

  • AniLandSmiles
    AniLandSmiles Posts: 89 Member
    I am so excited for you!! Your post is very emotional, I can feel your genuine want for this. You got this!!!
  • thedietpilot
    thedietpilot Posts: 56 Member
    Well, well, well.... We've reached the end of my first day back in diet mode.

    I successfully warded off most temptations... and managed to consume approximately 1400 calories. (Was hoping to stay at or below 1200, but 1400 isn't bad in my opinion.... I would have done some exercise to help burn off the excess, but I can't currently due to a bad back.)

    Good news is that I didn't have any rice today, and I only had one slice of bread.

    I had 7 unique servings of fruits / vegetables today. At least 8+ cups of water.

    I'm feeling good about this.

    Just need to come up with creative solutions to stay on track and avoid giving in to the tendency to let emotions dictate what I should eat....

    How was everyone else's day today?
  • Butterfly2022MD
    Butterfly2022MD Posts: 246 Member
    I am right there with you. Day 1
  • thedietpilot
    thedietpilot Posts: 56 Member
    Good morning fellow MFPers!

    Today is Day #2 for me.

    This morning, I ate an apple first thing, while getting the kids ready for school. I figured that I should start the day off right. They say you should have a minimum of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. So I figured I could knock off one right off the bat and get it over with.

    But then when I finally returned to the kitchen, my mind kept pulling me towards my addiction of having a hefty 500 to 700 calorie breakfast, laden with eggs, toast, condiments, breakfast meat, you name it.

    I successfully fought off those thoughts whispering in my head... There is a lot of mental conditioning that goes into how we eat. A lot of it is emotional. It is about making mental connections with warm, fuzzy feelings of happiness, contentment, solace, and comfort.

    But if let our rational minds govern our dietary decisions, then we realize that what we SHOULD eat can vary drastically from what we WANT to eat.

    Therefore, I am sitting here with 4 oz of blueberries and 4 oz of strawberries and a glass of water, as I type this. This, combined with the apple, and I am at less than 200 calories for my breakfast!

    And you know what? It is satisfying? Once you taste something in your mouth that is different than what your imagination / cravings were beckoning you towards, then you can adapt very quickly and learn to savor the taste of this healthy food.

    Here's an example: Have you ever had a song stuck in your head that you just can't seem to make it go away? One very effective way to do that is to put on a different song! Your mind will shift its attention away from the old song and start tuning in to the new one.

    Same thing with food: You may be craving some carbolicious 1000 calorie meal, but as soon as you pop a few grapes or some other healthy food alternative in your mouth, you will no longer crave that. Instead, your focus should be on concentrating on the taste of this healthy food instead. This approach effectively cancels out the previous craving (or at least it buys you some time until the cravings return again later).

    As I sit here munching on strawberries and blueberries, I am beginning to feel satisfied and full. I no longer feel the hunger pangs and that longing for my favorite breakfast. There's always tomorrow, or there's always the next meal. Might as well get the healthy eating out of the way first.

    Anyway, that's enough rambling from me. Today I won't be able to do much in the way of exercise because my back is still sore, but I'll try to brave the cold weather and go for a walk around the block.

    How is your day going?
  • srcurran
    srcurran Posts: 208 Member
    Checking in with some support. Don't let your big goals get so daunting that they overwhelm you. One day, one meal, one step at a time. I am on a similar journey which I have concluded will take me the rest of my life, because even when I hit my goal I have to be vigilant so it doesn't come back (yet again). You can do this. Your loved ones are counting on you.
  • Nataliegetfit
    Nataliegetfit Posts: 395 Member
    So happy you're starting on this journey. I tell myself, you deserve to be healthy and feel better and look better instead of I deserve some food I really don't need. I started a week ago back on my diet and it's going good. I haven't been craving sweets, which is great, not snacking at night, no calorie drinks (hot tea and water) lots more veggies and fruit. Hopefully your family will help with healthy food in the house. One great way to add a lot of veggies to a meal is fajitas with a little meat but a lot of onion and peppers and mushrooms, or stir fry same meat and lots of veggies and a little sauce a little rice. Just try to think of meals with lots of veggies (we never ate enough of them) Or have a decent salad with a smaller portion of dinner. good luck and keep logging food
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,209 Member
    Well, well, well.... We've reached the end of my first day back in diet mode.

    I successfully warded off most temptations... and managed to consume approximately 1400 calories. (Was hoping to stay at or below 1200, but 1400 isn't bad in my opinion.... I would have done some exercise to help burn off the excess, but I can't currently due to a bad back.)

    Good news is that I didn't have any rice today, and I only had one slice of bread.

    I had 7 unique servings of fruits / vegetables today. At least 8+ cups of water.

    I'm feeling good about this.

    Just need to come up with creative solutions to stay on track and avoid giving in to the tendency to let emotions dictate what I should eat....

    How was everyone else's day today?

    1200 or even 1400 calories a day is pretty low for a male. How did you arrive at that number?

  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    Good luck!


    When I started I was very protective of my back which I'd had surgery on and was unsure my limits, so the recumbant bike was a big part of my initial workouts. Now I'm walking 5k's.

    Search things in the exercise diary like yoga, stretching, walking, and stationary bike to see which burn what cals and save some of the more challenging workouts for when you are more fit and confident. Start with what you can do now and they still burn cals so a calorie is a calorie even in working out. You only need to be under your maintenance cals to lose weight, heck you don't technically even have to workout at all!

    You got this!
  • AcadianRedneck
    AcadianRedneck Posts: 6 Member
    Best of luck to you, dropping some weight will most certainly help your back problems.
    Baby steps .... and if you can fit a short walk in, do it ! The fresh air is great.
    Stay determined and before you know it, you'll start feeling better.
  • MamaP47
    MamaP47 Posts: 94 Member
    I'm soooo excited for you!! The first difficult step is deciding to take that step!

    Life is soo full of hurdles and challenges. Embrace them. Learn from them. Adapt and then overcome! You can do it!

    Make realistic changes that are easy and simple and you can do first. Don't try to overwhelm yourself. For me, I focused on portion control first and then slowly added exercises. And I still give myself one cheat meal a week (but it's usually a healthy choice). Walking is a great step! Get a pace counter if you can and slowly increase your paces every day.

    I really like MFP. They make it really simple to use. I love the barcode feature to scan my food ... to include my protein shakes.

    Good luck and we are all cheering you on!!
  • thedietpilot
    thedietpilot Posts: 56 Member
    Well, well, well.... We've reached the end of my first day back in diet mode.

    I successfully warded off most temptations... and managed to consume approximately 1400 calories. (Was hoping to stay at or below 1200, but 1400 isn't bad in my opinion.... I would have done some exercise to help burn off the excess, but I can't currently due to a bad back.)

    Good news is that I didn't have any rice today, and I only had one slice of bread.

    I had 7 unique servings of fruits / vegetables today. At least 8+ cups of water.

    I'm feeling good about this.

    Just need to come up with creative solutions to stay on track and avoid giving in to the tendency to let emotions dictate what I should eat....

    How was everyone else's day today?

    1200 or even 1400 calories a day is pretty low for a male. How did you arrive at that number?

    I plugged in my weight, height, age, and gender into MFP, and I set my goal to lose 2 pounds per week.... And so the target number MFP came up with was approximately 1200 calories per day.
  • thedietpilot
    thedietpilot Posts: 56 Member
    Thanks for the motivation and encouragement, guys!

    Today is my Day #3.

    My Day #2 went well.... But first thing in the morning, I decided to alter my goal a little bit: I had originally set my daily calorie goal to be 1200ish, by losing 2 pounds per week.

    As some of you posted above, it's important to take baby steps and to not overwhelm myself. And this indeed is a life-long journey, not just a short term "crash diet / fad diet".

    Therefore, I changed my daily calorie goal to be 1770, by losing only 1 pound per week.

    That seems to me to be more realistic and doable. At least I have more flexibility to eat foods that I want without feeling as deprived. And I'm okay with this rate of weight loss. (Maybe I'll revisit increasing my weight loss rate to 1.5 or 2 pounds after some time, once I get adjusted to this new lifestyle.)

    And that seemed to work very well! I came in at 1690 calories, so I was 80 calories shy of my target of 1770 for the day. Was it easier than limiting myself to 1200 calories? Yes. I still had to fight cravings and temptations throughout the day, but through positive self-talk, I was able to ward off any "evil" thoughts of eating processed junk foods and carb-laden foods.

    I had about 7 - 9 (depending on how you measure it) servings of fruits and vegetables yesterday. And I feel great! I even had about 8 glasses of water.

    Today is my day #3 and I am ready for another exciting day on my journey. Yesterday, my wife went grocery shopping and bought a cart-load fruits and vegetables. So I've got no excuse now! We've got a plethora of varieties to choose from to help us throughout the day.

    I was tempted to jump on the weighing scale today... And I confess that I did. The numbers hovered near my original starting weight... So I just jumped right off. Obviously, looking at the scale after only 48 hours is ludicrous. I'll just put it away until next week.

    I KNOW that I will succeed, so why even look at the scale?


    So how was your day yesterday, everyone? And what is your plan of attack for today?
  • ZBuffBod
    ZBuffBod Posts: 297 Member
    The very best of luck to you. My one advice would be not to give up everything at once. Make small changes or you'll find yourself right back where you started when you begin feeling deprived. Most folks who lost weight and kept it off successfully will tell you moderation, not deprivation.

    You've done well to introduce more fruit and vegetables, but neither are eggs bad for you. You need that protein and fat too. So why not try something like egg beaters scrambled with some veggies for breakfast...and even throw in some low fat cheese. That can be less than 200 calories for breakfast. One serving of egg beaters is only 20-25 calories. In fact, if you want to go the egg route, one egg is 50-75 calories depending on size.

    Find foods you enjoy while on this journey, because if you don't, you will fail. Again, the best of luck on this worthwhile journey.
  • daisy_janinex
    daisy_janinex Posts: 20 Member
    I'm trying again too - feel free to add :)
  • kristimason3
    kristimason3 Posts: 131 Member
    What a great post. It sounds like you are doing this for all the right reasons which is a major key for success! As a licensed massage therapist who spent 2 years studying medical massage and having a husband who suffered a terrible back injury about 5 years ago I have to ask..are you receiving regular massages? It has drastically improved my husbands quality of life. Surgery leads to scar tissue and adhesions, which can cause mobility issues and ongoing pain. I know it is often expensive, however if you can find a school close to you (much cheaper rate) and make a weekly appointment it might be extremely beneficial. There are also plenty of instructional videos on YouTube if your wife is willing to help. Another great treatment for chronic pain is meditation. There are also many free videos on YouTube for guided meditation. Back pain sufferers often find alot of relief from the combination of massage therapy and meditation. The better you feel the easier this journey will be for you. Good luck! I wish you and your family love, light and an amazing new year to come full of positive change! :)
  • Today I am on Day 1 and also doing well - so happy for you that you feel so committed! Keep it up! We can do it!
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,209 Member
    edited November 2014
    Thanks for the motivation and encouragement, guys!

    Today is my Day #3.

    .....

    Therefore, I changed my daily calorie goal to be 1770, by losing only 1 pound per week.

    That seems to me to be more realistic and doable. At least I have more flexibility to eat foods that I want without feeling as deprived. And I'm okay with this rate of weight loss. (Maybe I'll revisit increasing my weight loss rate to 1.5 or 2 pounds after some time, once I get adjusted to this new lifestyle.)

    ..........

    I think 1770 cal per day is much more reasonable than 1200 and will help you stick with it. Weight loss success is dependent on patience, perseverance, and determination and having a sustainable eating plan is really important. Keep in mind that online calculators that give you a suggested calorie target are just estimates. Without going through expensive and time-consuming metabolic testing in the lab, you can't know your true BMR and TDEE range. An online tool such as MFP will give you a starting point which you can refine over time. You may well lose 2 pounds a week eating 1770 cal. Time will tell.
  • IndigoSue13
    IndigoSue13 Posts: 99 Member
    Good luck! You CAN do this. Sometimes writing down your commitment and sharing it, as you have, helps to keep that commitment strong. :smile:
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,209 Member
    Also, I would highly recommend getting a digital scale. Best $20 I ever spent. A digital scale will give you the most precise estimates of the calories in your food and that's essential to an accurate food diary. In my experience, most people who aren't losing weight on MFP are underestimating how much they eat (just using measuring cups/spoons or eyeballing it) and/or overestimating how much they burn through exercise. Accurate logging on both fronts is critical.

    This short, 3 minute video on calorie estimation is a real eye opener:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
  • TossaBeanBag
    TossaBeanBag Posts: 458 Member
    edited November 2014
    Your motivational song - "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor"
    - Drowning Pool
    -
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HORkT4a2MhQ