65 female new here not new to diets.

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shadesofidaho
shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I am Chris

My title about says it all. I have so much weight to loose it scares me. Tried low fat because cholesterol was too high. That was not working. Going to lower carbs. Today is day one on that. it worked for me years ago then seemed to stop. I am on thyroid meds. Have been for years but was off of them for several years , no insurance, and the weight just kept coming. Living a high stress life as caretaker for hubby with cancer. All is good now but the stress does not quit. I do listen to relaxing you tube music . Love Jason Stevenson. Really helps me to sleep and slows down the crazy brain monkeys that get wound up at night and keep me awake.

So as of August I have lost 15 pounds and gained back 3.Sigh. Going in to doc Dec 3 and am sure will get an *kitten* chewing because I have not lost enough weight in 4 months. Oh well. I am bigger than he is. HAHAHAHAHA

Reaching out for support. I kept up with my food charts then dropped off when I got so busy around here. I MUST say over and over the food tracking is more important then anything else that needs to be done. It is time to take care of me too.

Now I must get out and do some thing good or bad I need to move. Sun is out.

Thanks for being here.

Replies

  • G__Force
    G__Force Posts: 280 Member
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    Hi Chris Glad to have you on board. sounds like you have the right attitude to make it happy. Try not to think of it as a diet, think of it as a life style change. Most diets don't last because they only looks at the eating side of things not the exercise side of things. First thing in this life style change is to get up and get moving. burn more than you consume.
    MFP is a big help because if you know what you are consuming then you know how much moving you need to do. Add me if you like, if not that's ok too just keep on pushing for that light at end of the tunnel.
    G
  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    Thank you for the welcome gwis. Still trying to find my way around here. Will see if I can figure how to add you. Today was good I leashed up the dogs and we took a 2 mile walk. Was flat except getting up to the long flat stretch. That little bit of a hill is a heart pumper. We all did well.

    Yes I need to get the diet mode out of my brain. Life Style it will be. I have a step meter and it is helping me to keep moving to get it to go to 10000. Has not happened yet. At least I am making up for some of it shoveling snow.

    chris
  • DianneLB1953
    DianneLB1953 Posts: 13
    edited November 2014
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    Welcome to MFP. I am pretty sure that most of us here are not new to 'dieting'. This time for me it is not a diet but a journey. Each day is a trip segment. If there is a 'bad day', it is only part of the journey and not the end! The next day is another part of the journey. It is easy to discourage ourselves with a bad day - don't beat yourself up! I am 61 yrs old and I have between 50-60 lbs to lose so I expect it to take awhile. I have cut down on carbs - eating virtually no wheat and I have found my cravings for bread and baked goodies have disappeared (for now). I am sure I will eat some down the road but really trying to limit it as I find the weight comes off and it comes off in my belly. The book Wheat Belly seems to be right.

    However, everyone has to find out what works for them. What works for me and what I can deal with, may not be for others. Whatever works for each person is what's right for them. I have definitely worked on finding healthier recipes and options - especially breakfast as I was a huge carb eater at breakfast - muffins, toast, pancakes etc. Now I make my on pumpkin or banana pancakes without flour/oats or grains.

    Please take some time to get healthy! Good luck and check in often.
  • luluinca
    luluinca Posts: 2,899 Member
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    Hi Chris, I'll be 65 in April so we have that in common. :D

    I've been here since Sept. 17 of 2013 and have lost over 50 lbs with another 15 or 20 to go. Start by logging your food everyday, every meal, figure out your calorie and macro limits (do some research here), and get a little more exercise than you were getting before, and you'll lose weight and get stronger.

    Weight loss is mostly diet (noun) and health is mostly exercise. I went from swimming five days a week to strength training and lifting weights five days a week and swimming a couple of days after my other workouts. It's worked for me and I'm stronger and healthier than I've been in years.

    Wishing you great success!
  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    Thank you DianneLB for the nice welcome. Sounds like you and I are following the same track with the low carbs. So far this is my first low carb day and I have not had cravings. I have done the low carb before. Hope to get a jump start with it then add back as I can IF I can. The hardest is I liked cream and sugar in my coffee and sugar in my tea. Drinking both black. I will get used to it.

    I will have to get the book Wheat Belly or google about it. I never had a tummy before and now I have a whole tire. ARGHHH I know some of my weight gain was stress eating comfort foods and also eating on the fly running between chemo lounge for hubby and trying to get everything taken care of that one day in town. We live in the sticks. Grocery store is 20 miles away. Then all that needed done around here. I would feed him his special foods and I would do some thing crazy for me ,like pancakes. I think I need your pumpkin pancake recipe. I have a HUGE pumpkin to get cooked and put in the freezer for winter. I also have applesauce home made and nothing added but a tiny bit of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. I did 65 pounds of apples to sauce. EEEKKK need to learn to bake with out wheat flour.

    Thanks again. Hope to see you here again to keep up with your good ideas.

    Chris
  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    Hi Luluinca, I left this page up while I was doing dinner and your post slipped in. Did not see it. Thank you for the nice welcome. CONGRATULATIONS on the 50 pound loss. That is wonderful! I will look to the goal of 50 lost for now then hope to add more lost to that when I get that far. That is 50 from the 10 I already lost before posting here. I will be tracking my meals. I need to track my dinner now. I used csbbage instead of potatoes and it was very good.

    Thanks again Chris
  • DianneLB1953
    DianneLB1953 Posts: 13
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    I know how difficult it is eating on the run - especially hospitals. My husband had surgery for ca cer last year but thankfully did not require chemo. That is a lot of applesauce. I made quite a bit a couple of years ago.
    My pumpkin pancakes - 1 egg, two egg whites (I use egg whites in the carton), 1/4 cup pumpkin purée and spices you like (I use cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice). Mix together well. Add to hot pan sprayed with Pam Olive Oil spray. Voila - pumpkin pancakes. The texture is a little different but I find them satisfying and because of the protein, I don't find I get hungry right away like I did with a carb breakfast.
    I have also made them with a mashed banana instead of pumpkin and you could also make them with your applesauce.
    I only have one and sometimes 2 coffees a day so I haven't given up cream - I use the 5% tastes like 10% cream but I have eliminated the sugar and I really love that cup with just cream now.
    Talk to you soon
    Dianne
  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
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    Hi Chris, I'm Kathy. Will be 65 next summer. Counting calories is working for me. I've lost a bit over 50 in 2014 since joining MFP and about 8 before that on my own. I don't restrict any food group so can't help you with the low carb, wheat belly thing but I can say that eating at a deficit definitely works. I'm glad I don't have to give up the creamer in my coffee! In fact, knowing I could continue to use it is what allowed me to succeed with calorie counting in the beginning, if I were to be honest. Thinking I had to give up something (other than too much of each thing) was what always bothered me when I dieted in the past. Now I know I just have to eat a bit less and move a bit more.

    Like luluinca said, just log everything you eat. Oh and be sure to buy a food scale. Its impossible to guess a serving size, even using measuring cups. Meat and fruit are always a surprise for me when I put them on the scale.

    Good luck. You can do this!

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  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    DianneLB Thank you so much for the pumpkin pancake recipe. I am way too far under calories for today even adding the things I have not eaten yet. LOL I might treat myself. When we go to town I might get some cream. I used to use it when I was doing low carb years ago.

    Hi Kathy, I have tried the lower calorie and it is not working for me. I was doing anywhere from 1000 to 1300 calories a day and still not loosing. MFP said I would be but the weight was not coming off. I got discouraged and quit filling in my foods. Back again and trying once more the lower carbs. I know all to well how giving up one food group is so hard to maintain. Just hoping to jum start my loss. Now I am back on my thyroid medicine I have hope this weight I gained over the last 7 years I was not on the meds will start to go away. Good for you you have lost so much. I will look up to you and a few others that are loosing. Time flies so I am hoping in a years time I will be talking about a 50 pound weight loss too.

    Trying to figure how to add to my profile. The photo was not hard. Trying to get the about me part filled in.

    Time to feed the wild porch cats their dinner.

    Chris

  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    DianneLB it turns out I have one version of the Wheat Belly book on my kindle. It is condensed. I started reading it last night. Interesting. The one HUGE thing I noticed last night is I never did get the horrible indigestion I usually get. Hummmmmm Maybe this is saying some thing. There is many other things that can be eaten in place of wheat. I will see if I can finish the book today and make a list of things to get at the grocery store tomorrow. We are going to town to get the car serviced. Woo Hoo. I also checked my creamer and it is only one carb per teaspoon. Enjoying brown coffee this morning.
  • DianneLB1953
    DianneLB1953 Posts: 13
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    Hi, Chris - I found when limiting my carbs to fruit or dairy that I feel a lot better. I like to use zucchini sliced instead of lasagna noodles and use a fair bit of zucchini in stir fries etc. ahh, I can feel your satisfaction in drinking your coffee this morning. Sometimes it is just worth it to start your day. Total deprivation is not good because it most likely won't be sustained. It is important to have a well stocked fridge or pantry so you have options when making meals. I have found my itchy back which the Drs can't figure out why is also less itchy. It is a lot harder eating out when gluten or wheat free but a lot more restaurants here are now serving gluten free options. We don't really eat out much so it is not a real problem for me. If you go on Pinterest and Google wheat belly recipes there are lots of them. You do have to be careful though because many of the options are very high in calories so like everything else - moderation.
    - Today is my 12th day with no wheat/gluten and I woke up really wanting toast and peanut butter. I was able to get past it because i found in the past it would just start me on a carb binge! I even baked squares yesterday and was able to leave them alone. Packaged them up as fast as I could though!
    - happy reading and shopping!
  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    Thank you for the encouragement. Yes the coffee was much better with the creamer. It is the little things. I made a batch of custard. There is some sugar in it. And it is not registering carbs? need to do up a custom meal for that as I know in the whole batch there is supposed to be 1/3 cup and I used 1/4 instead. But that is divided 6 ways. need to do the math.

    Back to playing. House is cleaned and I am going to break some glass and work on my mosaic. I know I need to exercise but I will wait until after lunch at the warmest time of the day to go walking.
  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    Oh ugh too many carbs in custard. Sigh.
  • Healthydiner65
    Healthydiner65 Posts: 1,579 Member
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    We are in this together! You will do fine! Log everything you eat and walk! There are many great people here who will support you in your journey!
  • shadesofidaho
    shadesofidaho Posts: 485 Member
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    Thank you IWTBFCIN3,

    we went to the grocery store today and I stocked up on more things I can eat. I did much better today on the carbs and am under the magic number of 20. I am not hungry. Already logged the peanut butter I will eat a little bit later to get it done.

    I think I can do this. I am going to give it my all. If it does not work I might have to cut off an arm or leg to loose the weight.

    Chris

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