O.K.......here goes nothin'

tferrell22
tferrell22 Posts: 10 Member
edited November 9 in Getting Started
I've been reading a lot of posts on here about fitness and weight loss. I've asked my first question on the fitness/exercise board and gotten some excellent advice/recommendations. From reading these posts, it appears that one of the keys to successfully making long-term lifestyle changes is honesty and transparency. So, here goes nothin': I am 5'2", 169 lbs., and have set a goal weight of 130 lbs. I do not drink soda (only because I don't care for the taste), and I don't eat very large portions of food. My issues? I LOVE, and eat a lot of sugar. Mostly in the form of candy and donuts. What makes this worse is that I hate most vegetables and drink very little water. I have a basic understanding of nutrition, so I know I need to seriously increase the amount of water I drink. I add a packet of Crystal Light to my bottled water, but rarely drink more than one 16.9 oz. bottle of water a day. I have attempted to eliminate the sugar from my diet in the past, but my body literally craves it! I am looking for any suggestions or advice on how to change my nutrition issues given the above information. I am serious about making permanent lifestyle changes, I just need to know how to do it. Thanks for any advice you can lend.

Replies

  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    Well, the main thing is to stay in your calorie goal. I don't worry about sugar and I don't worry about water either. But I have logged accurately for 2.5 years, kept up with moderate exercise, maintaining my goal weight for two of those years. Learning to eat veggies does help: roasted with garlic and olive oil is quite yummy.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    You could eat a donut a day and still lose weight.
  • tferrell22
    tferrell22 Posts: 10 Member
    Sherry, congratulations on being able to maintain your goal weight. That is truly inspiring. Arditarose, could you elaborate on your statement please?
  • paradi3s
    paradi3s Posts: 343 Member
    Have you heard of IIFYM or flexibility diet? It's helped me lose weight. Even if I eat pizza or whatever, as long as it fit into my calorie goal, I still lost a few pounds (50ish, to be exact). But of course, too much of one thing is still bad. The goal is to also become more fit and healthy. Start adding some fruits/vegetables into your meals, and lessen your intake of donuts and sweets! Just don't fully restrict yourself. Just like what arditarose and SherryTeach said, you could still eat a donut and still lose weight, so long as you remain in your calorie goal. :-)
  • tferrell22
    tferrell22 Posts: 10 Member
    Paradi, forgive me, but 50ish lbs. is more than "a few pounds", lol! That's really impressive! I don't know anything about IIFYM or flexibility diet. Where could I find more information? Also, thank you all for taking the time to respond.
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    You could eat a donut a day and still lose weight.

    +1 for donuts ! woohoo

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    tferrell22 wrote: »
    Sherry, congratulations on being able to maintain your goal weight. That is truly inspiring. Arditarose, could you elaborate on your statement please?

    Weight loss is about calories in vs. calories out, that's what this site is about...so...if your calorie deficit puts you at 1500 calories a day, and you want to spend 300 of them on a donut-fine.
  • tferrell22
    tferrell22 Posts: 10 Member
    Hmmm...I guess I never considered that. I'm sure you all must understand my confusion. For years, I've been indoctrinated with the mindset that the only foods you could eat and still lose weight are foods that are good for you, not foods you enjoy.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Yeah, that's not right. Science.
  • paradi3s
    paradi3s Posts: 343 Member
    tferrell22 wrote: »
    Paradi, forgive me, but 50ish lbs. is more than "a few pounds", lol! That's really impressive! I don't know anything about IIFYM or flexibility diet. Where could I find more information? Also, thank you all for taking the time to respond.

    Thank you! :-)
    You can search IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) / flexibility diet online. basically, you eat what you want so long as you stay along your macros (protein, carbs and fats) and calorie goal.
    I used this calculator to see how much macros/calories I should be consuming per day in order to lose/maintain weight: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ :-)

    And I totally understand! I always thought that I should be eating strictly fruits and vegetables and to cut out all carbs just to lose weight. It always ended up with me binge eating. So I decided to just eat what I want so long as I stay within my calorie goal, and it worked better than restricting myself from the things I really wanted to eat, like cheesecake! But you should also learn to incorporate vegetables in your meals, they taste real yummy if you cook it right! :p
  • tferrell22
    tferrell22 Posts: 10 Member
    I will definitely check it out! It is such a new concept for me, but it seems like a much more tolerable solution. I appreciate you sharing the information with me. Thanks again!
  • jnv7594
    jnv7594 Posts: 983 Member
    tferrell22 wrote: »
    Hmmm...I guess I never considered that. I'm sure you all must understand my confusion. For years, I've been indoctrinated with the mindset that the only foods you could eat and still lose weight are foods that are good for you, not foods you enjoy.

    I was indoctrinated with the same line of thinking...which is why I personally failed so many times at keeping my weight off. I would deny myself the food I love. That never worked for me and led to failure. Arditarose is right...calories in vs. calories out. You could eat nothing but 1500 calories worth of donuts per day (if 1500 is your calorie goal) and still lose weight. Now, for overall health, it might not be great to eat nothing but donuts, but you could still do this and lose weight. I still eat all the foods I love. Heck, I just had a bacon cheeseburger for supper and some hot chocolate...of course I added some veggies for good measure. :) I've lost 60 pounds still eating the foods I love. Calories in vs calories out...it's really that simple. People complicate it too much. I used to do the same. Once you learn this, it will make your life so much easier and your lifestyle change so much more sustainable.

  • paradi3s
    paradi3s Posts: 343 Member
    jnv7594 wrote: »
    tferrell22 wrote: »
    Hmmm...I guess I never considered that. I'm sure you all must understand my confusion. For years, I've been indoctrinated with the mindset that the only foods you could eat and still lose weight are foods that are good for you, not foods you enjoy.

    I was indoctrinated with the same line of thinking...which is why I personally failed so many times at keeping my weight off. I would deny myself the food I love. That never worked for me and led to failure. Arditarose is right...calories in vs. calories out. You could eat nothing but 1500 calories worth of donuts per day (if 1500 is your calorie goal) and still lose weight. Now, for overall health, it might not be great to eat nothing but donuts, but you could still do this and lose weight. I still eat all the foods I love. Heck, I just had a bacon cheeseburger for supper and some hot chocolate...of course I added some veggies for good measure. :) I've lost 60 pounds still eating the foods I love. Calories in vs calories out...it's really that simple. People complicate it too much. I used to do the same. Once you learn this, it will make your life so much easier and your lifestyle change so much more sustainable.

    This!!

    IMO, the four basic things you'll really need to focus on to lose weight and become fit is: your diet (calorie intake and lotsa water), exercise (30 minutes cardio + 30 minutes strength training 3-4x a week), good night's sleep (7-8 hours) and MOTIVATION! Good luck, I'm sure you'll reach your goals! :-)
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