A few random observations ...

Machka9
Machka9 Posts: 25,747 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm just beginning my weightloss adventure. I've been on MFP for 26 days, have been logging regularly, have been staying under my recommended calorie intake, have been exercising my butt off ... and have lost 5 kg.

In that time, I've observed a few things ...

1) One thing all this tracking is forcing me to do is to really think about what I select to eat. For example, if I'm hungry, and I've got 100 spare calories I can consume, I want something with a bit of staying power ... I don't want something sweet which will spike my blood sugar and make me even more hungry 30 min later. I've also discovered that I don't want cashews ... 100 calories worth of cashews is 13 cashews and 13 cashews does absolutely nothing to ward off hunger.

2) I am really paying attention to labels and serving sizes and the calorie content of foods. I had a pretty good idea about most already, but one food item has surprised me a little bit ... pears. Pears are higher in calories than I thought. I also thought a tin of tuna was about the same number of calories as a tin of chicken. It's not. The chicken is less.

3) I'm not craving sweet stuff or "junk food" ... there's only one thing I am craving, and that's bread. Bread? Bread isn't something I usually eat much of. I rarely eat sandwiches, I'm not overly keen on places like Subway because the buns are too much bread, I don't eat bread with dinner ... I might have toast for breakfast on the weekends, but that's about it. And now, I feel like I could sit down and consume whole loaves of bread.

4) Weight loss does not happen in a nice neat downward sloping line. For the whole first week, I did everything I was supposed to do ... and nothing. Not a gram. Then I lost a couple grams, but so what, I do that all the time. And suddenly 10 days in, I was down 2.5 kg. And there I stayed for another week. Then I lost a couple grams and gained a couple grams, and lost a couple grams ... and I started to feel quite frustrated ... and suddenly I was down 5 kg. I'm figuring the next 2.5 kg will take even longer and that there will be several ups and downs before I get there ... and I'm OK with that.

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Welcome to MFP.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    ☺️
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    Great post! I had bread cravings when I was restricting also. I think it's just from always being a litttttle bit hungry. Bread is satisfying and always makes me feel like i really ate (even though it doesn't actually keep me full).
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,747 Member
    Thanks ... we were thinking that maybe the bread craving was because I've been a little under with my carbs, and what with all the cycling I've been doing, I need carbs. I had a couple rye crisp crackers one evening (70 cal) and it went away for the rest of that day.
  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
    edited March 2015
    Machka9 wrote: »

    4) Weight loss does not happen in a nice neat downward sloping line.

    I wish a lot more people understood this.
  • Bailey_432
    Bailey_432 Posts: 55 Member
    Good post! I find that I start craving junk food less when I count calories. Before, a 6-pack of crisps would last a few days, and now, I still have 5 packets left and I've had the bag for weeks! It's exactly what you said, when you have 100 calories, why waste them on something so non-filling?
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,747 Member
    Bailey_432 wrote: »
    Good post! I find that I start craving junk food less when I count calories. Before, a 6-pack of crisps would last a few days, and now, I still have 5 packets left and I've had the bag for weeks! It's exactly what you said, when you have 100 calories, why waste them on something so non-filling?

    Something I'm finding interesting ...
    Before I started here, I used to eat quite a large quantity of chocolate just about every day. Since I started here, I have eaten next to no chocolate. 44 days and hardly any chocolate at all. I figured I would be climbing walls with chocolate cravings, but I haven't craved it at all.
  • kathleenrroose
    kathleenrroose Posts: 2 Member
    I, too, am making peace with the jaggedy line progress of weight loss. A pound down, two pounds up, two back down, stuck there for a week, then three down, then two more, then another three week plateau... Slow and steady progress overall, but still happening in a way that will make you nuts if you don't keep the big picture in mind. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 602 Member
    Enjoyed your observations. Thanks for sharing.
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