Down 40 lbs in 100 days :) I found the secret! Shhhh.... don't tell anyone!
nettam3re3
Posts: 66 Member
Today I logged 100 days on MFP and a total of 40 lbs lost. I'm 38 years old and am not targeting a specific weight - just to be healthy and happier in my own skin. When I started, I did have fantasies of loosing 120+ but I don't think that's realistic anymore because that may not be a reflection of me actually being healthy.
I'm down from a size 24 pants to 18 and down from 3x tops to 1X. I'm feeling much more confident and am ecstatic at the progress. I'm not a super model- never going to be- but I'm still over the moon at where I'm at and where I'm going. In a few more weeks I'll be the lightest I've been in 20 years. I have never ever been thin. 180 at age 16 and yo-yo'd between 230 and 280 since I was 18.
Here's my secret..... lean in close..... as cheesy as it sounds.... the thing I'm doing is...is... I'm being honest with myself about what I'm eating and I'm logging it. Insert fireworks and a parade here. No- seriously- that's the secret. That is the "magic pill". I know, I know- there are a million posts that say this exact same thing but I never really was honest with myself enough to truly log before. And I didn't think it mattered THAT much. Oh it matters! I can't possibly eat at a deficit or exercise to get to a deficit if I don't know what I'm actually taking in.
Sure there's a lot of things that are going into the overall progress- but that being honest part is the key. For example, I can't tell you how many times I used to post something like "burned 29 calories walking at a moderate pace" on my updates so I could come in under goal. When i realized what it meant to me, that I was lying to myself about how I really did, then I stopped. Yes, there are bad days- but those are going to happen.
Here's what I am doing right now:
1400 cal goal, 35% carbs, 35% protein, 30% fat. This is working very well for me and helps me to make better choices about how I can spend the last few cals of the day. I needed that level of specifics so it would be harder to derail myself.
When I started I weighed everything I ate. Once I got better about understanding what a cup or 8 oz of something looked like, my dining out logging became much more realistic. When I don't know, I either weigh it or if we are out I over estimate a bit. I know there is room for improvement here but everything goes in the log- vodka, lifesavers, tuna... everything. I don't log water though.
I am weaning myself off of snacking all day every day. I still have things at my desk to munch on but it's deliberate and logged.
I weigh myself every day but only log the losses. I'm human so the weight will go up and down and stall a bit but I LOVE seeing the numbers on the scale. It's great motivation for me!
I started working towards getting more physically active so I can eat a bit more and live more. By that I mean, if I want to be able to eat a bit more at dinner that night I need to have the calories to spend on it so I best get up and get moving so I have them. I also want to do some fun things like hiking and races and to do that I can't be a couch potato. Note the FitBit in the pics
I set a log term goal of doing an 8k obstacle race in October. I'm already signed up. I think it will be a lot of fun and a good challenge. It's been highly motivating and helps to give me something else to focus on besides the scale. No false expectations about being a super athlete- I'm just going to do the best I can and get really really muddy.
I learn. I've learned so much about food, myself, the impact of my choices - and I'm still learning. To me, this means I can sustain a healthier lifestyle long term because I will have learned how to do it. I'm not going to loose weight only to go back to the bad habits that got me there to begin with.
But foremost, I'm honest to myself and work on the mental as much as the food and physical aspects.
I'm down from a size 24 pants to 18 and down from 3x tops to 1X. I'm feeling much more confident and am ecstatic at the progress. I'm not a super model- never going to be- but I'm still over the moon at where I'm at and where I'm going. In a few more weeks I'll be the lightest I've been in 20 years. I have never ever been thin. 180 at age 16 and yo-yo'd between 230 and 280 since I was 18.
Here's my secret..... lean in close..... as cheesy as it sounds.... the thing I'm doing is...is... I'm being honest with myself about what I'm eating and I'm logging it. Insert fireworks and a parade here. No- seriously- that's the secret. That is the "magic pill". I know, I know- there are a million posts that say this exact same thing but I never really was honest with myself enough to truly log before. And I didn't think it mattered THAT much. Oh it matters! I can't possibly eat at a deficit or exercise to get to a deficit if I don't know what I'm actually taking in.
Sure there's a lot of things that are going into the overall progress- but that being honest part is the key. For example, I can't tell you how many times I used to post something like "burned 29 calories walking at a moderate pace" on my updates so I could come in under goal. When i realized what it meant to me, that I was lying to myself about how I really did, then I stopped. Yes, there are bad days- but those are going to happen.
Here's what I am doing right now:
1400 cal goal, 35% carbs, 35% protein, 30% fat. This is working very well for me and helps me to make better choices about how I can spend the last few cals of the day. I needed that level of specifics so it would be harder to derail myself.
When I started I weighed everything I ate. Once I got better about understanding what a cup or 8 oz of something looked like, my dining out logging became much more realistic. When I don't know, I either weigh it or if we are out I over estimate a bit. I know there is room for improvement here but everything goes in the log- vodka, lifesavers, tuna... everything. I don't log water though.
I am weaning myself off of snacking all day every day. I still have things at my desk to munch on but it's deliberate and logged.
I weigh myself every day but only log the losses. I'm human so the weight will go up and down and stall a bit but I LOVE seeing the numbers on the scale. It's great motivation for me!
I started working towards getting more physically active so I can eat a bit more and live more. By that I mean, if I want to be able to eat a bit more at dinner that night I need to have the calories to spend on it so I best get up and get moving so I have them. I also want to do some fun things like hiking and races and to do that I can't be a couch potato. Note the FitBit in the pics
I set a log term goal of doing an 8k obstacle race in October. I'm already signed up. I think it will be a lot of fun and a good challenge. It's been highly motivating and helps to give me something else to focus on besides the scale. No false expectations about being a super athlete- I'm just going to do the best I can and get really really muddy.
I learn. I've learned so much about food, myself, the impact of my choices - and I'm still learning. To me, this means I can sustain a healthier lifestyle long term because I will have learned how to do it. I'm not going to loose weight only to go back to the bad habits that got me there to begin with.
But foremost, I'm honest to myself and work on the mental as much as the food and physical aspects.
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Replies
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Great job- congratulations on getting fit0
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You're doing great!0
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Awesome job!! You look great!! Do include a walk or some exercise regimen too..0
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Love this post. I confess to being dishonest about calories when I started and surprise, surprise my "fake" logging did not lead to "real" weight loss. We have to laugh at ourselves sometimes and move on.0
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Wow! Congratulations! You are doing a fab job!0
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Congratulations!~0
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Stunning, heroic post!!!!!! I love it!!!!!0
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You look wayyy smaller from the side! Woah! Great loss, girl!0
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Yep, being honest with yourself is the biggest thing. You are doing great! I also suggest trying to find some kind of regular exercise to do. Everyone is different, of course, but most do well with a regular routine.0
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Great Job!! You should be really proud!!0
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You look terrific...great job!0
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Awesome job! You look great! You can really see the progress. Look at your shoulders too!0
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I salute you for your honesty. You are an inspiration to everyone! Keep up the great work!!0
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I have learned a lot myself when logging in. Knowledge is power!0
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Thanks for the support all! I am working on incorporating exercise into my daily routine. And thinking about joining crossfit. Baby steps!0
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Great job!!! Wow I wish all it took for me was honest logging. I've been doing that so long that I know the calorie content of practically everything I eat now without even having to look it up. It's a much deeper issue for me. But for you petty girl, ride this horse as long as you can to achieve your goals of being healthy and happy. You must feel so free!!
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You have inspired me so much, like you would not believe!!!!! I have tried Atkins,WW, and felt so desperate that I told my co-worker who is using and selling herbal life, that I would purchase it......It's nothing wrong with people who use it., However that is not real to life and I know I am not going to drink 2 shakes forever and eat one meal. The best way is the old fashioned way clean eating and exercise. I have been doing Zuma consistently since Feb1st, now I need to get my eating right. And by the way I would like another baby, but need to get some weight off first.0
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You look younger and Amazing !!!!!!!!0
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Congratulations, amazing loss and you look so much happier.0
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Amazing! I could have written the same post! HW was 272, but more recently it is 48 pounds since mid-Nov (from 258 to 210), *entirely* because -- like you -- I finally finally accepted that lying on the log is not helping me lose weight and not making me feel better. Plus - truly honest logging all day long as I eat keeps me super-conscious of what I have left for the rest of day, and makes me choose more carefully. I don't log exercise or eat back calories - I just treat exercise as a bonus toward my goal of losing weight. And like you, I do try to overestimate meals out, because I figure there have got to be a lot of hidden calories in the food preparation. I've been chubby, overweight, zaftig, fat or mutant my entire life except for a few brief months in my early 20s. I now have a whole series of goals - some already achieved. I left "morbidly obese" behind, entered "seriously obese" and am heading quickly toward merely "obese". I am 10 pounds away from getting below 200, which would be my lowest in over 20 years. Next stop from there is 35 pounds to "overweight" which woud be mighty fine, and perhaps as far as I will ever go, but it would be only 20 pounds from there to a healthy BMI. You are an inspiration, because you are proof it works.0
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Good job! Very inspirational. And I know what you mean by honest logging. Just logging in general made all the difference for me - seeing the numbers in black and white every day then starting to see results. Why would I want to lie to myself about what I'm eating? That is old behavior and old thinking that got me nowhere close to my weight loss goals. Once you know something really works, it becomes much easier to stick with it.
Keep going, you are doing great!0 -
Great job. You're story touched me. What an inspiration you are. Look forward to hearing how you're doing.0
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It's exciting to see someone who has realized the secret to weight loss and better health, Congratulations! I've lost 104 lbs in 11months logging food and easy exercise. Your so right, how can anyone expect to consistently lose weight if they don't know how many calories they're consuming. Also nutritious healthy foods seem to flip a switch in the body telling it to let go of the fat and get rid of it. Keep up the good work. PS try bike riding for enjoyable calorie burns.0
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Awesome job! Keep up the good work!0
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I can relate MadtownMadisonian! Such similar stories Thanks for the friend request!
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What an excellent difference lass!
You're so right - being honest with yourself is the only way to be. Not being so isn't going to alter the facts.0
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