Starting back after 1 year.

I've just started back after a year, and I'm about the same weight.My calorie goal is 1300, and I want to reach my goal weight of 123 lbs. I like to bake, and I also drink wine.I'm going to cut back on these in order to lose weight.Any advice please? Thanks

Replies

  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
    Welcome back. CICO works, trust the process. Be as accurate as possible in your tracking. Best weight loss investment ever was a digital kitchen scale. Check out all the posts in the most helpful post sticky here:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10260537/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 599 Member
    I also love to bake and love my wine. I'm just a lot more careful.

    I take very small servings of baking, give lots away, and freeze more than before. I estimate on the high side of calories if I've not calculated carefully during prep.

    For wine, I'm more modest with amounts, too. So I'll have two 3 oz glasses (1 during supper prep and 1 with the meal) instead of two much fuller glasses. If you have those gorgeous big glasses, buy smaller ones. Finally, I get in at least 30 min of intense exercise every single day, which is necessary to burn off enough calories to make room for that wine!!!

    Good luck!
  • superhockeymom
    superhockeymom Posts: 2,000 Member
    spzjlb wrote: »
    I also love to bake and love my wine. I'm just a lot more careful.

    I take very small servings of baking, give lots away, and freeze more than before. I estimate on the high side of calories if I've not calculated carefully during prep.

    For wine, I'm more modest with amounts, too. So I'll have two 3 oz glasses (1 during supper prep and 1 with the meal) instead of two much fuller glasses. If you have those gorgeous big glasses, buy smaller ones. Finally, I get in at least 30 min of intense exercise every single day, which is necessary to burn off enough calories to make room for that wine!!!

    Good luck!

    I'm not into the sweets but you are so like me with the wine not sure why I love a glass or 2 while I cook. I cook more savory goods creamy and fatty I have cut way back on that but......
  • Linzon
    Linzon Posts: 294 Member
    I also love to bake, and when I started on MFP I just had to stop for a while because I had trouble moderating myself. After a few months of working on new habits I was able to take it up again, and now I can have one cookie instead of half a dozen. Everything gets weighed and tracked. If I make something that's more calorie-dense than I'd like to have sitting around the house I send it to work with my husband ;)
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Welcome back, you've got this.
  • ppmcauley47
    ppmcauley47 Posts: 2 Member
    Thank you all for the kind words and support.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    edited October 2015
    I love to bake, too. Oh, so much. :)

    I still make things I feel like making. I just give them away.

    It was tough, at first, having to make things and not eat them. For a while, I stopped making anything that wasn't made for someone. But I just love the process too much to give it up. So, I bake and then I give it away. :)

    I'm so glad it's cooled off. Now I can mail things, too. :)
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    Welcome back! Just start where you are... I'll admit, I'm not cooking and baking as much as I once did. I have made little bites, like fresh fruit or nuts dipped in melted dark chocolate, my signature dessert at home if people come over. And I really only cook a 'recipe' a few nights a week. Mostly it's a high protein wrap at lunch and a seared protein + big salad at dinner. Pretty simple!
  • mrst0
    mrst0 Posts: 8 Member
    I am back also after a hiatus of nearly a year. My challenge is living in a senior retirement center, where food is abundantly shared, and if I don't go where it is, I can resist but then I miss out on companionship. Dang it. I need the companionship, I'm going to try chewing nicotine gum for awhile to see if that helps when the food appears.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    mrst0 wrote: »
    I am back also after a hiatus of nearly a year. My challenge is living in a senior retirement center, where food is abundantly shared, and if I don't go where it is, I can resist but then I miss out on companionship. Dang it. I need the companionship, I'm going to try chewing nicotine gum for awhile to see if that helps when the food appears.
    Tell a nice member of the staff about your predicament. I'll bet they'd be delighted to help you and just never thought of having a healthier option! If you're thinking it, it's a safe bet that someone else is, too...or will be, in the future! So, you wouldn't just be helping you, but someone else, too. :)
  • mrst0
    mrst0 Posts: 8 Member
    Probably someone else has the predicament, but most of them don't fight it it appears to me. My knees are the next issue I will have to deal with if I don't take off the weight sooner or later. Thanks for your answer, Kalikel
  • choppie70
    choppie70 Posts: 544 Member
    I lost about 25 lbs two years ago. Then my world crumbled (lost my dad, grandfather and uncle and had kidney issues that required 5 day surgeries). I gained all of the weight back and an extra 5 lbs. I too love to bake. I don't drink much wine because even a little bit gives me a headache.

    I have cut back on sweets quite a bit, but I am leaving room to give myself a treat each day. In order for this to be a lifelong thing for me, I have to learn how to not go overboard, but let myself enjoy the foods I like at times. I have not denied myself anything that I wanted.

    Things I am doing differently this time:
    *Weighing everything that goes into my mouth.
    *Eating back 1/2 of my exercise calories.
    *I now have a fitbit to keep better track of the calories I burn daily.

    Good luck! You can do it!
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    Watch the nicotine gum if you aren't a smoker! As a late teen I got hooked on nicotine gum as a diet-aid fad, and I started smoking thereafter because I was hooked on nicotine! Ridiculous, I know.