justsayinisall wrote: »

Me: 47yr, 5'9", 197#. I've lost 48 pounds (since I've been keeping track). That 48 pounds has taken me about three years though so I know ALLLLL about slow and steady *sigh*.

Like most of us that end up here, I have had a battle with my weight since I was young. At age 15 I went on a 7 month long starvation diet and lost about 150#. 120#, upped my calories and started eating only one meal a day (usually a baked potato with sour cream). Ate one meal a day for about 12 years. Slowly put on weight (people say it's impossible but I did gain weight eating that way). Ended up around 180# Got married, started a business, most of my meals were eaten via drive through for 8 years....up to about 250#

My change started about 7 years ago, This has truly been a life style change for me. For a two week period, while awaiting a medical test, I thought I might have had liver cancer. Dr. Google suggested that best case scenario I had fatty liver disease. One ultrasound later and: non alcoholic fatty liver disease. Gave up all meat (except fish). I was a pescatarian for about 4 years. When I started that I did initially drop some weight. I dropped about 22# in 6 months. I was a good vegetarian too! I didn't eat doritos or anything like that, though I never weighed or measured my food. I made my own whole wheat bread, grew my own veggies, even made my own yogurt and peanut butter. I just wanted to know what I was eating. Buy organic whenever possible yadda yadda yadda. Slowly the weight started to come back on and I was back around 250'ish. 3 years ago there was another cancer scare, this time ovarian. I was SOOOO craving chicken. I thought what the hell, I'm going to die of cancer, I'm eating chicken! Well no cancer (yeah) and chicken has remained in my diet. Still don't eat red meat or pork. Oh and at same time I started doing some bike riding (5-10 miles 3 days a week), and also daily walking (had a dog).

3 years ago I ended up at MFP. I realized that I need help. I need to write down my calories. I need to measure. I am either in starvation mode or excess mode. I. DO. NOT. KNOW. HOW. TO. EAT! I mean I know what I should eat, and I do. I've been making healthier food choices for the last 7 years but the weight just keeps getting higher and higher. I also joined a gym almost 2 years ago and I weight lift (not free weights, too many back issues) and walk treadmill 3 days a week. On the days I'm not at the gym I am usually doing a bike ride, nothing crazy 5-10 miles. Weekends are pretty active for me. A few times a month the husband and I do a long bike ride, 15-25 miles.

If you've gotten this far, thanks! I appreciate it. I really need help. So 7 months ago I bought the withings scale, pulled out my food scale, and really got serious. I did a little reading here and found scooby and ended up eating TDEE-20%. I only did that though for one month. Then I switched to MFP numbers and started keeping track of my exercise. I ate back half my calories. Lost 20# in 5 months. I've been pretty much stalled since July. I am fluctuating between 197#-199# since then. In frustration I lowered my calories. Eating 1300-1600 per day resulting in nothing. Then I would not track for the weekend (never going crazy eating. just having popcorn at the movies etc). Knowing I was "doing what I normally do". I came back here. I KNOW that eating less is not the answer. I went back to scooby, found my TDEE (2485 is my number), and upped my calories to around 1950 per day. I've did that for 3 days and upped, for the last two days, to a little over 2000.

So that's where I am at. Slowly upping my calories. I know I want to get to my TDEE number and maintain that for a bit....right?? lol Do I need to buy an activity tracker? Ugh. I just don't know what to do from here. I am determined to do this. My approach, for the last 7 years has been to eat healthy and be active. If the weight comes off, great. If not, that's ok. But I am tired of being fat. I've been fat my whole life. I am doing the work. I am at the gym religiously, I am bike riding and walking. I am eating healthy. WHY am I still fat??-Melissa

justsayinisall wrote: »

NWCountryGal wrote: »

I just read your story Melissa, and what a struggle you've had. I need to catch up though because I see this was written in Oct. 2015. I so believe in this way of eating and exercise. I am new to it as well, and I did lose 24 lbs which really made a huge difference in my belief system. All I did was walk, but I was walking 18-24 miles a week, and eating around 1700 calories. My leg muscles got very strong, but upper body needed the work to catch up, lol;)

Now I think of food as fuel, but I am so not perfect. Like I throw in chips on some days etc., but I don't gain the weight back I see, because I keep working out. It had to be something I like doing, like the walking. You gals have encouraged me to join the gym and do some real strength-training, and I am way excited about the changes I can feel already. I think I've belonged to the gym about 2 weeks now. I'm dancing in the big, aerobics area they said I can use any time there's no class of course;) But I do that to warm up, and then go do some machines.

I'm not good about logging, but I'm trying to, and focus on getting enough nutrients in each meal. I haven't reached my goal of eating either, I'm usually under, and notice I am staying at the same weight. I have a spare-tire around my middle I want to see disappear, lol! But easy does it right:)

That's one thing I've come to realize. I will be a logger for life. Once I get my weight down I'm sure I'll loosen up a bit, but I have to log. If I don't log, I make bad food choices, when I make bad food choices I tend to binge eat, when I binge eat, I gain weight, I gain weight I feel bad, I feel bad I binge eat...just a vicious cycle lol.

By logging I am forced to look at what I eat, and I don't want to look at that page and feel like a floozer lol. One thing I found by logging is that I also was WAY too hard on myself before. Thinking I was a floozer who ate badly, when in reality, it's not so bad. Sure there is room for improvement, but isn't there always? Ahhhhh the struggles...I wished I were blessed with a better metabolism but hey...at least I got good hair right??!?!? LOL!!!!

justsayinisall wrote: »

I just moved to Florida so I've been on lakes and rivers. Yesterday was a lake, actually saw two alligators! Caught a cat fish and a blue gill, nothing else *sigh* I want to catch dinner dang it lol It's more about relaxing in boat, listening to the sounds of nature, soaking up the sun, watching my bobber bob.