At Goal & Successfully Maintaining. So Why Am I Doing This All Over Again?

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  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    sarabushby wrote: »
    @springlering62 I have SO enjoyed binge reading this post, please don’t stop writing… I feel the same sadness at reaching page 33 as when you finish a good book!
    Also with @AnnPT77 ’s input it’s SUCH a valuable resource for newbies and those of us who’ve been at this a while too.

    You even had me looking up Ninja Creamis but I’m trying to persuade myself I’d not end up using it.

    I had a cycling accident last year and was forced to stop my regular triathlon training. Normally I train 6 or 7 days a week. I thought I’d gain and be a heffalump in no time but actually my appetite soon reduced right down and actually although I am sure the 6wks off meant I lost muscle mass, I didn’t gain weight compared to pre-accident. And I wasn’t calorie counting at the time.

    Just thought I’d throw that out there for anyone who lives in fear that as soon as they stop exercising they’ll overnight pile on the lbs.

    I am actually finding the longer I maintain (and I'm not that far in) the more true the appetite adjustment is. I seem to have well and truly broken the habit of eating for assorted psychological reasons. Yeah, I still occasionally go overboard, but my weight hasn't fluctuated more than about 3 pounds in either direction in months.

    WITHOUT tracking.

    I actually started tracking loosely again because I, um, may have overshot by a few pounds (saw a picture and didn't like what I saw, which seems a commonish experience) so I'm going to slowly add a few pounds back (?!?!? weird).

    But these days my appetite seems to adjust down if I cut activity or even after a calorically dense indulgence or day.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,342 Member
    I actually started tracking loosely again because I, um, may have overshot by a few pounds (saw a picture and didn't like what I saw, which seems a commonish experience) so I'm going to slowly add a few pounds back (?!?!? weird).

    I tried to hit “wedding day” weight. Seemed like a good goal, right? Two pounds away, I finally realized I looked, frankly, anorexic. It was a great weight at 25, but at 58, I just looked ill.

    I’ve added back seven or eight, look and feel healthier, and you know what? The wedding dress fits. It’s too big, as a matter of fact.

    You’re very wise and self aware (in the best kind of way!) to be able to realize you need to adjust.

    I wasn’t. It was a bit of an ugly process for me to recognize I was too low. Adding back weight, when you’ve been so fully focused on a goal and engaged in the process, is weird.

    But these days my appetite seems to adjust down if I cut activity or even after a calorically dense indulgence or day.

    This is so true! When I have a very overindulgent day, or even a couple of weeks, like I just had, my appetite is noticeably lower for a while.

    I had a really large collection that filled one second-story bedroom. When we moved, I joked that the house sighed “aaaaaaah” when the load was removed.

    Sometimes I feel like my body has had a long, silent aaaaaaaah for the same reason, and now rewards me instead of punishing me. (GERD.)
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    I actually started tracking loosely again because I, um, may have overshot by a few pounds (saw a picture and didn't like what I saw, which seems a commonish experience) so I'm going to slowly add a few pounds back (?!?!? weird).

    I tried to hit “wedding day” weight. Seemed like a good goal, right? Two pounds away, I finally realized I looked, frankly, anorexic. It was a great weight at 25, but at 58, I just looked ill.

    I’ve added back seven or eight, look and feel healthier, and you know what? The wedding dress fits. It’s too big, as a matter of fact.

    You’re very wise and self aware (in the best kind of way!) to be able to realize you need to adjust.

    I wasn’t. It was a bit of an ugly process for me to recognize I was too low. Adding back weight, when you’ve been so fully focused on a goal and engaged in the process, is weird.

    But these days my appetite seems to adjust down if I cut activity or even after a calorically dense indulgence or day.

    This is so true! When I have a very overindulgent day, or even a couple of weeks, like I just had, my appetite is noticeably lower for a while.

    I had a really large collection that filled one second-story bedroom. When we moved, I joked that the house sighed “aaaaaaah” when the load was removed.

    Sometimes I feel like my body has had a long, silent aaaaaaaah for the same reason, and now rewards me instead of punishing me. (GERD.)

    Pretty much, exactly the same story all around.

    My initial goalweight was just 'inside the healthy BMI' but that was clearly too heavy so I chose a new goal that was my weight around my wedding. Whether because of less elastic skin, different body composition, something else or all of the factors, it just is not right for me 25lbs later. 'Frail' was not my goal and that was the thought that popped into my head when I was those pictures. Visible muscle in places sure, but just... frail. No thanks.

    ...and yeah, I do not miss GERD at ALL. One of my favorite things about weightloss.
  • dralicephd
    dralicephd Posts: 401 Member
    I pre-log breakfast and lunch on my work days. I usually do this as I'm making my lunch the night before and that informs what I will eat for breakfast. This is just a time-saving thing and also so that I don't forget what I ate at the end of a busy work day.

    I have the blessing/challenge in that I am not the main dinner chef of the household. My husband is in charge of the dinner meal on most nights and I don't always know what he's going to make. This involves lots of "what are we doing for dinner?" conversations. I usually just leave a lot of calories for the end of the day so that I don't accidentally go over. It has worked out just fine, but there's no way to pre-log dinner, because he often figures out what we are having "on the fly". (And then I follow him around the kitchen with my phone taking bar code scans of all the food labels. :D )
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,036 Member
    What’s your experience with pre-logging? PITA, total control, or somewhere in the middle?

    Not practical at all for me. I have a general idea of what I'll be eating (we plan our meals for grocery shopping reasons) but I don't know beforehand how much of each ingredient:
    - I eat a bread meal each day: the kind of bread will depend on what my BF bought in the supermarket and the toppings will vary according to what's available in the fridge and what I feel like eating. I log each sandwich as I make it and stop when I feel I've had enough
    - warm meals: I need to log the ingredients and calories for the entire meal, and then I check how big my portion can be (depending on how many calories I have left, how hungry I am and how much my BF eats).
    - snacks are logged as I weigh my portion (since my evening snack is the last thing I log, I choose a portion depending on how many calories I have left) and which snack I choose will depend on my mood and what's available

    The only time I prelog is when I have leftovers for the next day for and I'm taking them to work.

    My exercise routine is much the same, I have a general idea of what I want to do the upcoming week, but not on fixed days. Which is also why I don't prelog my food, since I don't know beforehand how many calories I'll have at my disposal.
  • Sparkuvu
    Sparkuvu Posts: 2,440 Member
    Worthy of the read, as always. 1st Spring-- how THEY do it, inspiring, admirable--,and then last post, Wunder--reality, sounds much like me. So far, not much pre, but I think it would help.
  • SilverSage1
    SilverSage1 Posts: 54 Member
    Pre planning is almost impossible for me, so pre logging would be a disaster. Three or four nights a week dinner is the fish of the day at a local restaurant. Lunch the next day is the leftovers for yesterday’s dinner special.

    As much as I intend to stay home and make supper, often after work I just don’t want to cook. So going out if a frequent last minute decision.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
    I literally don't even plan MEALS before I am walking into the kitchen.

    The concept of trying that gives spikes my anxiety...
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,342 Member
    Did you ever think you’d find a use for algebra?

    If I don’t eat X, how much Y can I eat?

    I’ve got X number of calories left over. What can I eat to use those up and in what proportion?

    If I eat less of X, do I free up enough room for a little Y?

    What % of a serving did I just eat?

    Who knew metric was so darn useful?

    Why oh why do iPads not come with calculators? Who thought that wasn’t a good idea?