your mistakes made

westrich20940 · September 2023

Mistake: choosing to lose 2lbs/week at first and trying to eat 1200cal/day.

I kind of thought that *sounded logical as I'm a short/petite woman - sedentary/desk job. However, truly my maintenance calories (if I actually didn't do any activity) is higher than that. My BMR is ~1300...so any activity on top of that obviously requires a bit more fuel.

The issue at the time was, "I don't feel hungry" and was often even under 1200 when I didnt' feel like eating anymore. I also was perfectly able to muster up the energy to run for 30-45min....but otherwise was absolutely supine lol. I was either totally sloth-like or intentionally working out. So I felt like *kitten*. Slept like *kitten*. And QUICKLY read some of the threads and realized I was not eating enough. So I then used a TDEE calculator to figure my maintenance (still sedentary) and made sure to choose a calorie goal that was above my BMR but below my TDEE...logged as accurately as I could as well as my exercise cals and ate back usually 80-100% of them and boom. Consistent/sustained weight loss.

foreverhealthy3 · January 28

A big downfall for me, is grocery shopping. can't avoid temptations
another one is not exercising consistently

Andrea222 · January 28

Making some foods off limits. I used to tell myself that I could only eat healthy foods, like chicken breast and broccoli. But when I allow myself to eat fast foods and chips and make them part of my diet, I’m a lot more successful. They lose their mojo. It’s important to track them, though, and be aware of what you eat. So I get fries, but just small fries, for instance

sollyn23l2 · January 28

foreverhealthy3 wrote: »

A big downfall for me, is grocery shopping. can't avoid temptations
another one is not exercising consistently

Grocery shopping is always a hard one. The way I dealt with it was to have a fixed list of exactly what I was there to get. No wandering around the store. And if it wasn't on the list, it couldn't go in the cart.

refactored · January 28

foreverhealthy3 wrote: »

A big downfall for me, is grocery shopping. can't avoid temptations
another one is not exercising consistently

I pretend I eat all the things I know are not healthy for me while grocery shopping (in my mind not actually miming). I picture myself getting bigger and bigger with every food I pretend to stuff in to my mouth. I admit I am a little strange but it helps me. I also don't go shopping on an empty stomach.

My mistake was belittling myself for making mistakes. As Thomas Edison once said: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Mistakes are learning opportunities so I journal my journey (in the 10 day challenge on here) and reflect on my behaviors that don't help me achieve a healthier lifestyle.

mtaratoot · January 29

sollyn23l2 wrote: »

foreverhealthy3 wrote: »

A big downfall for me, is grocery shopping. can't avoid temptations
another one is not exercising consistently

Grocery shopping is always a hard one. The way I dealt with it was to have a fixed list of exactly what I was there to get. No wandering around the store. And if it wasn't on the list, it couldn't go in the cart.

I was about to suggest the exact same thing. I also actually DO allow myself an occasional fun thing that's not on the list. Often it's a nice hunk of cheese and some crackers. It used to be I couldn't do this or I'd just eat it. After years of practice, I can leave cheese uneaten in the fridge, and I can open the cheese and eat a weighed amount and not the rest. It's taken a while to get to this though. Same thing with potato chips.

refactored wrote: »

I pretend I eat all the things I know are not healthy for me while grocery shopping (in my mind not actually miming). I picture myself getting bigger and bigger with every food I pretend to stuff in to my mouth. I admit I am a little strange but it helps me. I also don't go shopping on an empty stomach.

My mistake was belittling myself for making mistakes. As Thomas Edison once said: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Mistakes are learning opportunities so I journal my journey (in the 10 day challenge on here) and reflect on my behaviors that don't help me achieve a healthier lifestyle.

I used to do something similar at the grocery with potato chips or other salty crunchy things. I'd pick up each bag, look at the nutrition label, and decide that 140 calories for 13 chips... probably wouldn't make me happy. I'd put them back on the shelf and look at the next bag. Every now and then I'd decide to get one. Usually not.

I love the Edison quote, too, and use it frequently. The greatest scientific discoveries were usually not accompanied by a shout of "Eureka!" They were usually accompanied by a soft-spoken, "Hmmm. Well that's odd."

duskyblue · January 29

I used to approach dieting as a hunger endurance test.

I’m finally getting the idea that if I’m too hungry, it’s because I’m doing it wrong! I can eat a lot of food (given the right choices) and very seldom be hungry, while still losing weight.

I still get tempted to eat for entertainment. But not being half-starved is a much better starting point.

your mistakes made

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