Loss of Control

The first time I decided to loose wight i was 191.2 lbs. I was horrified at the time (currently 235.2, i've lost 3.2 lbs so far). Though this wasn't the best way to do it, I didn't buy anything that didn't have the calories on the box. everything was a frozen meal. I just counted calories. but the part that may help you is that if it wasn't what I should eat: mountaindew, ice cream, potato chips I didn't buy it. That was if I really wanted it I had to leave my house to get it. Was it worth going to the convenience store to pay way too much for a 16 oz soda or did i really want to go to mcdonalds for the ice cream cone. Usually the answer was no. eventually your control will get better.

Also I didn't cut out whatever i wanted to eat. If i wanted, or life required, me to eat a wendy's baconator, I simply allowed myself to eat up to my bmr for that day and logged the calories.

so now that i have more experience. you need to learn about food. I am diabetic so this requires the eating style i have now but i've lost weight a couple times previously before diabetes and it worked well then too. Focus on having meals high in protein and fiber. The protein is great for energy and the fiber bulks out your food and slows digestion so you feel fuller longer. Work on looking for recipes that you will enjoy eating so that your wants can shift to healthier options.

But most importantly you have to start making decisions and celebrating small wins. today is the 3rd day of my 'new' start. my house is mostly clean. there is nothing I would loose control with in the house. I will admit that breakfast wasn't that yummy but I want to be a healthy weight more than I want my food to make me dance in my seat. lunch was a salad... and it was huge. I wasn't upset when i dumped part of it on the floor by accident. I couldn't even finish the salad for dinner.

day 2 i knew i was going out to eat with my mother for dinner so i just needed a little protein and fiber for breakfast (couldn't finish the salad for breakfast either). but the point of me being long winded is that we went to wafflehouse. I had 2 eggs, grits, waffle, 2 slices of toast and probably 6 slices of bacon. I was dancing in my seat the whole time... but what i didn't have... was a double bowl of grits, no cheese (i love cheese) and i resisted chocolate chips on my waffle. So in two ways i can be proud of this day. 1) I didn't go over my goal calories but I also made decisions that had me saying 'no'

your way of thinking isn't going to change over night but you need to start somewhere. feel free to ad me as a friend if you want. I'm disabled so i'm usually on discord most days. i don't mind new friends.

It helped me to
1.) get it out of the house. No buying up and pigging out because this will be the 😢 “last time ever”. It never was the last day. One day I just had enough and got rid of everything I perceived (at the time) to be “bad” for me. Harsh, but if it wasn’t there, I did have to make other choices.

2.) weigh and log. Get a fitness tracker. Learn the correlation between how much you are eating and how damn hard it is to burn as energy. That was fantastically eye opening for me

3.) plan meals in advance. Log in advance. I typically log the entire week on Sunday evening. (I’m behind this week, but will log the rest of the week this evening.)

4.) make a grocery list based solely on your meal plan. Don’t deviate. Include a few things as snacks that you either enjoy or think you can learn to enjoy.

5.) try a smaller grocery with less selection. If I go into a large American grocery (for me, a Publix or a Kroger) there is so much selection, so much competition between brands, advertising, BOGOs from one brand trying to outsell the other. Marketing genius and psychology at work, to sell ME stuff I don’t need.

If I go to a Lidl, all they carry is one choice of each and typically it’s a store brand. There’s no gaudy advertising to confuse or distract me. I also really like that Lidl follows the European method of putting a small box, clearly visible, on the front of the package, that states calories per serving. I can know at a glance if it’s acceptable.

They also don’t have a tempting bakery full of cakes, pies, doughnuts, cookies, brownies etc that’s an aisle long. They usually have four relatively small glass cases with a small selection of great quality fresh baked breads and goods.

Not having to walk past all that is less stressful for me. Likewise for their candy, cookie and snack foods, and even cereals. It’s a small tight selection. Not something I could easily get lost in and succumb to, like I could an entire aisle of candy at Kroger.

There’s usually maybe five or six things I need that I do have to go acrost the street to a bigger store to buy, but by then I’m so tired and already pre-numbed from the first shop that I just want to blow through, get the handful of items I need, get the heck out of dodge, go put groceries away, and kick my feet up.

If you’ve got an Aldi, they are similar to a Lidl, just often not as clean and organized.