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Arby's for breakfast, and Swedish Fish for lunch.

nymthiriel
nymthiriel Posts: 42
edited December 2024 in Motivation and Support
Seriously. I have a problem with these little fish. I left for work in a hurry, literally less than 20 minutes to get there from the time I woke up. I stopped by Arby's since it was on the way for a small sandwich, not too bad I though. Then I found the bag of Swedish Fish I stashed in my car, unopened. I ate it all, right after the sandwich. All 700 calories. Now I have less than 300 for the day. Oh joy!

I feel like I can't control myself with that kind of stuff. I've gained half the weight back I've lost over the last few years, and I feel absolutely pathetic. I can't run because of needing surgery on my foot, so I'm not burning the extra 3,000+ calories on average I was a few weeks ago. I reduced my calories since I am no longer active, but I find that can't eat at 1500 calories, which is what MFP assigned me.

I'm losing motivation, and fear I'm just going to stay fat. I don't know what to do to get me out of the cycle. I stopped drinking diet soda because my partner and I went through 4 cases in less than a week. He has a sweet tooth from hell, but skinny as a twig. It doesn't help at all, since that was my saving grace from a sweet tooth.

I need some motivation, *kitten* kicking, and other forms of whatever you can give me. :(

Replies

  • rprussell2004
    rprussell2004 Posts: 870 Member
    At the risk of repeating myself...

    IKEA! http://www.jonathancoulton.com/wiki/Ikea
  • nymthiriel
    nymthiriel Posts: 42
    At the risk of repeating myself...

    IKEA! http://www.jonathancoulton.com/wiki/Ikea

    Smart *kitten*. :laugh:
  • rprussell2004
    rprussell2004 Posts: 870 Member
    Okay - on a more soothing note.

    SO F***ING WHAT?

    As I've read in many, many threads, this isn't a quick fix sort of site. This is a lifestyle-change sort of site.

    Every time I go to a movie, I scarf at LEAST one bucket of popcorn. Do you know how bad that stuff is for you? I think each bucket has like 2000 calories.

    Thing is, if you have been - or will be - exercising, or tracking, or otherwise keeping on top of things, then the day-to-day crap doesn't matter at all. It's hard to swallow (hurr) but it's true. The pounds didn't suddenly jump on, it was a long-term overall trend. Similarly, they're not gonna be influenced coming off by one day positive or negative. I should know, I've jumped up FIVE FREAKING POUNDS in one day. But then they peeled off again, as I stuck with the plan.

    If you're concerned about ALWAYS BEING FAT, don't. I know that's not how a lot of ppl think, and you might very well be going "Yeah, thanks, dude, telling me not to worry doesn't do jack for the cause of the problem..." but the simple fact that you're HERE means that the cause of the problem is something you're aware of and are attacking... and THAT is what makes me say "don't worry."

    I mean, come on... foot surgery pretty much EQUALS lack of movement. What do you expect would happen? Don't kill yourself over it - it'll heal eventually, right? And you'll be back in the saddle and in charge again then. Meanwhile, life goes on.

    Finally - if Swedish Fish are an achilles heel, then for the love of all that's holy get them the hell away from you. Rice Krispie treats are mine. If I get close to a plate of them they sort of gravitate into my mouth, it's not my fault I swear! So I avoid them if at all possible, and I revel in them otherwise.

    B'coz tomorrow is another day!
  • rprussell2004
    rprussell2004 Posts: 870 Member
    The other bit of info I'd offer up is that MFP puts your calorie limit at 500-1000 cals BELOW maintenance, depending on how aggressively you told it to have you lose weight.

    Which means you really have 500-1000 calories to play with before you start gaining again.

    But don't think of that too often, otherwise you lose the point of having a calorie limit. It's like setting your clock ahead 20 minutes so you're never late - as soon as you become conscious of having that extra 20 minutes, it's all shot to hell.
  • rprussell2004
    rprussell2004 Posts: 870 Member
    All that said... WTF WERE YOU THINKING?

    Don't do it again.
  • KaleidoscopeEyes1056
    KaleidoscopeEyes1056 Posts: 2,996 Member
    My god, that sounds amazing. The Arby's and Swedish Fish that is.

    My advice would be to log it, and learn from it. If you have a serious problem with eating too many Swedish Fish (which I totally do because those little suckers are delicious!) I would suggest getting a bag and splitting it into portion sizes in little sandwich bags. Never have more than one portion on you at a time, then you can't eat the whole bag. Use it as a treat. You do well all week, you have Swedish Fish.

    As for getting a fast food breakfast, I understand that people have time constraints and sometimes can't get something before they get out of the house. Maybe try preparing something the day before and heating it up the next morning.

    Neither of these things are going to ruin your progress if eaten in moderation.
  • nymthiriel
    nymthiriel Posts: 42
    (It was amazing.)

    You guys are both awesome. I needed to hear (er, read) that. It's just hard at home because I'm constantly reminded, "What are you at for calories?" by my boyfriend, and I only eat bad when he's not around. It's like a "safe" eating time. God I sound like an addict.

    What was I thinking? I was thinking, "Here's a bag of Swedish Fish I bought for $1. Oh god, I love these fish. I'll just have one." 10 minutes later to work: "Crap, I've only got 5 left. Might as well just eat them all." I didn't realize the calories until I ate them all. :/

    Arby's was faster than Subway. /excuses

    Honestly, I'm gaining weight eating at 1500-1700 calories without exercise. It's been almost three weeks now and I've gained back almost 10 pounds. I know it's not just water weight. The only time I've lost weight (and kept it off) was when I was really poor and ate less than 1000 calories a day because the soup kitchen was all I had. Seriously. I don't know what to do except starve myself unless I'm exercising. I lost 70 lbs doing that. I just don't have the constitution to do it anymore. I dropped 15 pounds at most when I was burning off 600 calories a day and eating 1200 calories, eating them back to make the 1200 goal. I couldn't maintain it over the winter and literally in 4 weeks I was up to 195 from 171.

    With limiting, I've tried the baggies, I just eat them all. I will probably have to stay away from them, as suggested. It's just so hard. I've contemplated going to Overeaters Anonymous, because I seriously feel like I can't control it. I know I shouldn't have the "I'm just a fat *kitten*" mentality, but it's hard when I've eaten my progress back. /rage
  • KaleidoscopeEyes1056
    KaleidoscopeEyes1056 Posts: 2,996 Member
    I had a lot of trouble losing, and somebody posted this on a thread. It's a spreadsheet that keeps track of your weekly goal instead of your daily one. I finally started losing again by following it. Give it a try for a month or two and see what you think. Under eating is definitely not doing your body any good either, which might be the reason you ate the whole bag of Swedish Fish in the first place. Your body might have just wanted the energy from getting some sort of food.

    Here's the link to the spreadsheet:https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B2MlEgY5q9lgS3Z0S3NWLVR0Y2c
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    OMG I love Swedish Fish. LOVE.
  • nymthiriel
    nymthiriel Posts: 42
    I had a lot of trouble losing, and somebody posted this on a thread. It's a spreadsheet that keeps track of your weekly goal instead of your daily one. I finally started losing again by following it. Give it a try for a month or two and see what you think. Under eating is definitely not doing your body any good either, which might be the reason you ate the whole bag of Swedish Fish in the first place. Your body might have just wanted the energy from getting some sort of food.

    Here's the link to the spreadsheet:https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B2MlEgY5q9lgS3Z0S3NWLVR0Y2c

    Mmm, I like this idea. The daily goal might just be too much for me. I'm like that with my stocks too - even though I'm invested in ETFs for at least 20 years, the day to day up and down kills me. I should treat weight loss like I should treat stocks. Holy mother of god, I've just stumbled upon a solution. Thanks!
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