crayonbreakywillow Member

I love this reply. Thank you for taking the time to write it. I completely agree about boundaries. I've been very focused on setting healthy personal boundaries in other areas of my life recently, and I definitely agree that there is freedom within them. I am going to start focusing more on boundaries in my food/health as…

Excellent points! My thing is I have no problem eating under a set amount of calories. I'm so used to doing so. My biggest issue is I feel like I should be able to do this without it consuming my life and feeling like I have to actively count constantly. It really is my mindset that needs work. As a perfectionist, I've…

Thanks again for all the responses!! Just a little update...so far this week, I haven't really logged. I've continued to weigh and measure my food, and quickly add the calories in my head, but not really log. I have tried not to spend too much time thinking ahead about what I'm going to eat. I've just made sure that each…

@amyinthetardis1231 Thank you!!

Curious...what has your strategy been, since you decided to quit logging?

You're right when you say it's not just about the numbers. It is about obsessive thoughts and control and beating myself up for not being perfect. I struggle with this in general, so it's not surprising that it has become an issue when it comes to my focus on weight maintenance. The thing is, I'm sure that my perfectionism…

So, I've decided to try some baby steps because I really want to be able to eat more intuitively and not stress over every calorie. I'm starting an experiment today in which I don't log my food, but I try to keep my calories within a certain range for each meal. I typically have breakfast/lunch/dinner/eveningsnack, so I'm…

@RelevantGains I really like this idea! Thank you!!

I love what you said about this APP being just a tool. You're right. I definitely think it is a mental hurdle I need to overcome. By the way, thanks for the friend request! I also want to mention (because I feel like I have to explain myself!) that if you happen to see my diary for today, you'll see I went way over. My…

Wow! Thank you all for the replies! Reading your thoughts, suggestions and encouragement has been wonderful. Thank you all! I think that my mindset is what is stressing me out. I tend to be a perfectionist about things and I think I feel like to stop logging would somehow equal quitting. I know this makes no sense because…

Yep! I've felt like my tailbone has been bruised ever since I lost the weight! Started maintenance in 2013, I still have tailbone issues, but it's much less painful now. I try to sit so that I'm not putting lots of pressure on it and I use a coccyx pillow at home.

I just turned 40. I've been happily married for almost 17 years. No kids. I've actually been maintaining my 96lb loss since 2013. Started MFP in 2012 along with my husband. Feel free to friend me if you'd like! I'm going to be a MFP lifer!

Thanks all! That was my biggest confusion as to whether my activity level mattered. I have changed my setting to allow for negative calorie adjustments. So, if I log non-step exercise with mfp, I need to enter start/ stop times, but if I log with fitbit, I won't need to worry about timeframe? Is that correct? On a side…

Thanks all! I think I'm starting to get how it works! I've been maintaining on lightly active pretty well since last summer, but I've always wondered if I could/should be eating more/less some days, so it'll be interesting to see what Fitbit tells me. Am I right that it doesn't matter which activity level I leave mfp set…

Were you set to sedentary before getting your fitbit last month? Or did you change it to allow the fitbit to adjust? And, do I need to manually enter all exercise, including walking/running? Thanks!

Great idea! Honeycrisp are by far my favorite! Been eating one every day since they arrived this summer. Wish I could store them up for winter!

I think the glycogen stores is the right explanation. I switched to maintenance a little over a month ago, raising my calories by 200 to start. I gained between 2-3 pounds and bounced around that for the next couple weeks and just this past week have finally seen that come back down and I've actually lost a little now. I…

We just had our street fair and I couldn't resist a ooey-gooey cinnamon roll! I split it with my husband, so not too bad. ;-) My favorite fall comfort food is potato soup. I love it! I also am hopelessly in love with those fall-time breads, apple cinnamon, things like that. Fortunately, I don't like pumpkin, so I'm not…

I've lost about 95 pounds and entered maintenance a little over a month ago. Feel free to friend me! ;-)

Feel free to add me! Would love to have more maintenance friends. I've been on maintenance for about a month now, but I'm still trying to figure out my numbers. I'm currently set to sedentary plus eating back my exercise calories. Hoping to be able to bump up my calories a bit, but I'm nervous to do so. I'm letting my body…

This is fun! 1. Last week I ran in my first race and my brother who was on the sidelines waiting to record me on his phone, almost completely missed me because he didn't recognize me, even though he should be used to seeing "the new me" by now! 2. I keep having to buy more hangers because I have gotten so many clothes at…

It's hard! I've been in maintenance for about 3 weeks now, and I'm still trying to figure out where my calories are going to settle. This week, for the first time ever, I started eating my exercise calories back and I'm freaking out! I feel like I'm eating SO much! And, like others have said, I feel like I'm going to…

I ate cake while losing weight and I eat cake in maintenance. I ate cake last night. My philosophy is and has been throughout, that I did not want to do something I felt was unrealistic. I did not want to deprive myself of certain foods, knowing I could not live without cake for the rest of my life. I eat what I want, I…

I don't see counting calories as restrictive or obsessive at all. In fact, I find it quite freeing. By keeping count of my calories daily I feel more in control and I love that feeling! I intend to count for the rest of my life, and I'm totally cool with that. I think it's fun too!

Update! Eating at 1650 this week (The MFP setting for sedentary maintenance) I have still lost a pound this week! My plan for this coming week is to remain at 1650, but eat back my exercise calories. I'm just planning to go up from there gradually until I maintain. I think it's a trial and error and will take a while to…

Thanks all for the feedback! I figured it will take a while to find the right balance. For reference, I'm 5'6 and sitting at 136lbs right now, so I wouldn't consider myself a very small person. I hope you all are right about 1650 being low! It would be fun to eat more! ;-)

Age 37 Before & after weight SW: 230 CW: 136 Female, 5'6 Start & goal reached date Started June 20, 2012/Goal Reached July 2013 Best strategy for removing weight: Log faithfully. Don't take breaks and make excuses. Plan ahead for events involving food. Don't deprive yourself of things you love. Everything in moderation. I…

Also, the Peanut Butter Poptart was pretty tasty! (I also tried the Chocolate Peanut Butter iced Poptart recently and found them too sweet!)

I've lost 91 pounds, and I'm just about at my goal weight now. I've done it by eating whatever I wanted...in moderation. I do make a lot of healthier choices now, which I started to do mainly because you can typically get a larger quantity of food when you are eating healthier. But, I have grown to love and even crave…

I was just thinking last night that I need to try one of these! Now, I want it even more! Yum!