carlysuzanne85 Member

What's been working for me lately has been looking at my calories for the entire week. My daily goal is 1350 calories but my TDEE is 1900, so I know anything under 1900 is in weight loss mode. There are days I'm under 1350 and days I'm over and I just try to have as close to a weekly average of 1350 as possible. For…

I've been trying to get out of the mindset of "cheat meals" because, personally, I've found it's not beneficial for me to be thinking in terms of "good" food, "bad" food, "cheating," "dieting," etc. What's been working for me lately has been looking at my calories for the entire week. My daily goal is 1350 calories but my…

Hey, twin! :) Adding you now!

I'll be turning 31 on November 9th which means I have exactly three months! My goals is to lose one pound per week so twelve pounds by my birthday. 30 has been, by far, the worst and hardest year of my life and I've put on over 50 pounds while battling serious depression in the last sixteen months or so--the worst of it…

I definitely recommend getting a crockpot! You can literally just throw some chicken breasts in there with some sauce and leave it for hours and then it's delicious. There are a ton of other crockpot "recipes" that just require you to throw stuff in there whole and as is.

Seconded.

Definitely agree with the above! On the show Intervention, they say that the addict's "drug of choice" might be alcohol but the family's "drug of choice" is the addict. I think many times the families are scared that the addict will be much worse off or die without their "help" or they can't bear for the addict to hate…

I agree with everyone above who said that no one will change their habits until they're ready and they want to, so be patient and kind with your SO :smile: That being said: As far as my own experience, my tastes haven't exactly changed (I still love all the old things I used to over-consume) but my habits have changed (I…

From my teenage years on, I was always gaining and losing the same fifteen pounds, always feeling a little chubby but pretty under control and (I know now) at a healthy weight most of the time. I'm 5'2" and my heaviest in college was 160. My college boyfriend was a depressed over-eater; I have those same tendencies myself…

All great advice above! One thing that has worked for me is intentionally saying something kind to myself anytime I think something negative about myself. It takes practice and purposeful effort when you first start but becomes second nature the longer you practice this. My rule is that I have to genuinely believe the kind…

These are all great tips! Thanks, @eep223 ! :)

Two things I picked up from someone else: 1. Say to yourself, "I'm choosing not to have this," rather than saying, "I can't have this." The simple language change puts you in control and empowers you! It's amazing what a difference that little language (and thus mindset) tweak can make. 2. Say to yourself, "I'm choosing…

Everyone is different, but, for me, I couldn't do 1200 a day. I tried for awhile and just never felt it was enough even eating primarily "whole" foods. I used this calculator to determine my TDEE: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html I'm 5'2", 145 pounds, and entered "light exercise" (my goal is…

@Angelfire365 don't let this post discourage you! There are always those who judge us in life, loudly or quietly, wherever we are, for a variety of reasons. Truthfully, most people at the gym ARE focused on what they are doing and not what others are doing/what others look like and, in my experience, are silently cheering…

That really is one of the things that has worked best for me. I am also a big advocate for reaching out to a friend or family member who knows your struggle and seeing if they have five or ten minutes to chat, whether via text or phone call, to provide that distraction and receive support and encouragement. I've also…

I'm not married but have been in long term relationships where there were times when one of us was more focused on fitness and/or nutrition than the other. In my experience, that can cause some insecurity and uneasiness with the partner who is not focusing on fitness and nutrition. My guess would be there is something…

One of my favorite sayings is, "Fall down seven times, get up eight." It's not about not falling down, it's about getting up when you do! We all have bad days! Truly, they're an unavoidable part of the journey. I know that I struggle with an "all or nothing" attitude--I already ruined today, so I may as well give up or…

Oh, man, I used to work at coffee shops and baristas definitely don't assume as we've heard it all. I'll never forget the person who asked me to add ten (TEN!) sugar packets to their nonfat mocha. :neutral_face: A lot of people get the nonfat milk to feel better about adding the whipped cream. (Related story: used to work…

I agree that when you count calories, it's a huge eye-opener and things you assumed were "better" or "more healthy" can still pack a caloric punch. There are tons of things I didn't realize had as many calories as they do. I'm often amazed at how quickly I can reach my calorie goal even when eating nothing but fresh…

Also, wanted to add: food prep has been a huge help for me, as other responses have said! I spend a few hours on Sunday chopping veggies, prepping/cooking big batches of things I can eat through the week, and portioning out snacks, packing stuff to bring to work for lunch, etc. On the weeks that I take the time to do this…

All of this. Also, OP, I'm in darn near the exact same boat. Last year, I was just about at my goal weight (and definitely at a weight where I felt really great) and then I went through a huge breakup, subsequent move, and basically started my life over from scratch with almost zero support system. From June 2014-November…

I think this is a really important point to make. There are certainly people in the world who appear healthy, in a healthy weight range, eat at least some food and have an eating disorder. I know I struggle with a disordered relationship to food and I've never been severely underweight or overweight but have fluctuated up…

I'm 5'2" and have about 15 pounds to lose and I'm losing (albeit slowly but still) off of around 1600 calories a day. If you're accurately recording your intake at 1010 calories, you can (and should!!) definitely be able to eat more and lose weight, and not be starving all at once! Have you talked with your doctor about a…

I've never been pregnant or breastfed but I have read that women need more calories while breastfeeding to maintain their current weight or healthfully lose weight and I just did a quick search to see, "In general, most breastfeeding women need about 500 calories more per day than their non-breastfeeding counterparts." So…

I think it's easy to say "the grass is greener on the other side." Sure, it's frustrating to sometimes only lose a pound in a whole month after a lot of hard work and then look at someone who lost five pounds this week from simply cutting out ice cream or soda or something but I'm sure it's equally as frustrating for…

Seconded.

I definitely think the mental aspect of weight loss can be one of the toughest challenges! For me, if I feel like I'm depriving myself (like, "I can't eat this"), I know that I'm significantly more likely to go over the top with it. I have found that some simple language changes can make a big difference. Instead of…

You don't have to live in the "minds of fear" to be safe and cautious. I'm a small woman who lives by herself in a borderline sketchy neighborhood. I text a friend where I'm going and approximately when I expect to be back then I text her when I get home; I tell her what time she should start calling by if she hasn't heard…

I just read this article yesterday and it looks like studies show that positivity is more beneficial in the long run when it comes to weight loss. There are certainly those that are motivated by the negative comments or tough love but, unless you know that about a person, err on the side of being positive :) "By the end of…

Just in to say that this ^^ made the biggest difference for me! If I "can't" have something, then, oh my god, do I want that thing every minute of every day. But if I utilize just a slight language change and say it's not that I can't have something, it's that I'm choosing not to, then it puts me in control of the…