ShannonMpls Member

Today was 1195 for me.

First, I pre-log and pack my food every work day. It is much easier to say no to unexpected treats in the break room knowing that my calories for the day are already accounted for, I have plenty of food, my treats are planned, and I don't need to deviate from that. Not one bite because, like you, one tiny taste has a tiny…

Mmm, cookie butter.

Welcome. I weighed more than 300 pounds in June of 2011. I hit a healthy BMI in September of 2012 and have been maintaining ever since. You can do this, and MFP is a great tool to get you there.

I can't believe I'm responding to someone who just committed a cardinal internet sin - suggesting that others have "unresolved issues" after reading a post they disagree with - but here I go. I didn't say you projected shame onto me. I'm a self-assured grown-up, and no one projects anything onto me; I make my own choices.…

Why thank you.

I don't think we could be friends. I'm so over the attitude that being a healthy weight requires one to consider food as nothing but "fuel" - that's bull$hit. Food is social. Preparing it is a hobby, an experiment, a delight for many. Serving food we prepare to those we care for is an act of love as old as humankind. And…

I lost 130+ pounds. I've been maintaining for 2 years. I had "cheat" days while losing, I have "cheat" days now. What matters is an overall calorie deficit. I always had one while losing, and now my "cheat" days contribute to my eating at maintenance. What works for me may not work for you, but your way is not the only way.

I don't know if I'm a success story - more like a success story in progress. But this may be what you're looking for. June 2011 - joined MFP and started losing September 2012 - hit goal weight Since then, I've been maintaining within a 5 pound range of that goal weight. I've been above it a few times, and below it a few…

It's not. I am 5'11" and my maintenance calorie range is 2600-2700. If I ate 1710 a day, I'd lose a pound a week.

AHHHH!!! THANK YOU!

lol. Once a month?!?! Hell no. I love beer. I have beer. I log beer. I don't normally drink a lot of it during the week because I also like eating, but weekends are fair game. And I do not drink bad beer; what a sad pathetic waste of hops and calories. I'm going to a few taprooms this weekend, now that you mention it :)

The amount of calories is so negligible in pickled vegetables; I would not bother creating a recipe. For my homemade kimchi, I just search the database for a homemade kimchi and use that. Same for Indian pickles (very different from American pickles!). If I couldn't find anything, I'd probably do a quick-add for 30-50…

Yes, use the recipe builder! I have literally hundreds of recipes in mine. weigh your ingredients as you cook, enter the ingredient and weight. Then either estimate the servings (this is what I do and it's worked just fine) or weigh the final product (from there you can divide that weight into servings and measure yourself…

Nothing unfair about that. You were on a deficit and presumably ate more while on holiday. Your glycogen stores refilled and your body retained water due to excess salt and carbs. Give it a week or two of "normal" eating and you'll be back where you started, probably a pound or two less.

It will only put weight on you if you are eating at a surplus. I focused on lifting the whole time I was losing weight - I lifted more than cardio. Trust me, I kept losing :)

I am just shy of two years of maintaining my 130+ pound weight loss. In order to tell you how I maintain, I have to tell you how I lost. Basically, I made no changes I was not willing to live with forever. No fad diets. No starvation (I lost eating 1700-2100 calories a day). No crazy exercise. Just a series of small but…

It also helps to search raw. So search for avocados raw, carrots raw, broccoli raw, etc. That helps you to find the standard entry with no asterisk and should be the most reliable for things like produce.

A cheap scale from Target. I do have an Omron body fat analyzer, though it's accuracy is questionable.

Any park on the north shore makes me happy. I love the cart-in sites at Split Rock (site 20 is the best!) and Tettagouche. They have Lake Superior views and/or access. We also just camped at a hike-in with a private beach at Cascade River. George Crosby Manitou has tremendous hiking, though camping is rustic and the…

My response: I know, it's a big change already! But my doctor and I have decided that it's appropriate for me to aim for the high end of the healthy BMI range...so that's my goal." I got this A LOT when I also had about 20 still left to lose. Now that I'm actually at my goal weight, no one has ever said I'm too skinny.…

Skipping lunch to me means what would be an 800 calorie meal becomes a 1,500 calorie meal because I'm so hungry. I recommend eating a small lunch, but definitely still eating. The whole time I was losing weight, I only rarely logged a meal out. Such a pain in the *kitten*, never accurate, I did not bother. I rarely do it…

Given your situation - not a lot of $$, losing weight so wearing clothes temporarily - I'd advise you, with all the sweetness in the world, to get over this :) Seriously consignment or thrifted clothes are perfect for a situation like this. I should also point out that I have bought MANY items of clothing at thrift stores…

Congrats on 115! Here's to MANY more :) I absolutely love my Fitbit One. I've worn it every day since I got it. It's a great little motivator. I have no idea how accurate it is, but it's helped me add a lot more activity to my regular life. Fitbit also has incredible customer service. They replaced my older version of the…

I changed how I looked at weight loss. At first, it was all about hitting my goal weight - and that weight seemed absolutely unattainable. So instead, I would aim to lose 20 pounds at a time. As time went by, it wasn't really about hitting goal weight anymore - it was about living a happier, healthier life. I enjoyed how…

Conversely, I did not lower my calorie goal as I lost weight. Instead I decreased my deficit. I never went below 1500 calories. Most of the time I was eating 1600-1800, and instead of going lower I gradually increased my calories instead. That resulted in slightly slower weight loss but the best bonus ever - when I hit…

I wear my Fitbit 24/7 (for nearly two years now!). I use my HRM during cardio workouts. I still wear the Fitbit to get the step count, but by logging my exercise via MFP, it syncs with the Fitbit and corrects the calorie burn on both sites. They work well together. @holisheet: my experience using the calorie burn of the…

This isn't really accurate, though, because several of those are user-added versus default database entries. User-added entries are far less accurate as a whole. Using default entries, based on USDA data: Peppers - sweet, red, raw 100g, 26 calories Peppers - sweet, yellow, raw 100g, 27 calories Peppers - sweet, green, raw…

Absolutely. I will never maintain one weight every day; that would be ignoring the fact that weight involves a lot more than fat - food choices, humidity, hormonal cycles, workouts, hydration all effect my weight. I don't have a goal weight, I have a goal range. I also only rarely weigh in for that reason.

This, absolutely. My advice: Ignore MFP. Eat what you choose. Enjoy the hell out of an amazing vacation. Drink fine wine, eat great bread and cheese. Walk, explore, and enjoy. Return. The day you do, go back to logging. Log diligently. Get back to your exercise routine immediately. Avoid the scale. Weigh in two weeks…