Need to lose 40 lbs~ gradually bridging the gap.

[jayjay]

The calorie counting is one aspect, important for weight loss, but I fear you might be losing something with all that math.
Eat well. Live well. Be active.

I am too much the other way... never count anything, just ride or hike when I feel like it (or the dog makes me) and really , at 46yrs have not hardly learned what true discipline is . It's not like I think counting calories will keep me from eating them, (I notice this seems to be some kind of a method with some?) but will allow me to be aware of what I'm taking in. Once I get my favorite foods, and proper portions down, I think that I will just 'get it' and I wont' have to count anymore. I think though, honestly, that just about every method incorporates calories, or points, or some such keeping track. I have never successfully done that before though, and i'ts difficult for me to brace myself for doing it now, too.

Eat an apple every day, and carrots and salads, preferably from local gardens and markets. Walk places. Eat whole grains-bread, pasta, rice...Eat local, humanely-raised meat (if you eat meat) and milk (if you drink milk). Your plate should be filled with color.

Honey, you're preaching to the choir...I couldn't agree more!

For me, personally, a more European approach is what works for me. I go to local markets frequently and buy what is fresh and in season. I love to cook, the freshest foods make the best meals. I eat slowly and enjoy a good meal. I stop when I've had enough--before I'm full.
So, count calories if you have to, but don't obsess about it. Change your lifestyle wholistically, not just the counting. Counting gets boring and boring isn't sustainable.

I live out in the boonies, so runs to the market must be more frugal, once a week I try to keep it. I have to learn to slow down that's for sure, but I am a manic frenzied person anyway, so that's tough. Maybe I need to drink a little wine before my dinner, maybe that will help (but more calories...oy) Learning where 80% full is, is a tough one for me. Leaving a little hunger, is wise, but just not me. The times when I was really fit though, and slender, I didn't need food to sedate me, so, like so many things, it's the law of inertia... it will gain momentum as it goes, jsut difficult to begin. Thanks a whole lot !

[Tuckervill]

Get a kitchen scale and measure all your servings. Measure all your ingredients, too.

Use only recipes that have provided the calories per serving.

Use nutritiondata.com to analyze your original recipes. (free).

I have made a bunch of incremental changes over the last 4 years or so. I've been meaning to take time to list them, because some of them are so ingrained in my life that I don't recall off hand what they were anymore. But it started with:

*eliminating Diet Coke and replacing it with unsweetened iced tea.
*eating breakfast within an hour after rising
*eating oatmeal with raisins and walnuts for breakfast
*Using the salad plates instead of dinner plates for every meal.
*Measuring all my food
*Recording all my food.
*Adding exercise, of course.
*Adding more activity, of course.
*refusing to feel guilty about anything I eat
*reading labels
*journaling my struggles with food/exercise
*eliminating high fructose corn syrup, which led to
*eliminating processed foods
*became a student of everything exercise and nutrition related
*watching work outs on TV, even when I'd already worked out that day
*search harder for restaurants which have fresh food (we eat out often)
*pretty much eliminated fast food (but I have a kid and sometimes we need something QUICK)

A couple of changes I am now making...I'm replacing iced tea with water at most meals out. Thinking about how to implement never eating anything that I don't know exactly how many calories it has.

There are more changes to be made. I'm not perfect and never will be. And I'm not giving up my daily hot cup of tea with real sugar--and I put sugar in my oatmeal, too!

Karen

[VeloVT]

Get a kitchen scale and measure all your servings. Measure all your ingredients, too.

-and I put sugar in my oatmeal, too!

Karen

Measuring really helps you keep on track. I bought a scale mainly for pasta -- but once I started measuring everything -- the milk I put in my tea, wine, etc -- I started losing a lot faster.

And Karen -- maple syrup in oatmeal = mmmmm (I like to throw in walnuts and chopped apple too).

(I like it unsweetend with banana and milk too, but my boyfriend finds cooked banana revolting, so when we eat it together...).

[GLC1968]

Jayjay - I am doing something similiar. I've been on the diet wagon for the past 15 years (well, all my life, really - I've always been a 'weight fighter'), so I've got the experience...I just need to put it all into play again.

I've gained a bunch of weight since I started cycling (it gave me a new reason to EAT!) and the worst of it in the past 6 months or so.

My plan is to eat clean, track calories and nutrition as a reference, exercise consistently again (something I've slacked off on lately), and generally get back into living the way that makes me feel good. It actually should be a lot easier for me now that I live in a place where healthy foods are more plentiful and where people are generally more accepting of a healthy lifestyle. This was sorely lacking in my last city of residence, so it was always a constant battle (to get foods prepared the way I wanted them when we went out, to find healthy ingredients/foods, to not get run over when biking to work, to constantly have to justify my lifestyle choices, etc)

I think you have the makings of a good plan, and I also think you have a good attitude about it. One thing to keep in mind (that it sounds like you already are) is that numbers are one thing, reality is something else. Even if you are hitting all the right numbers and doing all the right things, the human body often doesn't cooperate. There are tons of other factors (hormone balance, age, thyroid function, etc) that can influence how easy or difficult weight loss could be for you as an individual. Keep a healthy perspective on what is a reasonable amount of time in which to reach your goals and what is a reasonable weight for YOU. Mark your progress in the development of healthy habits, your improved health, your improved performance and your improved attitude...that way, when the scale or the measurements don't move the way you expect them to, you can remain positive and on track.

(easy for me to say, not so easy for me to do!!)

[cyclingmom]

Jayjay, I'm right there with you. I've got 51 lbs still to lose til I get to my goal weight. Slowly but surely getting there.
Yeah, I hate the changing needs thing too. For me, I am on a reduced calorie diet, which has worked well for me for about 2 years now. And on days of long rides, I do up the amount on that day, and just that day. For me, I eat abour 1300-1600 calories a day for average workout days (anything 2 hours or less in duration of mdoerate activity). ON long ride days, since they run about 5-6 horus, I take in around 2000 calories for that day.
For maintaining, it's about 1800 calories on a daily basis.

I dont do many prepared food either unless I'm in a hurry, I tend to cook things myself. Healthier for me and my family. I use sparkpeople to journal my food each day and my calories burned. They are free, though you do have to sign up. I only use it for the calculators though, cause they have been the most accurate for me. It's helped a lot.
You are about 5 lbs lighter than I am I see after reading further. A calorie book is great too, you can just look up the amount of calories in certain foods.

The basic forumla is to burn more calories than you use. The BMR and RMR tell you your metabolic rate so you know how many calories a day your body burns on average (which for most people of an average weight (meaning not obese), it's about 1200 calories for your every day bodily functions). So, you automatically burn that just living. Then your goal is to burn at least 500 additional calories a day for loss. So, say you east 1200-1400 calories a day (which is the average amount for those looking to lose weigh who are under 200 lbs for a female). You should burn 500 additional calories a day for weight loss.
Like I said earlier though, I eat at a higher amount as I find that leave me feeling hungry to be that low. If you have been eating 2500-3000 daily, you could safely start off at around 1600-1800 (which is where you are saying), and start losing weight as it will be less than your system is used to.

Sounds like a few of us have some weight loss goals, it's good to be in good company

[jayjay]

Jayjay - One thing to keep in mind (that it sounds like you already are) is that numbers are one thing, reality is something else. Even if you are hitting all the right numbers and doing all the right things, the human body often doesn't cooperate. There are tons of other factors (hormone balance, age, thyroid function, etc) that can influence how easy or difficult weight loss could be for you as an individual. Keep a healthy perspective on what is a reasonable amount of time in which to reach your goals and what is a reasonable weight for YOU. Mark your progress in the development of healthy habits, your improved health, your improved performance and your improved attitude...that way, when the scale or the measurements don't move the way you expect them to, you can remain positive and on track.

You know, I am hearing you loud and clear. The more you wise women respond the more I'm thinking "what was I thinking?!". I think that for now, just wading into the waters of calorie counting is a big step. I am writing everything down in a little notebook on my kitchen worktable, beginning to measure and write down amounts as well as just what, and look at labels closely and try to do the math for a serving if it's on the label> and that's a huge step all in itself, even if I never add up the calories. Thank you so much~ !

I did see a picture of me this weekend taken and I didn't know I look so heavy. I think it's wise for me to be reasonable, but heck, I want to look good too, after all the effort I see this is going to take. I mean, there's got to be a little icing on the cake... sheesh ! Kinda depressed about the mountain I have to climb, metaphorically and literally....

[Tuckervill]

Measuring really helps you keep on track. I bought a scale mainly for pasta -- but once I started measuring everything -- the milk I put in my tea, wine, etc -- I started losing a lot faster.

And Karen -- maple syrup in oatmeal = mmmmm (I like to throw in walnuts and chopped apple too).

(I like it unsweetend with banana and milk too, but my boyfriend finds cooked banana revolting, so when we eat it together...).

Yes, I'll have to stock up on maple syrup when I'm in Vermont in September. We can only get it in tiny little bottles for about $5 a pint...and it's from CANADA.

Karen

[jayjay]

Jayjay, I'm right there with you. I've got 51 lbs still to lose til I get to my goal weight. Slowly but surely getting there.
Yeah, I hate the changing needs thing too. For me, I am on a reduced calorie diet, which has worked well for me for about 2 years now. And on days of long rides, I do up the amount on that day, and just that day. For me, I eat abour 1300-1600 calories a day for average workout days (anything 2 hours or less in duration of mdoerate activity). ON long ride days, since they run about 5-6 horus, I take in around 2000 calories for that day
For maintaining, it's about 1800 calories on a daily basis.

. If you've been eating so few calories for 2 years, you must have lost quite a few pounds !

I dont do many prepared food either unless I'm in a hurry, I tend to cook things myself. Healthier for me and my family. I use sparkpeople to journal my food each day and my calories burned. They are free, though you do have to sign up. I only use it for the calculators though, cause they have been the most accurate for me. It's helped a lot.
You are about 5 lbs lighter than I am I see after reading further. A calorie book is great too, you can just look up the amount of calories in certain foods.

Yes, I need a good calorie book of basic food ingredients rather than long lists of already prepared and fast food stuff. got any tips?

The basic forumla is to burn more calories than you use. The BMR and RMR tell you your metabolic rate so you know how many calories a day your body burns on average (which for most people of an average weight (meaning not obese), it's about 1200 calories for your every day bodily functions). So, you automatically burn that just living. Then your goal is to burn at least 500 additional calories a day for loss. So, say you east 1200-1400 calories a day (which is the average amount for those looking to lose weigh who are under 200 lbs for a female). You should burn 500 additional calories a day for weight loss.
Like I said earlier though, I eat at a higher amount as I find that leave me feeling hungry to be that low. If you have been eating 2500-3000 daily, you could safely start off at around 1600-1800 (which is where you are saying), and start losing weight as it will be less than your system is used to.Sounds like a few of us have some weight loss goals, it's good to be in good company

Thank you so very much. It is all a lot of help!

[Tuckervill]

Kinda depressed about the mountain I have to climb, metaphorically and literally....

You can only climb a mountain one step at a time.

Here's some inspiration. www.littlechanges.com

Karen

[jayjay]

Get a kitchen scale and measure all your servings. Measure all your ingredients, too. I have made a bunch of incremental changes over the last 4 years or so. I've been meaning to take time to list them, because some of them are so ingrained in my life that I don't recall off hand what they were anymore....

Thanks Karen, for all of the tips! I agree with all of them. I am rethinking a little bit, these first days into TheRetroaction back to Fit & Slender, and thinking I need to do more, a lot more, but I really am being picky and choosey. One thing I am implementing is lowering the morning caffeine, because that makes me on edge, quick to fire off, which keeps me in a bad mood, which is harmful to my self esteem, and a higher self esteem is paramount to success in self overhauls.The other I think that is screaming obvious is to religiously take vitamins, and drink more water.
~Jen

ps. I enjoyed reading about Priscilla's journey. I need to have such courage! I'm working on curbing my ridiculous self-consciousness about being fat, and to stop hiding, and to put on the lycra and ride anyway, whiile all of the slim riders pass me up the mtn. That's okay. It may not have been 10 years ago, or even 5, but it is now.

[tulip]

Jayjay, +1 on the caffeine. I let go of coffee a few years back, and I'm calmer and happier and much more patient (with myself and with others).

In my case, I also lost alot of weight when I stopped drinking coffee because I stopped going to Starbucks and stopped having those high-calorie (empty calories) coffee drinks and muffin-cakes. I wonder also if eliminating caffeine also changed my metabolism somehow. I stopped the coffee and the weight just came off without a whole lot of extra effort. I did start eating more fruit, and I was riding my bike alot already. I don't know about the metabolism thing, though. Just a guess.

[Tuckervill]

When I gave up Diet Coke, I gave up much of the caffeine I was used to consuming. Now it's a cup of Earl Gray in the morning, and 1-2 times a week a large unsweetened tea that will probably last me all day.

I don't miss the caffeine, really. I had rapid heart rate sometimes just from the caffeine. I can live without that.

Karen

[redrhodie]

Jayjay, +1 on the caffeine. I let go of coffee a few years back, and I'm calmer and happier and much more patient (with myself and with others).

In my case, I also lost alot of weight when I stopped drinking coffee because I stopped going to Starbucks and stopped having those high-calorie (empty calories) coffee drinks and muffin-cakes. I wonder also if eliminating caffeine also changed my metabolism somehow. I stopped the coffee and the weight just came off without a whole lot of extra effort.

Doesn't sound like the coffee was the culprit! Black coffee, with no fake flavors, has no calories, and won't make you gain weight. Those drinks probably had high fructose corn syrup and other junk in them.

[Pedal Wench]

Jayjay, good luck with this.

I've been trying to drop just a few pounds in the past two months, and I'm amazed at how hard it has been. (everyone who says that as you get older it gets harder, and also, the closer you are to your goal weight, the harder it is)

While doing the research and counting numbers is all good, someone else mentioned just starting to 'eat clean'. Make that a life goal. I just don't eat certain things -- they're not part of my lifestyle. So, no fried stuff, no white bread, no cream sauces, limit cheesy/milky things, no beef, no pork. But, add veggies to each and every meal. Make fruits your snack of choice. Drink lots of teas (decaf) if you don't care for water. It's a quick, easy start

[tulip]

Doesn't sound like the coffee was the culprit! Black coffee, with no fake flavors, has no calories, and won't make you gain weight. Those drinks probably had high fructose corn syrup and other junk in them.

no doubt, and I always had them with those tasty bakery goodies. I don't like black coffee. I do tea now.