General Weight Loss Support Thread

Emmaline81

I weigh everything.. and I mean every thing!
I also use MFP but when searching for something.. for instance avocados.. I first look at the nutrition values that have been entered, do my own online research (usually Tesco), check that against the MFP entry and whenever necessary change the entry especially as I keep an account of my sodium intake due to high blood pressure, and the sodium is hardly ever entered anyway.
It is time consuming at first but I have been doing this for quite some time so it is easy-peasy now for me. I keep my kitchen scales on my worktop all the time.

Today I had a bacon sandwich and when I had finished I hadn't eaten all of the bread so I weighed that and deducted it from my entry. Plus 6g Daddies sauce - 7 cals + 3 carbs.. and in my tea I had a little bit of sugar (3g) so that's another 11 cals and 3 carbs.. it all mounts up and especially important as my weight is SOO difficult to shift with me being disabled, on quite a lot of meds and calorie intake set at 1300 per day.

Faith

I hit the stone mark today . It's an arbitrary number, but it feels great mentally! I'm 54% of the way to my goal weight. I have been on this journey for 92 days (so close to a 100 day streak on MyFitnessPal!) and it's mad to think that I could be at my goal weight in another 92 days! Continuing at an average loss of 1lb per week, I'd be there my mid-November

When I get disheartened or frustrated, I just keep reminding myself that the time is going to pass anyway. I'd rather watch what I eat every day and be at my goal weight at Christmas, than eat whatever I want and be sad and unhappy with my body at Christmas. It's very much one day one bite at a time!

Bananaleaf

Faith wrote: »

I hit the stone mark today . It's an arbitrary number, but it feels great mentally! I'm 54% of the way to my goal weight. I have been on this journey for 92 days (so close to a 100 day streak on MyFitnessPal!) and it's mad to think that I could be at my goal weight in another 92 days! Continuing at an average loss of 1lb per week, I'd be there my mid-November

When I get disheartened or frustrated, I just keep reminding myself that the time is going to pass anyway. I'd rather watch what I eat every day and be at my goal weight at Christmas, than eat whatever I want and be sad and unhappy with my body at Christmas. It's very much one day one bite at a time!

Wow - congratulations! 1lb per week is what I'm acheiving at the moment.

To be honest it will soon become a case of this being the way you want it to be. I used to struggle when out especially, oh I can't have that cake or that burger. I started educating myself on the content of foods (via my fitness pal mostly - it's brilliant!) and now when I see them all I see are those awful ingredients that I want to avoid and now I'm at the stage where I honestly wouldn't go near it if it were given to me for free.

Great progress - congratulations!

Bananaleaf

Emmaline81 wrote: »

I weigh everything.. and I mean every thing!
I also use MFP but when searching for something.. for instance avocados.. I first look at the nutrition values that have been entered, do my own online research (usually Tesco), check that against the MFP entry and whenever necessary change the entry especially as I keep an account of my sodium intake due to high blood pressure, and the sodium is hardly ever entered anyway.
It is time consuming at first but I have been doing this for quite some time so it is easy-peasy now for me. I keep my kitchen scales on my worktop all the time.

Today I had a bacon sandwich and when I had finished I hadn't eaten all of the bread so I weighed that and deducted it from my entry. Plus 6g Daddies sauce - 7 cals + 3 carbs.. and in my tea I had a little bit of sugar (3g) so that's another 11 cals and 3 carbs.. it all mounts up and especially important as my weight is SOO difficult to shift with me being disabled, on quite a lot of meds and calorie intake set at 1300 per day.

If you are using MFP with your smart phone you can scan the barcodes to get the exact content of the food you are eating, then weigh. Apologies if I'm stating the obvious

Faith

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Wow - congratulations! 1lb per week is what I'm acheiving at the moment.

To be honest it will soon become a case of this being the way you want it to be. I used to struggle when out especially, oh I can't have that cake or that burger. I started educating myself on the content of foods (via my fitness pal mostly - it's brilliant!) and now when I see them all I see are those awful ingredients that I want to avoid and now I'm at the stage where I honestly wouldn't go near it if it were given to me for free.

Great progress - congratulations!

Thank you . I have just taken the approach of "have it but eat less". So I'll order the burger but I'll eat it with a knife and fork so I can leave out most of the bun. Or I'll order fish while my OH orders the fried chicken - a bite or two of his satisfies my craving for something 'bad', while my meal remains healthy. I don't tend to order dessert these days, but that's mostly because, where I live at the moment, waiters don't offer it unless you ask about it. If I wanted it, I think I'd get it and share it with my husband.

I went to a macaron-making class at the weekend and came home with ~40 macarons. Rather than horsing into them as I wanted to, I put them in the freezer and I'm limiting myself to one or two a day at most.

I don't think I'll ever reach a stage in life where I genuinely don't want the things that are bad for me, so I think my best shot at long-term success is just to learn to limit my intake and to stop eating when I'm satisfied .

jokettle

Faith wrote: »

I don't think I'll ever reach a stage in life where I genuinely don't want the things that are bad for me, so I think my best shot at long-term success is just to learn to limit my intake and to stop eating when I'm satisfied .

I'm the exact same. Myself and my boyfriend both started losing weight in January, but we've always kept bars of nice fancy chocolate in the house. Every night after dinner we have dessert - one square each of the fancy stuff! It satisfies a craving, means we don't feel deprived, and because we're both aware of calorie counts we're not tempted to binge and eat the whole thing.

Ilyana 2.0

I couldn't live without little treats every now and then, I'd end up cracking and eating rings around myself. Last weekend I had a craving for pizza so I had a small Dominos with a thin crust. No sides and no Coke, as I would have had six months ago. It killed the craving without being too calorific or filling.

Dolbert

I've switched from a low-fat diet (Slimming World) to a low-sugar, moderate carb intake and added back some full-fat products and feel so much the better for it. Where I found myself constantly starving before, I'm now only hungry at mealtimes and that's it! I suspect that I'm highly insulin-sensitive as I put on all of my weight around the middle. It's not full keto or anything close and I will have a treat now and again, just cut sugars and white carbs where possible. I've been using MFP this week and reaching my generous 1500 calories most days. Lost 3lb this week after being stuck for ages!

Bananaleaf

Dolbert wrote: »

I've switched from a low-fat diet (Slimming World) to a low-sugar, moderate carb intake and added back some full-fat products and feel so much the better for it. Where I found myself constantly starving before, I'm now only hungry at mealtimes and that's it! I suspect that I'm highly insulin-sensitive as I put on all of my weight around the middle. It's not full keto or anything close and I will have a treat now and again, just cut sugars and white carbs where possible. I've been using MFP this week and reaching my generous 1500 calories most days. Lost 3lb this week after being stuck for ages!

Its funny you say 'generous 1500' When I started calorie counting I thought I would die on 1500. I've now pretty much reached my ideal weight and am on 1500 cals per day. I have one refeed day per week where I eat 1900 calories and I can't get them into me! It just seems impossible.

Dolbert

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Its funny you say 'generous 1500' When I started calorie counting I thought I would die on 1500. I've now pretty much reached my ideal weight and am on 1500 cals per day. I have one refeed day per week where I eat 1900 calories and I can't get them into me! It just seems impossible.

It's pretty much the max I can eat and still lose unfortunately! But I was starving sticking to 1500 on a low-fat diet.

uncle_sam_ie

Dolbert wrote: »

I've switched from a low-fat diet (Slimming World) to a low-sugar, moderate carb intake and added back some full-fat products and feel so much the better for it. Where I found myself constantly starving before, I'm now only hungry at mealtimes and that's it! I suspect that I'm highly insulin-sensitive as I put on all of my weight around the middle. It's not full keto or anything close and I will have a treat now and again, just cut sugars and white carbs where possible. I've been using MFP this week and reaching my generous 1500 calories most days. Lost 3lb this week after being stuck for ages!

I'm doing a bit similar for almost a year now. No sugar, low carbs(just leafy veg or veg grown above the ground) and a very small bit of fruit(an apple a day), very high fat, moderate protein from meats/fish/eggs and very little dairy(bit of cheese). Absolutely nothing processed.
At the start I measured a 44 inch beer belly gut. There's no beer gut now and I'm measuring 32 inches. I never feel hungry or have sugar cravings. A few thing I've noticed is my skin is not dry anymore and the puffy bags under my eyes are gone and my hair is much healthier. To add also, I'm doing ZERO exercise.
At age 49 it's been life changing for me.

Bananaleaf

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

I'm doing a bit similar for almost a year now. No sugar, low carbs(just leafy veg or veg grown above the ground) and a very small bit of fruit(an apple a day), very high fat, moderate protein from meats/fish/eggs and very little dairy(bit of cheese). Absolutely nothing processed.
At the start I measured a 44 inch beer belly gut. There's no beer gut now and I'm measuring 32 inches. I never feel hungry or have sugar cravings. A few thing I've noticed is my skin is not dry anymore and the puffy bags under my eyes are gone and my hair is much healthier. To add also, I'm doing ZERO exercise.
At age 49 it's been life changing for me.

Wow - congratulations - that is very impressive progress for one year.

Just one question - is high fat not bad? I have heard a lot of people saying no but I don't really get it. And I know what you mean by high fat (I think) - we're talking avocados, nuts, nut butters, that kind of thing. The 'healthy fats' - but I don't really get it. I know it's a myth I need to forget but I just can't shake the idea that 'fat' is bad

Dtp1979

Just remind yourself...eating fat dosent make you fat. It's not as if you eat a piece of fat and it transfers itself onto your tummy

uncle_sam_ie

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Wow - congratulations - that is very impressive progress for one year.

Just one question - is high fat not bad? I have heard a lot of people saying no but I don't really get it. And I know what you mean by high fat (I think) - we're talking avocados, nuts, nut butters, that kind of thing. The 'healthy fats' - but I don't really get it. I know it's a myth I need to forget but I just can't shake the idea that 'fat' is bad

Fat meaning animal fat, butter, cream, coconut oil,avocados, a little olive oil. Fat that I definitely won't go near is trans fats. No milk although, I was drinking raw milk for awhile. I don't think my fat intake is high enough to get keto adapted but it's close. Getting into Ketosis has not really been the goal.
Is fat bad for you? I've done my own research and don't believe it is. But, I'll leave that for others to debate. It's working for me away.

Michellenman

Hi all, I'm new around these parts

A bit of back story is that for the last 2.5 years I feel like I've been constantly on a diet but inevitably falling off at the weekends or on holidays and never really getting anywhere with weight loss. About 5 years ago I lost around 23lbs in a couple of months through really unhealthy means, it's terrible to say but I've never felt better about myself and my self confidence was through the roof Of course, Over the next couple of years I put it all back on again. I like to say that it started as a 'relationship weight' ie when you start seeing someone new and all you do is eat out and go for drinks but four years later it's still hanging around :
:rolleyes:

I have been using my fitness pal on and off for years but started back about a month ago and have been using it to track everything for about a month now which is the longest I've ever been on a streak for! So far ive lost 7.2lbs, my goal is 30lbs in total in time for being a bridesmaid next April. I'm trying to set out non food related rewards for every half stone I lose, yesterday I got a hair cut and curly blow dry, the next half stone gone *should* be around the time of my birthday in October so I'm thinking of investing in a Fitbit This is a big change for me, before a reward for losing weight was getting a take away... The irony is not lost on me hahah.

I've also enlisted an online personal trainer for a 12 week plan and she gives me home workouts three days a week and I try to get out for a long walk/jog or a cycle on two other days. The plan also has a nutritionist on hand to answer any questions. The nutrionist set out my calories limits and macros which I find so handy and I honestly feel like I never stop eating which is nice!

Anyway, just posting here so I have a little bit more accountability. Looking forward to getting to know you all! I had a quick read of the last 10 pages or so and seeing all your successes is inspirational. I weigh in on a Friday morning, here's hoping for another loss this week!

Faith

Hey missus! Nice to see you here . I started a new MFP account - I must add you! Our plans sound very similar . I reward myself every 6lbs on average, and I'm currently aiming for a 26lb loss (14 down!). I find maintaining a streak on MFP has been really helpful. This is the first time I have used it consistently, and not just thought "ah, today was a bad day, I won't bother logging". I'm on 97 days now!!

Konata

I've been doing pretty good myself, just keeping things nice and consistent and I'm down 6lbs so far. I was in hospital this week and have a wound that will limit any exercise for the next wee while so I'm just focusing on the food for the moment. Feeling super motivated right now all the same though!

Michellenman

Faith wrote: »

Hey missus! Nice to see you here . I started a new MFP account - I must add you! Our plans sound very similar . I reward myself every 6lbs on average, and I'm currently aiming for a 26lb loss (14 down!). I find maintaining a streak on MFP has been really helpful. This is the first time I have used it consistently, and not just thought "ah, today was a bad day, I won't bother logging". I'm on 97 days now!!

Hi I can't hide what I look like in pics from you so I'm counting on you to keep me in check ok?!:D

14 out of 26 is amazing! Do you mind me asking how long it's taken? 97 days is incredible too btw. My next big streak is to get to 50. I missed a day a couPle of weeks ago so I'm back to 15 now

I'm like yourself and eat out a lot, now since I started on mfp properly I'm making 18 out of 21 of my weekly meals at home so tracking hasn't been too much of a problem. How do you track it though for meals out? Just guesstimate? I had a calorie deficit of about 3800 last week knowing I was going out for dinner and drinks last night so I estimated about 1800 calls for two course meal and drinks but for all I really know if could have been double that...

Do add me back in mfp! Myself and two other friends are doing this together on mfp at the moment and the support is what's keeping us all going I think!
Anyone else that wants to add me On it just pm me, I keep my diary open for friends and love getting ideas for meals from other people too

Faith

The 14lbs has been since the beginning of the streak. My floors are hardwood and my scale is unreliable due to the bit of unevenness, so it could really be a couple of lbs either way. It's a little under 1lb a week overall, which is slow, but steady (especially considering how often I eat out!). Generally, I manage maybe 4 good days in a week, and 3 okay-to-bad ones .

For tracking meals out, I just guesstimate as best as I can. I'm probably underestimating in a lot of cases (hard to account for sneaky ingredients like butter) but it seems to be okay. If I think the calories may be too low, I increase the portion size (like entering 1.5 cups of mashed potatoes, rather than 1, if I suspect there's lots of butter. No good if you're tracking macros but I don't bother). I have also just tried to make slightly healthier choices - like yesterday I had Spanish omelette and salad for brunch, rather than chicken and waffles. I make himself order the bad things and I have a tiny bite of his to satisfy my cravings .

Penny Tration

I've been having a decent couple of weeks. Lost 1.5lbs two weeks ago, and 2lbs last week. Weighing again on Wednesday. I dunno if I'll lose this week because I've been working crazy shifts in a new job and surviving off of coffee and paninis, but we'll see I'm 8lbs off a mini target I set myself, with 4 weeks left to hit it. I think I can do that

Dolbert

Down another 4 today, that's 7lb in 10 days :eek: Clearly reducing sugar and increasing fat is working for my body, I've been waaay less hungry too! I missed chocolate the last few days so I picked up a bar of Freeist sugar-free milk chocolate. I was very pleasantly surprised as not only is it nice chocolate, it didn't upset my stomach like polyols usually do (though I only had a couple of squares)!

Faith

I'm feeling quite disheartened today. I'm in the middle of a long distance move, and I'm back in my parents' house for a couple of weeks. I stood on my old bathroom scale today and it had me up a couple of pounds . I doubt I have changed weight too significantly over the last few days. Despite the turmoil and travel, I have been logging as best I can, so the only real explanation is that one of the scales is incorrect. My old scales was very variable, due to uneven hardwood floors, but this current scales is on flat tile. I suspect that it's my old scale that was giving me a lower reading than it should have . I updated my weight in Happy Scale, and then had to delete the entry because it looked so bad .

Unless anyone has read any scientific studies about air travel making you retain water...?

Alf Veedersane

Faith wrote: »

I'm feeling quite disheartened today. I'm in the middle of a long distance move, and I'm back in my parents' house for a couple of weeks. I stood on my old bathroom scale today and it had me up a couple of pounds . I doubt I have changed weight too significantly over the last few days. Despite the turmoil and travel, I have been logging as best I can, so the only real explanation is that one of the scales is incorrect. My old scales was very variable, due to uneven hardwood floors, but this current scales is on flat tile. I suspect that it's my old scale that was giving me a lower reading than it should have . I updated my weight in Happy Scale, and then had to delete the entry because it looked so bad .

Unless anyone has read any scientific studies about air travel making you retain water...?

My wife weighs herself on the scales in her home place when she goes down and here as well. There's always a reasonable difference. I can calibrate ours to a degree (it's always weight my 12kg kettlebell at 11.7kg) so i weigh that first to make sure it's reading correctly as it happens to move up 1.3kg higher from time to time.

Different scales are likely to read differently. If your earing hasn't changed much, I wouldn't worry about it

Dolbert

*step away from the scales klaxon*

Okay, first off, scales fluctuate. I'm a good half a stone lighter on my parents' one! Say your parents scales are correct and yours are wrong - the worst case scenario is that the number on the scale is a couple of pounds more than you thought. Your weight hasn't changed, your reading/perception of it has! You've still lost the same amount of weight, you still have made those changes, try not to lose sight of that and for the love of God keep to the same set of scales :P

Alf Veedersane

Dolbert wrote: »

*step away from the scales klaxon*

Okay, first off, scales fluctuate. I'm a good half a stone lighter on my parents' one! Say your parents scales are correct and yours are wrong - the worst case scenario is that the number on the scale is a couple of pounds more than you thought. Your weight hasn't changed, your reading/perception of it has! You've still lost the same amount of weight, you still have made those changes, try not to lose sight of that and for the love of God keep to the same set of scales :P

I wish I could thank this more than once.

Faith

Thanks so much folks! I'm definitely ruled by the reading on the scale . It's a bad habit that I really need to break! I feel much better now though

hardCopy

Faith wrote: »

I'm feeling quite disheartened today. I'm in the middle of a long distance move, and I'm back in my parents' house for a couple of weeks. I stood on my old bathroom scale today and it had me up a couple of pounds . I doubt I have changed weight too significantly over the last few days. Despite the turmoil and travel, I have been logging as best I can, so the only real explanation is that one of the scales is incorrect. My old scales was very variable, due to uneven hardwood floors, but this current scales is on flat tile. I suspect that it's my old scale that was giving me a lower reading than it should have . I updated my weight in Happy Scale, and then had to delete the entry because it looked so bad .

Unless anyone has read any scientific studies about air travel making you retain water...?

There's no way to know which one is more "accurate" since neither of them has likely ever been calibrated. If you want to know what you really weigh, ask these guys: http://www.nsai.ie/Our-Services/Measurement/Calibration-Services.aspx

If the successful habits that put you on a downward trend have continued then it's likely you're still losing. If you're still eating well, your clothes still look and feel good then just assume your parents' scale weighs heavier and next week you'll be slightly down on their scale.

newcar2016

Bit annoyed to see I have gained 0.3kg from 71.5kg to 71.8kg (works out at BMI 22.7) since yesterday, so almost a pound.

I tracked calories and it came out at 1887 calories.
I am 30 and assuming 72kg this would put my basal metabolic rate at 1738 calories.
I walked/jogged 10km yesterday and also did a reasonably intensive 45 minutes conditioning class in the gym.

So I don't understand how I could have gained weight:pac:

Although the calories consumed were not as healthy as usual - 520 of them came from having four penguin bars.

EllieK2

newcar2016 wrote: »

Bit annoyed to see I have gained 0.3kg from 71.5kg to 71.8kg (works out at BMI 22.7) since yesterday, so almost a pound.

I tracked calories and it came out at 1887 calories.
I am 30 and assuming 72kg
I walked/jogged 10km yesterday and also did a reasonably intensive 45 minutes conditioning class in the gym.

So I don't understand how I could have gained weight:pac:

Although the calories consumed were not as healthy as usual - 520 of them came from having four penguin bars.

300 grams fluctuation from day to day is nothing to worry about, especially if you're tracking it by using a scale. If you're looking for real accuracy when using a scale, weigh yourself every day at the same time for 2 weeks and make an average. That's your real weight.

If you drink 0.5l water you're going to "weigh" 0.5kg more. That's why the scale sucks.

Alf Veedersane

Day to day fluctuations won't necessarily give an accurate picture. The weight could be water.