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Calorie Counting

Re: Calorie Counting

Just eliminate added sugar. Just be done with it.

I used to drink several pops a day, down a box of junior mints, and god knows what else back in high school. I used to buy all sorts of candy and sickly sweet ****.

I stopped buying pop. I forced myself to like coffee. Buy a water bottle (we like the Nalgene Triton, easily washed and secure) and drink more water.

Learn to like carrots as a snack. Cheap and still semi sweet. I would choke them down at lunch at work from the cafeteria. I used to get a pickle with my sandwich but decided to stop and just have carrots instead. Now I can eat them without dipping sauce.

Don’t even go down the snack aisle. Stay away from dairy if it makes you do bad things. Stop buying butter if you can’t help but bake.

It will be a hellish initial journey. But you eventually lose your sweet tooth. If you can’t do it slowly, start with pop. Never buy a pop again. It’s a step in the right direction.
 
Re: Calorie Counting

Yawn. Another person with good intentions telling me how to eat without knowing the first thing about me, other than I'm a queer from West Michigan who at one time was an amazing endurance athlete.

You don't know that I used to weigh 396 lbs at NMU my first semester. I busted my *** and worked my way down to 265 by the time I graduated in 2006. In that time, there were cookies, ice cream, and plenty of alcohol. We were "relaxed but informed." And I had plenty of good people around me to help.

By December 2007, though, I weighed 200. By 2008, "relaxed, but informed" became very tight gripped. Counted everything, including the lettuce and tomato on my sad little sandwich. Also at that time, I started running 5Ks and working out a lot. At the end of that year, I weighed 165. My old church, when they still loved me, tried to help. I was having none of it.

By 2009, I was involved in endurance without adjusting my calories to meet the demand. After my first 25K, I had a fat free sandwich. It got worse from there. At the 2009 Grand Rapids Marathon, I started GREAT. By mile 23, I was dead, and I crossed the finish line 20 minutes later than I had in mind. At the post race dinner, I was scared to eat. 2010 snapped me out of this lifestyle, because I was sent to the ER with a hemoglobin level of 6, less than half of what it needed to be.

It took time. And I went through a few years of Dietary Purgatory before figuring out what worked for me and for me alone. Right now, I only bake when the mood's upon me. Still surprised I lasted 2 months into Pandemic 2020 without baking anything.

But right now, my mental state is such that I cannot handle another demand placed upon me. Work is hard enough, especially being a substitute technician right now (I fill in when other techs are sick). I'm in physical therapy for my right foot, and the last session made me want to cry in session. My physical strength is all but gone. I'm not the rock star I thought I was in school, and this quarter is pure hell. I have 4 major assignments due soon, and every assignment submitted is basically a prayer to Jesus, Allah, and Buddha. I gave up drinking for the month of May at least because it was interfering with everything. And lately, with the stress of school, pandemic, etc, all I want to do is absolutely murder a bottle of wine (or drink two full glasses of whiskey or vodka).

Right now, the occasional round of baking something is the only comfort I have left. That, and my cat. I've been starved for physical touch and booze is 100% out of the question right now. So no. I can go for stretches without sugar, but when I feel the itch, I'm going to create something. Remember, it was me who gave this board recipes for double chocolate crunchy peanut butter bread and crunchy peanut butter banana bread with dark chocolate chips.

And until you understand that.. you'll be reduced to getting me coffee.
 
Re: Calorie Counting

Seriously. There's no big difference in my appearance two days after my foot surgery (July 4, 2019) and almost a year later. I was told weight gain was to be expected. And holding it to 15-20 lbs over 10, almost 11 months is kind of impressive, considering I've had weight-bearing restrictions most of that time.

Miss Thundercat can always find her way back when she skips too far and loses her way. It's been this way for awhile. And everyone who offers their unsolicited advice is sent out to bring her back coffee and an Everything bagel. She could eat them, but that's too much...
 
Re: Calorie Counting

I didn’t think he was being rude or condescending by offering advice. Humans will tend to share advice that’s worked for them. It’s human nature.

I’m sure he’ll never do it again .
 
Re: Calorie Counting

Sorry. Didn’t mean to come off as preachy.

I actually do know about your past. I actually followed your posts over the years hoping some day I could make the same journey and lose weight. Recently, I did. I found what worked for me. I’m excited about it and want to share. Even though I went a different route, mostly through changes in eating habits and not going down the marathon route. I also knew of your swing to the other side of the spectrum and I used it as a warning to myself to be very careful how I lose weight. I tried changing my food and exercise habits because of the fitness threads you would post in.

My path was different and didn’t involve as much exercise as your original efforts did. It was my relationship with food that changed. It was a lot of work but it was successful. I was hoping to try to return the favor, not judge or condescend. Maybe my success would help you gain some new success if you aren’t able to exercise like you used to.

So, I’m sorry if I came off the wrong way.
 
Re: Calorie Counting

Today, I went to Meijer for some odds and ends. Picked up almond butter (they didn't have any crunchy PB), AHA sparkling water, a couple cans of Death Wish Cold Brew, and Izze juice.

For right now, I think what I'll have to do is lay off baking again for awhile (unless it's pizza dough or homemade bread), and really emphasize protein, fiber, and water-flavored water and coffee-flavored coffee. Lattes/mocha put me to sleep.

Also, lately, I've been so stressed and so tired that what workouts I can do are falling by the wayside. If I can get back to 5-6 days a week of 30-60 minutes of purposeful activity, I should be good. Even if I have to do it at 8:30-9 PM.
 
Re: Calorie Counting

Picked up a scale and checked this morning: 234.4. Not terrible, but I think I can get to 230 by the end of next month.

1. Limit myself to coffee (AM), maybe a cup of good decaf in the afternoon, and either water or sparkling water the rest of the day. I discovered LaCroix/Bubly is an excellent replacement for pop and alcohol. I like Izze sparkling juice, but even then, whole fruit is better than juice.

2. More protein and fiber. Since I'm in charge of grocery shopping, this should be easy. For example, there is a 4.5 lb leg of lamb in my fridge, and it's a Sunday project.

3. Whole grain baking. Make my own whole wheat breads and pizza doughs at least.

4. Bake for co-workers and church, but really limit for myself.

5. Try more vegetable based "pasta" dishes. I loved my butternut squash lasagna. But next up is a sweet potato lasagna, if I can do it right.

6. On June 1, try a small amount of alcohol when I get home from work. Then again, I might not. Sober Amber Marie feels pretty good.
 
226. But I have to ask how much of that is waste and how much of that is muscle. Also debating whether to stop at 215 or try for a leaner 200.

But the good news is, I've upped the fiber (lots of Brussels, whole grains, and sweet potatoes), upped the protein, and have been drinking much more water.
 
I also got a yearly subscription to Beachbody on Demand. All their workouts in one place, and I'm still doing things like TurboFire and Chalean Extreme. I found out you can follow a hybrid Chalean/TurboFire schedule.
 
I do count calories and macros because I tend to overeat. I make sure I’m always honest about my food when I put it in MFP! I’m only lying to myself! Personally I need to as I am cannot eat intuitively! So I’m the beginning I actually gained 6kg. I'm taking Canada Drugs fish oil to have better metabolism
 
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Down to 222. Ended up taking dx's advice for the most part and cut WAY back on sugar. I have stevia in my coffee in the morning, cane sugar if I'm being fancy, but that's about it. While I do have some fall baking projects lined up, most of those are going out to friends, my workplace, and my girlfriend.
 
MissThundercat said:
Down to 222. Ended up taking dx's advice for the most part and cut WAY back on sugar. I have stevia in my coffee in the morning, cane sugar if I'm being fancy, but that's about it. While I do have some fall baking projects lined up, most of those are going out to friends, my workplace, and my girlfriend.
Click to expand...

If you're interested, though it's on the expensive side of things, monk fruit is also a good sugar substitute. It comes in a couple varieties, defined by the color. I don't really know if the colors impact the taste. Some people don't like it because it gives a bit of a fruity taste to things. I like it because I use it to make whipped cream that I then use to top fresh blackberries and raspberries.

To that end, I'm also on a low carb diet, my wife calls it "dirty keto." I put on a lot of weight the past couple years due to the fact that I'm a stress eater and I did just that between planning a giant wedding, then my wife had a series of doctor visits/issues, a surgery, and then we had a baby. All added up, I added 90lbs since 2017. At any rate, since February, I've taken off about half of the pounds I added with the decision that I'm not eating myself into an early grave.

The nice thing about this diet is that I've been baking frozen pizzas once or twice per week, and then tossing the crust while eating the rest. Sunflower seeds in the shell have helped curb snacking desires; they really slow the eating process as I almost ritualistically crack the shells to get at the kernel.
 
I also want to get down to 210 before my breast augmentation. Also, while I'm eating better, I've noticed depression and lethargy have killed my workout discipline. Try to get up in the morning to do ANYTHING, and my mind is like "F this, let's watch Fleabag."
 
Resurrecting this thread:

Got down to 212 before my augmentation.

After my augmentation, went back to 221.

Was rehired at Meijer, where I basically walk a 2-3 miles 5 days a week and lift heavy stuff (let's face it, two 15 minute breaks and a lunch isn't time to eat a lot either).

Got back to eating mostly healthy stuff and purposeful workouts, and and am currently sitting at 203.

If not for my right foot, I feel I could go back to marathon training next week.
 
You are not going to lose a significant amount of weight by balancing your macronutrients. In general, ketogenic (very low carb) diets result in faster short term weight loss, but in my own personal opinion they're not as sustainable for the average person.
 
If you need to do something super quick, a big can of baked beans and some coffee will help you lose 5 lbs in a few hours at least.
 
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