Hello everyone

Ok so this is my story so far. I've only been a forum member for a week. I post in the 200 club thread, after looking at other threads I came across this weight loss diary. As I type this I am asking myself am I ready to admit to the world all my sinful eating habits in order to be completely honest so that I can move ahead and become the person I know I can be?

The answer must be a resounding yes, otherwise I know I'll never make the change. So my statistics are:

Height: 5ft 6in
Highest weight: 110kg/242lb
Current weight: 99kg/218lb
Goal weight: 60kg/132lb

I'll reappraise my goal weight when I get to 65kg/143lb. I've managed to lose a Kg in the past week, mainly due to doing cardio workouts. My biggest weight loss hurdle to climb is emotional eating and overeating!! Also, I don't think I've ever met a carbohydrate that I didn't like I have never kept a food journal or counted calories, probably because I didn't want to acknowledge I actually over ate ( though the size 22 dress should have been a dead giveaway)

So, my diary will consist of everything that goes into my mouth otherwise I'll become that ostrich again, sticking her head in the sand! I will keep an exercise journal as well. Please, I welcome any suggestions, especially where you might see I could be doing better

I'll finish this post with a little personal information. I am 44, have a 6 yr old girl and a 4 yr old boy. My husband is a darling however he is my total opposite! He is tall and thin, can eat whatever he likes and sees food as just a means of providing fuel for the body He supports me in my weight loss, but sometimes its just not the same as sharing with a group of people who are going through the same thing as yourself. The first thing I want to get under control is PORTION SIZE! So any ideas to achieve this would be great.

Anyway, I've rambled on far to long. Have a good weekend everyone.
P.

Welcome! Congrats on that steady weight loss so far. What do you like to do for cardio?

Sarah

Wow, I felt about the same way. You can probably tell from my sig quote that I feel strongly about acknowledging what is going on in order to begin to change. I am so glad for you that you have taken resposibility for your weight and begun to change it!

I started the same way you are starting - just becoming accountable for what I was eating and how much I was moving. I suggest spending a week or two just writing down everything you eat, eating what you normally eat, but cutting down the size when you can. As you write things down, maybe begin to look at the calories in some of your foods, just to get an idea what some of the big ticket items are and where you could make alternate choices. After a couple of weeks of this, you will be a LOT more familiar with exactly how much you are eating and that, to me, is the best first step!

I moved on to counting calories after about three weeks, mostly because I was looking them up anyway and I like the math. I was amazed to see how many calories were in things I thought were no big deal. Anyway, I know that is not for everyone, but it sure has worked for me. I wish you the best in whatever plan you pursue!

Oye !! Welcome to the diary world.

I'm proud of your decision to come in here and share with us. I love the fact that people are willing to tell their stories because it means they're ready to deal with the situation in front of them. It's just a matter of putting the wheels in motion - which you've already done.

Stay true to your goal and it shall be so !!

aussiechick, Glad you started a diary. I can totally relate to you except I don't think there is any food I don't like as long as its bad for you.

Chip

ac, welcome to the wonderful world of "dieting" journals! Here you will find all the support and ideas you will ever need... now on to the good stuff! LOL HI! Glad to see you started a journal
As for portion size, use your hand. Protein should be about palm size, carbs and veggies roughly the same (you can go to www.smallstep.gov and you will find all sorts of ideas for portion control). Hope that helps

Have a great day!

Just a quick post to thankyou for your welcoming words.

BizeB thankyou for the link to get info on portion control. I found it very interesting and helpful.

SarahPT - My cardio workout at the moment consists of elliptical trainer, treadmill and bike. Having said that, the past week I've done mainly treadmill and bike. I've had two sessions with a personal trainer at the gym and have a cardio and weights program to follow. By the end of the week I should be back to a session of :

20 min elliptical
20 min treadmill
20 min bike

This week my goal is to do 3 x weight sessions.

I'll post food intake later tonight. Hopefully if I do it straight after evening meal I won't be tempted to snack throughout the night! BTW nice to see some familiar names in this thread.

P.

Welcome, Aussiechick!

I never have really counted calories either. The last couple weeks for me have left me a little shell shocked, but I am gaining a lot of knowledge about food and what "1 portion" actually looks like. I'm doing really well and I think you will too. There is a lot of support here. I'm trying to think like your husband

OK, so I said I was going to journal everything that went into my mouth, this is going to be hard to admit to , so here I go , taking a deep breath......

Breakfast
3 small rashers 97% fat free bacon (grilled);3 slices tomato, 1 mushroom (grilled);poached egg; 2 slices toast and 1 coffee with skim milk.

Morning Tea
Apple

Lunch
2 handfuls chips (fries);capuccino w/full fat milk

Dinner
2 large bowls beef stew;3 large marshmallows;10 chips (fries);apple and orange.

After dinner snacking:
2 slices raisin toast, hot chocolate (skim milk)
2 party pies (small savoury meat pies).

Exercise: 2km walk, actually really a stroll with children.
I can see my problem today was not planning my meals and therefore not making a healthy choice for lunch while out with kids. I also need to incorporate a substantial afternoon tea. I've got to get my after dinner snacking under control.

Food goal this week: eat more fruit and add more vegetables to lunch and dinner.

My water intake is never any problem at least 2litres today.

Whooooooooooosh.....there's that deep breath exhaling

Try taking one day a week to cook up some lean meat and cut up vegetables to keep in containers in the fridge so you can just make a salad, a wrap or whatever when you don't feel like thinking or cooking. That is really helping me a lot. Today is another day....don't fret about what you ate yesterday.

Was the Marshmallows roasted over an open flame? Mmmmm..I love those.

You are doing some great learning! One thing I have discovered is that fries are almost never worth it. I don't know if you have McDonald's and Arby's (a roast beef place) there, but here is what I found...

One regular hamburger at McDonald's has 260 calories. A small order of fries has 250 calories. The burger has protein, is not deep fried, and is more satisfying than the fries. So, if you are going to have just one, have the burger - just not the really big burger slathered in mayonnaise!

At Arby's, the regular roast beef has 330 calories. A medium curly fries has 406 calories and a medium homestyle fries has 377! The sandwich has protein, is roasted - not fried, and is the much more satisfying choice!

I was making bad choices all over the place before I started looking up calories. Once you armed with some knowledge, you can choose better and more filling items when you go out and never be hungry at all!

Breakfast
Small tin baked beans;2 slices multigrain toast;coffee

Morning Tea
Grilled avocado, tomato & mushroom toast (1);apple; coffee

Lunch
Lettuce, tomato & avocado s/w

Afternoon Tea
Lettuce & salmon(small tin) s/w; tea

Dinner
Savoury mince with vegetables ie. broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrot and sweet potato.
Low fat custard and fruit salad.

No snacking after evening meal, yeah!

Ramblings
Mmmmmm...now let me see, it looks like I'm eating a lot of bread. I just find a s/w so convenient to eat. The bread is multigrain with no butter etc. I do spread a little avocado on the s/w instead. The children are on 2 weeks school holiday at the moment so I have a different routine. Usually around lunchtime we're at a park or walking path so a s/w is easy to pack for lunch. It stops me getting the munchies and eating the dreaded hot chips!

Thanks for the fries info twinmom. Today we're going to the cinema and then MacD's, its a holiday treat for the kids. I certainly won't be eating any fries!

Exercise today: 2.5km treadmill: 10km bike

Goal for tomorrow: eat 1 more piece of fruit, 1 less piece of bread.

P.

To turn you completely off of mc donald's fries completely.. Generally it's smell that is so intoxicating and makes you want to eat the fries... That smell... isn't natural... it's completely manufactured in a factory located along the NJ Turnpike and sprayed on the fries... (Anyone who's familiar wiht the nj turnpike - it's the place that gives NJ a bad reputatation -- but it's nothig but spewing smoke stacks, oil refineries and other stinkholes... ) the smell of the french fries is also made there..

This bit of info was gleaned from the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, if you haven't read the book, it's definitely a must read - you will never want to go near Mickey D's again

maleficent, Sounds great I'll have McDonalds for dinner.

Chip

they also go into graphic detail in the book about how cows are slaughtered