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chubbin_with_my_muffin
New Member
| Joined: | 7 Sep 2011 |
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| Posts: | 11 |
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Posted: 27 Sep 2011 03:18 pm |
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So, I'm taking this diet thing in a baby steps kind of mindset. In august I was very gung ho for about 3 weeks, then my first semester of college started, and I was thrown off track for another 2 or 3 weeks. Two weeks ago, I dusted myself off and got back on the wagon, this time with a new realization that I'm going to have to take this in manageable steps that I can work around my busy schedule. I've decided to do this in the form of weekly goals.
The first week my goals were to 1. cut my soda/energy drink/sugary coffee consumption from 7-10 per week (1 or 2 every day) down to 5 per week. 2. Run 3 miles total.
This last week my first goal did not change, but I added one mile for a total of 4 this week.
Since my weeks start on thursday, I need to decide if I'm going to keep this week's goal, or add another challenge, such as increasing my fruits and veggies, or adding a strength training workout...
Relevant notes: 1. My goal from this week has required enough effort to be a mild challenge, but has been very achievable. 2. Time is a huge constraint on adding exercise. I'm in college full time and work around 30 hours per week, plus I volunteer 5 hours per month with a non-profit in my community that I hope to have the opportunity to work for post-college. 3. My ideal timeline for my goal weight loss (40 lbs) is a year or less. However, I'm not SUPER concerned with how long this takes so much as that I'm building habits that keep it off permanently once it's gone.
I guess I'm really asking two questions:
Should I be making stronger changes yet?
In the future, how will I know its time to up the challenge?
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grangers710
New Member
| Joined: | 22 Dec 2010 |
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| Posts: | 288 |
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Posted: 27 Sep 2011 03:22 pm |
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| most important question: how many calories are you consuming a day?
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chubbin_with_my_muffin
New Member
| Joined: | 7 Sep 2011 |
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| Posts: | 11 |
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Posted: 27 Sep 2011 03:30 pm |
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I'm not 100% sure for each day, but an educated guess from past calorie counting (I was an obsessed counter for years in high school) would put me at around 2,000 - 2,200 per day. Which I entirely plan on lowering incrementally. But I don't really count calories anymore because of how time consuming it is and the "Diet is the only thing I can concentrate on" mindset it puts me in. My life is just too full to be that focused on every bite right now.
Added note: Plus, I want to be making changes that I can keep literally for the rest of my life. Dear god, I do not want to be counting calories for the next 50 years....
Last edited on 27 Sep 2011 03:32 pm by chubbin_with_my_muffin
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grangers710
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| Joined: | 22 Dec 2010 |
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| Posts: | 288 |
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Posted: 27 Sep 2011 03:36 pm |
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| I have bad news for ya. You might not want to "count" calories , but you will need to be aware of them for the rest of your life. Maintenance is almost more work than cutting. If you need to lose weight, the diet is 99.9% of that battle, not your exercise. A diet only mindset is what you need.
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chubbin_with_my_muffin
New Member
| Joined: | 7 Sep 2011 |
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| Posts: | 11 |
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Posted: 27 Sep 2011 04:58 pm |
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There is a difference between being aware of the caloric affect of your diet and counting every calorie. I firmly believe you can do one without the other. After all, there are plenty of people in the world who don't live by their food journals.
I'm also aware that, sure, "ideally" I would be counting every calorie, and measuring out 30% of protein, fat, and carbs each, and I'd be eating veggies every single meal and all of that. But what I mean by I can't have a "Diet only" mentality, I mean diet is not the only thing in my life I'm focusing on right now. Huge, drastic, insanely complicated lifestyle changes that take loads of time and planning -- not something I can realistically tackle right now.
I'm working on being more aware and changing what and how much I eat in a way that doesn't require 10 minutes and calculator every time I take a bite of something. For example, changing out your daily donut for an apple --and making it a habit--does the same thing as just counting calories to make sure you're eating 200 fewer than before. Either way you're cutting an extra 200 calories.
Believe me, I admire the people that do manage severe lifestyles for the sake of health, and I do want to work up to having a very clean, well portioned diet. But I have better things to do than worry about individual calories.
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grangers710
New Member
| Joined: | 22 Dec 2010 |
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| Posts: | 288 |
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Posted: 27 Sep 2011 05:39 pm |
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| tahts what I meant by being aware. I dont "count" my calories. I have no food journal. I estimate everything based upon the knowledge I've gathered. But a day doesn't go by that I dont have an estimate as to what I ate. Too many days of those in a row = pounds coming back on.
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