New and back to calorie counting :)

[xxlettyxx]

Hi everyone,

I've posted in this forum before but it was a while ago now and I don't recognise anybody can I join you guys? I'm ready to try and shift some weight again and this forum was really supportive last time

I lost weight from the end of 2009 onwards by calorie counting, going from 13st to 10st 8lb, which isn't as much of an achievement as some people but it made me feel sooooo much better about myself. Then I met my boyfriend at the beginning of 2011 and put the weight back on, going back to 12st 12lb :cry: we treated 2011 as one long meal! Always going out to dinner, getting takeaways, having Burger King or pizza for lunch, snacking on crisps and huge baguettes etc. We went on an all-inclusive holiday last June and I am genuinely ashamed of the way I ate!

Anyway, since christmas I've been doing some really deep thinking about my food issues. I've always been a yo-yo dieter, since I started dieting at 16 (I'm 24). My weight has been up and down so much, but I just can't seem to stay down! So I've been thinking about my mentality about food - and realised that I'm very all-or-nothing, as in I'm either on a diet or off a diet. When I'm on a diet, I'm really strict, won't eat more than 1200 calories, and I get a tad obsessed about the whole thing. When I'm off a diet though, I absolutely stuff myself! There's been no middle ground.

So since January, I've decided to keep a food diary with the aim of not going over the recommended 2000 calories a day - I realised I've never ever stuck to this, my eating has been so chaotic I've either been eating way under this, or way over. So I wanted to learn to eat normally, with no pressure to diet so strictly. I've been doing it for about a month, and I've lost 8lb (some days I don't eat near the 2000 cals).

Now I'm thinking I want to try and lower my calorie intake to lose weight, hence why I'm here one of my major problems is alcohol though (I'm a student). It's everywhere and I really need to cut back, on the days when my calorie intake is over 2000 it's because of booze! So need to manage that. I'm also going to try not to be as strict as I normally am because when I do go off my diet I feel like I've escaped from prison and I run off and stuff myself for months and gain all the weight back.

So I think I'll aim to eat around 1200 a day, but on days when I feel deprived or just more hungry I'll eat a bit more, with the view that as long as I don't go over 2000 on my 'needy' days then I won't be gaining weight - just accommodating life into my diet! Instead of letting it ruin a diet completely! Treat it as a lifestyle change, not a short term diet. I am changing the way I eat and my yo-yo habits forever

(sorry for length of the post, got a bit carried away there!)

 

[xxlettyxx]

Anyone..? x

 

[Ali*]

Hi xxlettyxx

Don't want to leave you 'hanging' - I'm too new in this part of the forum to give you any advice on cals but just want to extend a friendly hand

I'm not sure about hitting as low as 1200 - have you had a look at the website My Fitness Pal? It has a great tool for working out your stats and might give you a better guide of how many cals you should be aiming for.

I've been cc for just 2 and a half weeks now and I'm really enjoying it - love MFP for working out the cals in recipes etc!

Good luck hun x

 

[sunnyrae]

Of course would be great to have a new member i'm quite a newbie myself. A lot of us on here are on my fitness pal and i would recommend it you it really helps u track how much u are eating feel free to add me (happyrae)
You've done really well losing weight in the past u can do it again i think most of find it hard getting that balance between all and nothing but the more aware of it you are the more chance of you being able to get out of bad eating habits.
All the best on ur new journey

 

[xxlettyxx]

Thanks both! I'm not really a fan of MFP, I find it too fussy.. I've got a cute little notebook I use to record my food and calories, that way works for me although MFP does tell me to eat 1200 for my goals etc. But I'll probably end up eating more than that a few days a week anyway though. I know one thing I need to work on is variety because I tend to get bored and that usually sends me off to the chippie!