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When I started my diet on 3/5/18 I was just so frustrated with my weight, how I looked and how I felt. I had gained 10# in 7 months (same dr scales both times). I was fed up! Yet I went about it all wrong. I’m hoping this post will help any new members that see it :).
I started by cutting portions in half and cutting out ALL snacks. I’m a snacked so this was and still is hard. I downloaded FS on 3/19/2018 and it was the best thing I could’ve done other than start light exercising. I quickly realized it was much easier counting calories on here and that I’d dropped to 800 some days. That’s NOT healthy for a cancer survivor! My oncologist said I needed to average 1200/day for the whole week so I could have some 800 days but I had to balance them out for a total of at least 8,400 kcal per week.
In April 2018 I started the LiveSTRONG program at my local Ymca. We walked 10 min on a treadmill or bike then lifted weights on the machines for half an hour once a week and once a week we had a mini class. By the end of the program we were doing 30 min cardio and 45-60 min weights. My weights went from 15-30# at the beginning to 20-80# at the end! Let press started about 150# max and ended 210#. I’ve not been able to get to the gym much in the last few months so I’m not where I was July 2018, but I’ll get there again 😉.
CICO and portion control work for me. I advise anyone starting to start there THEN see if you want to cut fats or carbs or have a meat only diet or any other fad diet that’s popular right now. If you have health issues or are a survivor then ask you dr before going on any of them! You never know what could help or harm you and it’s better to know before you start. Here are some hints and I wish I’d known all of these when I started!
1. Start slowly!
2. Don’t restrict the things you love or you’ll binge and won’t see much progress.
3. Make sure you are getting enough calories for your organs to function (1200 women and 1500 men).
4. Drink LOTS of water and start an exercise program even if it’s just half an hour walk twice a week. Build up! I drink propel water and it works. Weak iced tea in small amounts works for me too and I have a few cups of coffee most weeks.
5. Start with basic calorie counting (CICO) in the beginning. After a few weeks when you’ve gotten the hang of that then you cal look into other diets.
6. I matter the diet your calories you eat MUST be lower than what you burn. A cheap tracker can help with that. This site isn’t accurate for everyone but it can give you an idea if you want to time all your activities. I tracked everything from sleep, house cleaning etc at first. The. Later I just entered sleep and rest for everything else because it was the most accurate after I lost the weight. Now my Apple Watch does it all for me and just love the total burn. It’s not accurate on workouts but it is for daily burn without workouts.
7. Look up your ideal weight, BMR and TDEE. These will give you an idea of where you are and where you should be. These are ONLY guidelines but they are good ones!
8. Don’t obsess over that scale! I weigh daily and can fluctuate 5# in a week depending on how much water I’m retaining, how often I’ve used the restroom etc. look at your weekly totals for an idea of progress, but I find kinky totals to be more accurate. I’m just impatient lol. I also like daily because I can see how different activities and illnesses affect my water retention. (Flu A caused me to lose 4# even though I was only down around 2000 kcal for the week and 1# is 3500 kcal).
9. Love yourself. Forgive yourself. This is a BIG one! It’s a bumpy road and you’ll get thrown all over it. Forgive then do better tomorrow. But also remember that just because you had those cookies doesn’t mean you can ruin the whole day and eat a tub of ice cream. Moderating works well for most. I plan a treat daily! This helps me feel normal. Message me if you would like some prepackaged suggestions that you can find at your local store! 90-140 kcal each!
10. Do plan treats. NOT cheats. You won’t need to cheat if you plan a treat! For me this is pizza ever few weeks and a daily snack. Now that I’m in maintenance it means more of that ;). Take time to practice maintenance at least 2 weeks every 12 weeks.
11. At 12 weeks I noticed my body adapting to the calories I was eating. I bumped them from 1200-1300 avg to 1400-1500. I had a slight gain at first from water and extra food I hadn’t ‘expelled’ yet but it went away that same week. Now I do this regularly even if just 2 days every few weeks. This keeps me sane. It gives me a break and when it’s time to ‘diet’ again I’m ready and eager!
For any new members who have made it this far... good job making the decision to be healthier! It’ll take longer than you think probably but you WILL get there if you work hard and are persistent! Feel free to comment or message me if I can help you. There are MANY helpful people on here! We love to help so ask away and use our knowledge to make your journey a bit easier 😁. Best of luck to you!
View Diet Calendar, 19 February 2019:
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1105 kcal
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Fat: 32.50g | Prot: 45.60g | Carbs: 175.76g.
Breakfast: Dole Bananas. Lunch: Orrington Farms Broth Base & Seasoning, Columbia Rotini, Pork Chops or Roasts (Center Loin, Bone-In, Lean Only) . Dinner: Griffin's Sugar Free Syrup, Hiland Vitamin D Milk, Sara Lee Delightful Healthy Multi-Grain Bread, Egg. Snacks/Other: Fiber One 90 Calorie Cinnamon Coffee Cake, Hershey's Triple Chocolate Cookie Layer Crunch, Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownies. more...
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