Sooooo did anyone notice that I didn’t weigh in last week? Ah good I was hoping to get it past you 
It’s been a month since I posted THESE scary ass photos.
I’m willing to bet I look about the same. In the two weeks since I weighed in I’ve gained 1.5 lbs.
Starting weight: 130 lbs
Weigh in #1: 128 lbs
Weigh in #2: 127 lbs
Weigh in #3: 126.6 lbs
Weigh in #4: 128 lbs
Hmmmm. Where do I go from here? Well I’m not quitting that’s for sure.
Remember my three point plan:
- food journaling
- 10,000 steps per day
- training hard (gym / physical therapy)
First the food journaling went, then I lost my pedometer, then I started skipping workouts.
Am I the only one who lets the wheels fall off at the end of the month? And this doesn’t only apply to my weight loss plans, this kind of happens allllllll over my life. I’m convinced it’s my busy schedule but I’m still uncertain of how to to manage that all yet (but that’s my generation eh!)
I just don’t think food journaling is me, and I KNOW counting calories is definitely not me.
The pedometer is BACK in action and I’m back to training hard at the gym now.
Behold the blurriest photo of life because Brad worked my shoulders and arms out for two and half hours yesterday. Owwwwwww … owwweeeEEEEEEEEE 
I’m in need of a new food goal to round out my three point plan for weight loss.
HELP!
SOS!
BEEP BEEP BEEP. BEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEP. BEEP BEEP BEEP!
IMAGINE A SMOKE SIGNAL COMING OUT OF YOUR COMPUTER!
What other ways can you focus on food for weight loss? Something fun but challenging?
I meal plan. That’s what helps me stay on track. I plan our dinners out for the week and then add a couple breakfast, lunch, and snack ideas. I also try not to bring my temptations into the house. I food journaled for awhile when I realized I needed to eat MORE as an exercising breastfeeding mama and used it to up my intake and jam pack my nutrients.
It’s SO hard though staying focused. I definitely fall off the wagon. The biggest step is just getting back on
I always meal plan dinners, and lunch for my bf, but I don’t meal plan MY lunches for some reason – perhaps that’s a good start
I hate counting calories, too. I know it works, but I’m a snacker, and writing down every morsel of food that goes into my mouth it just a PITA.
What about counting produce servings? Maybe aim for five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. If that’s too easy, aim for seven.
Don’t get discouraged! You’re doing a great job!
mmmm that’s a good idea – thanks Sue
try really focusing on portion size and go back to the basics….make half your plate fruits and veggies, a quarter lean protein, a quarter whole grains. keep your snacks around 200 calories. counting calories every day may not be for you but learning something like the diabetic exchange system makes it each to estimate roughly how many calories you’re eating at each meal…even if you aren’t using it specifically to count carbs and that might help you stay on track if you have an idea of how many calories you should be eating each day!
never heard of the diabetic exchange system … must. google.
the food is the biggest and most important part (and i’m sure you already know that). try cutting down your sugar or cutting it out completely for a couple of days. that always makes me drop pounds!
rooting for you!
hmmm I “think” that I don’t eat much sugar but if I tried to cut it out I could probably find more areas to cut that I’m not really aware of
I’ve been able to keep my weight off by making veggies the star of every meal, never drinking calories (save for the occasional glass of wine!) and steering clear of most processed+fast food. It’s basic but effective!
What veggies do you eat for breakfast?
Breakfast is actually the only carb-centric meal of the day for me (Oatmeal!) but if I’m on a health kick I’ll scramble up some egg whites and put whatever veggies I have on hand in (spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes,…).
Food/Meal planning is important. While it may not be fun at first, I’ve come to love it. Also, I know you’re not into calorie counting…I wasn’t at first either. But I use an app that is easy for food tracking and use it to analyze my NUTRIENT intake (as well as calories) but seeing the proteins/fats/carbs etc. I’m taking in is more helpful and fun to see and adjust.
try cutting out processed foods for a week or two. Eat lean proteins (beef, chicken, fish), lots of veggies and fruit. Fill up on veggies first. Also, make sure you are getting enough water throughout the day. A lot of the time you can find challenges on twitter for making sure you get 100 oz of water every day. You can check in periodically and get support (on other diet goals).
Calorie counting used to take over my life and I am so much happier now that I don’t do it anymore! I would suggest to just focus on eating the least processed foods possible like Ashley said! Focus on the lean proteins, lots of veggies, and fruits. Maybe make a general meal plan for the week but then don’t be strict with food journalling throughout the week! Keep the foods you tend to cheat on out of the house. I like to go by a five ingredient rule too! If it has more than 5 ingredients on the label..don’t buy it!
I plan out all of my meals…this wasn’t easy in the beginning but now it’s like second nature! It works and it keeps me on track! Keep it going Morgan!
You have some excellent words of advice already… I will echo others in saying that getting back to basics and ditching the processed foods and ‘convenient’ foods made a huge difference for me. Stick to meals that are maybe 5 ingredients and get creative with veggies. Getting back to whole grains in place of breads and pastas is a great way to cut back on calories as well, but don’t forget to keep in the healthy fats! Most tend to cut those out for fear of gaining weight, but it’s the exact opposite. Your body needs it.
I’ve been there Morgan, its tough, but it will get easier sponge you fall into a routine. Hope this week is a game-changer for you!
Check out Alton Brown’s video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrRJLXubMM
It’s actually a really great way to look at food not in a calorie counting way but in a how many times a week way. We love and trust Alton in our home.
I can’t count calories, because I get obsessive about it. Same with measuring servings.
The best advice is not skipping work outs. Even when you are tired, once you get it done it feels so GOOD. Maybe make it a goal to hit the gym and work out 16x/month – and if you do all 16 reward yourself with something?
hey hunny. you are doing GOOD! you aren’t familiar with weightloss so you might be identifying this past month as a fail. As someone who has been through this before, trust me Morgan, you are doing great. You are down 2 pounds. and taht is through vacations and family picnics and exams, etc.
Some tips that may help you out.
Supplements that help with stress and that help with digestions. B complex, chromium, magnesium, etc.
myfitnesspal.com app and website. Not exactly calorie counting, but does help you out, I may have mentioned before, way easier than an actual food journal, since you have to look things up that you write down anyway.
I know you stay hydrated, but start having 2 glasses of water befor eyou eat your meals. (you could also take spirulina with that water fo ryour b12, and it helps reduce hunger)
snack on apples and berries (fibre)
YOu are doing great. don’t beat yourself up please.
-Andrea
Have you ever thought of cutting gluten? I’m trying to lose around the same amount of weight as you and I weigh the same as you and I find cutting out gluten helps to loose weight, esp. any bloating. And…cutting back on wine! That is my downfall. I hate counting calories too. Good luck, keep at it!
You are an inspiration! There are so many people out there that don’t have the motivation that you do. It is only a matter of time before you reach your goal.
What I like to do, and has worked for several people, is eating smaller meals more often. I try to eat around 300 calories over five meals. You will still end up with 1500 by the end of the day but your metabolism will be continuously running the whole day. Otherwise, you eat a few bigger meals and your metabolism crashes in between meals making it slower overall. OR, you eat 3 small meals and your body ends up trying to conserve it’s energy resources and directly tries to store your carbs as fat…not where any of want to be
I know a few people that have tried it and have LOVED it.
I’m like you–I hate food journaling. So I don’t do it! You have to do what works for YOU. My approach is always to eat whole foods and stop there. So if I go to the pantry/fridge and start to reach for something that doesn’t fit the bill, I ask myself “is it food?” If the answer is no, I redirect to something that is. Favorite little fillers include almonds and dates. Good luck to you!
Don’t beat yourself up. Dig deep, find something – anything that will keep you consistent. No excuses. And remember that “nothing changes if nothing changes.” once I wrote about that on my blog and truly focused on it, I reaped huge benefits!! You can do it.
I’m horrible at food journaling too. I find it takes too much time to write everything down. What about simply taking a picture of everything you eat? Just a quick snap shot to record what you eat that takes a few seconds? I’m on my own post-pregnancy weight loss journey and I’m going to give this a go and see where it takes me.
Food journalling can be really tough. I’d say take a look at the food journal you did keep. See what if anything changed while you weren’t journalling. Journalling is only really useful if you use it to reflect on what you’ve eaten.
Also some other things to look into:
-mindful/intuitive eating (Not necessarily weight loss, but can help you really look at HOW you’re eating, which is important for weight loss as well)
- low GI eating (A little bit more of a “diet” plan, but still really interesting stuff)
And sometimes going up is just a normal part of weight loss, it’s down, down, down, then up, then down down down…
I didn’t read all the comments but I can honestly tell you that the only thing that works for me is tracking on the MyFitnessPal app. It forces me to focus on portion sizes too which makes a big difference. And you get to add back the calories from exercise so it motivates you to move more too!!! I’ve lost 3lbs since last week by being so accountable!
Once you do it for a month you get a better sense of what to eat and how much and probably won’t need to use it all the time.
Just a thought!!
Another vote for MyFitnessPal app. Tracking Calories IN vs Calories OUT is the quickest, dirtiest way to lose weight, sadly.
I’d recommend you look at the amount/type of carbs you eat. Low-carb is bad and scary, but there’s a lot of lit out there on the dangers of wheat/gluten/white sugars. One slice of bread is one serving of grains, but a whole 2 cups of leafy greens is WAY more filling, has fewer calories, more fibre, etc. When I’m slimming down I make sure 1/2 my plate is green, ideally leafy like spinach or kale, and the rest is protein and colourful veggies.
Also tracking other portion sizes – 1 avocado is 2-3 servings, even if it is good fat, it adds up.
Another proven weight-loss tool is good sleep. There are many studies which suggest that getting a good night’s sleep is a requirement for weight loss. Start making sleep a priority and you might see the pounds fly off!
I meal plan and try to eat every 3-4 hours. At each of those meals I try to get in my veggies and protein…I wrote down what I ate for the first few weeks and then I was able to get an idea of how many calories I was getting in with each of the foods I was eating. After that I was able to mix and match foods and stay within the calories I wanted to hit. Don’t get discouraged…you’ll get there!
I’m no weight loss expert, but I do know that your weight can fluctuate something like 2 lbs a day… that may not be accurate, but it does lend to the thought of overall progress over a period of time. Maybe once a month? If you are the same weight as you were a month ago, but feel stronger and more in shape, then that’s progress. Something to keep in mind.
This week I’ve fallen in love with the My Fitness Pal iPhone app. Seriously it’s my new BFF. I’ve lost 4lbs in 2 days!! It’s got a cool thing where you just scan the bar code of the food package and it brings it up to enter (Yes – even in Canada!)
I’ve cleaned up my eating as I had fallen slightly off the wagon when I stopped using my paper journal. I’m going to attempt to start meal planning next week and see how that goes!
I can sooo relate ! I always start something and I feel like I never finish ! It’s so frustrating !! But the weeks/Months where I’m at my best is when I plan out my meals for the week, and prep everything in advance. Trying to stop eating starchy food after 3 pm also helped and not eating 3 hours before bedtime !
I also agree with Courtney ! My Fitness Pal is seriously the best counter ever !! You can keep track of your meals soo easily !
The most important thing is to never give up on yourself ! I’ve been through ups and downs but when you can finally kick those bad habits it’s the best feeling in the world
Some other ladies said it before, but cutting out processed foods is HUGE. I don’t count calories.. I’m doing a 30 days program that pretty much spells out what to eat (plus unlimited veggies, of course), and what not to eat, but calories and fat grams, etc. are NEVER ever mentioned or counted or cared about.
I’m on day 15/30 on the Whole30. While I realize it is EXTREMELY difficult for ANYONE to follow this program, it’s only 30 days and it could do wonders for what you’re going through. “It Starts With Food” is a great book to read, but this site shows the basis for the program:
Meal planning is HUGE and if you do try and tighten up your food regimen, having breakfast/lunch/dinner planned and not having to be tempted by other “evils” is helpful
http://whole9life.com/itstartswithfood/