Sixty in October and ready to start phase two of my life!

[tinfoilinfor2005]

I've had a weight problem my whole life and I've done all the diet stuff, so if anyone should have learned some tricks of the trade after all these years, it should be me. So I thought about the top three things in all of my dieting experience that HAVE worked in the past, and these are what I came up with:

1. Track food intake daily.

Any success I had in the past, I could directly attribute to keeping a journal, or in my case, just a log of daily calorie intake.

2. Eat everything and anything, but stay within a certain amount of calories.

I've always done much better when I don't deprive myself of any type of food, but rather deprive myself of how much of it I am allowed to eat.

3. Limit portions sensibly.

I could never successfully maintain a plan that called for under 1500 calories a day. Just went around hungry all the time. Fifteen hundred was the magic number for me as far as being satisfied enough.

SOOOOOOO...Having pondered these wisdoms, I set out three weeks ago with my pad of paper in my purse to track my daily intake, and a 1500 calorie unlimited menu diet at my disposal. The first week I lost eight pounds. The second, two. The next weigh in day is this coming Monday.

Everyone, wish me luck. So far so good, and I am looking forward to being the thinnest (and healthiest) one at my birthday party!!

Oh, and I am doing a Curves type of exercise program three to five times weekly.

[Longhorn]

1. Welcome to our group!

You've already made some contributions and I'm looking forward to more, including hearing about your success!

You're steps to success are very reasonable and exactly what I'm trying to follow myself these days. Good luck! :hi:

[tinfoilinfor2005]

2. Thanks! Since I'm not attending any other type of support

group, I really am happy to see this forum going strong. I think it's important to share success stories, both for the writer and the reader. Don't worry, I'll be here after Monday weigh-ins, either bragging or complaining! :hi:

[Longhorn]

3. I'm leaving town for about ten days next week

but I'll be back to hear all about how you're doing! Both bragging and complaining are allowed here. :)

[auntAgonist]

4. enjoy your trip Longhorn!

we'll miss you.

:hug: be safe


aA

[auntAgonist]

5. I'm looking forward to hearing

all about your successes! Keep us posted on how you're doing.


Welcome to our little corner of DU.


:hi:
aA

[tinfoilinfor2005]

8. Thanks!!

Pound and a half and looser shorts! And I think one of my chins was missing this morning!

[lavenderdiva]

6. Welcome to our forum, tinfoilinfor2005!

Your advice is good, sound logic, and I'm trying to follow a similar plan. I use www.fitday.com to track my intake, exercise, and weight loss. Its a free website, that has everything there for you to use to track your daily intake.

I'll look forward to hearing how your Monday weight in went! :hi: (and a BIG congratulations on your success so far!!!)

[tinfoilinfor2005]

7. Another pound and a half!

But best of all, I can zip up my "try on" shorts. You know what those are, right? You take a pair of shorts that you wore a long time ago but now won't go over your butt, and you try to them on once a week on weigh in day. That way, if the scales aren't that generous but the shorts suddenly have heaps more room, you know that you are losing inches that week!

Thanks for the welcome!

[tinfoilinfor2005]

9. Four more pounds since my last post.

This is working pretty well. I don't lose much per week, so far only one to two pounds, but it adds up. And I'm not that terribly deprived on 1500 cals, and actually end most days at around 1400. I think that fools my body into thinking that I'm not actually dieting.

I've also found that I prefer to have a few more extra calories in the evening for popcorn or something, so instead of having a big breakfast, I have either a yogurt or a piece of cheese. Something with protein to kick start my metabolism, but a smaller portion since I don't really have much of an appetite in the a.m.

[DemExpat]

10. Slow and easy is the best, tinfoilinfor2005!

I have a history in my youth of yo-yo dieting and re-gaining even more after losing weight fast.

I do as lavenderdiva is doing (for 2 weeks now) and tracking my intake and calories with fitday.com. What a great free site!

I find that when I see that I have had enough fats or carbs I watch this later in the day, and it inspires me not to eat much in the evenings which was my major eating pattern in my life.

I realized from using this site that even though I thought I was eating healthily in the past years I was still getting far too much fat in by enjoying eggs, avocados and raw nuts!
These add up very fast in that category.....and I watch carbohydrates because I feel better when I don't eat too many of these (Whole grains/potatoes etc.) in a day.

Good luck with your healthy eating and weight loss!

DemEx

[tinfoilinfor2005]

11. Thanks for the kind words of support;

I also track every day, but I do it on a small piece of paper that I carry in my purse throughout the day. I just tally my calories as I eat my meals and snacks, so I always know where I stand.I'm not always near a computer so I find doing this a little more convenient for me, but I totally agree with you. Tracking is the key to losing.

[merh]

12. Way cool!

Good for you - maybe I will start trying this. :hi:

:hug: :loveya:

[tinfoilinfor2005]

14. Hiya honey!

Yeah, this seems to be working pretty well for me...as long as I don't get impatient with the SLOW weight loss. But once you get to be my age, the metabolism slows way down so I just have to grin and bear it. But on the other hand, eating 1500 cals (actually 1400 to 1500) daily, I get plenty of food and I can't complain about being hungry.

The other nice part is that I give myself one evening a week after weigh-in to cheat, And that would be tonight! I'm picking up a pizza in an hour!! :)

[tinfoilinfor2005]

13. Monday morning weight in...

ONE MORE POUND!

Doesn't sound like much, I know, but this is the week when suddenly I could zip up stuff I couldn't get over my butt before, so I must have been losing inches. :)

[LSK]

15. that is exactly what I am doing

I am about one week into it and am down 4 lbs.

Except my baseline is 1800 cal.