IF HUNGER ISN’T THE PROBLEM, FOOD ISN’T THE SOLUTION!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Struggling Part 2

Actually today was a good day, but I did promise to post on my pattern of extensive exercise and wt loss - "part 2" is at the end of this post

Today had commitments after work so didn't get in any workout, but food much much better.  Thanks for all your great comments and support.  Looking forward to Diane's post on issues raised yesterday.  Thanks to Tomer for the suggestion for WeightLossSoftware.com

Last spring I participated in a study that required tracking all food for 4 weeks. They provided a palm pilot with CalorieKing software.  It was great.  That small, inexpensive palm isn't available anymore so I finally purchased an electronic handheld calorie calculator that I can use "on the go"   Don't like it - much more difficult to use.   Tonight I started a free 7 day trial of the CalorieKing software.  The WeightLossSoftware looks very good as well.  Both are reasonable - $40-$45.  Do any of you use or recommend an on-line calorie tracker or any other software?  Looking for some input.....but tonight tried the Calorie King and it was the easiest one I've ever used.  I'm going to take another look at WeightLossSoftware before I purchase anything.  I know there are free ones out there - but when I've used in past they were much more difficult and much smaller data base.  (All 3 mentioned above have a data base of over 50,000 foods)

Ok Part 2

I have had 2 periods of significant wt loss. The first time was in the early 90's  I started walking to save my sanity when my marriage fell apart.  Walking led to running, running led to completing a marathon.  Of course I lost wt.  Forty pounds.  And it was  the last time I got to Onederland.  Unfortunately I was a visitor not a permenant resident.  Quit running and gradually gained back the weight.  Plus.  My all time high was about 255-260 in 2002. when blood sugar problems motivated me to start exercising again.  I discovered cycling and in 2003 biked over 2500 miles in 9 months, including finishing a week-long 500 mile bike tour, a triathlon and century (100 miles).  I would bike 20 miles into town, swim for an hour and then bike home.  My weight got down to about 205.  That winter got into spin classes and pumping iron,  However, over the next few years the cycling has gradually decreased and the wt gradually increased.  This time I topped out at about 230.  Last summer and fall I lost about 20 lbs by walking an hour almost every day.  Until March when the "wheels came off"  Recently I've started down the same path - putting in 4-8 hours of very strenuous yard work  during weekends is the only thing giving me a small wt loss most weeks - and last week even 800 hours of activity couldn't prevent a 1 pound gain.

Any one seeing a pattern here?  A marathon in '94, a century in '03.  All I have to do is swim "2. something"
 miles and I've completed an Iron Man - on the 15 year installment plan!   But seriously, I am an "all or nothing" person.  No balance whatsoever.   Exercise is a vital part of weight loss, but I think the main reason I gained the wt back was that I never got control of the food.  I never dealt with my issues around food.  So as soon as I decreased  the activity the weight came back.

If I really want to lose this weight once and for all and then maintain the loss, I need to committ to making wise food choices and regular exercise.  Forever.  I need to get real and stop playing games.  And that brings us to Struggling, Part 3.  Tomorrow.  :-)

12 comments:

  1. I use MyFitnessPal online to track food and exercise. I've tried several others and this one 'fits' me best.

    Ahhhhh, balance. That's what we all strive to find. Looking forward to Part 3.

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  2. "I never dealt with my issues around food."

    Very good point, and I think a lot of us can agree with this. At least you have recognized this and you are willing to figure that out.

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  3. I liked the website mycaloriecounter.com
    I do not know how it compares to the others though because I have never used anything else. I am very impressed with all of your marathons and competitions!

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  4. Many of us can relate to the "all or nothing" mentality. I used to eat like an elephant every weekend because the diet started on Monday (or New Year's Day, or the first of the month, etc.) Except that Starting Day would come and go and it would be the weekend again. That could go on for months! This time it's "once and for all."

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  5. I use http://www.sparkpeople.com

    It's free and the calorie and fitness trackers are fabulous. Besides the thousands of items that are already in their databases, you can personalize them with your own favorite ingredients/exercise. So if you have a bread you regularly buy, you can put that in and save it to a custom food list. If you use a heart rate monitor to track your calorie burn, you can manually input your exericse. It's all about you and what you do and want to put into it.

    They also have a recipe calculator that I have used to death. I love being able to input recipes I make all the time and see exactly what I'm eating in terms of calories, carbs, fat, etc.

    Good luck figuring it all out!

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  6. Like Helen said - I totally 100% recommend SparkPeople!! It's free and really, really extensive.

    I can relate to so many things you detailed here. The all or nothing mentality. One thing that I see though which is very encouraging to me is that you commit to things and follow through.

    Maybe if you just think of weight loss as a life long commitment, similiar to commiting to running a marathon, etc then that may help change your thinking a bit. Just a thought.

    I'm going to do that post next week. I'm pondering it now!

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  7. I joined SparkPeople but quickly quit because of all the darned emails they sent. It drove me up the wall. Yes, I could have turned it off, but I just found it annoying. lol

    I just downloaded the CalorieKing software and I like it. I may just quit the WW online and use that. May. Will see after a week. I wish it did recipes. I did learn, and will blog about it later, that CK has you eat back all your exercise calories. I have not been doing that. I lose great when I don't exercise, but it's awful when I do--because I don't eat any of the lost calories. Am going to experiment this week by eating them. Will see how that works out.

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  8. From one all-or-nothing person to another, that mindset has to evolve into a lifestyle or all this hard work is only a temporary fix.

    But it sounds like you're on the right road...

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  9. I am not sure it would be helpful or not, but Lifehacker had a post about the top five weight management tools the other day. There is usually some pretty good advice there.

    The point in which you look at your weight loss as a lifestyle change, not a diet, is the point in which your life forever changes -- for the better.

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  10. "Get real and stop playing games." Amen sister.

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  11. I can relate to so much of this, there journey is so complicated but so basic. I hope we can keep moving along our journey and learning.

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  12. Fitday's also very good. We have got a lot in common...I just gained 15 pounds over about 5 months after losing about 40. I do the same sports too. It's those FOOD ISSUES for me too.

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