Question about daily calorie amounts...and I gained 3 lbs :(

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating

Post Reply
cricket
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 6:01 pm

Question about daily calorie amounts...and I gained 3 lbs :(

Post by cricket » Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:10 pm

I discovered No-S about a month ago. I have read the book and read through the website and posts. I absolutely love the idea and decided to give it a try. I have only been doing it for one week, but I decided to add up my calories each day to sort of see how much I was taking in with the 3 meals a day and stick to one plate rule.

Here's a typical day:

Breakfast: bowl of oatmeal with some applesauce and dried cranberries mixed in; coffee with a couple tablespoons of whole milk

Lunch: omelette with salsa and two pieces of whole wheat toast with peanut butter

Dinner: Shredded tri tip on french roll with watermelon

ONLY THINGS BETWEEN MEALS: water/crytsal light rasberry iced tea/ hot cocoa (only two times....when I was super hungry)

Okay--when I added up the calories for the above example day, it was about 1800. Some days it was a little over 2000.....and it really didn't feel like I was eating that much! I mean, typically speaking, if I was to go on a "diet", I would limit myself to around 1500 calories a day.

The thing is...I really don't want to count calories. I have had an extreme obsession with calorie counting and the scale (literally staying home from work and calling in "sick" on days that the scale was up 1 lb and I was so depressed), and with the No-S lifestyle, I'm trying to stay away from the rigidity of diets I've done in the past.

I don't mind it taking awhile for me to lose the weight (I lost 50 lbs from Jan 2008-Feb 2009---and have been maintaining in a rather unhealthy way and letting the scale dictate when I could or could not eat), and found that I almost put 4 lbs on overnight a few weeks ago. So I turned to No-S....and then gained another 3 lbs. this week. So....7 lbs extra than I was two months ago.

Anyways, I'm trying not to get down on myself. I want to be happy and joyful about life again, but I don't want to continue gaining weight....then again, I can't see how I'm going to lose weight if a typical day is anywhere from 1800-2100 calories. That's what I should eat to maintain!!

I also did my 14 minutes a day all 5 N days as well.

Anyone been in this position before? A few other tidbits of info:

1) Current weight: 150 lbs (was 147 at the start of the week)
2) Use to workout 6 days a week for an hour at a time---but haven't been consistent for the last 3-4 months (hence the initial 4 lb gain)
3) Size 8--but pushing a size 10 with this gain
4) Lost the 50 lbs by watching calorie intake and exercising vigorously

I just know that I can't keep up what I was doing to lose the 50 lbs (restricting my calorie intake and exercising like a mad woman)....that's why No-S seemed so appealing to me.

okay...I'll stop rambling. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sun Jul 18, 2010 10:06 pm

Theoretically on No S you can put anything you want on your plate, but the idea is supposed to be that over time you start paying attention to whether you really need everything on that plate to satisfy your hunger. You've just been at this a week. It's really too soon to say that what you ate on the day you counted calories will be typical for ever. On other days, you might want a little salad and only a small roll with eggs at lunch time; some nights, the equivalent of half the tri tip sandwich plus fruit might be enough food. Both of those changes would reduce the calorie amount, but it is hoped that you would just choose to eat less because you realize you are hungry only for that.

Though Reinhard doesn't talk about it, people tend to be satisfied with about the same volume of food each day, so experimenting with replacing some of the denser foods with lighter vegetables and fruit may net you fewer calories for the same satisfaction with very little pain. It's also a bit funny that after awhile you may choose some meals that end up having as few or sometimes even fewer calories than some old diet meals, but the fact that you are making the choices rather than that some plan is dictating them makes it seem more doable in the long run. I sometimes run the numbers and find that I have days of 1400 and sometimes even only 1200 calories, but I don't set out at the beginning of the day to eat that little. It's just the mood I'm in or the way things work out for some meals for expediency or whatever reason.

Give yourself a few more weeks, see if it appeals to you to take some walks in addition to your daily 14 minutes, experiment with smaller portions on or not on a smaller plate, etc. I definitely think you can find a happy balance with food intake and exercise, and your body size, but it's unlikely it's all going to be figured out in a week or two. Stay the course; tweak later!
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

cricket
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 6:01 pm

Post by cricket » Sun Jul 18, 2010 11:16 pm

Thank you so much for you response. I know that I need to give this more time....much more than a week! I also think (and have been told by numerous people) that I'm going to gain when I start a sensible eating plan because of all the trauma I've put my metabolism through over the last 15 years of my life.

So for me, eating three meals a day is...well...completely against everything I've ever done. Usually I would starve myself from the time I woke up (maybe just some coffee) till about 4:00 pm...when I would finally eat something. And usually, it wouldn't be healthy.

But I've told myself that I'm willing to deal with the initial gain if it will help me find peace and create a life-long habit that can last. Exercise included.

Thanks again! I will keep on keepin' on :)

User avatar
la_loser
Posts: 629
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:43 pm
Location: Deep in the Heart. . .land

Hang in there!

Post by la_loser » Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:46 am

Cricket,

For some inspiration that may help you "trust" the system, be sure to look at VMSurbat's 2 year No S check-in.

I think it addresses many of the things you are talking about. Also, you may note that many people including Reinhard talk about not sweating what the scale says, but thinking more about your clothes and you feel. There have been multiple discussions on these boards about scales and weighing in. I could weigh myself six times a day, even right in succession and get a different weight, and see a variation of up to three pounds each time.

Considering that you are a size 8 or even 10, you have already accomplished a lot; I know you want to avoid regaining what you've worked so hard to lose--the hard way, but you may have to give your body some time to readjust to eating regular meals. Your body is probably confused since you've put it in "starvation" mode off and on for so long. It will thank you in the long run!

So take a deep breath, be patient, post often and my bet is that with time (it might take a month of so-yeah, I know, seems like forever) but in the end if you can have a healthy relationship with food, you will be glad you did!
LA Loser. . . well on my way to becoming an LA Winner. :lol:

User avatar
DaveMc
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2009 12:28 pm

Post by DaveMc » Mon Jul 19, 2010 12:18 pm

I'll agree with all the advice above (and your own response): give it time! It's very common, from all the accounts we see here, for people to initially gain some weight, before they start to settle in to a new pattern of eating.

I don't count calories, myself, so I wonder if I could ask for some input from experienced calorie-counters on this, but ... a figure of 1800 to 2000 calories seems quite high, given what you've listed for your meals. (I don't know what a tri tip is, but the other two meals seem pretty light.) Times when I do know the calorie content, because I'm eating something from a package (I know, it's to be avoided, but it does happen), I tend to get numbers that average under 600 per meal. (Oatmeal packets are about 100 to 200 calories, I think, and then you just had a bit of fruit and coffee ... so say about 200 calories total, meaning that your other two meals would need to be weighing in at an average of 800 apiece to get you to a total of 1800 for the day. Unless that dinner sandwich is *massive*, I'm confused about the numbers.)

Is it possible you're miscalculating, somewhere?

EDIT: However, you're quite right that one possible benefit of NoS is the ability to stop counting calories. Some people do still do it, but a lot of us don't. The underlying idea is that it's hard to physically fit an absurd number of calories onto a plate -- unless you're loading it with three Big Macs or something. Your food choices seem perfectly reasonable, which is why I'm confused that your counting suggests that you're consuming excessive amounts of food.

User avatar
BrightAngel
Posts: 2093
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:22 pm
Location: Central California
Contact:

Re: Question about daily calorie amounts...and I gained 3 lb

Post by BrightAngel » Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:07 pm

DaveMc wrote:I don't count calories, myself, so I wonder if I could ask for some input from experienced calorie-counters on this, but ... a figure of 1800 to 2000 calories seems quite high, given what you've listed for your meals.
cricket wrote:Breakfast: bowl of oatmeal with some applesauce and dried cranberries mixed in; coffee with a couple tablespoons of whole milk

Lunch: omelette with salsa and two pieces of whole wheat toast with peanut butter

Dinner: Shredded tri tip on french roll with watermelon

ONLY THINGS BETWEEN MEALS: water/crytsal light rasberry iced tea/ hot cocoa (only two times....when I was super hungry)

Okay--when I added up the calories for the above example day, it was about 1800.
As an experienced calorie counter,
I looked these foods up, and my answer for Dave Mc is as follows:

Breakfast:
Oatmeal – 1/2 cup dry uncooked steel cut - 300 calories
½ cup dry uncooked rolled oats - 150 calories

Applesauce – 1 cup sweetened – 200 calories
1 cup unsweetened – 100 calories

Dried Cranberrries - 1/3 cup – 130 calories

Whole Milk – 2 TB – 20 calories

Lunch:
Omlet (plain) – 3 egg – Homemade 300 calories
Denny’s – 450 calories

Salsa - 2 TB – 10 calories

2 pieces Whole Wheat dry toast - 200 calories
4 TB Peanut Butter (2 TB on each piece is normal cover) 400 calories

Dinner:
6 oz Tri-Tip (roasted or bbq) – 600 calories
1 French Roll (2 oz) - 210 calories
1 cup Watermelon - 44 calories

2 8 oz cups Hot Homemade Cocoa – 380 - calories

These are fairly normal sized amounts of the specified foods.
Of course, smaller amounts of these foods mean less calories,
and cricket may have had smaller amounts than specified...or larger...
However, all this food listed here would fit inside one normal size plate per meal.
The grand total of this amount of these foods in 3 meals is approx 2414 calories.
Adding the cocoa could bring the total to 2794 calories.

Therefore, certainly eating these foods could easily make a daily 1800+ calorie total.
BrightAngel - (Dr. Collins)
See: DietHobby. com

User avatar
sophiasapientia
Posts: 919
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 3:09 am
Location: Michigan

Post by sophiasapientia » Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:27 pm

Though Reinhard doesn't talk about it, people tend to be satisfied with about the same volume of food each day, so experimenting with replacing some of the denser foods with lighter vegetables and fruit may net you fewer calories for the same satisfaction with very little pain.
I agree with Oolala. Your meals for the day shown are quite light on veggies, especially, so if you are concerned about overall calorie intake, you may want to consider loading up on more of those ... It is a painless way of making sure your plates are well-balanced and lowering your overall caloric intake without having to stress out about the actual numbers. :wink:
Restarted No S (3rd times a charm!) January 2010 at 145 lbs

User avatar
BrightAngel
Posts: 2093
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:22 pm
Location: Central California
Contact:

Post by BrightAngel » Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:30 pm

DaveMc wrote:The underlying idea is that it's hard to physically fit an absurd number of calories onto a plate --
unless you're loading it with three Big Macs or something.
FYI, One plate COULD hold 3 Big Macs, for a total of 1770 calories,
however, many very high calorie meals are commonly placed on one plate. For example:
One dinner plate can also hold a Mexican dinner combo, 2 selections plus beans and rice for approx. 1800 calories.
One dinner plate can hold Olive Garden Spaghetti w/ meatballs, 1110 calories...Usually eaten together with bread with butter and salad with dressing, for an additional 500 to 1000 calories.

My message continues....
Shorter, older women...Beware.
For many of you, the 1 plate rule needs extensive modifiction.
BrightAngel - (Dr. Collins)
See: DietHobby. com

User avatar
DaveMc
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2009 12:28 pm

Post by DaveMc » Mon Jul 19, 2010 3:26 pm

Huh. Live and learn ... I would never have guessed that the set of foods described could add up to anywhere near that amount!

Bright Angel makes a good point, of course: it can't really not matter what you put on your plate, and "shorter, older women" may have to be more careful than, say, younger men.

I'd put adjusting the nature of your food in the category of "advanced NoS", though: the usual mantra is to get the pattern (three meals with no snacks) solidly under control, first, before you start worrying too much about the nature of the meals. Some people may find it too much to work simultaneously on changing the timing of their eating and the content of their eating, so you might want to tackle it one at a time.

User avatar
DaveMc
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2009 12:28 pm

Re: Question about daily calorie amounts...and I gained 3 lb

Post by DaveMc » Mon Jul 19, 2010 8:23 pm

cricket wrote:The thing is...I really don't want to count calories. I have had an extreme obsession with calorie counting and the scale (literally staying home from work and calling in "sick" on days that the scale was up 1 lb and I was so depressed), and with the No-S lifestyle, I'm trying to stay away from the rigidity of diets I've done in the past.
This is important, I think, to finding your personal path to success, and I'm sorry I overlooked it the first time. If you don't think that counting calories is going to be compatible (for *you*, which is after all what matters) with getting out of the diet mindset, then I think you'd be well advised to steer clear of it. You might also want to avoid the scale (ask around, you'll see that I'm not a big fan of frequent use of the scale) at first, and just focus on "days on habit" (HabitCal is great, I'd recommend it if you're not already using it).

Try eating three sensible meals on your N days, let your hair down a little on S days without going too crazy, and see where you are after a few months. (Yes, it really may take that long to be able to tell how things are going!) A lot of people are pleasantly surprised to find that their level of eating has drifted downwards without any special effort on their part, and if that happens for you, you'll be well on your way. If not, well, you can deal with that if it happens ... there are various options, and you'll be in a much better position to implement them once you have the basic N day/S day structure fully in place. Remember, if you're in this for the long haul, then a temporary weight gain is no big deal, if it leads to sustainable long-term habits.

KCCC's now-sticky "Stages of NoS" thread may be helpful for you, too.

cricket
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 6:01 pm

Post by cricket » Mon Jul 19, 2010 10:40 pm

Thank you again for all your responses.....and as "brightangel" said (and me being a somewhat experienced calorie counter)...those food EASILY add up to at least 2000 calories. And as "brightangel" demonstrated, can be much more so--depending on what and how much.

I think I'm going to have to add in A LOT more fruit and veggies to my meals. I'm just worried about gettiing hungry between meals...since fruit and veggies don't really "fill ya up".

And yes, it's still amazing to me how quickly calories add up. When I looked at the "example day" I posted, it really doesn't seem like that much food. Or even "bad" food for that matter....but it really does add up. I guess I could divide my meals up into 500 calories a meal or whatever....but the truth remains, even if it fits on one plate (and not even stuff like McDonalds food---but the decent stuff like I posted), it can still add up to A LOT of calories---which equals weight gain for me.

I think I'm gonna have a really hard time with this--at least in the beginning.

I guess just live and learn...but my fear is that I will have to end up calorie counting to lose weight....because if I don't, I wind up eating 2000 calories plus a day when I think I'm "doing well".....

Oh well...

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Mon Jul 19, 2010 11:39 pm

I never read Reinhard's recommendation for a plate of food as meaning that a FULL plate of ANY food meal after meal after meal was going to end up in weight loss. I always assumed that he meant that after a period of time of eating whatever came to mind and having longer gaps between eating experiences, that we would start to pay attention to what it takes to feel satisfied. Part of being satisfied to me these days is not eating so much at a meal that I don't tend to get hungry for the next meal since hunger makes the food taste better and my body feel better. This means though I am ALLOWED to have a plate-sized piece of pizza loaded with sausage, pepperoni, etc., I know if I have that for lunch, I am not going to be hungry enough to enjoy dinner at a reasonable time. No S isn't about then insisting that I should be able to eat another plate of food at my regular dinner time and still lose weight. It's about realizing that a smaller (not small; smallER) serving of pizza with a salad is going to make me happier over the course of the day, not just because it has fewer calories, but because that's the amount that works when I'm paying attention to all the cues. Okay, enough blathering.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

osoniye
Posts: 1257
Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 2:19 pm
Location: Horn of Africa

Post by osoniye » Tue Jul 20, 2010 11:22 am

Hi cricket,
Welcome aboard.
Just adding my 2 cents to all the good stuff menitoned above..
I think as time goes on, we each come to the right balance eventually between what goes on our single plates of food on N days and how much exercise we need. I'm hoping this will be ture for me as well, and I am sort of "stuck" around 150# myself.
This seems like the sanest program out there. I imagine that you will either find yourself going back to more exercise because that's what you enjoy, or you will eat smaller portions of the things you've been eating, supplemented with more fruits and vegetables so that the 1 platefull is less dense.
I'm just wondering if you'd like to try a smaller serving of oatmeal etc. with a large extra piece of fruit at breakfast or 1 slice of bread with your omelet and a nice salad. I think it's all a matter of trade offs, but hopefully not a strict set of stringent rules, more of a laid back attitude to making each plate healthy and enjoyable, and our S days fun and a helpful break from the 3 rules.
Again, welcome, and I wish you the best in finding the way to apply NoS to your individual situation, that works well for you.
-Sonya
-Sonya
No Sweets, No Snacks and No Seconds, Except (Sometimes) on days that start with "S".

cricket
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 6:01 pm

Post by cricket » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:19 am

Again, thank you everyone for your responses. I think what's so difficult about the calories for me, is that when I'm "counting calories", that's ALL I think about: measuring, counting, adding, etc. I lost the 50 lbs throughcounting calories and watching the calories burned on my heart monitor through exercise.

And you know what? It TOOK OVER MY LIFE! I have a tendency to take certain things to the extreme, and dieting/losing weight is one of them. I have been in and out of counseling over the years, and I'm sick of my entire life centering around how much I weigh.

I mean, really....do I want to be on my deathbed and the only real accomplishment in my life has been being skinny??

So that's what bugs me so much about the whole counting calories thing: I always take it too far. But on the flip side, when I eat "normal" and "sensibly"....I add the calories up and realize it's way over.

I don't know....just rambling. Thanks for listening....

Graham
Posts: 1570
Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2010 9:58 pm
Location: London, UK

Post by Graham » Wed Jul 21, 2010 7:36 am

Hi Cricket - I identify with your "dieting takes over my life" thing. It seems hard to avoid - either diet takes over your mind, or, if you ignore it, it takes over your body.

Just now it's too much on my mind, but I'm preferring that to having too much fat round my middle. It seems at times an immorally trivial preoccupation. I guess we are all obliged to work out what is more important than eating.

User avatar
DaveMc
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2009 12:28 pm

Post by DaveMc » Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:26 am

I really don't think detailed calorie counting is the only option -- in fact, that's one of the central premises of NoS. By eating regular meals, you get used to eating more moderately in general, and you can gradually reduce your portions or improve your food selections, without having to keep track of the calories in each thing you eat.

Bright Angel has had great success using calorie counting in conjunction with NoS, but I think it would be accurate to say that she's in the minority: most people here don't count calories, and a lot of us (including myself) feel that we would not be able to keep up that level of attention for any length of time. The lack of conscious attention is what makes NoS possible for me: I know that I'll never be able to track every input without starting to resent it, and eventually that resentment would drive me away. It works for BA, from which I'm guessing that it fits with her personal psychology better than it does mine, but the key question is whether long-term calorie counting will work for *you*. If you don't think it's sustainable for you personally, I'd still say that you should give "vanilla" NoS a chance. You may find that you can in fact moderate your eating without needing to track it explicitly. This ability to break out of the pattern of food "taking over your life" is a big part of what NoS has to offer.

Good luck!

wosnes
Posts: 4168
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:38 pm
Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA

Post by wosnes » Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:26 pm

cricket wrote:I think I'm going to have to add in A LOT more fruit and veggies to my meals. I'm just worried about gettiing hungry between meals...since fruit and veggies don't really "fill ya up".
I once followed a diet that was based on vegetables, fruits, legumes and one serving of grains or starchy vegetables daily. No animal products or added fats were allowed. Also, three meals daily and no snacks.

I was never hungry. The lack of satisfaction I felt with that plan was more between my ears than in my stomach. What I realized is that it doesn't take much protein or fat to "fill ya up." Vegetables and fruits are certainly less calorie dense than fats and meat. You get to eat a LOT more of them for the same calorie count and they're pretty slow to digest. Eat more of the less calorie dense foods and less of the more calorie dense foods.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-200-c ... k-like.htm

http://pictureperfectweightloss.com/jml ... onstration

http://pictureperfectweightloss.com/jml/30-day-demo
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

User avatar
bluebunny27
Posts: 831
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:07 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada

Post by bluebunny27 » Thu Jul 22, 2010 8:14 am

Wow, fruits and veggies fill you up, it's the opposite ... ;-) Be careful though, not to have too many calories - - it reminds me of a girl who had gained a lot of weight and was wondering why ... she was eating really well but the problem was her portions were really huge. She was having a huge fruit salad every morning. Of course fruits are good for you but if you have a huge bowl of fruit salad every morning and then more fruits later, you can gain weight that way too. She was having a big salad bowl filled with pieces of fruits every day for breakfast. ;-)

Some people are surprised when they see the HUGE salads I eat for lunch every day. Yes, it's a HUGE salad, I know that, but it has a third of the calories you get from those 2 double cheeseburgers and fries you're having, Buddy ! Plus with that huge salad I feel full from noon until 5pm at least and it doesn't contain a huge amount of calories either... if you are very careful with the salad dressing and the mayo of course ... ;-)

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 192 Pounds

User avatar
July2010
Posts: 118
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2010 10:27 pm
Location: Louisiana

Post by July2010 » Thu Jul 22, 2010 2:17 pm

Yep, I eat a salad nearly every single day for one of my meals. I use fat free cheese and I like bacon bits. Sometimes I'll throw in a lil baked chicken. I am picky when it comes to fruit and veggies, but enjoy plenty of the ones I do like, but make it part of my meals.
AutismMom

connorcream
Posts: 540
Joined: Sat May 03, 2008 9:57 pm
Location: San Antonio

Post by connorcream » Sun Jul 25, 2010 1:18 pm

DaveMc wrote: Bright Angel has had great success using calorie counting in conjunction with NoS, but I think it would be accurate to say that she's in the minority: most people here don't count calories, and a lot of us (including myself) feel that we would not be able to keep up that level of attention for any length of time.
I am another one who has had tremendous success counting calories and will do so the rest of my life. I am now watching carbs.

I gained 12# over 18 months following Nos, eating very healthy, minimally processed foods fitting easily on one plate. It wasn't Big Macs or binging on S days that did me in. It was lack of knowledge of what my body needs to function well.

The questions I ask myself and need to know are: What is my calorie limit? what is my carb limit? Is a calorie a calorie or do some calories get processed by my body differently than others? How much exercise am I willing to do with the body I have (high impact/low impact) and the responsibilities I have? When I know these answers, I can make informed decisions about one of my tip top priorities- my health.

I also ask this of myself, how do I approach other important areas of my life- God, my family & money for example? Do I have a dettached interest or do I think about it regularly, make plans, execute plans, study, tweek when not working, etc...

Best wishes on your journey.
connorcream
5'8.5"
48 yrs
Started calorie counting
10/6/2009
start/current
192/mid 120's maintaining
Maintaining a year

User avatar
reinhard
Site Admin
Posts: 5918
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:38 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA
Contact:

Post by reinhard » Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:54 pm

cricket,

It's true that there are happy, successful no-essers here who also count calories.

But it doesn't sound like that's an appealing or even mentally safe option for you (or me).

There are other alternatives to ramp things up without resorting to this.

1) Intelligent dietary defaults are my favorite. These doesn't burden you with any more "thou shalts" but can make a real difference. See the intelligent dietary defaults stick thread for more ideas.

2) What are you doing for your 14 minutes? It's great that you've build that foundation, but perhaps you can ramp up the intensity a bit without much risk. The food you describe eating doesn't sound very immoderate (I might skip the hot cocoa and other sugar drinks, however).

3) There are mods that (to my mind) are much less drastic than counting calories. My favorite (disclaimer: I don't practice this myself -- good old vanilla does the trick): one S-event per ordinary (lowercase) s-day, unlimited S-events on major celebration (capital) S-days (Christmas, your birthday and such). See the mods and tweaks discussion thread for more ideas.

4) don't let the short term numbers (calories, scale weight) scare you. They clearly do. And you're not going to make good decisions from fear. Focus on behavior. Are you eating moderately? Are you moving moderately? You can quantify this to a degree at least using the habitcal. Honestly, if the answer is yes on both counts, then it might be worth relaxing a little, even if you don't love the number you see on the scale. You might wind up a little heavier than you would prefer by behaving moderately, but not nearly as heavy (and unhealthy and unhappy) as you will by failing on some extreme plan. "Eat moderately. Move moderately. See what happens" -- the official no-s way of determining your ideal weight.

Best of luck, whatever you decide,

Reinhard

Post Reply