765. the best laid plans o' mice and men...

[jupiterlullaby]

Since puberty, I have been fat. The smallest pants size I consciously remember wearing was a size 14 in eighth grade. (It was a pair of cargo khakis. I loved those pants. I also ruined them by sitting on the track at one of my sister's band competitions with a guy I was crushing on at the time-so of course I'd wind up with black spots all over

Comments

[loveitblonde]

I know your struggle. I finally just lost real weight for the first time last year (gained back, long story) but the better eating habits stuck so I know I will get the weight off again soon.

It really does take a shift in how you look at food (in my opinion). I never divd too deep into macros. I just ate what I thought of as real food. Not processed garbage. Fruit, veg, whole grains, meats, fish, lower fat dairy.

Planning meals always made me fail any diet I tried. Instead I'd eat what I was in the mood for (still, real food choices here).

I worked nights then too. Bought a fitbit. Fitbit goes from midnight to midnight, so thats how I tracked calories. Some days depending on meals and how I slept I'd eat 2000 a day, some days more like 600. It still balanced out over the week.

How I avoided calling a day "ruined" and eating whatever was thinking of my weight loss as a bank of calories I had to burn. Say goal was 50 pounds. At 3500 calories to burn off a pound my bank would be to burn 175,000 calories. Now I didn't actually do the

[jupiterlullaby]

No, I actually appreciate all of that! It's helpful to know that others have faced basically exactly the same struggles and overcome them. Your note about having things balance out over time rather than focusing on each individual meal/workout/days' worth of calories banked, burned, or eaten is a good way to look at it, and something I need to work on trying to see. I think keeping that idea of what's banked for me in the long run (or even just week by week) would keep me sane compared to trying to stay on track with every meal/every day.

I hope your week is fantastic as well!

[loputon]

I wouldn't be comfortable sharing those pictures with everyone who follows me on social media... Separate accounts is kind of annoying, but still better imo. Vlogging sounds fun though! :D

[jupiterlullaby]

Yeah. Most of the folks who follow me would probably be cool with it or at least supportive, but I also don't know that any of them really need to see me in all my glory. I already have to switch back and forth on Instagram and Twitter sometimes since I help run the social medias for my roller derby team, so adding yet another account might be a bit of a headache!

I'd love to vlog. I'm just not entirely sure I have the personality for it, lol!

[king_of_apathy]

I used to work night shifts at a hospital, it really does mess up your eating patterns. What work are you doing?
I was veggie for fourteen years before moving to Korea made it so difficult to find veggie food (I'm veggie at home, but not when i'm out). I hope to go back to it when i return to the UK.

[jupiterlullaby]

Night shifts are terrible all around! I'm a perinatal float nurse, so I work with antepartum women, immediately post-partum women and their wellborn infants, in the NICU with the less-sick infants (float nurses aren't as extensively trained for the sicker babies), and also with drug-exposed infants. My favorite shifts are when I get to work NTU with the drug-exposed babies.

Healthwise, I love the idea of being vegetarian or vegan, but for me I just don't think I'd do particularly well with it. I know I would get used to not eating meat, but it's been a staple in my diet for nearly 31 years now. Plus the veggie selection in the cafeteria at work is definitely not good.

[peterb]

Plus the veggie selection in the cafeteria at work is definitely not good.

I think that's half of the problem for those looking to dodge animals in their diet - the availability of alternatives. I have a few muslim colleagues, and they have grumbled about the offerings at the canteen in the office - me, I can eat everything; for them, the choice is somewhat restricted.

Operationally I can see why, but on ethical or religious grounds, the options can be rather limited.