Ah! It hit me today why I'm feeling all off and why I'm feeling like my old way was the better way and yadda yadda. It's because when I first started doing this journey, I wanted to lose but I really wanted to get to the point where my normal eating habits are what did it and NOT a 'diet'. And with joining MFP, I kinda fell off of the band wagon because I was no longer thinking in terms of life but fell into that diet trap again. UGH! Why did I do that? WHY? It was the excitement of trying something new. Now that I've realized it, it's time to put it to a stop and get back to where I was and remembering the reason why I was doing what I was doing.
So, my gut instinct to go back to the 1600 range is spot on. Why? Why did I originally choose 1600 flat? One time, a year or more ago, I remember reading about a woman who took a long time to lose her weight but she was consistent and most of all.... HAPPY. How? She did the work and calculations. She said she figured the number of calories that an 'average' woman her age and height SHOULD be eating to maintain and then started eating at that level for herself. I remember the last few pounds took her a bit longer, but it DID come off. And she said she never felt any big change other than the weight going down. I decided then and there that was the best plan for me and that is where I got the 1600 number. I calculated out my goal of the low 140's and the range is right at 1600 on several calculators. And yes, my OCD self just checked again! HA! I plan on doing strength training so I am hoping maintenance will be a bit higher, but overall I'm REALLY happy with that because the number I calculated was based on a sedentary lifestyle and well, I'm not really sedentary. So I will actually be there with normal activity.
Yes. Going back to what was working and going to stop questioning myself so much. I got too wrapped up in the MFP fun. I'm sure it's a great program and works for tons of people. But for me... it just wasn't my cup of tea. I will still use the program as I like the tracking and reports, but I will continue to manually set my calories. And like I've said before, there is a good possibility that I wasn't doing something right. But getting my head in the right place is the biggest issue. I think I'm there now. I guess we'll see how the rest of the month goes! I think I may weigh in tomorrow just to see where I'm at even though it won't be very far into going back to the original plan. Or I may wait. Or I may weigh, write it down, and just move on. LOL We will see!
Sometimes we just want to change things up a bit. I like the idea of eating at a certain level of your desired weight and seeing the pounds just come off gradually. I think it's more manageable that way.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are doing well and have a fantastic weekend.!
I like MFP for tracking, but I'm not sure if I actually lose what they say I should be losing every week. It seems like I lose a few, and then stall for a couple of weeks, and then the cycle repeats. The only way I could get myself to keep from being frustrated is to just not weigh in much. I've been keeping my calories between 1200 and 1600 most days, and I shift around a lot. It would be nice if I was actually losing a pound or a pound and a half a week, but that isn't actually happening. Oh well. I just have to stick to it, keep making small changes, and add in more exercise. Eventually I WILL get back to my happy old weight. (Damn you, PCOS!)
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