Weight Loss Wednesday: Recognize and Record

Okay…..so I know the post says Weight Loss Wednesday and it is already Thursday.  I just want to give all of you who want to join us on this journey a chance to say “I’m in!” So, read on and leave your comment. I am praying for you!!!!

Oh gals, can you hear me shouting from wherever you are? I am soooooo excited to know that nearly 50 of us are beginning this journey together! In fact, just knowing that you all are on this same quest to see the scales go down helped me over the weekend.

I was at a fabulous family gathering and had MANY chances to eat lots of yummy food. However, I knew we are all counting on each other to provide encouragement, support and prayer and I thought of you many times when I wanted to dive into the cream cheese caramel apple dip (which I never did) or eat two whole pieces of tiramisu (I took two bites).

I know that without the accountability, I would have played the old mind game so many of us play.

You know the routine. You vow to start your diet tomorrow. Tomorrow comes. You eat a sensible breakfast. The mid-morning munchies soon set in and by noon you’ve “blown your diet”, so you vow, “I’ll start over tomorrow.” and promptly raid the fridge.

Tomorrow isn’t so hot either and by 2:00 pm, you are plum out of calories (not from eating plums, but from cramming cookies down your throat or opening the hatch and downing nearly a pound bag of peanut M & M’s!!) so you tell yourself, “I’ll start next Monday.” Then you eat like a pig until Monday comes, try to start over, blow it again by noon and promise yourself… “Okay, let’s try next month. Yeah, that’s it, I’ll start the first of next month…..” and on and on it goes.

But with accountability, it is so much easier to stop yourself. If we know we must check in each week and leave a comment with the honest results of our weigh in, we’ll be more apt to behave!

And to take it up a notch and ensure even more success, weigh in with a friend. That was the number one key component to the success God gave to me.  You cannot fudge when weighing in on the scales in front of someone else (after eating too much fudge!) You also cannot afford to blow it for days on end when you must weigh in in front of someone else. Were (and are) there times that I overate? You bet! But it was VERY short lived.

Maybe I ate 500 calories of junk one afternoon. But then I’d slap myself in the face and say, “You dummy! Why did you do that? You have to weigh in next Wednesday. If you keep this pattern up, you will see the scale go up, not down! However, if you stop right now and behave the rest of the week, you’ll only be over 500 calories for the week. Why, that is only about 70 calories over per day. That won’t hurt you. Stop it now, Karen!!” And my little self-talk worked! So, find a buddy! 

Now, here is the dealio. I know many of you have started already, but let’s make today the official beginning.

  • Weigh yourself today. Record it somewhere. (You’ll never have to tell us what you weigh).  Next week, I want you to comment and tell us how much you have lost.
  • Also, have someone take a “before” picture of you. I’m not going to ask you to post it. However, later when many of you have dropped pounds and pants sizes, we may have a before and after cyber show and tell! 
  • Then, your homework assignment for this week is to begin to recognize and record.

Recognize when you eat when you are not even hungry; out of habit or boredom. And record what you do eat. You can just write down calories. Or you can include carbs too or fat grams, if you want. But the most important facet is the calories.

Now, how many calories should you be eating? When I lost my 106 pounds, I pulled out a formula I learned years ago, but usually didn’t apply. That formula is to take your current weight and times it by 12 if you are sedentary, 14 if you are moderately active (exercise 2-3 times a week for 30-45 minutes) and 16 if you exercise an hour a day 3-5 times a week. That is how many calories you would need to eat each day in order to stay at your current weight. Then, subtract 500 calories a day for each pound you’d like to lose per week. (500 calories x 7 days=3500 calories. Every 3500 calories burned equals one pound)

So, lets say you weigh 200 (because it is an easy number to figure and I am not near a calculator!) You are moderately active. So, to keep at your same weight, you’d need to consume 2800 calories. (200 x 14= 2800) If you want to lose 1 pound a week, drop the calories down to 2300. Make it 1800 to lose 2 pounds each week. Drop it further to 1300 to lose 3 pounds each week. Most experts say not to drop below 1200 calories per day.

Now, once you lose 10% of your starting body weight (in our example that would be 20 pounds) stop and re-figure this all over again. Now you’d take 180 pounds, re-crunch the numbers and aim for another 10% gone. Keep doing it until you are at your goal. I am no fitness expert, but this worked like a charm for me! And breaking it down in chunks helps to keep it from seeming like a daunting task. I could wrap my brain around 10%. It seemed doable. When I thought of losing 100 + pounds, it seemed overwhelming and I wanted to reach for a fork and a cheesecake!

So this week, get yourself a cute little notebook and record, record, record!!!

Also begin to move your body. We’ll talk later about exercise. Just start doing something. Walking is a great start.

Next week, you will leave a comment with how your week went and what the scales did. Today let’s leave a comment about what your toughest time of day is; when you eat because you are bored, lonely, stressed or just because ‘something sounds good’. Maybe it is when you are feeding your kids lunch with creamy peanut butter and homemade jam and you want to make yourself a sandwich with a thick layer of both. That is my greatest tempting time.

Then, feel free to hop on and encourage each other. I’ll hop on as much as I can too to offer my two cents worth.

Ready?

Recognize….

Then record…

Can’t wait to see those scales going down, down, down…..

Scale-plummeting Blessings,

82 Comments

  1. My toughest time of day is when I am lonely (husband working after dinner) and stressed.

    I am learning to seek God during these times and pray for our marriage and for Him to change me.

  2. I would like to join your group also. I recently received the results of my blood test for cholesterol and it is sky high. I must get it under control with exercise and proper eating. I love to eat…..especially the things I shouldn’t be eating. Looking forward to encouraging and being encouraged. Blessings, Brenda :)

  3. Well, I lost 1.6 pounds but know I can do better. I need to write down morefaithfully what I am eating. As I read the “frenemy” article Karen wrote I realized food is my frenemy! It tricks me into thinking I really need that (fill in the blank with a not so good food choice) to feel better and then once I have finished I realize that I have been tricked and feel worse because of my lack of control. I have re-determined to do the writing, and start walking since our eliptical broke. Thank you for this site and all the encouragement I get from reading others going on this same journey. I will run to Jesus instead of food. Blessings to all.

  4. All of the above! I struggle with emotional/late night/ and T.V snacking……but I’d say I have come to the point where I can have relatively decent self control in short term situations…you know….a party here, an outing there…..even in a restaraunt I can be good for the evening…..as long as I VIEW it one day at a time…..but get me in a situation where I need to have self control for a sustained period of time (ANY kind of vacation or day affair) and Im toast…..I try to tell myself just to manage today and I worry about tomorrow…..well…..tomorrow! The evils of the current day are sufficient!

  5. It’s not Wednesday, but I’m ready to start today and join everyone here. The toughest part of the day for me is around 2:00 and then the weekends. Plus I have some of the same struggles that others have been posting. Looking forward to the accountability.

  6. Finding your blog tonight must have been God’s way of nudging me to keep my “I’ll start again on Monday!” still going by Wednesday … and get back to being more healthy in my decisions … both eating and otherwise!

  7. Oh cyber sisters…. I love all the comments/conversation/encouragement going on here.

    Praying for you all this weekend. We are half-way to Weigh In Wednesday…YOU CAN DO IT!

    I know just thinking about all of you in the thick of the battle right along side me is giving me strength. And I will need it tonight. I just made pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies cookies for the hubby and son. I WILL NOT EAT ONE!!! NOPE! Got me a Kashi pumpkin spice bar waiting to enjoy with a hot cup of coffee while we watch a movie!!!

    Plan ahead girls!!!! It helps soooooo much when it comes to resisting! Talk to you next week!

  8. Hi Alexa, Great question about the figuring of calories. I use the packages if it has the figures. I also have a great book “Dana Carpender’s Carb Gram Counter” It gives the information in serving size, calories, carb, protein, and fat. It gives info on drinks and resturants too. A good web site that you can find loads of info on is http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calories_in_food.htm

    I can’t say I agree with all the advice in the book or on the web site. You need to read and decide the best choices for your lifestyle.
    You can do it!!! Keeping a list of foods eatten, even if you don’t list calories, will give you a good idea of where your nutrition is headed. Keep working at it. With the Lord we can succeed.

  9. I used the recommended formula and figured how many calories I can consume, but don’t know the easiest way to count my calories throughout the day. Any suggestions of web sites, etc. Do most of you just look at the packaging when cooking? Thanks!

  10. I used the recommended formula and figured how many calories I can consume, but don’t know the easiest way to count my calories throughout the day. Any suggestions of web sites, etc. Do most of you just look at the back of all of the bags when cooking? Thanks!

  11. Karen
    Okay girls I was at the same gathering last week that Karen was at. I was in the mind set of “it’s a party” and “I haven’t had this food in years.” One look at my self in the full length mirror as I pulled on my suit for the hot tub and I realized something. Something that I needed to see. It was NOT pretty.
    Now with all of this great support and less excuses………….
    Count me in!!
    Thais

  12. I did great at my son’s birthday!! Bless the Lord. Only with the strenth that comes from His spirit could I have resisted the brownies and the moosetracks ice cream!! Glad to say I did have a bowl of popcorn and not the chips and dip.
    My wii scale~ because I don’t have a real one~ said I was down 2.4 lbs. I like the wii because it keeps track of me and keeps a little calendar of times I have weighed in.
    Did I do perfect at McDonalds and eat the salads they offer? Nope but I did have the grilled chicken, no mayo. And I did not eat the whole small fry. so Yes, I did good!.
    Thanks for the encouragement ladies. Thank for letting me brag about things that others can not always relate too.
    Keep work at it!

  13. The hardest time for me is whenever I’m tired. Right now, I want to eat the entire cake that’s behind me on the counter. So instead, I’m going to take a 20 minute nap and give the cake to my teenage son who is under orders to guard it with his life and keep it FAR, FAR, AWAY!!

  14. I just found your website but maybe God sent me to it?! I need something to get off the roller coaster of “tomorrow I will start” that you wrote about. You could have recorded the conversations I have in my head. So glad to see it is not just me. I have started either tomorrow or Monday for about 6 years now. Apparently that is not working!! I hope and pray this will be the boost I need. My biggest issue is constant stress or boredom snacking. The worst time of day for me is at night. After taking care of my 4 kids, my house, my husband, working with 8 1 year olds at my part-time job, by nighttime I am ready for a treat! The problem is that this is not helping me feel very good about myself when I get dressed in the morning. Time to change!! I can’t wait!

  15. I thought I was the only one that came up with those procrastination excuses for dieting that you wrote in your post with such detail! You mean it’s a universal thing?!

    I’ll have to give your formula a try. Sounds like it worked for Debbie. Good for you!

    When do I like to eat? I would have to say mostly in the evenings, but I love food anytime. I need to pay attention to eating only when I am hungry, not just because I want to endulge in something that tastes good.

  16. Thanks Karen for the soda tip. I’m going to have to find that and try it out.

    Vicki F- like your suggestion too. Thx.

  17. Sweets and stress are my down fall. When I get stressed I NEED sweets ~ I swear it calms me down. I have lost and regained weight so many times by now part of me doesn’t want to even bother. I know I have to because I want to be healthy and have energy to be a great mom. Pray for me, I am discouraged even as I get started.

    1. I just read what you wrote back in 2009 and totally related to it. I have tried and failed so many times that I’m discouraged before I begin. I hope that you didn’t give up and that you’ve made progress. You are definitely worth it. I realize that I have only made half hearted attempts most of the time. I might be gung-ho for a few days but if the scale doesn’t move down ten pounds I give up and start eating again. I need to not get discouraged so easily and weigh myself less.

  18. I just went for a visit to curves today. Not sure about that whole thing. I seem to eat most at night, after the kids have gone to bed. See, I work midnights on the weekend and my body seems to get hungry around 10 or 11p.m. So during the week when I am not at work I get hungry at night. I guess I just need to go to sleep when I put the kids to sleep. I don’t fall asleep that early though because of the midnight shift mentality left over from the weekend. Any suggestions would be great

  19. Like so many others – mid-afternoon – I’m very bored with my job. The vending machine at work begins to scream my name about 2, then will power abandons me about 2:30. Lately I’ve tried to bring a healthier snack for the afternoons. It has to be something I want, not just something good for me. Lately yogurt and a bottle of Fuze. This drink has no artificial colors or flavors. It’s a fruit juice kind of drink and really satisfies my sweet tooth. Plus the whole bottle (18.5 oz) only has about 15 calories. Evenings after dinner are also a problem for me. Hunger is not an issue for me and has nothing to do with when or why I eat most of the time. Boredom…stress…because it’s time!! :) I’m really looking forward to the accountability each week. I had started a couple of months ago writing down everything and exercising, but so far I take 2 steps forward and then 1.5 back!

    Thanks for doing this. It will be fun to share with people having the same struggles.

  20. Karen-
    I’ve been trying to keep up with your blog, but haven’t visited in several weeks. I was so happy to see this post! I’m so excited to start this journey. Thanks so much for posting the formula as well. I look forward to having a group to hold me accountable.

    So, I’m in for sure! :)

    My worst time of day is, like so many others, the afternoon. I can’t walk by the kitchen without stopping for something. I try not to keep too many “bad snacks” in the house, but I can be quite resourceful in finding snacks!!

    Alright, I’m heading to record in my notebook now!

  21. Woohoo Chris! I’m with you – did you find the notebook? I did and actually calculated my calorie limit at 2400 less the 500 = 1900. Yikes no wonder I’m 40 lbs overweight! I sent a few girlfriends an email (with the blog link) with the hope that they will jump on board with me.

  22. Amy V–thank you so much!
    It’s scary seeing the trap many of us share, in front of the tv at night.
    I told my hubs last night I am not watching those food shows anymore!
    Tammy Shineldecker: I too hate eating in front of others! I am so self-conscious, I don’t know why. I think it stems from being overweight all my childhood that I wonder what others think with every food that goes in my mouth.

    I eat too fast. People have pointed it out to me and I am always done before everyone else at the dinner table. I know it is WRONG and that adds to the extra weight and food consumption. But it is so hard to not do. Even when I remember to eat slower, it’s still fast! I also do everything fast (driving included). Maybe I should ask the dr for some valium. ;)

  23. My hardest time is by far evening!!! I can’t count how many times I have gone to the kitchen to get something to eat and was not hungry!!! Its out of habit and boredom. I am so on board with this. I need to find myself someone to meet with in person that has the same issue.

    I am so over this body! There are many areas of my life that I know would be better if this weight was outta here!! I have lost 40lbs before, then I had 2 kids.

    Now, I am ready to be done! I need more energy for my husband and my kids!!! Going to go find a notebook now!

  24. Karen – I’ve been to about 10 Hearts at Home weekends (in Michigan) and was thrilled to see the new you last year. I’m in! Way in! Ten minutes ago I was looking in the mirror and was disgusted by what I saw. I checked my email and found a friend who mentioned your blog – God answered my prayer! My most dangerous feeding frenzy is about 5pm – before dinner (by about 1.5 hours). I’m weighing in now and will find a notebook too!

  25. Karen
    Thanks so much for the formula. I needed some good guidance to figure the amount of calories for the day. This is great. I am ready to try the recording challenge you gave us. I’ve heard many say they record and it is a big help to them. I’ve always thought it took too much time. But I’ve started the day recording and walking!! Now if I can succeed throughout the rest of the day. Afternoons are the worst for me when it comes to eating…anything and everything. I so want to change my eating habits. THANK YOU Karen for doing this.
    God Bless You,
    Linda

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