peterpahl's Journal, 02 June 2016

Hey Peter, you don't need to cut carbs completely but you can monitor what you take in... that is often MUCH easier said than done, especially if you live in a household that has unhealthy eating habits. When you weigh in, make sure you do it in the morning when you haven't eaten anything, possibly after you've dropped the deuce. 1.2 pounds is easily lost, you may fluctuate within a period of 7 days or from week to week, but as long as the trend of your weight overall is a loss, its OK. One thing I do is allow myself a single day in the week when I can do carb loading, its Saturday for me... It is my day of rest, recovery and as I have gone on I have actually found that I sincerely crave them less and less. A lot of times you may not even be taking in great amounts of carbohydrates at meals but may find that its the tiny things that add up very quickly, bread, for instance, on a healthy sandwich, a coke at lunch or dinner or both, a snack at work, or on campus or at home. What I have found works for me is that I eat 6 times a day, BUT, when I do, I eat small portions, I plan my meals, I incorporate garden salad (most often, sometimes twice a day) into my meals and I find that it eliminates my desire/need to snack, it has almost completely eliminated my cravings. That may not work for you, you may be limited in resources, funds, time etc. but if this helps you in any way then I am glad to have dropped in to comment. Don't worry about the 1 pound, you're doing great, you're going to be fine, I know you will kick ace tomorrow. I just saw you are a veteran, I too am a veteran, I was a Marine and fought in Iraq. Like you I put on weight in a very short period of time, but not because of smoking, it was because of PTSD which placed me in a sedentary lifestyle and I used food to help with the constant stress until I started getting help with medications (some of which made me gain weight faster) and some which helped with the anxiety. I have been at that struggle for the past 7 years since I got out of the hospital in July 2009 but I want to let you know I completely understand your frustration. You, at 50, are doing a great job, sir, keep doing what you're doing with perhaps some minor modifications to what you eat. As a disabled veteran I know how hard it can be to get good, nutritious foods when you're on an abysmal budget, fresh fruits and vegetables are often difficult to acquire. Avoiding processed foods is by far the best thing I dedicated myself to, even though they're usually very cheap and convenient; canned foods, frozen meals, boxed meals, etc. Keep up the hard work, you're not alone here in your struggle, Semper Fidelis! Always Faithful!  

Congrats on being under 190!!! I track the total carbs I eat per day and used to eat 180 grams a day. Now I'm down to 140 and I did that by dropping 10 grams per week. Since my weigh in is on Friday I use Saturday to "pig out" on carbs. For me that means some kind of pastry but I allow myself 1 treat on Saturday and then I eat a little less carbs the rest of the week! I have six days to work off my treat and I don't make myself miserable. I've learned to eat a lot of vegetables and just a few croutons or chow mein noodles on a salad helps me not to feel like I'm missing out so much. Keep at it! I know you'll figure out what works for you :D