madanjen's Journal, 18 May 2014

Good luck with your test. Let us know if you get different results. Tracking versus not tracking.  

I hope it helps you. I try to track everything so I can keep myself accountable to myself. =) 

Don't 'feel' what you eat any more. Weigh it. Log it. While it sounds like bondage it sets you free because you quit guessing. 

I know if I don't log I start to backslide and my results aren't as good. Good luck with your testing, I hope it works and you lose some weight. 

In the past I only looked at my exercise, how many steps or miles I walked. When I started logging my foods, it became easy to see how I could change the way I eat to make healthier choices. It made it easy to see what sugary or fatty foods to avoid, what proteins I could add, what high sodium foods to eliminate. It is a balancing act to keep your calories, carbs, protein, cholesterol, fiber, fats and sugars at a certain level, compared to the calories you burn in exercise, but it is so worth it because your health depends on it. Good luck! 

Even though you've not logged your food that well in the past, your weight loss will begin to slow down and you're going to wonder what happened. Maybe that's what is happening now. Document your food. You may be eating more then you think. This is the part of being honest with ourselves by documenting the foods we eat. And you can't expect a huge loss within 1 week. There are times you won't lost at all then might drop a few in a week. Give yourself a fair chance. 

I have to keep a log its my sanity <3 I feel so good about it even when I had to write down something I didn't want to admit I was embarrassed when I went out with my husbands family I drank to much ,, but after mulling over it .. I can say,,, is there something better I could have done ,,, my Journal is my mirror to face me & judge myself not to condemn but to improve <3 we cant change what we don't FACE ,,, so Please Madanjen keep your journal it well help ,, discipline in the small things well help ya discipline in the big things and the support ya get by journal is awesome Thanks Ladies Deb_N & RoseTampa and many more <3 Good Night Ladies <3 & God Bless <3  

Throwing in a fasting day once a week has been great for me...that is the following morning and I notice a drop in the scale. Not to mention your thyroid and liptin levels that control your metabolism might be a little screwy after the toll of your diet choices have on your body.....too much carbs, not enough carbs.....when it comes to your energy source your body is "trained" to go to what is easiest to burn. Don't be afraid to fast every now and then just to reset your system. 

I am amazed how many calories are in the food, that I use to eat.. Twice now since I been on my diet, I ate like I was not.. (regretful, but I am learning).. Later I logged my food.. and I could not believe my eyes when the total came up.. Saturday was one of those days... My daily intake goal is 1800.. I ate like my old self.. and when I finally sat down and logged it, it was over 3000!! Hang in there, start recording if you have too.. that is a favorite tool of mine.. 30 + days into my life style change (diet).. and I think I am hitting the wall as well.. Can not be discouraged.... too much is at stake for me...  

I agree with NM - tracking is freedom for me in a lot of ways. There are some days that I look at what I've eaten/planned and realize I don't have **enough** protein or fiber (the items I struggle with). I've had weeks as well where I just don't lose what I think I should have based on what I've eaten. It's easy to go back and see that the calories are good - but the sodium is off the charts! When ya hit a certain age ;-) it's easier to rely on something that's written down or noted somewhere than memory!  

Thanks for all the advice and motivation. Maybe not tracking will allow me to lose weight but not to the degree I need now. And I remember my body, when fit, was much more efficient and would burn more calories. Jlowlery mentioned something about fasting. What do you guys and girls think on this subject? 

Good luck! I am bad about tracking on the weekends, but try to keep track of every morsel during the week. It really helps me decide if a piece of candy or other junk is worth wasting the calories on, and sometimes something bad wins out because I'm human, but I can see where to make an adjustment later. I don't fast because I don't think I could do it, I'm too used to eating small "meals" all day. I'd say before you do a fasting day keep track of your calories for a whole week and see where you can adjust, then adjust for a week or two, and if you still aren't seeing any losses then try a fast day. Make sure you're measuring your food too, use measuring cups, scale, whatever you need, but measure to make sure you're not overestimating a serving size. You can do this!