DA (dieters anonymous?)

[L-Josephine]

This very morning, my friend texted me to let me know "Today is the Day!" She has joined 'myfitnesspal' and is counting calories and making healthy choices and feeling more positive about taking control...

I have realised that, losing weight is about so much more than what goes in my mouth and what doesn't go in my mouth! I have read all the motivational blurb, I know I "can't excercise myself out of a bad diet" and portion control is key....

That's all the external stuff taken care of, but what about me? What about how I feel about the very, very long and arduous journey ahead? Well, I feel scared...scare of failure (again)... But I know that if I take each minute, hour, day at a time, I can achieve far more than if I were doing nothing at all...

Today's useful tool is my food diary. Writing down everything I eat is very theraputic and a little bit of control I need...

Thank you all...x

[Hidden]

You succinctly sum up some of the key issues I and many others like me are trying to get to grips with. Frequency and portion size, as you rightly say are key. Keeping tabs on what you eat throughout the day is something I also do. I discard the information at the end of each day though. I wish I'd kept it simple as you are doing and just kept a diary. It's such a good idea, and if nothing else, it's useful to look back and get menu ideas for the days/weeks ahead. Brilliant.

Getting to grips with portion size is difficult, and although not for everyone, I've started taking photo's of correct portion sizes, and use them as screen savers on my laptop. The aim is to take some of the work out of catering for me and the family, by serving up correct portion sizes intuitively. I also dislike having to constantly refer to calories, simply because I can't seem to retain the information. I need it drummed into my thick head

If I worked for a catering company, I would have been sacked by now, for allowing the portion sizes to creep upwards

You mention failure. Failure is when we stop trying, and you sound like a person who does not give up easily. So long as we strive to move forward, we have not failed. My experience so far, is that while dieting, weight will go up and down. Members of this site also pointed out that other measurements are important, such as waist and hip. I've found that at times my weight will rise but the other measurements seem to be more consistent in showing a loss.

This is a link to a post I done earlier and I hope it's of interest to you. healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

You sound like a strong person and particularly with friends also dieting, I'm sure that you have the determination to stick to a plan.

Wishing you all the best

[L-Josephine in reply to Hidden]

You have lifted me with your lovely post Tewson, thank you!

[ssjtom]

Hi Josephine,

It's easy to feel overwhelmed and scared but you have the right attitude about it. It's about small steps and small goals to help you eventually reach that bigger goal. Too many people start a weight loss journey expecting it to be easy but your realize it will be hard and you're brave enough to take steps towards a better healthier future for yourself.

If you ever don't have access to your food diary for calorie counts just remember a fist or a palm is a decent portion size - Lean meat (chicken, tuna and fish) and vedge are always your friend because you can eat pretty much as much as you want of this and still lose weight

Good luck!!!