I have kinda always been a bit of a foodie, which I am not entirely proud of. There have been about 4 or 5 times in my life since 2015 that I have gotten myself into hard core calorie counting mode, and on those occasions, I successfully lost weight. Sadly, some kind of stress event kind of shot things in the other direction, but I am wanting to get myself back into hard core calorie counting mode. Over the past 8 or 9 months, I have had many bad moments, where I had 2 or 3 good days, and then a bad day, so my weight so been consistently elevated the entire time. But things have been good over the past week or so. But then last night, I was around free pizza (I knew that I would be, but there was a chance that I kept the calorie count under 2000 for the day), and then, tonight, I was around free gumbo and some awesome desserts. There were also rolls, and other bread items. I had successfully gotten myself to stay away from the bread items, but felt I ate too many desserts (6 pieces, even though all of them were kinda small), and 2 servings of rice and gumbo. While it's still possibly that I kept the calorie count under 2000 for the day, I still regret eating what I ate. I badly want to learn to control myself around free food. And slowly, but surely, I want to get better at preparing my own food. I am going to have to in order to control the reflux. And, I am going to putting off my current weight goal of getting under 231 until Monday morning. I feel confident that with the right mindset over the next 3 days, I can make it happen. And then get into the full blown mindset of 1500 - 1700 calories per day, anti-acidic foods, no night eating, until I get down to 190.
Moments of weakness: I have kinda always... - Weight Loss Support
Moments of weakness



How about joining in with forum activities, briGuyIndy? You'll get more interaction that way and you'll find out more about your fellow forum members, their successes and their struggles. They'll appreciate your support
See Grigid's reply to your initial post healthunlocked.com/weight-l...
I may just join in on other fun forum activities here. At the moment, having people to report to on here every Monday, and exercising at least 4 - 5 days out of the week seems to be keeping my mind on track, and I have been noticing results lately. But I do need to check out other things you have on here.

Welcome to this friendly supportive forum. I believe as a male at around 230pounds you maybe consider starting your weightloss journey with a higher calorie allowance, may 2000 calories or more. I would suggest you go online and look up recommended calories for weightloss at your BMI. There is no quick fix for weightloss so you need to find a plan that you can follow for a longer periods of time to see real results. Your problem with free food is a tricky one but may be easier to control if you start to eat enough generally. Can you avoid these events for a while? I know its tempting to take anything thats free but if you’re paying for it in other ways, like beating yourself up about it afterwards, or needing to take a lot of indigestion medicine , then is it really free. For me the foods that tend to give me indigestion/ heartburn tend to be things like pastry, heavy puddings and stodgy supermarket bread, which sounds similar to pizza and some of the things you’re describing, so maybe reduce those. Above all try to be kind to yourself, if you overdo it foodwise one day, try to move on and not feel bad about it, just get back on plan the next day.
If you join in on here regualarly you’ll get loads of support and people will answer your questions and give you plenty of advice. You can share your successes on the scales and have a moan when it doesn’t go so well. Onward and downward, as we like to say.
I definitely appreciate this response Frenchfields and I should think about the things you have said here, especially with learning to control myself around free food. With regards to the required calories count, I will always remember in summer of 2015, I picked up a "People" magazine article talking about weight loss success stories, and one of them featured a guy who was about 6'3" with a very slim to average build who said he had done some research on his own, and took his daily caloric count down to 1500 and that he had started swimming. I don't remember how long it took him to lose his desired weight, or what his target weight was, but in the appropriate amount of time, he hit it!! And I am a little under 6'1", and I am definitely average build. So I just went with that strategy. And sometime later, I lost 20 pounds. I wanted to lose more, but my mindset around food was all over the place. And I lost 60 pounds employing the same strategy around 2019. So for the time being I am going to stick with that strategy, although I want to some mild body building in the future. Schwarzenegger and Stallone are my health and fitness idols, and I want to be more like them in due time!! But I really appreciate your comments!!

you’ll find lots of good advice here and people following different plans. The plan needs to work for you - and not just physically where you lose weight but mentally too. You need to feel like you’re not being deprived and feel like you would be able to sustain this…well, forever! This is a long term lifestyle change, not a short fix.
If you’re very regularly surrounded by free food, then maybe think of ways that mean you’re prepared.
1. If theyre evening events, you could make sure you have a filling lunch which means you won’t go hungry. This can be food high in protein and fiber (e.g eggs, Greek yoghurt, oatmeal…). Likewise, if a lunch event, eat a filling breakfast.
2. Maybe go with a plan that you will eat some GUILT FREE. Maybe going with the idea you will resist, leaves you feeling disappointed and guilty when you do eat. Total deprivation in these occasions is hard…and let’s be honest…not enjoyable. It might mean you don’t then self sabotage because it was always part of your plan that you would eat some.
You’ll find what works for you! We are all in the same boat and here to motivate each other.
You’ve got this!
Yeah, I have got to check in here at least once a week and report results......at the moment, just knowing that I need to report weight results on here every Monday is starting to get into my brain, and I just love that. I had a lower weight reading today......fantastic!!! Although, I really want to get to the point that I am weighing myself EXACTLY once a week. And today was the SECOND time I weighed myself this week....GRRRRRR!! I want to get to the point where free food doesn't really phase me....I just want to eat the appropriate amount of it, and just hang out with people at the event.

Hello theere. Oh its the worst thing being a foodie. I am exactly the same. People I know who aren't interested in food and just eat because they need to are the thinnest no doubt about it. Keep reporting on here you will get so much support and advice. We are all at different positions of weight loss. It isn't an easy ride but we have to be honest with ourselves which isn't eady but keep going and good luck.

Hi briGuyIndy, as I was reading your post I thought you must be in the U S, with talk of Gumbo (not something we see in the UK). Yes, it’s hard when you are presented with high calorie food and you get tempted. Coming on here every week and recording on the Weekly Weigh In really does help keep your mind focussed, and you will get lots of people cheering you on. You’ve got this!