lose 20 pounds and keep it off

CW 138, ate a big chocolate mouse thing yesterday… oops
950 calories today already and about to go out to dinner for another 350. One beer is 150 already. Oh well. The important thing is to stay determined and keep it around 1300 cal/day.

Resisted for the first hour, at least. Only half a bagel with a tsp of cream cheese. I gave in to the brownie plate in the last hour, while standing around talking. Yet I calculated only 800 calories consumed at a bagel buffet, where in past years I remember having eaten two bagels. My self-control merits a B average, IMO. Because the brownies weren’t great, weren’t worth it, weren’t even better than the strawberries. Anyway, I’ve eaten about 1050 calories today and still have eight hours to be awake including a birthday party with an open party. Jeez louise. Tomorrow is gym day again. Looking forward to it. when I lose another five pounds or so, I’ll get an exercise to do sit ups and push-ups at home on my off days, because getting to the gym is a 15-minute trek.

I’m at 138 again today. It’s a little disappointing. Although losing weight any faster would be unhealthy and unsustainable. But still… getting in shape is so slow… and leaves me hungry and cranky and my sleep disturbed. 1,400 calories leaves me hungry. Just need to lose weight for another two months and keep it off for another six months or a year, then my body will have adjusted—both my set-points and my habits.
SW: 143
CW: 138
GW: 123 by or in June. Then to keep it off for a year.

You all are so quiet. Sorry if I’ve been dominating the conversation. I’m considering moving out and joining the 30,000 member “lose weight” group where the discussion is a little livelier.

Today I am still exhausted from an intense workout yesterday. But yesterday dinner was truly an accomplishment for me. Went out to a very decadent tapas restaurant with some friends, but got full on healthy food beforehand, and just tasted everything, ate no more than 200 calories there—including a glass of wine. But, while I obsessed about self-control, I really enjoyed the conversation and fully participated. One of my biggest difficulties in dieting is that I eat more with other people, out to dinner, having fun. Dieting seems so antisocial, because that self-restraint seems cold, not jovial, not spontaneous. Or worse, with other women, it can seem competitive. Or just lame and retrogressive. I.e. my best friend says she won’t support my diet on principle. Because I’m not obese, just a little plump, she thinks I should accept my body… and that it’s sad that women spend so much mental energy on their diet. Anyway, last night was great because I had a fun conversation and a great time, without pigging out. Now I know that socially, I can have self-restraint without sacrificing conversation or friends. It takes a little more effort, a lot of self-discipline. But it means dieting doesn’t require withdrawing from friends and never going out to dinner or screwing it up at parties. This is a FiRST for me.

Here’s an update for all you folks tracking my weight loss. Because I wouldn’t want to leave you hanging in suspense.

How much do I weigh today? Wait for it…

Today I was 138 pounds!
That’s down about 5 pounds in a week. The first week is always the easiest, and most of it is water of course, especially since I drank a ton before my first weigh-in. But that means I only have fifteen pounds to go. Hoping to make it by the first week of June.
My method: counting 1300 calories a day, not going out for meals, gym every other day, lots of water, no sugar, low-carb, calcium, volumetrics, dancing around rather than snacking when needing energy or a distraction, trying to stave off hunger with water, fiber, and protein, but also accepting it as inevitable in weight loss.
My problem so far: obsessing about it too much. It’s taken over my head! The goal: lose weight but not brains. Get other stuff done.

Hi this is a pretty quiet forum, but at least it’s smaller and cozier than the 30,000-member “lose weight” forum.

Just joined the group after my first week on a diet.

SW 143CW 141GW 123. Plan to arrive by June 14, at a reduction of two pounds a week.

Problem right now: obsessing about my diet, not getting any of my work done! Counting calories, researching weight loss science, looking up before and after pictures of others for inspiration, calculating my ideal weight. I guess that’s because it’s partly because it really is such a big deal. It’s so exciting to imagine myself at my ideal weight, a BMI of 20.8. And partly because it’s an easy way to procrastinate on other important things like earning money and advancing my career. I’m also afraid that if I don’t focus on my diet all the time, I’ll let it slip. Anyway, blah blah blah. Glad this is anonymous.