This morning was weigh-in and I was happy with the results — 192. That means two pounds lost since last Monday. I need more weeks like that!
I was pondering something yesterday, as I diligently entered every measly calorie I consumed… will I always have to do that? Will I always have to take the time to look up foods I consume and tally the calories to gauge how many I have left that I *can* consume in a given day?
I’ve decided that I seemed to have better success doing it than not doing it, as my weight loss has been a bit more steady since beginning this activity, and I haven’t had plateaus that have lasted as long since then either. Seeing the numbers in black and white really is helpful to me. It’s my reality check when my “gut check” would otherwise tell me “well, it probably wouldn’t hurt to have (fill in the blank food)…”
So, I guess I’d have to be open to it… I wonder if I will be as intense about it, though, once I have lost my 100 pounds or reach my goal weight (which may end up being 115 or 120 pounds total loss). Once I reach that maintenance phase and just learn how to prevent the weight from coming back on, perhaps I will have spent enough months logging the calories that my mental calculations and gut checks will be as accurate as the reality checks I’m using now.
Despite requiring the effort of time, it doesn’t cost me anything to do it. And, although tedious, it really isn’t all that time-consuming when compared to the amount of time spent doing other things that are less rewarding or less effective!
Tags: counting calories, weekly weigh-in
I often wonder if I’ll ever be able to stop counting everything too.