One thing that I’ve been working on for the last few months is what my daily food plan should look like. It is difficult to decide how many calories are too many or how many grams of protein and carbs I should aim for every day. Different people in the group that I’ve joined have different nutritional goals. I’m just trying to figure out what is right for me, what will help me achieve my goals.
I’m taking in all of the information. I know mathematically that I need to use 3600 calories more than I take in in order to lose a pound. However, there are so many other factors including my age, body chemistry, frame, genetics, metabolism, overall physical condition, and so on.
It took a while for me to accept this, but I realize that in order to lose weight, I can shoot for about 1000 calories of food a day but I also need to focus on what combinations of food make up those calories. One of the things I heard in this group is to focus on protein and produce. Basically, as much as I have resisted the idea in the past, in order to lose weight I really have to cut out most wheat flour products most of the time, other “white” carbs like white potatoes, white rice and pasta, and pretty much all refined sugar stuff.
Okay, that last category should be a no-brainer. Cookies, cake, breakfast pastries, donuts – well, they do not a successful weight reduction plan make.
What I’ve also learned is that even so called “healthier” carbs brought to my diet from beans and legumes and some produce, as well as sugar in fruit, need to be ingested in small amounts or only occasionally.
Fruit might be produce but I won’t be successful eating it three times a day.
Overall, I’m shooting for 900-1000 calories a day with 80-100g of quality protein, 50-75g of healthy carbs, 80 plus ounces of water.
For the most part, I’m making the adjustments to hit these goals more easily than I expected. My determination is at this time much stronger than my resistance. I so badly want to get 60 pounds off and would like to get as many of them gone before my knee surgery. I’m even more strongly motivated now than I was. I guess for a long time I was sort of passive and just going along eating what I wanted instead of keeping my focus.
It’s still a struggle. Constant vigilance is still necessary to battle the ever present eating disorder. I’m not perfect but I’m much better than before. I have faith that I’m going to be able to sustain the effort and be successful.
Weighty Matters 
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