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Today is a milestone: I have been counting calories and working on losing weight for 20 whole days!!! Why is this a milestone? Because usually something like this only lasts an average of 2 weeks, and now I am going forward with because there is a huge leap of positiveness in me, as well as a different type of desire to keep going. This time losing weight/counting calories is for myself and not for someone else, even though it may have begun that way.
This time I am using an online program to help me, which is also making a difference I believe. It is CalorieKing.com and I am paying $12 a month, which is a lot cheaper than Weight Watchers Online. This program also doesn’t push you and the support groups and people I have found there have helped me considerably already.
On CalorieKing there is a section for keeping down the food you eat, exercise, liquids you drink, and daily nutrition guides as well as a place to help you go up in levels of the program without pushing you beyond what you can do at any given time. I like this more than anything, I think; plus, it takes into consideration your mobility level, which Weight Watchers Online didn’t do. There is also an online diary you can keep there, which I am also doing, to keep down thoughts and observations about when I want to over-eat or when I start to nibble. Noticing what causes me to binge or not eat is beginning to make a big difference in how I handle some aspects of the stress in my life (and right now there is a lot and I will explain that later).
One of the biggest things about this program is how it encourages you to keep a handwritten journal/diary of what you eat. You don’t have to have the calorie count of what you eat because the program helps find the food for you and then gives you the calories. So, as long as you keep down what you eat the pressure is off and you can go out and eat with friends, have a coffee, etc., and not worry about how many calories you are taking in then. It seems like it wouldn’t make a big difference, but it does because you still enjoy the little treats you give yourself while learning how to make different choices in eating out and in snacking. I noticed this not too long ago then went in search on the site to see if other people had discovered the same thing and was pleased to find most of the people who are doing this program do pretty much the same.
If you can’t tell, I am really excited about this. I can’t visibly see any difference in how I look, but I see myself every day; however, I have noticed a difference in how my clothes fit and an increase in my energy level. This is actually one program I am more certain of keeping than any other thing I’ve tried so far. I don’t feel judged if I make a slip and go over the calorie goal for a day and I don’t feel horribly guilty, because the program lets me see in numbers what I did and it makes ME accountable. I am actually making progress, even in the wheelchair!
