Hi KJ. I am new to Fitbit and do not (yet) own a device though I use this dashbord daily to track my progress (and at times lack of progress). I recently bought the Fitbit Aria scale which tracks each weigh-in on the dashboard for me so that I can see every ounce (literally) of progress and setbacks.
As for the food... that is a tough one. I have struggled for years with food and alcohol in the sense that I would eat and drink whatever I wanted whenever I felt like it. Being around friends and my significant other made it easy for me to eat, drink, and be merry without thinking of the consequences. When I started to notice my puffy face in photos and my muffin top expansion I kept telling myself that I should do something about it, but never did. I kept telling myself that "Today is the day." Then I would have setbacks and find myself berating myself in front of the mirror calling myself all sorts of degrading names (as if that helps) and once again telling myself that "Today is the day. I am going to do this. I am going to eat better."
Well, as many of us know, it is a familiar and vicious cycle of mini successess followed by setbacks and self-loathing. All I can tell you is what seems to be working for me this time and why this time is different.
1. You have to be ready. Don't do it for anyone else. Don't do it because you think it is the right thing to do. Do it because you are ready. You have to think about shopping, cooking, eating, drinking as though it were your job. Why? Because it is your job. It's work. If losing weight and getting in shape were easy we wouldn't be having this conversation.
2. Once you are truly ready, throw away everything in the house that you know is a weakness.
This is difficult if you have others living with you who want those food items in the house so that is a whole different type of challenge. Once you identify your "go to" foods, slowly replace them with other choices. Protein is very filling. If you like eggs, have hard boiled eggs on hand in the fridge. If you like chicken, bake or pan sautee (in chicken broth vs. oil) some chicken and have lots ready in the fridge for snacks. Salads seem boring but there are a lot of great healthy toppings that do not add a lot of calories or fat. Feta cheese, chicken breast, grape tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions, etc. Choose salad dressings that are low in fat and calories and use sparingly. Make your own if necessary.
If you are not comfortable eating at home, look up all of the nutritional information online for fast food and other places that you tend to gravitate towards. Making educated choices are much better than grasping at the unknown.
Log everything you eat and drink. Log it. After a couple of weeks you will begin to see patterns and identify food items that are not helping you reach your goals. It's easier to make adjustments when you have tracked your habits over time.
3. Don't change everything at once. Start with small goals. Maybe say, "Today I am not drinking any wine." Fill in the blank with any food/drink that is a goal for you. Then try it again for the second day until it becomes easier.
4. Don't beat yourself up for having setbacks. Just wake up the next day and decide whether or not you are ready today to make the changes.
That is what has helped me to not get overwhelmed. I do hope it works for you. You can do anything that you want to do so long as you truly want to do so. 🙂
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