I Got Skinny Eating PB&J

A pretty bad pic of me taken in May

'Tis true.  It wasn't the peanut butter and jelly that made me skinny though.  Let me explain...

A couple months ago, I was just plain disgusted with myself.  I was at my heaviest ever, even though it didn't fully show.  My face still appeared thin because all that weight settled right in my middle.  Boy, was my middle ever thick!  Hubby never complained and always told me I looked beautiful.  But I was disgusted.  After all, I was running two to three times a week, several miles, and I was still fat.  That is so not fair.  I decided that, with my age and metabolism, running 10 miles a week alone was not enough to make me lose weight.  I had to quit "rewarding myself" with snacks and buckle down for a mean and nasty diet.

I've tried dieting in the past and have almost always failed.  There was only one other time in my life that I lost a descent amount of weight.  I tried that method again (and even blogged about it), but it didn't stick.  When so much time passed and I didn't see any results, I gave up and threw in the towel.  So, in my frustration, I contacted a cousin of mine who lost a significant amount of weight and looks amazing.  She recommended the app she used.

Me today.  Photo credit:
Baby Girl, the only one home.  :)

It's called My Fitness Pal (myfitnesspal.com) and I decided right then and there that I was fully on board.  I remember her talking about it a while back, but hadn't paid much attention.  This time, however, I was paying some serious attention.  I plugged in my information right away and tried to recall everything I had eaten that day so far.

The first thing about the app that works for me is accountability.  I am a rule follower and will not allow myself to cheat.  I won't put anything in my mouth that I did not enter into the app.  The second thing that makes this program work for me is realization.  I like to enter the food into the app before I actually eat it.  That way, if I realize that particular food has a ridiculous amount of calories, I can pass on it.  It blew my mind how many calories are in some things that I thought weren't that bad.  Another thing that I love is that any calories you burn while exercising are added to your total for the day!  So I can reward myself for working hard!  The combination of those three things were enough to make this work for me.

I have a friend who is a professional dieter.  She's a Weight Watchers fanatic, but has gained and lost hundreds of pounds on that program.  As soon as she quits, she puts it all back on.  I decided to invite her to try this program with me.  It's cool how you can do it with friends.  The competition and public display is another big motivator for me.  My friend is very competitive, so I thought that would be a turn-on for her too.  Right away, she snubbed her nose at it.  On WW, she could eat as many fruits and vegetables she wanted for "free."  On My Fitness Pal, calories were still registered for fruits and veggies.  She didn't like that.  I explained that it's not as scientific as WW, but it's FREE!  No hefty monthly fees to pay....not even a cost to download the program!  How much could you expect?

One thing I hate about dieting is eating disgusting food.  I refuse to do that.  I have to put something in my mouth that tastes good.  Every day for breakfast, I eat two pieces of buttered toast and hot tea with Splenda.  240 calories.  Every day.  Most days for lunch, I eat a PB&J sandwich and one serving of Pringles (as opposed to the multiple servings I ate before).  425 calories.  Almost every day.  Yeah, I'm kind of a boring eater.  It's just easier for me to eat the same thing day in and day out than to worry about what I'm going to have.  That leaves enough calories for a pretty good dinner or a descent dinner and one snack.

Snacks.  That was one major place I had issues.  I ate several snacks a day.  But on this plan, I could no longer "afford" them.  That was so hard for me at first.  At this point, I've gotten used to that.  I no longer require something before bed.  I'm perfectly content being done with food after dinner.  (I never thought I'd say that!)

Desserts.  That was another huge pitfall for me.  But when you realize that one muffin is as many calories as an entire meal, you learn to pass on desserts.  I can have a pretty good snack for the same amount of calories as a sweet tea.  Crazy!

I've changed my ways, changed my habits.  I'm living a new life now and I'm so much happier about it!  I hit the goal I originally set for myself and may possibly go just a few more pounds for safety.  Like I said, I am now accustomed to eating this way.  I just want to maintain where I am right now.  My total as of today is 18 lbs.!

Has anyone else tried this app?  Did you have any success with it or did it not work for you?  I'd love to hear your experiences!