Her questions are:<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a picture of Scott and I on our wedding day. \u00a0It’s really hard for me to look at old pictures of myself because I realize that is not “me”. \u00a0I’m somewhere hidden away inside. \u00a0I don’t have many pictures from this time either because I couldn’t stand having my picture taken. \u00a0Another indicator that this wasn’t “me”. \u00a0The real me loved having her picture taken!<\/p>\n I’m going to split this up over a few posts otherwise it’s going to get super long! Let’s tackle calorie counting first!<\/strong><\/p>\n I did not, nor do I now, count calories.\u00a0 Several years ago when I had a false start (False Start: v.<\/em> Where you try but only half-assed and are not really focused on the end goal) in trying to eat healthy I used a free online program to help me track food intake.\u00a0 I hated it.\u00a0 It was so tedious to try and input everything and remember what I had and how much.<\/p>\n It drove me crazy.<\/p>\n This time when I started, I wasn’t even thinking or looking at calories.\u00a0 I went by portions, hunger levels, and increased my fruit and veggie intake a great deal.<\/p>\n I decreased my portion sizes and if I wanted seconds I made myself really think it over before getting up and getting more.\u00a0 I wanted to make sure that I was still legitimately hungry and not just looking for something to do. \u00a0That might sound silly but if my husband was still eating then I wanted to sit with him spending that time together. \u00a0Which would lead to picking at food or eating more when I didn’t really want it. \u00a0I only did it because it was there. \u00a0That’s a topic that could be a whole other post! \u00a0We’ve all been in that situation before I’m sure.<\/p>\n I learned to stop eating when I wasn’t hungry anymore.\u00a0 If I waited until I was “full” then I had already overeaten.\u00a0 This did take a while to adjust to and I had to pay attention to my body and what it was saying to me.\u00a0 That meant I had to slow down and take my time eating.\u00a0 Sometimes I’ll take a break.\u00a0 Put my fork down and talk with my husband.\u00a0 Drink some water.\u00a0 Check out my surroundings if we’re out to dinner.\u00a0 Something for just a minute so I can have a moment to see if I’m satisfied or still hungry.<\/p>\n I absolutely hate the “over-full” or “over-stuffed” feeling.\u00a0 Honestly, I hate<\/em> it.\u00a0 It’s uncomfortable to me and I really feel like a bloaty blah.\u00a0 Because I hate that feeling so much I really try to avoid it.\u00a0 Which brings me back to paying attention to how I feel when eating and what my hunger level is like.\u00a0 At first it takes a lot of practice and focus but once you become used to listening to your body, everything becomes second nature.\u00a0 Of course there are times when I still eat a bit too much and become “too full”.\u00a0 I’m only human!\u00a0 But it’s not that often and the majority of the time I know my limits.<\/p>\n The only time I pay attention to calories is when running.\u00a0 I check my heart-rate monitor after a run to see what my stats are.\u00a0 I don’t do anything with this number other than record it so that in the event my HRM<\/abbr> doesn’t work or I don’t have it, I will roughly know what I burn on a 4 mile run and so on.<\/p>\n That said, on my long run days I will take in more food to keep everything in check and balanced because I’m in maintenance mode now and I need to make sure I keep fueling myself and not creating a\u00a0deficit. \u00a0I’m still not counting calories though. \u00a0I have no idea what the calorie amount of anything is! \u00a0I just know what my usual amount of food is and realize I have to up that just a bit on more intense workout days, so I do. But I also make sure I don’t over-do it therefore blowing the workout.<\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/foodembrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/wedding_day.jpg\" "\\"Scott")
<\/a>Just a really brief background on me and weight-loss for those that might not know that part of my journey.\u00a0 I was 60 pounds overweight and over the course of a year through exercise and healthy eating I was able to lose the weight.\u00a0 I have been in maintenance mode for almost a year now.\u00a0 And while I realize this is not about my husband, the effects of healthy eating changed him as well.\u00a0 He did not add any additional exercise into his routine, just from healthy eating and cutting out crap\/processed foods, he lost 20lbs. \u00a0Pretty fab, right?<\/p>\n
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