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Old 08-10-2011, 05:24 PM   #16  
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Don't get overwhelmed. There are tons of weight loss methods here at 3FC and the rest of the world and probably none of them will work for you as is. Pick a forum here (WW, SB, IP, WLS, CC, etc.) and I'll bet you that no two people in that forum do the plan exactly the same.

Your weight loss plan will be unlike anyone else's because YOU ARE UNLIKE ANYONE ELSE . YOU ARE A UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL.

How much time do you have before you go back to school? Can you sit down and write out a one month food and exercise plan based on what's worked for you so far? (Really easy if you've kept logs up to this point.) Having a plan in place before the back to school rush will help keep you on track. And once you're in a rhythm with school, you can review your plan and tweak it when/if necessary.
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Old 08-10-2011, 05:34 PM   #17  
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Sophronia - think about what a great choice you've already made in trying to get this figured out BEFORE you go back to school. I pretty much agree with KISS. The simpler the better. I also read that people who tend to eat the same thing every day for 1 or 2 meals lose weight more rapidly than those who don't because they only have to worry about 1 or 2 meals a day. I read that very recently. Since January, I've been eating the same breakfast and lunch just about every day. Lucky for me that I don't mind doing it that way. Maybe this is a good approach for you during the school years, too.

Try to eat what you know is healthy. Stay away from processed food, rice, pasta, and potatoes as much as possible. (I know, they're cheap foods for a person on a budget.) I sort of count calories, but I don't ever stop eating extra veggies if I feel a bit hungry. If I think I'm not getting enough protein, I mix a serving of whey protein and have it with a meal or as a snack. Plan ahead. I don't know your living arrangements, but cook on the weekends when you have time. There's nothing wrong with healthy sandwiches on healthy bread (yeah - the more expensive bread.) Keep meals very simple and easy to prep. Salads with tuna or chicken and lots of veggies are a favorite supper for me. Sometimes lunch is a hard pretzel, a piece of cheese, a few almonds and an apple.

You are going to be busy, but just let this stress drop away. You know what to do and you can do it. Don't think about it so hard!

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Old 08-10-2011, 07:33 PM   #18  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sophronia View Post
About how running for weight loss is not effective.
I think everyone is different. I never believed in the power of running until I tried it. It worked for me, the only cardio that's ever worked for me. And believe me, I googled just about every site imaginable looking for a cardio answer to my questions.

You need to shift through all the 'white noise', so to speak and only pay attention to what interests you enough to try it. Only you know what your body is capable of and your emotional limitations when it comes to fitness and weight management.

Don't pay attention to what worked for anybody else. Everyone's journey towards wellness is unique to them. Good luck to you.
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Old 08-10-2011, 07:47 PM   #19  
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The best decision I made was to stop dieting -- it caused too much stress.

Now I just focus on making the best choices I can, and being aware of portion sizes. I figure I make good choices 85% of the time, the other 15% might not be the healthiest choice - but I limit my intake.

We have to eat every day of our life, and I'm not going to "diet" the rest of my life -- but I'm going to b aware of what I'm eating.
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Old 08-10-2011, 07:48 PM   #20  
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here I go on my favourite bandwagon again!!

There's a huge difference between people 20lbs overweight, and those that are 100+ overweight. Our reasons for eating, for not losing, for procrastinating, for a lot of things, are convoluted and more than just "don't eat that". Or the "i'll be good until...."

I've dieted on and off for 20 years, and I never succeeded until I rooted around in my brain a bit and found out WHY I ate so much, WHY i never exercised, WHY I couldn't get a handle on it -- it wasn't anything that exciting or profound lol I was just a spoiled little brat stuck in a grown woman's body, and that spoiled brat would have fits on the floor until she got what she wanted, usually McDonalds and some Dairy Queen! ha! But, just as I've learned to cope with the urge to buy $400 shoes and realize it's not worth it, I've learned to cope with food. Nothing's off limits, that would just make me crazy. I've learned to mentally count calories and know what's 'worth' it and what's not.

For everyone it's different, I'm sure. I just know the freedom from the lure and pull of bad eating is pretty priceless! and dropping a ton was fun too
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Old 08-10-2011, 08:24 PM   #21  
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I know what you mean!!!!!!!
After many years of diet plans etc - I've given up on them all!

All I do now is follow a low GI style of eating, and vaguely count calories in my head I aim for 1200-1500....and try to walk everyday.

I don't meticulously weigh or measure, I don't fret about 20 calories here or there, or even 200 calories, or carbs - too many/not enough - I just use common sense. I have a sandwich (with grainy bread) if i feel like it, a salad or soup if that's what I want, pasta or rice with dinner, some days I eat 4 peices of bread - others none - I make healthy whole food choices where I can and eat a sensible amount.

I lost a heap of weight like this previously so did my husband, we just got lazy and went back to bad habits...
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Old 08-10-2011, 08:48 PM   #22  
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If you listen to all the diet advice out there (not on 3FC but out there in general) you would basically never be able to eat anything without finding something wrong with it! Just eat less and eat healthy - you will find what works for you.
Like I'm sure many people here, I am an alumnus of many diet plans, some multiple times (oh, if but I could have all those WW $$ back! And Jenny Craig! And Diet Center! And Optifast! And Zone delivery! And... etc.) It all boils down to what helps you eat less and exercise more, no? For life, not until you lose the weight...
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Old 08-11-2011, 03:59 AM   #23  
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It's only depressing if you want it to be different than it is. Once you accept that it is what it is, it becomes a lot less stressful.

The human body isn't a simple piece of equipment, and I don't know why we expect it to be. Why would you expect health to be easier than programming your vcr?

That doesn't mean you need the 10,000 page manual before you operate it, but it does mean that you learn as you go. You learn what works for you.

Imagine how complicated a car would have to be, in order to run on not just gasoline, but also on electricity, paper, cooking oil, grass clippings, food garbage, wood....

Biological machines are a lot more complicated than mechanical ones. We're not surprised that a factory's fuel needs vary depending on many factors (the weather, how well the building is insulated, how often people enter and leave the building, how much and what types of products are being created, what kind of trash they're producing, even the health and behavior of the employees...), so why is it so confusing that the human body can't be reduced to calories in/calories out.

I learned for example that my body temperature tends to be a full degree or more higher when I'm eating low-carb. Of course that affects the calories out, part of the equation. A higher body temperature requires more calories to maintain (at least so long as the air temperature is significantly lower than body temperature).

You also burn more calories cooling the body during hot weather (or during exercise).

It's not a simple equation, because there are ten billion equations that need to be done. If you drastically cut calories, you may experience fatigue. Fatigue may make it harder to exercise, you may conserve energy without even realizing it.

I have autoimmune and other health issues, and I've been reading that many factors can cause them (and all of them can affect and be affected by metabolism). It's quite possible that my chronic dieting not only lowered my metabolism, it may have done so by diverting metabolism (energy) away from immune function. I may have burned fewer calories, because my body's systems decided that immunity was less essential than something else.

Why didn't my immune system get all the resources it needed? Maybe because I was shortchanging my body with my chronic dieting. Maybe I didn't give my body enough of the right kind of fuel, or enough rest?

I spent many years chronically sleep-deprived (proving to the world and myself that I might be fat, but I wasn't lazy, and usually working two jobs for 15 years to prove it). When my doctors told me that treating my sleep apnea and sleep deprivation would result in at least some effortless weight loss I thought they were nuts, but that's exactly what happened. For the first time, ever in my life I lost weight without trying - 20 lbs!

We know that sleep deprivation lowers metabolism, and causes immune disfunction (rats deprived of sleep die of immune system misfunctions - succumbing to infection or autoimmune issues).

With all of the ten billion things that can affect how our body works - why wouldn't energy needs be effected by all of them?

Just because it's not simple grade-school math, doesn't mean we can't understand the trends well enough to make progress, we just can't expect to control the exact progress.

I can choose to make changes that are likely to result in weight loss. I cannot choose to lose exactly 3 lbs (or any amount) in a week or any other given period of time (it's why I think weight by date goals are often counterproductive).

I can only control what I can control, and while I do not yet know my perfect diet or lifestyle (or if there is one) I do know a lot about what I can do to make things better.

Until we do understand all of the factors better, we're going to have to do the best we can. Most of us do know where improvements can be made (if we're not sleeping 7-8 hours, we can start working towards that. If we're not eating many fruits and vegetables, we can start working at including more. If we're not exercising, we can start....)

It's not rocket science, it's a whole lot more complicated, and yet it's not. We can't control it completely, but we do have a lot of control, but to a point we have to be scientist AND lab rat, and we need to accept that we have some control, but not complete control.

Last edited by kaplods; 08-11-2011 at 04:02 AM.
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Old 08-11-2011, 11:09 AM   #24  
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Some incredibly helpful feedback here. Kaplods, you have actually hit the very nerve of my anxiety. I am calculating how much I will need to do between school (law school, BTW, so inherently intense), work, commuting, five children and their needs, etc. And I'm doing it as a newly-single mother. Last semester, I figured out early that I would have two days per week on average when I would not be sleeping. This semester, I can't see it being any better. And I know that sleep deprivation impacts my weight loss.

Having said that, though, I do feel much better. The advice to just relax, do what I can, and let the rest fall where it needs to fall was so important for me to hear right now. I may not be able to get enough sleep - for now - but I can choose to bring fresh veggies and fruit to class to snack on instead of relying on fast food. (I had been determined to do a juice fast, but the juicer I had in mind from Craig's List fell through, and I can't realistically afford all the fresh produce right now, which had been another source of frustration.) I can choose to stock shoes in my study carrel so if I have a deadline and can't fit in a real "work out," I can still walk around campus for 20 or 30 minutes. I can also choose to maintain the "I'm in weight control mode" mindset that helps me stave off the myriad back-to-school celebration food events, free brownies at the career development events, etc.

Losing weight in an optimal way for me is something that would require a considerable amount of time and attention, and it's definitely the way I prefer to tackle things. But I know from the last time I lost 90+ pounds that this is also incredibly difficult to sustain. I also decided not to weigh this time around, as I anticipate my weight loss to be slow, and it would make me super crazy with my Type-A personality. As long as I feel energized and am more accessible to my kids because of my willingness to do active things with them, I will cling to those things and let the weight loss take care of itself. At least, I feel like I can live with that for now. It's certainly a better alternative than what I did when school started again last year.

Thanks for such insightful comments. I feel so much better about just relaxing and letting things be. (Deep, cleansing breath here)
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Old 08-11-2011, 12:03 PM   #25  
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I know what you mean about being frustrated that weightloss can't be exactly the way you want it to be. I too have a controlling personality and a strong sense of justice and so I often get frustrated when i feel that I've done everything I should be doing (eaten less, moved more, drank water) and don't see a result on the scale. I mean, its not FAIR!!! Does this mean that my plan is wrong or doesn't work??? No!!!

I think this can be as easy as you want to make it. If you don't have time right now to measure your micro and macro nutrients, then don't. Do what you can for now. Being disciplined enough to take on this journey in whatever way you choose is already difficult enough without pressuring yourself to take on more than you're capable of. If you can watch your calories but can't afford whole foods now, then just watch your calories for now on the foods you CAN afford.

Obviously for health reasons, it would be nice of your micro and macro nutrients were on point, but I don't think that's what's going to prevent you from losing weight in the long run. I do believe in the body account theory of consumption vs expenditure in the long term. Exercise is good for you in so many ways whether it is for weightloss or not (I've found it helps more in changing my body than in actual scale victories) and though I can't claim to be a fan, it's something I've come to accept like brushing my teeth or something. I may not like it but I do it because it's good for me and it gives me a heightened respect for my body and what I put into it, especially when you track how many calories you burn whilst exercising.

For me, even though I enjoy reading all the new research and the new things on weightloss, I'm trying to take them with a pinch of salt. I studied public health in grad school and had my own research (although in reproductive health not nutrition) so i know how easy it is to make deductions from studies and get them published especially if they're sensational as well as how for almost every new theory, there's one that shuts it down. Does this mean everyone is wrong? NO! But it also means dont feel like you have to do everything or try everything in order to succeed. There are several paths to goal but it would be a waste of your time to feel you have to try them all in order to get to the end.

It's so easy to become unhealthily obsessed and consumed by this journey to the point that you can't even enjoy the benefits of your successes along the way. And this is not sustainable for anyone, because one day you WILL crack and that's when you'll re-gain weight amd find yourself back at the beginning wondering what happened. I've been down that road; it sucks. Better to pick something you know you can stick with and sustain for the rest of your life. I picked calorie countingl because for me i know it's not realistic that I will prep a diet of whole foods and exotic root vegetables for myself right now; there will be non-wholesome yet calorie-tracked foods thrown in here and there. For you, it could be something else, whether that's low cal or low carb or portion control or a meal delivery system or whatever. Stick with it, play with it from time to time if you like to see what helps or hurts, and to keep from getting bored. But don't feel like you have to change it because you are not losing the amount of weigh you feel you should in the time frame you want. Keep at it and you WILL get there. Don't be in a hurry. Keep it simple, stay on plan and the weight will come off. The weigh loss part isn't that difficult, it's the doing it in the desired time frame that is.

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Old 08-11-2011, 12:29 PM   #26  
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I think losing weight "in an optimal way," is highly overrated. In fact, I think it's mostly myth.

We have these culturally reinforced expectations that dieting must be done perfectly, or not at all.

Even what we tell ourselves, and others reflects this. So many times I've been told that if I wasn't 100% on plan, if I made a lot of mistakes, it was because I wasn't ready to lose the weight, that I didn't really want to.

It took 35 years, but I finally realized that was complete hogwash. If a person picks up a musical instrument and doesn't play perfectly from the first attempt, we don't tell them that they're just not ready to play the flute (or whatever) and don't want to badly enough.

Our culture trains, if not brainwashes, people to diet stupidly. To diet perfectly or not at all - that's why so many of us have spent most of our lives always either rapidly gaining or relatively rapidly losing (unfortunately it's usually much easier and much more rapid where gaining is concerned).

I think we pile so many "should be doings" on our plate, that it becomes impossible to succeed. And giving up IS the logical thing to do when success becomes impossible. I think the main problem is that we refulse to see the successes, and only see the failures.

We don't see a "not gain" as a success, we see it as a failure to lose.

If we plan on losing 10 lbs by an arbitrary, self-imposed deadline and only lose 8 - we see the failure, and think of all the things we could and should have done differently, rather than celebrate the freakin' awesomeness of having lost 8 lbs. Heck even if we only lost 2 lbs out of the 10 we intended, we need to see the success in that, not the failure.

We're so used to seeing the failure, that weight loss becomes a "damned if you do, damned if you don't," prospect and when we have those in our lives, the tendency is to choose the path of least resistance. If I'm doomed to failure anyway, I might as well do what's easiest and most comfortable in the short term.

I've lost most of my weight, almost to prove myself wrong. I've lost it all with almost no effort, because I didn't think I had the effort in me. Instead of plowing on full-steam ahead, getting sick of it, and giving up, I approached weight loss "backwards." I decided what health improvements I was willing to make, and commit to forever (or the foreseeable future), whether or not they resulted in weight loss. That way, when I didn't see weight loss, I wasn't tempted to quit. The first two years of that plan resulted in no weight loss (but I did successfully keep off the 20 lbs I had lost accidentally from sleep apnea treatment). It did result in health, strength and stamina improvements that were actually as valuable (or more so) than weight loss. It was during those two years that I regained my ability to dress and bathe without assistance (My rock bottom was pretty low).

We need to get the message out that weight loss and health are worth doing poorly, if we don't have the energy or resources to do them well.
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Old 08-11-2011, 01:54 PM   #27  
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I think a lot of the more detailed, complicated, and often contradictory pieces of information are here more for "tweaking" a basic plan that, for whatever reason, isn't working. Because weight loss generally IS simple, but for some people in some circumstances, it doesn't work out that way (and really, medical science's understanding of all the factors that can affect metabolism, much less of what a healthy diet includes or does not include, is incomplete). I can think of a few examples off the top of my head.

1. Let's say there is a metabolic condition going on - insulin resistance, PCOS, a thyroid issue. In those cases, "calories in vs calories out" isn't BROKEN, but IMO, the "calories out" part can be affected by diet and those conditions. So someone with PCOS can eat a higher refined carb diet equaling 1400 calories and exercise, and even though their burn should theoretically be 2000 calories, they don't lose. It happens! In that case, some of the more complex diet advice (particular as to refined carb intake) can be useful in getting losses going again.

2. Plateaus, stalls, etc happen to most people. Again, this is an instance where "calories in/calories out" seems broken. My personal theory is that it isn't broken at all, but that sometimes, the weight loss you've already experienced causes the "calories out" part to go a bit wacky for a while. Again, the more detailed tweaking seems to come into play in these instances.

3. For some people, the calories in/calories out part works perfectly, but they find that particular foods they eat, exercises they do, etc make it harder to stick to the "calories in" part. So if eating sugar makes your sugar cravings go off the rails, it may be harder to stick to the calories in budget you've allotted yourself. A lot of the advice you'll see is really about managing that...what foods make you feel more satisfied longer, what foods trigger cravings, etc. These don't change the weight loss equation itself, they just make it easier to execute.
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Old 08-11-2011, 02:57 PM   #28  
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3. For some people, the calories in/calories out part works perfectly, but they find that particular foods they eat, exercises they do, etc make it harder to stick to the "calories in" part. So if eating sugar makes your sugar cravings go off the rails, it may be harder to stick to the calories in budget you've allotted yourself. A lot of the advice you'll see is really about managing that...what foods make you feel more satisfied longer, what foods trigger cravings, etc. These don't change the weight loss equation itself, they just make it easier to execute.

this is so spot on!!

In the past, I've lost weight with calorie counter and was a pretty strong adherent to calories in vs. calories out. But now I'm on what I would consider a pretty extreme plan - low fat and very low carb with no grains or starches other than 2 tbs of oat bran every day. And I have never, ever had an easier time staying on plan. I'm almost 12 weeks in and have not slipped at all, and don't even have cravings. I never could have imagined myself feeling that way.
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Old 08-12-2011, 12:48 AM   #29  
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I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling frustrated. What you posted here IS the basic idea of losing weight. It CAN be that simple.

But I can totally understand where you're coming from. As much as I love 3FC, I feel like I go on information overload too often. I posted yesterday about how I kept myself from exercising because I had read (in the forums here) that if I didn't increase my calories I would stall out. (I posted a thread about it later and got some positive responses but others that confirmed my fears about needing to up my calories.) I was quite literally preparing - and sort of even acting - for a plateau that hadn't even happened! (And still hasn't happened. I eventually did say screw it and started exercising 6 days a week. I'm so glad I made the change!)

I finally had to come to terms with the bigger picture. Maybe free weights are better than machines. Maybe most people should up their calories when they begin exercising. I'm feeling good doing what I'm doing, and I'm getting results. Just because I'm not doing things the way people on the Internet say I "should" doesn't mean I need to change. It means I need to consider their advice as it relates to my specific situation but discard the rest.

Good luck to you, sweetie! I know it's hard, but I am the queen of neuroses. If I can do it, anyone can.
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Old 08-12-2011, 02:13 AM   #30  
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I follow my own plan and use 3FC for the support system that it offers. I have found a few choice threads that I absolutely love and everyone is doing something different, just posting weight loss AND gains and offering each other support. I don't even know what half of them are doing, but I do know that they offer me words of encouragement and appreciate the same.

Having said that, as everyone else has said, you need to find a plan that works for you. Trust me, everyone here has probably tried a ton of diets and plans and for those that are showing a consistent loss or are in maintenance, it's because they found something that works for them and their lifestyle and I doubt anyone thinks it was easy.

After you find that plan...find a support system -- whether it be 3FC or a group that meets in person like OA or FA.

I hope this helps
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