[dms6k]

Hi:
I am new and I really need some support and help. I am 5'10" and weigh 280 lbs. I am 38 years old. I feel my weight is literally stuck on my body and I can't get it off. I am not a groger like you see on Tv sometimes where they eat 2-3 meals in one sitting but I am a starch eater. I like little veggies, lots of fruits, little meat, lots of butter and fried stuff.

Anyone out there feel like this? I do exercise daily whether it be 10 minutes or 30 miinutes. I am not a couch potato although I feel like it when I try to loose and it just does not happen.

Any help or suggesstions would be appriciated!!

[MeredithP1]

I've felt like this before. I wasn't really being honest with myself though. I was working out like crazy, but i wasn't cutting back in my calories enough to lose the weight. I felt like because I was working so hard at the gym I ought to be losing weight, but the truth was that my caloric intake wasn't less than what I was burning and in the end, that's what it boils down to.

[funniegrrl]

Exercise is great for many reasons, no matter what your weight, so good for you for recognizing that. But, if you don't change your eating habits you won't lose weight, period. You don't have to eat 'low carb' but you do have to cut your calories. For general health, you also need to eat a more balanced diet, including vegetables.

If you go to http://www.jimkaras.com/loss_math01.cfm you can plug your stats into the Harris-Benedict calculator. This will tell you how many calories you can eat and lose weight. Then, you can go about changing your eating habits. You can start a formal plan, either self-devised or otherwise, or you can just start gradually cutting back on the things you KNOW are not good for you. For example, start by eliminating fried foods. Etc. If you want some guidance on how to build a balanced diet, go to www.fitday.com. You can log your daily intake there, but they also have some great information on general nutrition you can read.

The fat isn't stuck, it WILL come off if you work on your intake. Take it from me, I've lost 165 so far, and I've ALWAYS been seriously overweight. It can be done, but it takes a little diligence and determination. There is no magic bullet.

[anajoebowen]

Hi, dms6k I'm Ana and I understand the feeling. I have been always heavy since an child. Doing yo yo diets. But this year i told my self i'm going to do it for me. I started in Feb weighting 319lbs and felt really depressed. I am currently 277lbs. I started doing Atkins and even joined an gym. I couldn't even walk on the treadmill for more than 5 mintues. But I started doing it adding for time to my walk. Now I'm at 60 mintues. Some days is better than others.

I had started off with other co-workers but after an month I couldn't get anyone to go to the gym. But I go by myself now. My husband is not really supportive only cause he is 6'1 and 140lbs. He can eat anything and be fine.
But he doesn't know how I feel. So I understand your struggle and if you need an friend let me know.

But this process is slow but I trying to do it for my health and my kids. And I can use an friend as well.

[KTna]

I just did the calculator. I usually consume 1300-1500 calories a day.
According to the calculator that will only let me lose 1 lb a week. is that right? If I want to lose 2 lbs a week I would be below 1200 a day, and that is not healthy according to my doctor.
I added that I workout 3-4 times a week, so I assume WITH the exercise I can only lose 1 lb a week.
Is this true? My expectation was that I could lose 2 per week, maybe I can't.

[marbleflys]

1 lb. a week adds up quickly to a substantial weight loss.....it's a win-win situation.....just think how awful it would be if you GAINED one lb. a week........

what I don't get is how I can gain 3 lbs. by going out to dinner and then have to work for 3 weeks to take it off????

[aphil]

KTna-Losing 1 pound a week is a healthy goal. You are right, you should not be going to 1200 calories a day or below. If you would like however to lose at a SLIGHTLY quicker pace-just over 1 pound a week (maybe 5 pounds a month instead of 4) then you could up your exercise from 3-4 days a week up to 5-6 days a week-or you could lengthen your workouts slightly on the 3-4 days you are currently working out. If currently work out for 30 minutes 3 days a week-adding 10 minutes to each workout would be essentially the same as adding an extra 30 minute workout in each week. It can really add up.

dms6k-You state that you exercise daily from 10-30 minutes per day, and that you eat-but don't eat huge portions. This information is a little vague-so I will give advice just on what seem to be "common" mistakes that cause people to plateau in heir weight loss efforts.

The first thing is the exercise. Exactly how intense and productive is the 10-30 minutes a day that you do? If you are walking for 10-30 minutes-are you taking a slow casual stroll, or are you really giving it all you have with a brisk pace? If you are doing strength training exercises-are you going through the motions with 1 or 2 pound weights-and not really feeling muscle fatigue-or are you really lifting a weight that fatigues your muscle after a set of the exercises? What I am saying, is that there are different degrees of activity. If you want to get results-you have to challenge yourself-and when your fitness level improves, you have to KEEP challenging it to continue to see results.
If you start out walking a 1/2 mile when you are extremely out of shape it may be hard at first-but a month later it isn't so bad. At that point is when you need to kick it up to a 1 mile walk. If you have been using 2 pound weights and they are "flying through the air" and you aren't feeling fatigue you need to go heavier. If you do 20 minutes on the exercise bike-when you don't "feel it" any longer you should probably up the resistance a notch on the bike setting.

The second is diet. I would recommend to EVERYONE that they maintain some sort of journal each day of exactly what you eat and drink each day-including the portion size. It is so easy to underestimate the calories of what you are really consuming each day. My mother in law tells me all the time that she doesn't eat that much (as far as portion sizes) but she does drink regular soda, chocolate milk in the mornings, and even while she eats regular portion sizes-she eats high calorie foods a lot-so she is consuming a lot more calories a day than she realizes.
Portion size is a good start-but there is also the idea of volumetrics. A can of Pepsi is 150 calories-and two small apples together are 160 calories. Almost the same calorie amount, yet one would surely fill you up-and the other would do nothing but give you a bunch of empty calories.
A tablespoon of all fruit preserves is about 40 calories, and a tablespon of butter or margerine is 100. The same portion size-but one is double the calories. You can have two people that eat the same "amount" or portions of foods-but one could consume double the calories easily.
When I was at my highest weight I would eat 2 Pop Tarts in the morning for breakfast and be hungry in an hour. (400 calories) For that same 400 calories I could have 2 eggs without oil (140) a bowl of oatmeal (150) and a banana (110) and be plenty full until lunch. I am just stating this for calorie purposes-because I can't even eat that much for breakfast!
I really recommend that you start by keeping a journal of what you are eating and drinking and how much-even a lick of batter, or what have you. If you would like-pm me and we can figure out where you can cut calories throughout the day painlessly. There are a lot of small changes and subsititions that can make a huge difference over the long haul.
Take Care,
Aphil

[dms6k]

Thanks for the input. To be honest, my exercise probably is not very hard. I have a 1 and 2 mile walking tape that I want to do every day but can't get motivated. As far as food, there is so much I do not like and unfortunately the stuff I do like is not good so what are you to do?

Went to Dr. today and she said I need to eat 6 small meals a day and she also recommended the South Beach Diet. Has anyone tried that and if so how did you like it?

[aphil]

I think out of all low carb plans that South Beach is the BEST of them-because it only cuts carbs out for two weeks and then you add the good ones back in slowly. But-it still may be restrictive for you if you are a really picky eater.
I personally don't low carb diet-I am a calorie counter. I eat as healthfully as I possibly can-lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein, skim dairy, and soy. BUT-I do have an occasional treat now and then (once a week maybe) but stay within my calorie range-like a bit of chocolate (not a whole candy bar-but a couple kisses) or a single slice of veggie pizza. It keeps me sane.
There are a lot of really good reduced calorie recipes out there-you should really try a few of them. Raw carrot sticks don't do anything for me either-but I love stir fry veggies with a little chicken breast and oriental seasoning...or cooked broccoli with a little Mrs. Dash or other seasoning to give it some flavor. There are a lot of recipes out there that are healthier "substitutes" for fattening food like oven fried chicken, and such.
I found one thing that helped me with fresh fruit was to "branch out". I tried a new fruit each week at the store-and found some I really loved. As a kid my family always bought red delicious or golden delicious apples-and when I tried other varieties I found I liked gala and granny smith much better. I also love mangoes, kiwi, clementines-and a lot of other fruits I never even experienced as a child.
I agree with the six small meals-but you have to remember that they should not be the size of the 3 regular meals that you eat now. The meals should all be really about the size of a large "snack". Like a small salad with some chicken breast or a cup of yogurt and a piece of fruit, and so forth. The key is to fuel your body more often with smaller mini meals-but you are not eating to the point of being really "full".
I still recommend the food journal-I use a small mini notebook and journal it everyday. I journal what I eat-and at the bottom I list my exercise and how much water I drank. It keeps me honest about what I am really eating.
As far as the exercise-make a "bet" with yourself. I made one with myself that I would not buy anything for myself besides necessities (food, shampoo, etc.) and would only buy clothing or dvds etc. when I "earned them". Every two weeks I buy myself something-or do something for myself for staying with my diet and exercise program for that two weeks. It is my "reward" for doing it.
Make a deal with yourself this week-do your 1 mile walk tape for 4 days this week-and if you do it then buy a new nailpolish, lipstick, or magazine-or something to make yourself feel pretty. (I often buy myself new workout or dance videos, health/fitness magazines, or a beauty product because they go along with my goals!)
The reward system works just as well for adults as it does kids!

[dms6k]

I used to count calories and it did help. sometimes I just go so overboard I just quit. According to the calorie link above it said I should be able to eat around 2100 a day to lose weight. I also journaled what I ate yesterday and it came to 3000 calories. Almost 800 was from the two stops at the gas station for a fountain drink. That shocked me.

I also like the treat thing. I think I will try that. Like I said, I am 280 and my first goal is 250 then we will work from there. I wear a size 22 Tall but I want to wear at least a 14-16. Haven't done that in about 10 years.

[aphil]

The easiest way to cut calories at first is to cut out all regular soda and fruit juice/fruity Snapple type drinks. Drink water, diet sodas, coffee with Splenda or Equal-anything to keep from drinking your calories. They are "wasted" really. Regular soda has so many calories and doesn't give any "fullness".
By seeing how many calories they added-you would have been almost at the correct calorie level yesterday to lose weight by simply choosing water or diet soda over the regular fountain drinks. A pretty painless switch to make-definitely one of the easiest switches.
See what I mean about the journaling? In one day you found a HUGE contributor to the reason you aren't losing. Soda. Over time you will "see" more things and when you become wise to those things-and make a change or two-it makes a huge difference.
Journaling ROCKS.

[KTna]

Wow, can you imagine if you just cut out 1 of those drinks a day, and replace it with water you'll lose almost 1 lb a week, just by cutting that one item!!!! Cut them both out and replace with water and you could see 1.6 lbs a week loss.
That is great news!

[tickledpink0987]

i completely understand where you're coming from. losing weight is probably one of the hardest things that you'll ever do, but it is the most amazing feeling when you see the weight finally starting to come off. it's not stuck - i promise! cutting calories and working out is the only way to do it, but don't get upset if you fall off the wagon a few times. the most important thing is to believe in yourself, and believe that you can do it! if you have a bad day where you maybe go over your calorie limit, or stop going to the gym for a week, don't freak out. you can always start fresh the next day. i know it's frustrating, but i've been there, too - and trust me, eventually it will click. just hang on!