As I swollow 2 hotdogs with out chewing!
 

I began a diet a few weeks ago. The first week I lost 6lbs. I eat exactly what the food pyramid asks and just a ton of water and nothing more. NO extra SUGAR, SALT or anything else that tastes good. I go to bed hungry and wake up dreading the day. Now after 7 more days... I lost nothing so what do I do???

I EAT TWO HOTDOGS! :o Its like I didn't even think first. I don't know how to stay motivated when I do not see results. I see the scale and just want to eat!

I am not sure how to push past no results?????

I'm a little confused. Is there some sort of specific plan that you're on? One that calls for you to only eat things that don't taste good? One where you go to bed hungry and dread the day? Because I know for me, I would last on that - oh I don't know - an hour.... How can one stick to something long term if they're not enjoying what they're eating and dreading the day?

There are going to be plenty of times where you don't see results. That's where commitment comes into play. And determination and perservance and dedication and patience for starters.

All those things will be much easier to muster up if you are enjoying your plan and LOVING the foods that you're eating. And looking forward to another day of good, delicious, healthy eating. With foods that both taste good and are good FOR YOU. Foods that keep you totally and completely satisfied. There is no need whatsoever to go hungry and eat tasteless, boring foods. I therefore urge you to rethink your plan.

I guess I haven't experimented correctly. I just eat veggies and protien and 2 fruits. Its all so plain! Do you have any favorites??

First of all. Say no to the hotdogs, they're loaded with nitrates and if you want to cheat there are a lot yummier things to waste calories on ;).

Secondly, if the foods you're eating are gross or plain or boring you're doing it ALL wrong!!!! Healthy food is delicious!

What do you like? What kinds of foods are delicious to you? If you're not eating foods you'd be happy to eat for the rest of your life it won't be a sustainable plan and without a sustainable plan you will gain it all back before you know it!

You CAN do this, don't make it harder than it has to be!

And for goodness sakes season your food!!! Garlic, peppers, sea salt, and herbs are my best friends!

Hi AJ: If you are that hungry, I am wondering how many calories you are taking in each day? Also, you can fill up quite well on lots of low cal veggies.. green beans are only about 40 calories for an entire cup! Toss a bunch of green veggies in the fry pan with some extra virgin olive oil or cooking spray and sautee til they are how you like 'em.. add a baked chicken breast (spice it up good!) and some yummy brown rice (cook it in chicken broth for added flavor instead of water). Really experiment with spices, etc... and you can use also use the chicken broth to "fry" things up in a frying pan without adding fat/calories.

You just have to experiment with what you are allowed.. and I am finding making a lot extra and fridging the leftovers makes it really easy to stay on my plan.. I don't just bake one chicken breast, for example.. I put a whole pan in. During those times you are really hungry.. it's nice to know there is something in the fridge you can eat and not go off plan.

You might also take a look at http://www.hungry-girl.com/ ... there are lots of low cal recipes that are yummy on there that might fit with your plan. :yes:

Whatever you do it is likely going to take more time preparing food.. but it is worth it and not nearly as time consuming if you make a bunch and fridge the rest. Good luck to you!

PS: The first two weeks are HARD.. give yourself some credit for sticking with it this long.. now you just need to personalize it :)

:hug: Two hotdogs are not ideal choices but also not the end of the world. Try and take a deep breath and let's see what we can figure out.

I assume you are talking about the USDA food pyramid right? There are fats and dairy and discretionary calories included in that so I think maybe you are being too restrictive. What kinds of whole grains are you including? Do you tolerate and enjoy dairy? How are you preparing your protein? If you share a bit about what you like and maybe a bit about your comfort level with cooking, I bet we can come up with a few ideas.

Have you tried roasting the veggies? You can do that right now on the grill or in the oven. Simply toss one or more of the following: carrots, squash, eggplant, sweet potatoes, onions w/a little evoo (I'd shoot for 1/2 tsp per serving) and some salt and pepper and whatever seasoning you like and cook in a single layer on a medium grill or 450 degree oven stirring occasionally until they start to get brown. They will be sweet and flavorful. You can then toss those with diced tomatoes and some whole grain pasta, grate a small amount of really good parmesan (not the green can stuff, look in the dairy section for some fresh stuff) and some ground pepper. You could add a grilled chicken breast or some chicken/turkey sausage. Yummy! You could also take some of them and put them in a whole wheat pita pocket with hummus and some leafy greens for an awesome veggie sandwich.

Do you like to cook from recipes? If you do, I can highly recommend Kathleen Daelemans cookbooks and website. Her food is very easy to make and I haven't found much that hasn't turned out quite well.

What sorts of food did you eat and enjoy before?

Peg

Great posts above.

The key really is thinking about what kind of foods YOU enjoy eating and then making them either fit into your plan, or looking for substitutions that you can still enjoy.

You need to make the food fit into your life :)

Did you want to post a list of foods that taste good to you and make you feel good - ie increased energy, no bloating and gassiness etc? (ignore whether you think they are healthy or not at the moment) and we can give you some ideas on how to tweak them?

You had GREAT results in the first week - and you can continue with fabulous results :)

So then you don't have a formal plan? I wasn't sure if when you said you were following the pryamid if that was indeed the name of some plan.

I pretty much eat veggies and proteins and fruits as well. But I LOVE those veggies and proteins and fruits. Each and every one of them. I MUST get pleasure and satisfaction from my food. I therefore delved, discovered, seeked out and found yummy foods to eat. I suggest you do some experimenting with different herbs, lemon juice, chicken broth, vinegars, etc to make those proteins taste better. Also the veggies - experiment. Use different veggies and find ways to prepare them that are scrumptious. It does take time, but it's worth the effort. There are plenty of delicius recipes right on the internet. You can just google for instance - healthy chicken recipes. healthy salads, healthy vegetables, etc...

You also mentioned that you are hungry. Are you tracking your calories, because remember that those calories can add up as well. But since you are hungry, is it possible that you're going to low on your calories? I suggest that you track them carefully so that you know where you stand. Fitday.com, thedailyplate.com are a couple of sites that can help you with that.

Losing weight is doable for any one and everyone and it doesn't and shouldn't be a dreadful, awful experience. It should be a pleasant and exciting one. Eating healthy is a GOOD thing. But you MUST set yourself up for success. So do some experimenting, track those calories, plan out your foods in advance, eat often, find great foods to eat and make a commitment to do what's necessary to get to be and remain a healthy weight. :)

Is there a reason you're avoiding whole grains and fats? They are part of the food pyramid too!

Lots of good ideas so far! I agree with a lot of the others -- one of the biggest reason I've been able to keep on doing this is because I love the food I'm eating! I've learned how to cook a lot of lower fat options and keep the taste!

It is a plan that is exactly like LA weight loss. It is local but the exact same thing!

I went from loving anything with pasta and cream sauce ;) to no pasta and minimal starches. I love chinese food and anything exotic.

I feel like I am choking down baked chicken and what use to be my favorite raw veggies every single meal. It gets old!

I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with that. Is that a prepackaged meal plan? Where you buy there foods? If it is, and you're not enjoying the foods, then maybe it's not the plan for you afterall.

Another idea: Make a little pizza out of a whole grain tortilla - use only lean meats and low fat or no fat cheeses.. toss on some veggies for a little pizzazz.. stick it in the oven on a cookie sheet and watch it all sizzle together.. YUM! I have even added just a little bit of pizza sauce.. but I am trying to stay away from refined/processed foods.

Well, I don't know that plan, but I think what you're hearing from others is that if not a plan YOU can stick to, then it's probably not the plan for you!

There are lots of us who are successful as calorie counters -- that might be something to try. Whatever you try though, it needs to be something you like and can stick with.

Edited to add: Robin and I pretty much said the same thing! :)

I buy all of my food at the store. Its exactly this...

many supliments
2 starches
2 protiens + two protien bars
4 veggies
2 fruits
a glass of milk
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of oil or light marg.

And of course 80+ oz of water a day with no other drinks.