I’m back, stilltrying, and trying to pull my thoughts together for you.
Let me start off by saying that I’m not a weight loss expert and, though I like reading and learning about weight loss and calories etc, all I really know for sure is what works (and doesn’t work) for
me. And I’m convinced that’s going to be different for every one of us. In the Ladies Who Lift forum, we talk a lot about how we’re each our own
"laboratory of one" where we experiment with different food and exercise plans to see what works for each of us as individuals. I’m positive that there isn’t any Magic Weight Loss Plan that works for everyone, all the time. Life’s not that easy, huh?
Of course, a lot of our ultimate success is the dedication and commitment that we bring to whatever plan that we do -- we all have to do that.
Anyway, with all that being said, let me tell you a bit what worked for me. Keep in mind that I’ve been overweight for just about my entire life and was (am?) a professional dieter.
I can restrict my calories like nobody’s business, but after dropping 20 or 30 pounds, would get sick of being on a diet. Bored? Lose motivation? Whatever … and I’d put it all back on with bonus pounds. I yo-yo’ed all through the 200s for several decades. What finally changed? For me, the key to successfully losing (and keeping off the weight) was
exercise. And I hated to exercise! I can’t emphasize enough how much exercise was
not part of my life. Get out your thesaurus and look up all the synonyms for hate: loathe, despise, detest — that was me.
OK, so it’s June 1, 2001 and my daughter is home from college for the summer and wants to join a gym. I go along with her and God knows why, I join a gym with her on the spur of the moment. I guess I thought it’s something I felt like I should do, like eating Brussels sprouts.
I just about had a panic attack when I walked in there — it was SO not me! To make a long story short, I realized that I was clueless and signed up with a personal trainer and he changed my life — rocked my world — turned me upside down. And showed me how to lose weight for the last time.
What he explained to me is that there are three parts to successful weight loss. First, the nutrition. Second, cardio exercise to burn calories. Third, weightlifting to build muscle. All three parts are essential — it won’t work with only one or two. On the nutrition: I started off at around 1600 calories and ended at about 1200. About 50% lean protein, 25% complex carbs, 25% good fats. No sugar, as little processed food as possible. For cardio: I worked up to an hour a day on the elliptical (and this is intense, sweaty cardio, not reading a magazine and talking to your friend cardio). And weightlifting: to build muscle and raise my (very sluggish) metabolism (and get nice arms, but that's a bonus
) Here’s a great thread that talks about the benefits of building muscle while we lose fat:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31893 And it worked for me. I lost 132 pounds of fat and added 10 pounds of muscle in a little less than a year and I’ve kept it off for 20 months now by doing exactly the same things that I did to lose the weight in the first place.
Exercise has gone from being a detested chore to being a integral part of my life. Sure, I like the way I look now, but more important is how I feel. I have so much energy and love feeling strong. It’s so novel to have a body that works the way it’s supposed to.
I spent so many years hiding from my body and having it be a cumbersome burden to cart around with me. Now it’s lean and strong and that makes it fun to run around and take the trash out and do all the ordinary things in life. I know it’s exercise that got me here and I wouldn't trade this for all the chocolate chip cookies in the world.
So that’s my long winded story about what worked for me. If you’re not asleep yet, a few things jump out at me from your post that I want to comment on.
First, you say that you are losing, though slowly. It seems to me that’s a good thing — regardless of how fast it comes off, the really important thing is that it’s off forever. I spent way too many years losing and regaining the same stupid pounds, over and over again. If you lose a pound and it’s really gone forever, it doesn’t really matter how long it takes, does it? Of course, easier said than done — we’re all impatient … myself included.
It’s also a good thing to focus on measures of progress other than the scale, especially your body fat %. If you’re building muscle while you're losing fat, the scale could stay the same while your body composition is changing. Other ways to measure progress are by how your clothes fit and inches lost.
Are you exercising — if so, what kind? Like I talked about, building some muscle can boost your metabolism and get the weight loss moving again. Cardio will burn off calories. I think it would be really hard to create enough of a calorie deficit to lose weight without doing intense daily exercise.
Do you track what you eat every day — like writing it down or using Fitday.com? I have to, otherwise I would
grossly underestimate how much I eat. I still weigh and measure everything that I put in my mouth because I know myself too well. You know, that amazing expandable tablespoon of peanut butter when you’re hungry and have a jar of PB in front of you ...
Menopause — I’m there too (I’m 49 and hypothyroid, to boot). All I can say is that I think we can overcome it. We just may need to fight a little harder.
You made a comment about “fun with food“— we have a discussion going in the Maintainers Forum about losing food as our best friend that you might be interested in:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35675
Bottom line: I can’t tell what’s going to work for you, but I do believe that you can lose weight — even if it’s slow — and keep it off. My thoughts are to weigh and measure what you eat (being brutally honest with yourself), write it down so you can see calories and the ratios of protein, fats and carbs, incorporate lots of exercise into your daily life, and monitor your progress and tweak your plan accordingly. You may already know and be doing all of these things already and then I’d say — be patient, my dear! Give it a little more time before you throw in the towel. Maybe try something new — shake it up — hit the gym hard. And please keep me posted on how you’re doing — I really care.