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Old 12-17-2005, 09:03 PM   #1  
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Okay, heres my deal.. I dont over eat, I am not a bored eater or a binge eater, I dont go out of my way for snacks very much if at all, but I am heavy.. I know I dont have very good eating habits..-- I usually only eat one meal a day, and it is the evening meal, sometimes I will have a lunch, but next to never will I have a breakfast.. I own horses, so I do clean stalls and work with the horses quite often, I am not a couch potato, and I dont snack late at night... I do have a couple of coolers here and there (which will end at the end of the year)... but i just dont know where to start or why I am heavy without much of a food intake... Help
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Old 12-17-2005, 10:05 PM   #2  
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Sometimes if you dont eat enough calories you can actually slow down your metabolism. It kicks your body into a "starvation mode" where it tries to hold on to all calories coming in. Try and eat at least 12-1500 calories a day and space out your intake evenly. Eat something at least every 4 hours to keep your insulin levels up... Hope that helps! PM me if you want! I"m a newbie too!!

(Also a shortie here... 5'0"... was 142 b4 pregnancy.. up to 175 )
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Old 12-17-2005, 10:06 PM   #3  
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Eating only one meal a day may very well be your problem. You can cause yourself weight issues by not eating enough as well as too much.

How much do you weigh? We can't really help you fully unless we know your stats.
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Old 12-17-2005, 10:06 PM   #4  
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BTW, I am trying Weight Watchers!
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Old 12-17-2005, 11:39 PM   #5  
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How big is your evening meal? The bottom line of weight gain/loss is calories in vs. calories out. Even if you are eating only once a day you could still consume more calories than you burn. What about beverages throughout the day? Could you be drinking more calories than you realize?

I suggest that you keep track of your calorie intake for a week or so. You have to know where you are before you can figure out where to start. From there you can make adjustments to your overall diet - how often you eat, the kinds of food you eat, etc.
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Old 12-18-2005, 01:38 AM   #6  
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jawsmom beat me to it. Write down EVERYTHING you eat (and drink!) and first see how many calories you're ingesting. If you drink a lot of non-diet soda, that could account for 100's of calories a day, for instance.
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Old 12-18-2005, 01:20 PM   #7  
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Also take a look at what you're eating. I used to have very similar eating habits to you -- big dinner, small lunch, and no breakfast. And I'm definitely NOT suggesting that you ate the kinds of foods I did, but my dinner would often be pasta and lunch would usually be something fried (I was a teacher and ate school lunches every day ). So I was basically eating nothing but carbs. Carbs turn into sugar (energy) when they're absorbed, and if you're not burning them off, you're going to gain weight (obviously). If you eat more protein and fiber, you'll be providing your body with nutrients that it actually needs for muscle growth/repair (protein) and to keep your digestive tract running smoothly (fiber). Protein and fiber aren't "empty calories" like excess carbs can be (if you're eating a carb-heavy diet).

Just a thought .

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Old 12-18-2005, 09:19 PM   #8  
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I once saw a display about body size at the YMCA, and it said, "If you want to know what your body type is, look at your family members." The point of the display wasn't that people can't do anything about weight--but it was about the fact that we can't alter our genetic makeup. Some families are "big boned" and tend to gain weight, other families are thinner, others are in between. I'm sure we've all known people who seemed like they could eat a lot more than we did, but they didn't gain weight the way we did.

So, what are your family members' bodies like?

My family tends toward overweight, and for me it means I can't eat as much as other people because my body is really efficient at storing it, and not so efficient at burning it, even if I am physically active. So I always need to watch.

Anyway, that's just some other thoughts. I agree with the idea that eating once a day isn't the best, and I bet that keeping a food diary might be revealing for you.

Hang in there!

Jay
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Old 12-19-2005, 09:07 AM   #9  
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I'm going to second (or third) the idea of keeping a food diary. It is very revealing to actually figure out how "little" you are eating.
I'm not very excited about the notion of 'starvation mode'. While I do agree that eating too little can make us sluggish and less likely to go out of our way for more exercise, I think our bodies are more likely to adapt to what we eat and what we do. Over time, no matter what our activity level, we probably learn to eat just enough to keep going at our usual rate.
You didn't say that you are gaining, just that you are hanging around at a weight that seems too high to you. So here's where the changing things up part comes in.
Make some healthy substitutions in your diet, like the diet for regular soda thing. Low fat dressings. Leave a yolk out of your scrambled eggs.
Go about your barn chores with more vigour. Swing pails of feed. Do squats with pails of water.
Maybe your body just needs a reboot.
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Old 12-19-2005, 09:30 AM   #10  
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Like everyone else has said.. not eating enough is more than likely your problem!!! I had the same problem. I wouldn't eat breakfast or lunch, but usually only dinner. It wasn't a healthy dinner either.. pizza here.. frozen burritos there! haha

Yea, just crank your calorie intake up a bit and eat breakfast and lunch! Eat the right things and you should see some improvement. Even if it is only in how you feel!!
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Old 12-19-2005, 11:27 AM   #11  
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I agree that the first thing you should do is eat breakfast! You sound exactly like me a few years ago. I actually had a friend say to me "Why are you so big? You hardly eat anything!" (Nice friend, huh?)

Basically, I skipped breakfast every day growing up. It actually made me kind of sick when I did eat it, because my body wasn't used to it. I might have had lunch, but by mid-afternoon I was starving. I would take a couple of hours to cook something carb-y, because when you get to that state of hunger your body craves fast energy and that was what I would crave. Pasta, lots of fats and sugars... I would overeat, because I was starving. A few hours later my blood sugar would drop and I'd eat again, but in my mind I definitely was not eating that much volume-wise. It was a two-part problem, with my being unaware of what I was eating and slowing my metabolism down by my habits.

So, for this week I'd add in breakfast in the form of something that will keep you full for awhile. Oatmeal, whole grains, yogurt with fruit, and lean protein. Try to avoid white carbs that early, because they can cause all kinds of blood sugar spikes and lows, and you want to start your body thinking that you're going to have an even amount of fuel all day.

I also agree with keeping a journal. Just try keeping track for the first week and really becoming aware of which choices are healthy and which are not. Try to add in more protein, fruits and vegetables if you can and things that will keep you full. Eat 5 small meals instead of one or two large ones.

Move a bit more than usual, even if it's just a 5 minute walk around the house or jog up and down the stairs. Not only will this help you physically, but mentally it'll put you into an acting mindset and make you feel like you're on the right track.

Also, you might want to see your doctor. I personally recommend WW (the CORE program rocks!) because it worked for me, but your doctor might help you find the right diet in a healthy way, and also will be able to help you gauge progress and rule out any physical problems like thyroid issues, etc.

Good luck! Once you get started, everything else should fall into place.
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Old 12-19-2005, 03:33 PM   #12  
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Here is something you could try if you can control WHAT you eat. I tried the Suzanne Somers diet, actually ate MORE food, and started to lose weight. So it is possible you are not eating enough. You can actually up what you eat, follow her diet, and you may start to lose. Shocked me to death when I started to lose weight on her diet. Like I said, the only drawback is you cannot eat certain foods.
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Old 12-19-2005, 10:37 PM   #13  
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all this advice is wonderful, I will make sure I try to start eating something for breakfast.. I plan on starting on the first, so I will let you know... I did do a chart for me, but how do I attach it to my posts.. I am a newbie here, so dont know much about this site... thanks for everyone's positive out look... I plan on swimming at least 2-3 times a week, plus doing early am walks about 3 times a week also.. other than that right now I dont have too much other time to fit in any extra exercising.. I get off wor, pick kids up, go work with horses, get home fix dinner, then die at the end of the day.. those are how my days go, plus I rarely get 4-5 hours asleep at night... awww..
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Old 12-19-2005, 11:34 PM   #14  
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Hi Codiie! I grew up with horses and my folks still raise/train/breed so I can guess at the work you're doing. So here's something my parents totally wrestle with: they have a very physical day, but they're not AEROBICALLY fit. All that work you're doing is like doing resistance/weight training, but you're probably not really breaking a sweat a lot of the time and you're not doing anything that is sustained aerobic. So....I think the swimming and walking will help kick that up.

I really agree with everyone else about writing down what you eat--and drink! Those coolers...boy, alcohol is a killer for a diet--totally empty calories nutritionally (course so are the occasional cookies I have, but...moderation in all things).

Are the horses yours? For fun? Or a (second) job? ??? Just curious I would last maybe 48 hours on that amount of sleep before ending up in ER.
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Old 12-20-2005, 09:08 AM   #15  
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Sometime between now and the 1st, have a look at fitday.com. If you put everything you eat and do in there honestly ..... honestly (take that as a hint from someone who's tried everything and then tried honesty) you'll have a head start.
Seriously, all you have to do is make sure you eat less calories than you use. After the 1st, make sure that one number is always bigger than the other and you'll be off to the races!
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