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Old 12-13-2006, 11:13 PM   #1  
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Default Don't eat that poorly, but still can't lose weight?

Sorry - this is a LONG post!

Does anyone else feel like they aren't eating THAT bad, but still can't lose (or maintain) their weight?

Maybe it's just me fooling myself, but I thought I'd start this thread to see if there's anyone else like me out there.

Here's my typical routine - and I am not saying this is healthy, just when I read what others eat it doesn't seem so horrible:

Breakfast: typically either a bowl of honey-nut cheerios w/2% milk, a mini-bagel (130 cals) with 2 tbsp low-fat cream cheese, or if I'm in a weird mood sometimes I'll have a weight watchers frozen meal around 300-400 calories.

Snack: I don't snack, its hard for me. When I force myself to snack, I eat maybe 1/2 of an apple and a handful of honey-roasted peanuts. The reason I choose honey-roasted instead of regular is because I feel like it helps me to not go get peanut M&Ms from our company's vending machine - which I used to love to do!

Lunch: Here's where I can go bad. If I'm being good, I'll bring a sandwich of some sort from home, and have a mini-can of diet pepsi and maybe a pickle. It fills me up. Sometimes I'll bring a couple cookies or a fat-free brownie that I made at home. If I'm being bad, I'll usually turn to the ol' standby of a quarter pounder w/med. fries & med. diet coke. I never "large" size.

Dinner: My fiance and I get lazy, but some of the time we do cook well. When things get stressful, we'll go get deli sandwiches. When things get REALLY stressful, we wind up with cheeseburgers or pizza. Again, I don't supersize anything, and with pizza I probably have 4 slices. And always with water or diet soda. However my one admission is this: I definitely keep eating even after I know I'm full. I *love* the taste of food and I love the act of eating.

Dessert: very rarely. Sometimes when I'm PMSing I'll mix up about 1/2 cup of melted chocolate with peanut butter, but that's maybe 3 times a month if that.

Exercise: I hit the gym 1-2 times a week (cardio and weights), and when weather permits, I also do intervals of walking and jogging on Sundays. Unfortunately I have a very sedentary desk job so during the day I don't do much but sit.

Weight: I was thin my entire life. When I hit 19/20, my metabolism started slowing down but my fast-food cravings did not. I graduated high school at 125 lbs and a size 6. By 23 I was a size 8. By 25 a size 10. I'm now a size 16 and it makes me cry every time I have to look at that stupid number. I was a size 14 last year, and I've been trying to LOSE weight, yet somehow gained!

Diets: The only diets I've truly tried are Fat Smash, South Beach and just counting calories & exercising. Fat Smash sucked for me - I can't eat brown rice and beans 24/7. I hate eating the same thing two days in a row, I'm weird like that. If I don't have variety in my diet and try to force myself to eat the same things, I wind up freaking out and going to McDonalds. South Beach had a good variety for me, and the first time I tried it I lost 12 lbs in 3 weeks - without exercise. It wasn't just water weight, I slid off the diet, ate my normal level of food, and it still took a year to gain it back. I tried to go back to South Beach, but that whole food repetition freak-out kicked back in.. South Beach made me hate salads and scrambled eggs. I have to force myself to eat either, now. When I did the counting calories, I ate between 1200-1500 calories a day, and worked out 2-3x a week for at least 30 mins. I barely saw any weight loss.

The result: In the past year I put on 15 lbs, 5 of which just happened in the last 2 months. I'm quite distraught and I don't know what the heck I'm doing wrong. I feel like going and getting my jaw wired shut. I'm at the highest weight I've ever been in my life and ready to just lose it, mentally. I've never had poor self esteem before but I feel really crappy about myself lately.

So... any kindred spirits out there??
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Old 12-13-2006, 11:21 PM   #2  
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The hard part about doing what you're doing, is that, there are ALOT of hidden calories in certain foods.

It would be easier for me to just do what you're doing, and I would love to do that, but I know that it won't get me anywhere because I need to know how many calories I'm eating, or else I'll eat way too many.

Try going to www.fitday.com and seeing how many calories you REALLY eat. You may be suprised...
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Old 12-13-2006, 11:31 PM   #3  
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Well, it is true I am relatively unsure of the calories I currently consume, but trust me, I am quite familiar with counting calories. I did it for about 3 months, counting everything that touched my lips. As I said, even when I did that and was eating more healthy and at home more so I wouldn't go over my "goal calories" for that day (1200-1500), I wasn't losing weight. That's why I'm curious if anyone else has ever had this problem.

I'm one of those people that even if I have a stomach flu and don't eat for 3 days, my body doesn't let go of a single pound.
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Old 12-13-2006, 11:37 PM   #4  
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Hi! I can definitely identify with your frustration and pain. It is hard to feel like you are trying, but not achieving the results. I'm glad you wrote a long post, because the more information you give, the easier it is for people here to identify what might be helping/hurting.

What sticks out to me is this: Although there are many variables, the bottom line of weight loss is consuming fewer calories than your body is expending. It is great that you are exercising, because that increases the calories you burn every day. The thing is, you are still consuming more calories than you are burning if you are gaining weight. This is not hard to do. I am an AVID exerciser (I do a combo of running, lifting, elliptical, and step aerobics for 2 to 4 hours per day) and even with all that exercise I binged on so much food that I gained 20 pounds in 2 months. So it is definitely quite possible, even with exercise, to consume more than you burn.

My suggestion is to look more closely at how much you are eating. Here is a rough guess of the caloric intake on your sample day:

breakfast (any of those you stated): 200-400 calories
snack: if you have honey roasted peanuts, it could be 200-400 calories (if it is a pretty small handful)
lunch: don't know what's on your homemade sandwich, but McDs lunch comes to 980 calories
dinner: four pieces of pizza, depending on size and type, could be 1000-1600 calories.

A day like that comes to 2400-3400 calories. And that's not including whatever else you might eat til you're 'full' in the evening, or any other snacks, etc. Even at a size 16, even with exercise, you probably will not ever lose weight at this level of caloric intake. Losing weight is not going to happen 1) if you are sporadic or try it in 'fits and spurts' or 2) if you are just loosely 'wanting' to lose weight but not applying the basic principles.

From reading your post, it sounds like you have everything in place in your life to just go for it and do this! You have a willingness to change, a desire to make choices that will help you in that, and you are already exercising (a big head start!). Now it just comes down to being really honest with yourself about what you are doing. I really suggest starting with a food journal to see exactly what you really are eating. Then see what you would be willing to change to achieve your goals. It CAN be done! For me, I have found that I have no choice... I will either eat healthfully in moderate portions and exercise, or I WILL GAIN WEIGHT. Making all the right choices just seems easier than the anguish of continuing to gain.

What I do is count my calories and try to get between 1400 and 1600 daily. I exercise a lot, and I found that going lower than this resulting in bingeing because it was too restrictive. I try to get all my calories (or as many as I can) from whole foods. LOTS of fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains. The more you focus on healthy foods, the easier it is because you have more energy and your body quits telling you it wants the junk. Plus, you can eat a LOT more if you stick with the healthier stuff because it is less calorie-dense.

Sorry for my long and rambling response. I know you were looking for encouragement, and I feel like the most encouragement I can give you is tell you, "You can do it" and to give you the tools to get there.

Best wishes! I'm in this with you!

Lindy
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Old 12-14-2006, 12:08 AM   #5  
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There's a thread kicking around here somewhere that's about metabolic testing. There is no way on earth that everybody uses the same amount of calories by doing the same thing as the next guy. We are absolutely individual machines ... marvelous machines.
I'll see if I can find that thread and make a link.
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...ight=metabolic

My second point is about fitday. I want you to try again. Totally disregard anything else but the foods. Measure carefully, enter honestly and check your reports. I've learned so much about foods and their nutritional values through fitday! I have a lot of faith in it.

My third thought is about food quality. Check out the Whole Foods threads and the food lists on the Body for Life site. Whole natural foods ... there's tons of them. You need never be bored.

And come back to this thread. Read, savour, mull over your thoughts. We'd like to hear what you're thinkin'.
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Old 12-14-2006, 12:14 AM   #6  
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Maybe you could try making some small changes. For example, getting regular instead of honey roasted peanuts. Having 1 or 2 slices of pizza instead of 4. Eating a healthier cereal like Fibre 1 (it doesn't sound very appetizing but I think it tastes great). Instead of ordering a cheeseburger, you could maybe try a grilled chicken sandwich (without mayo) and skip the fries or get a small. When you get deli sandwiches, you could get a lower-fat meat like turkey or ham (and again skip the mayo and other high-fat sauces). These are just some examples.. it's the small changes that really do add up. Maybe you're overwhelming yourself by trying to go on some extreme diet when it's really the small lifestyle changes that will work in the long run. And I agree with lovelypurple that you should think about writing down what you eat and keeping track because it really does give you a clearer picture. In the end it's calories in vs. calories out.
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Old 12-14-2006, 12:24 AM   #7  
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First, I want to thank you guys for reading all that & writing. It feels very good to have your support. Sometimes it just gets overwhelming. I guess sometimes I just feel gipped because I know people who don't have to hardly do anything to lose weight. Or the women around my weight tell me how they binge on twinkies and drink regular soda and eat fast food 3 times a day, and that's why they are where they are. I feel like screaming, what did I do to deserve a crappy metabolism? But, I guess the first step is accepting that this is how it's going to be now.

When I counted calories for a few months, I was keeping a food journal and even bought a heart monitor Polar watch thing to keep track of calories burned during my exercise routines. I wasn't totally on-point every day, but I felt like I was doing so much better than I had been (or am now.) And yet, I still wasn't seeing a change on the scale. Maybe 1 pound, maybe 2. I get so impatient and just feel like, why the heck is everyone around me losing weight and seem to be barely trying?

I will take your suggestions into consideration and attempt to implement. I will definitely keep you posted. I'm going to need the support!
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Old 12-14-2006, 12:32 AM   #8  
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Get talking to us around here ... ain't nobody gonna tell ya it was easy and that they hardly change a thing. It's work honey but well worth the result. The thing is, you have to hang in until the funner parts. They'll come, honest.
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Old 12-14-2006, 07:20 AM   #9  
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Hey, SmartButt, I see lots of good ideas for you to try. Sorry about the metabolism problem--I can certainly relate. I exercise 6 days out of 7, and sometimes all 7. My "average" daily calories eaten for the past 3 weeks has been 1354, my "average" daily calories burned has been 2045, and I've lost 2 pounds. Not very swift, is it. I feel really stuck. But that "average" daily calories amount contains two potluck parties where for the day I went over 2000. I know from experience that it will take a week for my body to recover from just one day like that, so I'm not planning on suddenly weighing less tomorrow. That's just how my bod works!

Stay away from the pizza and quarter pounders and fries. They are really dangerous foods for me!

Good luck!
Jay
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Old 12-14-2006, 08:13 AM   #10  
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For myself, nothing good happens unless I really, really stick to my meal plan. Even with 5 days of exercising, I need to be strict. I try to divide my caloric intake into segments- Breakfast, snack/lunch, dinner and evening. If I go over during the day, then the evening gets cut back. For example, last night, I only had roughly 200 calories left because dinner was 500 instead of 400 calories, so evening snack was cantaloupe and cottage cheese.

If I stay strict for 6 days, then I can loosen up a bit on the 7th. Most often that means making a dessert with dinner because my mother comes to eat. I haven't been inside a McD for over 6 years. I buy the local pizza Wednesday special once every two months. By watching all the time, I can go out to eat with the extended family without too many worries (Christmas is coming up).

Even after all that, I am just maintaining, although I think I may be down as far as my body will let me go. The whole idea is to be very, very good 80-90% of the time, and just a little bit bad 10-20% of the time. It's too easy to let those 'stressful' times when you don't feel like preparing food creep up on you.
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Old 12-14-2006, 09:17 AM   #11  
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You'e gotten a lot of good advice. There can be such a variation in calories in the foods you have posted. I would absolutely recommend staying away from McD's (says the one who had a green chile cheeseburger and fries, oh and the rest of my kid's cheeseburger last night...they weren't from McD's, but from a local equivalent)...sigh
It is true life is not fair, but you are the one who is learning how important it is to pay attention to what you put in your mouths. Persons who eat twinkies, fast food, and soda...that's garbage, ya'll, and I guarantee that WILL catch up with them.

Why do we pollute our bodies with junk? I know it "tastes good" or it "is convenient" or we "deserve" a treat...healthy stuff tastes good, too, can be convenient, and, by golly, I deserve good health and longevity and a cute butt. : )

Deserving and doing are two different things though.

What is fabulous about 3FC is that we get a peek into the lives of people who are successful at weight loss. Consistent attention to the KIND and AMOUNT of food that pass their lips. Consistent effort with cardio and weights. Daily choices, each and every one of them....I betcha no one who is maintaining eats McDs more than once a week, if at all.

I think it comes down to how much do you want it??

No, it is not fair, BUT, do you want your body to live on junk? Or on healthy, yummy building blocks of protein, muscle, fuel to function, fiber to clean your your "ahem"?

I know what I want! The doing is not always easy...but!
(I just motivated myself!! Hahaahaaa!!!)

Good luck!
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Old 12-14-2006, 09:40 AM   #12  
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It used to be very easy for me to lose weight, but since I put on all this weight in the last year (had a baby), its very slow going trying to get it off. I realized since joining this site a few months ago that I was really giving it a half-baked effort and that's why I was only losing less than 1 pound a month. I was working out maybe 1-3 times per week rather than my current 4 times religiously. I was eating huge portions of meat and thinking that was a low calorie meal because it was lo carb and not a "whole food".

I also thought I was eating relatively healthy, but since counting my calories on fitday.com, I realize I was eating way too much (huge portions with foods that are much higher in calories than I was willing to admit). Maybe try replacing each thing you normally eat with a lower calorie option. Your 3 per month chocolate concoction sounds pretty high in calories and low nutrition value and could be adding perhaps 1 pound to your weight after 2 or 3 months of this (over 1 year that could potentially be 4 pounds); just cutting this out could make a difference. Try the crisp n crunch peanut protein bar (I found it on the internet); its chocolate covered and to me tastes like a cross between a rice krispy treat and a snickers, but its 160 calories and has 15 grams of protein to fill you up and hopefully rev up your metabolism. When I go to McD, which is rare cuz generally I don't like the food, I get a regular sized hamburger with no cheese (cuts like 90 calories I think) and probably 1/2 the calories of the quarter pounder; at Wendy's (where DH likes to go), I realized after consulting the online nutritional info that there are less calories in 2 junior hamburgers (with no cheese or mayo) than a burger with fries.

The bottom line is that I realized if I am EVER going to get rid of this weight, I will need to be very strict with my eating and my working out. Since joining the site I've lost about 10 pounds of body fat (going by jeans size and that I can see muscles again like when I used to lift weights) and that is a good motivator because it has made such a difference to my appearance and probably my health. I have found this site VERY motivational, inspirational and informative so hopefully you will find the same.
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Old 12-14-2006, 09:54 AM   #13  
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I'd like you to post some stats too. The problem of being stuck can have different solutions depending on where you are in the weigh loss battle
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Old 12-14-2006, 09:54 AM   #14  
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I'm not convinced you have a metabolism problem. You said that you can have the stomach flu for 3 days and not lose weight... well, 3 days isn't really much time...

And you said you could do all the right things and lose maybe 1 or 2 pounds... over what period of time??? If that's over 2-4 weeks, that could be exactly right!!

It's hard to tell from your posts just how long you're able to stick with healthy eating. Are you sure you aren't expecting miracles?
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Old 12-14-2006, 09:59 AM   #15  
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I want to try to give my thoughts on your eating. Although I don't think it is horrendous, I think you are eating a lot of calories that you may not realize.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SmartButt View Post
Breakfast: typically either a bowl of honey-nut cheerios w/2% milk, a mini-bagel (130 cals) with 2 tbsp low-fat cream cheese, or if I'm in a weird mood sometimes I'll have a weight watchers frozen meal around 300-400 calories.
Honey nut cheerios certainly isn't the best but do you measure how much you put in your bowl? How about your milk? Your breakfast doesn't seem to be too bad but it probably ranges from 200 to 400 calories.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SmartButt View Post
Lunch: Here's where I can go bad. If I'm being good, I'll bring a sandwich of some sort from home, and have a mini-can of diet pepsi and maybe a pickle. It fills me up. Sometimes I'll bring a couple cookies or a fat-free brownie that I made at home. If I'm being bad, I'll usually turn to the ol' standby of a quarter pounder w/med. fries & med. diet coke. I never "large" size.
Even if you don't large size, I think your lunch can use a lot of improvement. Eating fast food is definitely something that can cause weight gain. If you must, I'd try to limit that to a couple times per month at most. What do you put on your sandwich you bring from home? Cookies and brownie (fat free or not) isn't the best.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SmartButt View Post
Dinner: My fiance and I get lazy, but some of the time we do cook well. When things get stressful, we'll go get deli sandwiches. When things get REALLY stressful, we wind up with cheeseburgers or pizza. Again, I don't supersize anything, and with pizza I probably have 4 slices. And always with water or diet soda. However my one admission is this: I definitely keep eating even after I know I'm full. I *love* the taste of food and I love the act of eating.
Again, fast food isn't the best to rely on. Even deli sandwiches can contain a lot of calories. Also, 4 pieces of pizza seems like a lot to me. I have pizza once in a while but I eat 2 pieces max and it is usually an all veggie pizza with a nonfat crust and sauce.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SmartButt View Post
Exercise: I hit the gym 1-2 times a week (cardio and weights), and when weather permits, I also do intervals of walking and jogging on Sundays. Unfortunately I have a very sedentary desk job so during the day I don't do much but sit.
This is something that you could definitely work on to increase. During the day, can you get up and walk around? I have a desk job but I try to get up and walk around when I can.

About your food in general: Where are your veggies? Where are your whole grains? Where are your fruits? I know you pointed out the worst of your eating but I think you are relying on a lot of empty calories to keep your body going. Honestly, looking at your eating, I'd say it is definitely a weight gaining diet. Each of our metabolisms are different and as we get older our metabolism slows down. I think you were blessed with a high metabolism when you were younger and your poor eating habits are catching up to you. Even if you just cut out the fast food entirely (or 1-2x month), I think you'd notice some improvement.
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