That's it, I QUIT....
 

....DIETing, that is :)

I have been struggling with losing 20 lbs. for goodness knows how long. For so many years I would restrict my calories too much, like to 700 a day, and then always end up binging. I would cut out whole groups of foods I really enjoyed just to end up pigging out on them, and it made me feel terrible. I tried the raw foods diet, Atkins (lasted about 3 days on that one, LOL) and whatever else.... Through all this I never gained but I never lost either. Also, I would push myself too hard to exercise-- I would say, OK, i HAVE to run 5 miles EVERYDAY, and no one can keep up a schedule like that with a full time job-- plus I saw it as a necesarry evil type thing, because I really don't enjoy long distance running.

So my new plan is all about MODERATION. I figure if I had started a plan like this which is easier to stick to a couple of years ago, the weight would be long gone in a healthy way and I could have saved myself a lot of heartache! My new plan involves sticking to about 1200 calories a day, exercising (walking, biking, weights and even running IF I FEEL LIKE IT), but doing it CONSISTENTLY. I'm going to break up the meals smaller, because if I let myself get too hungry I tend to overeat. Oh and as much as I hate to, I need to cut back on the weekend wine and beer. But I'm still going to enjoy it every once in a while.

So I could use some support.... this is the first time I'm doing it RIGHT but it's scary!!!

I REALLY FEEL YOUR FRUSTRATION! I have a similar situation. I have constantly struggled to maintain/lose weight. I have done the exact same things you have done with either minimal, none or short term success. Last summer I was on a very low calorie diet monitored by a doctor so I could lose 10 pounds to get in my wedding dress...well it work I was down to 125 pounds my goal weight.. I must have literally stayed that weight for maybe 2 days...you know the rest. I am now up to 140 and am thoroughly disgusted! I'm trying the moderation thing as well but I get so disappointed with no scale change. Sometimes I avoid the scale all together because if it has not changed or heaven forbid gone in the wrong direction I get so depressed and discouraged. SO, I could use some support as well and we seem to have similar goals so I would really like to have some one to share with...

Hope to hear from you soon!

Re: I QUIT TOO, Almost
 

I am so with you. This is my first post here, but I am so sick of dieting also. I can't enjoy anything, then I feel so guilty and crappy when I do eat something I shouldn't. It is so hard with working and 3 kids, baseball, and everything else to stick to a strict diet plan. Last spring I did the 6WBMO and lost about 17 pounds (165 to 147). At 147 I was a large size 10, bought new clothes. Within 3 months of going off, I gained it all back. I have been trying everything since November to just lose 10-15 pounds and nothing works. Right now I am doing a protein diet from Klik Nutrition, and I will finish it since I paid for it, but I think it was a rip off. I also think my body has adjusted to my work outs, so I am going to find some fun things to do with my kids - like rollerskating one night and bike riding another, but still do toning band workouts. My husband says he is tired of seeing me punish myself and not enjoy anything - like BBQs, having a beer or two, or anything else. I think he is right. I'm 36 in July and life sucks. I want to live again.

I would love to be your buddy!!!

I think you hit the same phonepole I did! lol! I mean I havent gone through the dieting, but you have a similar plan to mine. :)

I'm so glad to see other people doing everything in moderation. I'm trying to recover from bulimia myself and eat/exercise in moderation. I still struggle with restriction of food and over-exertion on exercise. Sometimes, I barely hit 300 calories a day, others, I binge bigtime and end up paying for it because my stomach will feel like it's going to explode because of all the crap I ate:( Case in point, 2 nights ago. I wouldn't wish that kind of stomach pain on anybody, I couldn't even get to sleep:( I over-exert myself sometimes still with exercise because once I started, but it balances out because on the weekends, I'm usually driving all over Texas and can't workout. I wish you guys luck on this! :)

Your husband and my husband should talk! He is sooo tired of seeing me get up early every morning to go to the basement to work my butt off and follow a eating plan to only be sad and disappointed with little or no weigtht loss. I sometimes feel like my life is only worrying about what I put in my mouth and will the scale be "friendly" the next morning. I'm sick of it. I know that whole "muscle weighs more than fat" but I would still like to see some movement on that scale...and not in the wrong directions. I'm 35 with no kids and feel like if it is this hard without every being pregnant and having kids, than forget it! :) I'm doing the BFL for women and I'm trying to be patient and not so hard on my self and hopefully I will see some improvements. I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for the slow, constant thing instead of the the quick, short lived results...I can use all the buddies I can get.. Hope to hear from you soon.

Leshia :)

Our husbands should talk. My hubby needs to lose weight, but his whole family is overweight and really have stomachs. He looks ok, not great, but ok, but hey - he is having a beer, eating a hamberger and enjoying life, while I sit around mourning that I can't go out for breakfast or then I do and feel like crap all day and refuse to eat. I have 3 kids (2, 12, 15) and it is hard to diet and to find time to exercise. I try to exercise when I get home from work, but that involves sticking the 2 year old in front of the tv for an hour while i do it, but I am thinking of trying something else more fun. I have my old rollerskates and may try that. Maybe in the evenings when it cools off. I want to lose my stomach. It won't go away.

Why do women obscess about weight and men just go thru life? I wish I knew. I hate to think what I am teaching my teenager.

So much complaining. Purhaps everyone needs something to make them happy. There has to be something out there that can brighten up this situation. Dieting shouldnt make you sad. Its not that your doing it justf or the weight loss... Its suppsed to be reinventing the way you live. I can guarentee you will be much more successfull if you try and keep your chin up. If its that sad, what your doing that is, then maybe you should look into other ways. You will never be able to keep your diet if your upset about it. :)

I know what you mean...my husband could stand to lose at least 20 pounds but he is not miserable..he will look at his stomach at night and poke it out and make fun of it! He MAY work out 1-2 times a week and LOOSELY follows Atkins, but he not a fanatic about it. Sometimes I'm so jealous of him..he can work out one day,eat well for a couple of days and lose 3-5 pounds! I have demanded he no longer tells me of these "great scale days" he has:). I just want to be happy with my body...I never use to have a belly problem and now It just won't go away. I do understand your concern for what you are teaching your teenager, if we as grown women are so hard on ourselves, I don't want to imagine what teenagers go through with all the pressure to be thin.. I have rollerblades and a bike..maybe you and I can agree to get outside and have some fun at least a few nights a week.. what do you think?

Leshia

your right! I guess I want the impossible...I want to know that If I stick to moderatation, I will get results...eventually...the problem is the eventually...I get discouraged quickly if I don't see results in the time frame I feel...But talking about it does help...I have to believe that If I am consistent I will see results, no matter how small they seem they do add up... Thanks

Leshia

It's the waiting that kills me - to get results, that is. Our society has gotten us to expect nothing less than instant gratification in so many areas, including our bodies. I know it took time for me to get here but I want it to take a lot less time to get where I want it to be.

Let's do the fun exercise thing. Tonight I will try something fun. Tomorrow night is out as we have ballgames, but I can do Friday night too and maybe find some time on Saturday and Sunday. I hate to work out on weekend. The week of the 6th we are on vacation and I want to have some fun, grill out at the lake and eat ice cream!

I think we need to start by incorporating some fun in our moderation plan. We can do this. I signed up at Fitday and have logged in breakfast and lunch for today. I will do my dinner tonight. I use protein shakes for meal replacements too. They fill me up and are pretty healthy, as long as I don't start craving stuff. It's hard now that school is out. THere are snacks lurking in my kitchen for the kids.

Are you a veggie person? I'm not but I do lettuce and green beans. I am thinking of trying cucumbers, but would prefer a pickle. I need to buy some strawberries and make a smoothie. Something healthy is 2 egg whites, some crystal light, water and some berries. Great tasting (learned this on the 6WBMO).

Feel free to IM me if you want or email me direct too. I work all day but I have my IM on also.

Thats where I came from. I wanted the results, and i just didnt wanna wait. Well, I finally realised that was silly, and that I just needed to do it. It was no longer a "I need to look good in a bathing suit" for summer, it became more of a life problem--specially since i cannot afford the cloths (haha). Honestly, I dont care how long it takes me now, Im just so glad ive finally focused myself on a better lifestyle. When I have children (hopefully soon :D) I want them to admire the way i live, and extend that to them. I love videogames, and I love the computer.... but thats not a healthy lifestyle...so I just had to make some adjustments. I think I am happier now too :) I dont care that Im over weight, but I do care that im healthy. Actually I was very happy when I was rushed to the hospitol the other day (not because of the reason why i was rused) because when the nurse took m bloodpressure, she said it was EXCELLENT, she said it was the best anyone could have. It made me so happy, the pain almost went away (Fiancee closed the car door on myhand). ^_^ Just keep in mind that sunny days are ahead.

there is NO reason to punish yourself (at least not much, a little punishing goes a long way though). I was still able to roast some marshmellows on the fire this weekend, and stay on my diet :) It was well worth it too ... MODERATION is the key. Think of Tai Chi and the Yin Yang, you need BALANCE... balance the good with the evil. Good cannot exist without evil and vice versa... this is why we see binging after trying to NOT intake the certain types of food. So...theres two things to keep in mind then, BALANCE and MODERATION :)

Thanks for the inspiration. The thing is, I know all this, I just want faster results. My doctors say I am totally healthy and don't know why I can't lose weight and they told me to just be healthy and not worry about it. I guess I am just obsessed with it and its become a habit that I need to break. STARTING TODAY.

I am going to log what I eat and try to eat well and be positive so that maybe by my vacation next week I can eat what I want and not feel guilty!

Wow, all these great replies!! I totally hear you guys on the not seeing results fast thing. It is so frustrating. But it is MORE frustrating to try to stick to an impossible plan and fail time and time again. It is MORE frustrating to deny ourselves a couple little bites of something we really like at a barbecue!! So let's stick together and have FUN losing weight this summer girls!

I know what you mean...I'm all for the fun excercise thing...I can't tonight, but I can definitley do tomorrow night. I either rollerblade or ride the bike. I use protein shakes and bars as well! I do like some veggies, I like to stir fry chopped zucchini, squash and onions with some Ms. Dash and serve over a little of brown rice.. It tastes really good..But alot of people don't like 2 out of 3 of those vegetables :) As far as the cucumber, you may want to try slicing a cucumber and putting some vinegar, salt and pepper in a sealer bag with the cucumber slices and let them soak for a while and then eat them...It's kinda the same tart and crisp affect of a pickle with out too much sodium. I will have to try the smoothie trick this weekend! I will email you directly and feel free to email me directly as well..I need more info on this "Fitday" you wrote about.

Leshia

A delicious thing to do with cukes is peel, slice them thin, and toss with chopped onions, dill, nonfat or lowfat plain yogurt, and red wine vinegar. you can add salt, pepper parsley to taste and it's low in calories and crunchy and creamy and YUMMY!

Thanks for the tips on the cucumbers. I'm just not a veggie eater but I think its time I learned. Here are a couple of smoothie recipies from the provida.com website. It includes your fruit and protein. On their diet plan, that is what I am to have for breakfast. You can also put in protein powder instead of egg whites. I would use about 1 oz of liquid egg whites if you don't use the powder. I'm trying to see if I can find more information.

My daughter found my skates so I am going to try that tonight for some fun and then do some sit ups on my ball and some toning.

Pina Colada Smoothie
• egg whites, pasteurized (available in carton)
• 2-4 packets of Splenda (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup pineapple (use fresh, canned or snack pack variety packed in own juice. Be sure to drain juice before use.)
• 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 1/2 cups ice
• 1/3 cup water (more or less

From member Rmsot60-Shell. I tried this when I needed a new way to get my protein. I take this with me for snacks. I make it in the morning or the night before and freeze it. You can prepare it with or without fruit

• 1 cup prepared Crystal Light, any flavor
• 1/2 packet of Sweet-n-Low (or any sugar substitute)
• 1/3-1/2 cup of any fruit you can have (optional)
• 4 teaspoon powdered egg whites (all natural no additives) or 2 egg whites, pasteurized (available in cartons)
• 1-1 1/2 cups ice

I think it says on the carton of liquid whites how much equals one egg. I'm going to make some tonight and freeze and bring to the office for a mid Am and mid PM snack. See if I can rev up my metabolism my eating 6 small meals a day.

I can't wait to try the smoothies...I will probably use the protein powder instead of egg whites since I have lots of that around in different flavors. Oh i did log on to Fitday and signed up so I'm looking forward to logging in my food and exercises. I think I'll be able to go for a bike ride tonight...I'll drag hubby with me:) I'm looking forward to being out in the fresh air...
P.S. Be careful on those skates :)

Leshia

Blue sky, that recipe sound good...I can't wait to try it myself!

I also salt the cucumbers before I make it, but I omitted that step because I know a lot of people watch their sodium intake. it is SO GOOD- My grandma's reipe from Germany!

Thanks to both of you. I am going to try the cucumber in the baggie thing tonight when I get home and then eat them later in the evening. I don't have any yogurt right now.

On Fitday, what you using for your calorie intake? I put down a goal of 1000-1200. Think that is too low? I know I will have days that are higher than that. I am 5'4" and currently weight 164 (will weigh tomorrow morning for sure) and want to get to 153 (150 would be nice). I know. Calories in, calories out. Exercise. Ug.

The general consensus seems to be 1200 for the average woman... most people say not to go below that. I put 1200- I am 135, goal 120, 5'4.5", and my exercise is moderate. I will let you know how it works!!

Sher, I haven't gotten that far on Fitday...I was hoping they would recommend how many calories we should be eating for our height, weight, goal weight, etc. I just got a username and began trying to enter what I ate for breakfast today, until I hit a snaffoo with something I ate...Have you ever heard of GG Scandinavian bread crisps? Well, they are the best...they are these 16 calorie thick bread crisps with no fat and the 3 carbs it does have are 3 grams of dietary fiber...we can all use a little more fiber in our days:) I put fat free cream cheese, fat free cheese slices, sugar free marmalade, and even make mini pizza with them using salsa, fat free mozerrella cheese, 2 piece of turkey pepperoni and a litte orgeno and italian seasoning...Also for a chocolate fix I spread Walden Farms no calorie,no fat no carb chocolate dip on them and freeze them and put a little fat free cool whip on them..umm umm good..taste great and very filling, but no guilt..check out
www.brancrispbread.com and www.betterhealthstore.com for the chocolate sauce and marshmallow dip.

Leshia

Leshia,

Do you buy these things locally or do you have to get them online? I got your PM by the way! I will email you soon.

The temp here is about 83 so I will probably wait to skate tonight until after dinner, maybe around 7:30 but I am going to do some toning. Let's see, what else? I picked up a copy of First Magazine today and they have some good diet and fitness articles that are interesting.

Dinner tonight is a protein shake and a salad. Nothing exciting but it will work for now. I use a Rosemary Vinigrette dressing that I really like. I'm going to freeze smoothies for tomorrow and make the cucumber thing too. Thanks for all your motivation. I will talk to everyone tomorrow and we will see how we all made it thru the evening.

I actually get them on line, I have yet to find the bran crispbread at a store, however, I'm sure they sell the Walden Farms products at some health food stores. When I order them online the shipping is really fast. It's pretty hot here to about 80, so I'll be waiting awhile myself before I go out.. I'm having grilled salmon, my zuchini-squash veggie medly over a half cup cooked brown rice. Look forward to hearing from you tomorrow, send me a PM.

Leshia

BRAVO GIRLS!!
That is why we now say "lifestyle change" because it is no longer a diet - but a change you make for life.

Wow, I feel GREAT after the first day doing this!! I ate whenever I was hungry but just made smart choices and plugged everything into Fitday and ended up around 1200!!! Actually closer to 1100 which is even better because it means I have room for one more fruit or small treat in my daily diet! <Patting myself on the back> :lol:

Oh those smoothies sound delish, I have pasterized egg whites daily in my oatmeal in the morning I may try those smoothies for a change or a snack...

Here is my recipe for breakfast ...

1/3 c oatmeal
1/3c water..........stir with a wire wisk microwave for 2 minutes
add: 1/2c eggwhites 1/2c soy milk ......stir with wisk again for a minute, microwave for a minute
-- stir with a wisk again, microwave again....
-- wisk it again and put in a bowl let it sit till cooled a bit it's very hot when it first comes out... it tastes like a custard, :hun:

I just wanted to add that I eat 5-6 small meals/day and I am NEVER ravenous since I've been doing this and in a much better mood too :D AND losing weight of course ....

No more Dieting - I quit
 

Ok ladies, made it thru day one. It's nice to start something on the first of the month. I weighed in this morning, since I did not do it yesterday and my starting weight is 160. Believe me, that fluctuates so much, by the time I weigh in again on the 16th (since I will be on vacation next week) it could be higher. With vacation, I will settle for it being the same, and I am promising myself to not get on the scale every day.

I did the cucumbers last night and they were good. I did water, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper - using 2 recipes from you all and from the internet. I now have a new veggie. I am so pleased.

I rollerskated last night. It was fun and I sweated a lot. No soreness this morning but last night I found muscles I forgot I had. Friday my son and i are going to bike ride if my daughter's bike does not have a flat.

I'm going to be swamped at work today so I may not be able to post much. Everyone have a great day and good luck. Remember - moderation and Let's enjoy life a little.

Need advice about eating out!!
 

My wonderful fiance wants to take me out for italian tonight. What are some good things to eat there and stay low cal? I'm thinking escarole and beans without too much oil.... broiled fish.... or maybe a SIDE of pasta with a veg? The chicken dishes always sound good but i KNOW they sneak extra fat in there... I guess as long as I avoid the really cheesey oily stuff I should be ok right?

In keeping with this moderation thing I am going to remember not to let myself get too hungry before dinner.... otherwise I may attack the bread basket :)

Another great smoothie....

1 banana
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 T ground flaxseed
Splash or two of soymilk

This one is my fave and really good for you!!! If the banana is really ripe you don't need to sweeten it. Otherwise you could use a packet of Splenda.

Eating Out - Italian
 

I think if you choose pasta and a marinara sauce you would be ok too. The cheese sauces or the cream sauces are the worst.

Don't you love the fact that pasta is still a choice for us instead of NO PASTA EVER AGAIN?

I grew up in an italian household.... so while I don't eat it EVERY NIGHT there's not way i'm giving it up forever either :) :devil:

I'm not a huge italian eater, but every once in a while, gotta have it!

I have the same but add a scoop of protein whey powder....

Ok, no one is here today. Had a shake for breakfast, cookies for a snack and salad for lunch. Going for a smoothie here in a about 2 hours, but joining my kids for pepperoni calzones for dinner. It has started storming here in Kansas, and is supposed to rain all weekend. Looks like outside exercise is not on the list, but will plan to hit the treadmill tonight with toning and maybe in the morning if our early ballgame is cancelled. Isn't life fun?

BTW, any good exercises for those ugly saddlebags at the top of legs?

Good excercises for legs are squats, lunges, walking lunges last but not least a very good nutrition plan with little to no processed foods. Try to add more protein to your meals and snacks it helps to keep you full longer....