weight-loss speed
 

I just want throw my 2 cents into the weight-loss speed.

For example, I cut out all my junk foods, about 1000K a day, and lost 5 lbs in just over a week.
Then, for 5 days, I appear to have not lost an ounce, even though I am eating not that much, and doing some exercise, about 10,000 steps a day on a pedometer, which for me is about 1000K. (It seems to work out to about 10 steps per calorie for my size, which is kinda cool to know).
So I seem to be only eating about 2000K, when for my size WITH 1000K exercise I am probably burning about 3800+ cals a day.
So I am burning ROUGHLY 1500 more cals a day than I am eating. So in theory I should be losing over 2lbs a week.

So why is my weight "stuck"?
I don't know. Maybe the first drop was water from reducing the salt? Maybe it was excess the body wanted to drop?
Maybe my calorie counts are way off.
Maybe the metabolism adjusts when you start eating less, as they say.
etc, etc.
Its all very complex.

This is why I agree with Judith Beck when she says, I think, set a reasonable program, and stick to it for many months, and just be patient. I agree with this. 1 lb a week is fine, if it sticks for life.
I could cut my calories way down, and exercise like a maniac, and drop 20 lbs like a did a couple years ago.
then I stop exercising, and eating more, and wham, right back up.

The key, I agree, is to make a lifetime decision to change lifestyle, and take a LONG view, minimum one year.
Part of me is tempted to not eat much, and drop the weight fast.
But that is wrong.
Much better to build an easy, solid foundation, that can last a lifetime.
Am I going to run 1 hr a day for life? Not likely.
So I would prefer to lose a little, and do it the easy way.

Also, as we lose weight, it can get harder to lose more weight, etc.

So for me, I took my initial energy, and just BLOCKED all junk foods outside of meals, and substituted air-popcorn, and sugar-free candy. That blocked up to 1000+ cals a day. That can be a fun way to start, it was for me. I even set-up a "Candy Jar" I can eat out of, all sugar-free, about 5 cals per candy.

Now I am going to go into stage two, and cut back on the substitutes, and chew sugar-free gum.
Then later I will cut back on the gum.

Like Judith Beck says, we have to retrain ourselves to not eat all the time.
also, to transfer excess pleasure away from food, and get more pleasure in other ways in life.

But in reality, it is a frickin difficult thing to do.
I have committed 2007 to my first stage in this.
Then Maintenance is a lifelong new habit.

If we go for the short-fix by over-pushing ourselves, we will fall-back later on, as most folks do.
anyway, those are my thoughts...

Hey Everybody,

Working mongo hours the last 2 days and fell completely off plan today. Guess where...McDonalds! And I hadn't even read this thread yet! I'll be back with it tomorrow. I just fell apart for probably the reasons many of you discussed here.

1. I failed to plan! I left home with no extra food.

2. I gave in to cravings.

3. I lost weight and my body wanted to binge.

Thank goodness I'm only working 1/2 day Friday and I'm of Saturday and Sunday. I'll be going to the store to buy food for planned menus, reviewing my cards and basically getting back on track.

I need to complete 150 minutes of exercise as part of my June challenge, so I'll be burning some calories.

WEll, more later. It's late and I'm tired.

See ya Friday night!
L

Hi All! I am happy to report that the 3 lb weight gain I showed on Wed. must have been water retention, as I am now down 3.5 lbs from Wed. I knew my body fluctuated with water some, but that seems like a lot! Anyway, I had a great dinner last night that is originally from ediets--the only recipe they had that I liked! lol They called it fantasy fish, and it's really fast and easy to prepare. Sprinkle cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, and chili powder on fish filets (I use tilapia) and rub in. Cook the filets on medium heat in a skillet with a little olive oil (or just pam if nonstick pan) for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove fish and add about 3/4 cup of salsa to skillet along with pineapple chunks and let reduce for a few minutes. Then, top the fish (and brown rice?) with the salsa sauce. It's a great spicy-sweet meal that takes about 15 minutes total if you have minute rice. I tried a new thing that is rice in a microwaveable pouch, and it was actually really good--only took 90 seconds! Anyway, I didn't know if any of you would be interested, but it's definitely worth a try if you are!

Liannie, good for you coming right back to the plan. We all will make some mistakes occasionally, but the important thing is that most of the time, we get it right. Maybe you can turn this around to a positive, reinforcing the "no choice" idea--you know you ate some things you shouldn't have, so if you want to lose weight this week, you'll have to be extra good on the diet.

CBT, is it possible you have cut your cals too low? If you are burning that many a day and really cutting back on your cals, maybe your body has slowed its metabolism to keep you from losing. I would probably wait another week at the same pace to see what your body does, and if you're still not losing, maybe you should add a few more healthy cals back in on the days you get extra exercise. Just a thought, anyway...great job on all your walking and on cutting out the junk food--that's wonderful, and I hope you are congratulating yourself for such huge accomplishments!

girlie, I would be interested in being coaches for each other. Do you want to send me a private message with some good days/times for you? And, I know you will be able to do this. The great thing about the plan is that you implement one change at a time. If it's moving too fast for you, take it more slowly, as I do. It also helps if you think about small goals. Maybe your goal for the next 2 weeks can be getting under 180? That's how I did my first goal. Try not to get discouraged about the time factor. A lot of that depends on how much you have to lose and how close to your goal you get. You could safely lose 8 lbs a month, so in about 5 months, you could be at your goal weight. I know you want to be there now (who doesn't), but 5 months from now is better than never! Do you travel for any holidays? Think how great you would feel to be at your goal weight for Thanksgiving, etc.

Sue (I couldn't see your post when I wrote my reply), it sounds like you are doing so good, you should really be proud of yourself. I worry about your boredom with the food and hope you don't get too frustrated with it and give up. Can you do an occasional snack (outside the house) just so you don't feel so deprived? If you feel it may make you lose control, then I suppose it's not a good idea, but I know feeling deprived has led to me quitting diets in the past.

hey Karina, that's great about the 3 lb drop.
I did a search, and it says here that...

http://health.howstuffworks.com/question227.htm
"It's amazing how much water weighs! A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds, and a pint of water (16 ounces) weighs 1 pound (in metric, 1 liter of water weighs 1 kilogram). This means that if you drink a 1-liter bottle of soda, you instantly gain 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) from the water! That's a big weight change, and it can happen very quickly."

So 4 glasses of water is 2 lbs!
One liter of water is 2.2 lbs.

So bottom line, as Beck says, anything up to 2-3 pounds doesn't mean much, especially for the ladies with all those hormones, etc.


As far as me, I would guess more likely than my metabolism, is that my calorie counts are way off! I bet I am eating more cals than I think.
:-)
I am not on a prescribed diet, just eating from memory like my dietician taught me before, so I could be off. After all, little things can add up.
But that being said, my scale today told me I was down 1 lb. So that's good.

I feel great about this so far. The best weight-loss experience ever.

But its amazing how much food is now around! My fridge is stuffed, my bananas are spoiling...I am saving money not eating out at random..
Even ones skin clears up a bit from not eating junk.

But I bet some of my 6 lb loss so far was due to much less SALT being eaten, as I think salt retains water in the body?
Yes, it appears it does...I love the internet.

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_salt.html
"Salt does not cause your body to gain or lose fat. In fact, salt has no calories. High consumption of salt only results in temporary weight gain as it causes your body to retain water. Conversely, low consumption of salt can result in temporary weight loss as it causes your body to expel water.
It is interesting to note that many crash diets which boast quick weight loss rely on foods with little or no salt content. The weight loss is mostly water, and as soon as you eat foods containing salt again you regain the weight."

Adding onto CBS's idea, I've done a similar thing. I had gotten into the habit (maybe once a week) of eating at this place called Panda Express in our student union. Before getting pregnant I'd go and get a bowl of 1 item on top of veggies. During pregnancy, I got used to eating 2 items with a side of rice or chow mein. Well (70 lbs later), I had the baby but kept eating the bigger portions. I would tell myself I'd go and just get the 1-item bowl, but then I'd be in line and think I was too hungry and needed the 2 items. Embarrassing moment 1.5 months ago--I ran into my dissertation adviser (60-year old ultra-healthy man) with my 2-item plate to his 1-item bowl. Anyway, since starting this diet, I haven't allowed myself to eat at Panda Express, but I go in every week or two for a diet pepsi. I do make sure I go in after lunch (my smart ones meal), but it's still tough to stand in line, see and smell the food (it's great Chinese!) and tell them "no thanks, I just want a drink." What I like is that when I leave, I feel totally in control of myself. It's a nice feeling, and I hope to continue to feel it more and more often! I hope the same for all of you as well.

HI folks,

Really enjoy the work on retraining the brain. Love reading about your exercises. I have been studing Buddhism focusing on understanding that my ego' s ideas, emotions and responses are not "reality". -another retraining of the brain.
I find that in order to conquor the addiction of some foods, right now I must not have them in my home. It is nice there are no fast foods, malls, drive throughs, speciality food shops, not one chain of any type here I live, even the nearest traffic light is over 1 1/2 hrs away. heck even the 2 small grocery stores are close between 6-8 pm depending the time of the year.

But once demon processed sweet or high carb food is in my house or near at a party-I am a gonner-Having just a small "bit" continously nags all day and night. Even now my husband rarely gets his half of a treat. Boredom with food for now keeps the lusting in check. If family/friends bring the treats over or we go to friends, the work of keeping my self in check to avoid, "did you see how much food fat sue ate?"looks often is followed with binging when alone.

I finally got over having too much peanut butter by recording a 100 calories for each measely tbls. ugh I had to face I was eating 400-600 cals after 10 pm
Right now I need time and steps to fix the food to help control complusive overeating. a bag of cookies would be gone in one or two days in the most, 5apples can last over 3 days.

I do feel I have made some real improvement while losing this 40 lbs. Yet I still fear of losing control, binging and regaining. That sneaky sneaky rationalizing mind. But to get over 300 lbs where was the rest of my IQ?

thanks
sue

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. MBCT
 

coastalsue, I think that's great to keep the food out of the house. Where you live that sounds perfect. Just hang in there, take the looooonngggg view. This type of thing really does take time, and then lasts a lifetime. I would suggest just doing ONE day from the book at a time, and then just keep doing it, a little bit each day.

I have at least 5 McDonalds in a 10 min WALK of where I live. Its nuts. Plus 24/7 groceries, hundreds of fastfood outlets, and now, lots of new dollar stores that sell chocolate bars 2 for a buck.

So its crazy really, I think this is why I have to train myself to not go in there. Its in your face 24/7.

There is a connection actually between parts of CBT and some early Philosophy. Aaron Beck goes over that a bit in some of his books. There is a connection with Buddhism with books like "Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy" by Zindel Segal. Its called MBCT.
So Mindfullness is related to CBT, in certain ways.
Here is a Google search of MBCT.
http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...nitive+Therapy

I ALMOST gave into a Craving tonight for a chocolate bar. This one almost got me. But because I was craving it, I didn't have it. I can have a chocolate bar once a week or so...just not 2x a day!!!
:-)

Karina: I am experimenting with enjoying the smell of good food, without having to eat it! That is possible too, I think. But the Chinese food is not a huge craving for me. Not fatty enough for me, I guess!

I ate a small supper tonight, so I could eat a LARGE air-popcorn tonight, that worked well. Its probably about 250 cals of popcorn, but hey, I would prefer to take it out of dinner, and still get to eat that in the evening. I enjoy that.
So, if I continue losing weight, that is one treat I will keep
Air-popcorn, with salsa, and lots of spices.
that stuff has saved my butt, or I should say gut. It replaces chips, pizza, burritos, crackers...everything. Even cheese. I make some cheese NAcho sauce, very few cals, and pour it on.
Maybe I will start the CBT Popcorn Diet, and make a million.
:-)

Physics
 

one other thing, I was not writing down what I ate before.

I was wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong.

We gots to write it ALL down, all of it. Our mind is too tricky.

I made an Excel sheet, and each day is a single column, and I can write in my meals, snacks, in order, and even do a rough ESTIMATE of the calories eaten at the bottom of each day, and total it.

Also, in the same column, I write down my exercise time, or not, and also GUESS the calories used, and write down my pedometer steps, which are close to 10,000 a day!

then I am able to ESTIMATE about how many cals went in, and went out.
Its an amazing thing. Review it each night for a minute, and you start to GET IT.
More cals have to go out, than go in the yapper..

It literally is Physics. I get it. The Law Of Conservation of Energy. Its how the universe works. You can't beat it. (contrary to what some various "New Age" gurus are saying these days. Some even say, you can eat ANYTHING and not get fat if you BELIEVE you can. Lies, lies, and damn lies. Its a blatant lie to dupe people. Its impossible, if a person knows anything about science).

If my weight doesn't go down over time, its simply due to me eating more energy, than energy being expended by the body.
Just like a bank account in reverse.

To lose weight, there has to be more FOOD-ENERGY going OUT than going IN. Its that simple. That is reality.That's all there is too it.
And WRITING IT ALL DOWN can't be avoided. It works.

CBT, good job with your awareness. I admire your passion for learning and achieving your goal.

Sue, I too am a peanut butter junkie. The last time I dieted I learned that I just can't keep it in the house. It is heaven, and I rationalize that it's OK because it's healthy, but it's just a big trigger for me, so even this last round of gaining weight and overeating, I didn't really do pb.

Sue, 40 pounds is so awesome. Awesome.

Speaking of close (or far) fast food places, I live in a super cute part of town, BUT there is a Taco Bell about 15 steps from my house. That was my fall back place...I thought then (llike it was so long ago, ha ha) that, oh, a taco and a tostada isn't that bad, but then when I went to the website (looking for wheat info), calorie-wise it wasnt' so bad, but I was SHOCKED by all of the ingredients in a simple taco....so many chemicals and fake foods. There are also 3 charming restaurants within walking distance, a wine shoppe with a cute outside area where you can enjoy a glass of wine, my favorite coffee shop, 2 bars, and one authentic taco place.

Have any of you tried *The 4-day Win* by Judith Beck. I'm reading it here and there, focusing on *The Beck Diet Solution* but it's blowing my mind. There's some interesting info on the two parts of our brains...one is the animal brain and the other is the logical/thinking brain, bicameral brain theory I think it was called. And how it's hard to lose weight until we can get the animal brain to not feel like a prey from the logical brain, predator. So we get in control, logical brain, force the animal brain to eat less, diet, talk hatefully to it, but the animal brain feels threatened, so as soon as stress or change or something throws of the logical side, the animal brain runs wild and gorges. If you have time, read it! I would love to share opinions about it.

OK, I wont' touch my ticker anymore. I officially started my eating plan yesterday.

Have a great Saturday.

Good Morning All,

I've been way off track the last few days. I thought I'd gotten it back together but I hadn't. Long work hours, relentless job stress, 2 days spent away from home without easy access to my diet foods, and general exhaustion led me back to a 36-hour long crazy carbfest.

Now that I've had a full night's sleep in my own bed, I'm feeling like I can move back in the right direction again. The fact that none of this is automatic yet, that I can fall back into old habits the minute stress or inconvenience intervenes, convinces me that I really need to get back to basics.

Today my goal is to start back at the beginning of the book and reread it, going through all of the exercises and making the index cards inseparable from me.

I will start by restating why I am doing this. I want to lose weight because.....

*I will look better
*I will feel better
*I wont have to hide my big belly sitting or standing
*My back won't hurt as much
*I can wear the clothes that are gathering dust in my closet
*I will live longer
*I will have more energy
*My husband will be happier with me
*I will be happier with myself
*NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS BEING THINNER WILL FEEL!

L

Hi folks,

I am getting inspired by many of the posting-really interested in some of suggested books-my mind needs retraining in many areas.

Liannie-exhauation is one very tough state to diet in or make any habit changes. You are getting back on track as you are rested.

In a couple of hours company arrives, we are going to a cajun dinner and then enjoy a blue's concert. I plan to enjoy it all. eat the foods, enjoy drinks and do it all in Moderation. I have saved a 1000 cal for this party and plan to kept within that-not worry about the nutritional value-only the cals.

the work is to return to my program tomarrow and the rest of the week. I have lost an pound and a half this week. Things are working-Always worried I am a food away from be coming unconscious overeater again. Thanks for this place and exchange of ideas.

good changes for all
sue

Hi everyone,
There is now a new thread for July 07 Beck Diet Solution. Liannie did it to make this one less unwieldy.

Please join us!

I am having terrific success with the Beck Diet Solution, and am soon hitting 10 lbs lost.

Unfortunately the 3fatchicks forum is too laden with tracking cookies, applets, and everything else.
Also, I am not comfortable breaking up the threads in a General posting area, as I find that undesirable as all the info gets scattered, as the Beck Solution does not have its own Forum at 3fatchicks.

Hopefully the Beck Solution will open their own forum soon. But I probably won't be posting here at 3fatchicks anymore, and instead will probably post at PeerTrainer.com where there is a specific group for the Beck Solutiion, called "Mind Over Matter".
I just wanted to mention that so a casual reader doesn't think I quit the Beck Solution program, Quite the opposite, I will follow it through until I hit my healthy weight, and then use it to stay there.

It would be nice to have one central group that is organized logically, and can serve as an easily accessible and permanent archive of information.
good luck with your goals!

Hi all! I am so, so, so very excited that I found this forum!!! I just bought TBDS and am on page 43 and LOVING it! I recently got very skinny doing ******* (low carb, low fat, low cal). Too skinny. Nobody but me was thrilled. Now I've gained a little back but was (until I bought TBDS yesterday) terrified of gaining it all back since I'm having a hard time finding balance between the extreme diet I was on and no diet whatsoever. No more!

What I love about this book is that it doesn't tell you to NOT diet (like some of the intuitive eating books do), yet it gives you the mental tools -- that are almost always lacking in a diet -- with which to successfully embark on a plan. Low carbing works great for me, but currently I have a bunch of sugary food in the house. TBDS has already helped me avoid a blow-out binge: I heard the little frozen pints of evil calling me from the freezer last night. I just kept saying to myself, "It's a craving, it will pass. I will feel SO great tomorrow if I do NOT give in" etc. etc. I ended up eating some watermelon and an Atkins bar and actually didn't even want the ice cream after that.

This morning I weighed less than I thought (I've been overeating bad for the last couple of days since I got back from vacation). I really am SO happy I didn't give in to the craving last night and eat the ice cream. Okay, I did eat more than I wanted to yesterday, but I didn't give in to the sabotaging voices. Baby steps.

I'm really looking forward to discussing this plan with you all, a plan which I think is a breakthrough for dieters. I'm going to go back and try to read as many posts as possible to learn from all of you.

Thanks!!! Ursula