[lisabunny]

Hi im new to this but i wanted to share some advice and what i think helps.
First of all, I am 25 about to be 26 in 3 weeks and i just had twins 4 months ago. I reached 240 with twins and i now weigh 178. Im 5'7 and my goal weight is 145.
I have been "chubby" most of my life. Being half asian made me feel very different and added to my insecurities. I always wanted to lose weight but had a problem with occasional binging which always kept me "chubby". Then, after high school, i worked out all the time and lost 30 pounds. I went up and down about 20 pounds for a few years until i found that i just couldn't lose weight (always hungry and ate frequent small meals thinking that it would help) I gained an average of 10 pounds a year until i reached 195 and then i became pregnant. I was so scared of gaining too much weight, so i tried to eat very healthy foods for my babies and me. I also ended up with borderline gestational diabetes and had to monitor my sugar levels very closely. I do believe that i had insulin resistance before and it is probably one of the reasons i gained so much weight to begin with
After my babies were born, I finally decided that i had enough with being fat. (now i was fat) So i decreased my calorie intake and was very meticulous about calorie counting. I decreased to 1200 two days a week, 1400 two days a week, one day of maintenance 2300 and one day of 1800. I was calorie shifting to try and keep my metabolism up always and trick my body. I also exersized everyday for 45 min which i later discovered i was doing too much and decreased to 3 days a week and 25 min a day. I managed to lose 5 pounds every month, but not the weight loss i hoped for. I was hoping for 2 pounds a week not 1.25. I again think it had to do with a metabolism issue. I really think insulin resistance kept me from losing more weight, especially since most of the meals i ate were prepackaged meals like lean cuisine and healthy choice and contained too many carbs for my body. So i tried atkins but lasted only a week. I couldn't hangle itnd gave up on that, knowing anyway how unhealthy and impossible that diet is.
But it gave me an idea. I decided to give the south beach diet a try. I still decided to eat small frequent meals on the diet instead of the 3 meals and 2 snakcs that is part of the diet plan. I figured it wouldn't make a difference since calorie counting is not suppose to be an issue. Well, of course, i think i was overeating and not realizing it cause in two weeks, i lost 3 pounds, not the 8-14 that is promised. Now, losing that much weight some say is not healthy. But i believe that that is not true. If it continues, then yes. But I believe it boosts your motivation. You feel like, wow, i accomplished a very hard mini goal and I am determined to win!
I have decided to give this another go, but this time actually eating just the three meals a day your suppose to on this diet and two snacks in between.
There isn't any research stating that 6 smalls meals are better than 3. ANd for those of us who tend to binge at times or snack too much, will find that it is a bad idea. Actually, im convinced that is why i gained weight to begin with because i found myself hungrier. I believe that the hunger was due to insulin resistance and the small meals created an even bigger problem for me.
Ive lost weight before in the past as well just eating one meal a day. Of course, i was much younger and being dumb. This of course is a bay idea, but i realized doing that i did not overeat, even though i was very very hungry for that one meal.
Eating 6 small meals a day i believe actually encourages overeating and is a very bad approach to those of us who tend to be junk food addicts and bingers. Even if you are a normal eater, i still believe this encourages overeating because i found that i used to eat normal except for binging days before i switched to 6 smaller meals a day. What a mistake and im finally realizing what a bad idea it really is.
Bottom line: FInd what works for you, but i strongly recommend going the traditional 3 meals a day. YOu get to enjoy the food that you are eating and you don't have to feel like a bird eating half a bagel. How boring and it only leaves you yearning for more. NOt good.