Hi, I’m a new member to this forum, and this is my first post.

Hello everyone ;-)

I have finally decided to register and post a question here. I’ve been thinking seriously about losing weight for some time now, but I haven’t really been able to elicit the necessary motivation that will set me off on the rollercoaster journey towards shedding the dreaded kilos, but then again I guess that’s a pretty common statement among us ‘gonna doers’.

I guess the first step is actually just to sit down and think it all through.

I have to admit that find it difficult to get up from the couch, and actually take some practical steps towards solving my problem so to speak, and I am slightly worried that I’m not going to be able to stick it out, which is also one of the main reasons why I haven’t done anything about my situation until now, come to think of it.

I have however decided that I’m going to take some practical step in the New Year.

My question is as follows, are there any methods that are less strenuous, any diets that don’t necessarily involve eating only vegetables and other non tasty foods, or do I simply have to bite the bullet and head down to the local gym and start eating rabbit food

Also are there any tactics that I can use that will make the journey slightly less traumatic?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Regards

Pete.

Hi, I'm new here too, but I know it is motivating to get replies, so I'm going to give you one.

I just joined this forum yesterday, but I lost 55 lbs. last year. The key to my success was the elimination of processed sugars and simple carbs like those found in flour. Some people can not fight the cravings brought on by carbs. I suggest you find a diet program or way of eating that eliminates sugar, flour, and a lot of carbs. Some choices are The Dukan Diet, The South Beach Diet, and the Slow Carb Diet.

Good Luck!

Valkyrie

Welcome, PeterBris! I'm a librarian, so I have books to recommend! It sounds like you would appreciate a step-by-step approach that emphasizes the "how" of dieting, not just the "what" of the diet. Take a look at these books and see if one speaks your language:

The Beck Diet Solution by Judith Beck
The Complete Beck Diet for Life by Judith Beck
The Step Diet by James O. Hill, et. al.
The Eating Well Diet by Jean Harvey-Berino
The Mayo Clinic Diet by the Mayo Clinic

Peter -

I first want to address this, "I am slightly worried that I’m not going to be able to stick it out, which is also one of the main reasons why I haven’t done anything about my situation until now, come to think of it."

I feel you! You've probably heard this before but being healthy isn't a membership or a contract that can expire. Sticking it out - it isn't all or nothing. If you start a journey and you find one day you've stopped, start again. Some days will be disastrous, tomorrow is another opportunity to be healthy. Don't worry about failing, don't worry about a day when you might not be as healthy as you once were, just try again the next day. It's a lifestyle change, everyone says it and it's true. Every day will be a work in progress so if you want to be healthier just keep trying! It's not about sticking it out, because there is no "out". Just keep trying!

As far as only eating vegetables or non tasty foods ..... Well, you certainly don't have to only eat salad forever but you could count calories or ww points, cut out carbs or sugar, etc. You can technically eat McDonalds and Pizza if you count the calories and stop when you reach your limit. Of course it's better to eat healthier but it doesn't have to be all veggies. You have to do that some days. You have a healthy lunch but you KNOW you want to go out for dinner on Friday night so you count your calories and you save up. It's definitely not all veggies

Maybe ease in to the journey by taking a stroll through your local market and looking at foods you like to eat and examining their food labels. If you love ice cream but find the food label tells you it's bad for you start thinking of an alternative in the store. Frozen yogurt instead? Maybe yogurt with berries and honey, even a few dark chocolate chips, something for that sweet tooth. Start noticing things the food labels like canned beans, tomato sauces, whole grain pastas and whole grain breads, veggies you DO like, seasonings and herbs that can making something boring better. All of a sudden you'll realize you can make yourself a delicious taco that doesn't have to be dripping in grease because you used beans or swapped ground turkey instead of ground beef and you amped up the flavor with cilantro and salsa and hot sauce! Get to know the foods you like, find healthy alternatives for horribly bad for you ones and follow the serving size guidelines! When I worked out at the gym 24/7 I ate pasta when I got home but I measured out the dry pasta based on the food label so I knew I was eating exactly the serving size and I knew exactly how many calories and fat it would be. I would measure out the alfredo or the tomato sauce too and I had a darn good meal! It might sound like work but the more you do it the more natural it becomes! If you find you are serious about reading food labels and watching serving sizes invest in a food scale one day. It's a great help, especially when controlling bad for you things like cheese!

As far as exercise ..... It's necessary too but maybe start by eating right and see how it goes before you drop a lot of money on a membership. Start taking more walks and using the stairs more and ease into. Once you start eating well and maybe losing some weight you'll feel more comfortable about heading to the gym.

One last thing .... As far as the trauma? Well don't expect the world and don't kill yourself if you fail one day. Don't beat yourself up. If you have a rotten day, move on. Tomorrow will be a good day. If you find yourself binging and realize you hate yourself for it while you're about to shove a piece of cake in your mouth then just stop! Just shake it off and keep going. It's traumatic to feel like something isn't working but every little bit helps. Helps to build good habits, heal your body, improve your happiness etc. Just don't give up on yourself and know it takes time and it does take effort but it gets easier!

Thank you all for the positive feedback.

Valkyrie1;

Thank you, that’s definitely worth looking into. However, I do suspect that the biggest challenge that I’ll have to face is more of a mental kind. Hopefully I’ll find the strength to stick it out.

Gardenerjoy;

I will most definitely check out the books that you recommended, and see which one is best suited for my particular situation. I suppose a book on willpower would probably also be beneficial. I’ll see if I can find some books on that subject too. Anything that is likely to help me out has to be considered a good thing.

Steinanwine;

Thank you very much for your advice, it’s very much appreciated. I guess the best way to start a diet/exercise program is to take it slowly and not to push too hard. Like you say, it’s not going to be the end of the world if I “fall off the wagon”. Tomorrow’s always another day, and I guess the only thing to do in those types of scenarios is to climb back up again.

Pete.

Oh, I have a ton of ideas for you, Pete, but I don't think I can verbalize all of them without turning it into a novel :-)

First of all, what is your current situation and how did you get there? Are there some specific things that you do or don't do that you'd like to change?

For example, is fast food your Achilles' heel and if so, what would be the reason for it? Taste? Convenience? If fear of failure is what's keeping you from getting off the couch, then aim to set goals that you simply can not fail. This, by the way, is one of those "do as I say, not as I do" things :-) I was recently listing things that I want to accomplish and the reasons why I constantly choose to do the "easier thing" instead of the "harder thing" to get myself there. The main reason always seemed to be "what if I fail or what if I'm not good enough?" That's still something I need to tackle myself, but I know that it's all in my head.

Secondly, where do you want to be? What are your goals? Without yet knowing what they are, I can assure you that you'll not get there with excessive cardio and just eating rabbit food. And this is coming from a self-proclaimed bunny!

Hi SparklyBunny,

I guess my personal situation can probably best be described as a combination of self inflicted poor eating habits and inheriting shall we say, slightly less desirable genes from my father’s side of the family, which have resulted in ‘yours truly’ stacking on the kilos ;-)

By self infliction, I mean that I’m probably not the most disciplined and structured person, and thus I’m finding it difficult to incorporate effective methods that will see me shed the unwanted excess baggage.

I guess my ultimate goal would be to attain a healthier and more normal body size, and once I have accomplished this goal, to be able to stay there without having to yo-yo up and down in size, which tends to happen to so many others who have successfully managed to lose weight.

And yes unfortunately, I guess I’m like most other dieters, in that I’m having difficulties staying away from the more unsavoury foods

I also think you’re spot on with your suggestion that I should only be implementing achievable training and dietary regimes, and take is nice and slowly. I guess that’s going to be my main challenge, finding the right program and striking the right balance.

You could benefit from intermittent fasting. Men in general do better on it, though I personally like to eat that way as well and find it to be great for my mental alertness.

There's the rather popular 5:2 protocol and then there's Leangains and Eat Stop Eat and probably many others. If you have a rather stable blood sugar, then it should be fairly easy to adopt such way of eating.

Anyway, the reason I'm suggesting it is that you wouldn't have to give up on the pleasures and maintaining in the real world is really simple. You'd just reduce the times when you eat. That being said, of course it's better if you skip on eating processed foods in favor of quality foods, and making sure that you do get all the necessary nutrition when you do eat.

I found this article just recently and I thought it was rather interesting: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/in...asting/summary The writer was experimenting on three different IF protocols. Two of them were successful and one of them went horribly wrong. There's plenty of other free resources available online, so there is no need to buy anything.

If you're interested in the science of weight loss and training, then I would recommend Lyle McDonald's site http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/ There's a ton of information there.

Also, the reason I suggested setting goals that you can't fail is that our brains constantly adapt. The more you go through a cycle of a challenge and the subsequent success, the more you'll start to think that you will accomplish things instead of dreading the upcoming task. What we focus on will grow the most and what we think and experience the most will be reinforced the most. Doesn't matter if it's eating, lifting weights or thinking. Even a small victory is still a victory and will reinforce the idea that you're victorious! :-)

PeterBris: you mentioned looking for a book on willpower -- and I know one for that, too!

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. It's coming out in paperback in January, but your local library may have it. It was pretty popular. It's more an exploration of habit than a self-help book, but there are ideas and things to try. Fascinating book.

I actually think that willpower is over-rated. What worked for me was strategy, structures, and techniques. I design my life in ways that make willpower the least used tool in my toolbox. It doesn't take any willpower to stay out of the cookies/biscuits if there aren't any in the house!

Thank you everyone for your advice and pointers, I’m truly impressed, as a matter of fact slightly overwhelmed with all the positive feedback. So once again, thank you very much!

I think being a member of a forum such as this; will make the process a lot more manageable. It’s always easier to achieve meaningful results when you have proper support.

So I shall take everything onboard, process all the information and hopefully start getting into better shape

Pete

Hi Pete! Do you think you can get by on a diet that allows you to eat meat and fish and eggs and beans and nuts and peanut butter in addition to green vegetables, as well as allowing you to have a cheat day every week when you can eat whatever you want, and for which exercise is not required but of course is helpful? That's the diet I'm on. It's the Slow Carb Diet, although I'm on a modified version of it: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/othe...carb-diet.html. It's a low-carb diet and it's not for everybody, but I was one of those people just dreading the thought of trying to count calories and exercise like crazy, hoping I wouldn't fall off the weight loss wagon, AGAIN. This diet has been easy for me. You might take a look at it and see if it's something you think you could do. Good luck!

Hi Jacqui D,

Yes, that’s probably going to be the strategy for me, at least for now. I’ll see how well I fare before I eventually step it up a notch or two, that is, if I’m capable of that. Time will tell....

Thank you for the encouraging words and good luck to you too ;^)

Pete

A book on willpower that I've enjoyed thus far (as I haven't finished it yet) is The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonical. It's rather entertaining and intriguing and it has assignments. As the book is based on a course, you should read one chapter per week and then work on the assignments before moving onto the next chapter.

On a personal note, it's becoming clear to me that when I'm able to "soothe the savage beast" that's my primal part of the brain, I'm more able to make decisions that are more satisfying for me in the long run. Though I have to say that I've now only managed to stop doing harmful things (overeating and drinking), but I'm not yet someone who'd persistently make time for exercising. Still, even just by cutting out the negatives from my life, everything has changed drastically. Essentially I'm now just a really laid-back person who's enjoying life without getting sicker or heavier :-) From health perspective, that's enough. But since I want a rocking body as well, I'm going to have to start working harder as well.

amazing. everything here is gold. well done. i'm on optifast. i've lost 33 pounds in 3 months. your choice of course.

i like the 5:2 diet and the slow-carb one. for the future. i'm committed to optifast atm.

saraphin