Hello everyone, I am very new. 2 weeks ago I bought a used treadmill and started exercising 6 days a week (30 mns a day)....and started to watch what I ate...albeit it is not a strict strict diet, I am not eating as much bread as I used to...and I am eating more fruits and veggies...but I know that right now I have issues with restricting myself too much. Anyway....I wasn't exercising before, and now I am and I do feel different...I feel more flexible and just all around better....but after 2 weeks I lost 5 lbs..yippee....then I went to get mexican food one night...and I tried being good by ordering grilled veggies....but now I gained the 5lbs back....sooo frusturating.

I am not going to stop the exercising...but I could use some moral support. I am on a budget and it is hard to buy the fresh healthy food that I need...and I prefer healthy food in general....plus I am a vegetarian (well i eat fish when i can afford it)....so it is hard.....I don't eat fast food, and really my only big indulgence is ben and jerry's lowfat frozen yogurt...which I know i should stop eating...

I am mostly frusturated because I gained the damn 5 lbs back :-(
and I am afraid I won't be able to lose it again.

increase the exercise to 45 minutes then an hour..join fitday.com and start counting calories so you know exactly how much you're eating. look through old post where people say they're looking for help and look at all the amazing comments left by people who know what they're talking about.

i'm a vegetarian too. tofu is a good source of protein, you may want to try that if fish is too expensive a lot of the time (i have no idea how much tofu costs). if you want to treat yourself to the ben & jerry's, make sure you're only having the serving size listed and not any more than that. seriously fitday.com is really helpful and lets you know exactly where you stand with your calories. good luck, dont get discouraged!

With respect, I don't really understand the whole eating healthy is expensive thing, especially in summer, winter I can understand, because fresh local produce is virtually non existent and everything is imported.

Grains, brown rice, wholewheat pasta, fresh fruit and veggies can all be cheap if you shop around, and use a bit of creativity. I know in your country there is an issue with the price of fish, fortunately in England you can get inexpensive fish - although it's usually stuff that can be a bit tricky to deal with, or very oily, like mackerel. There are lots of recipes out there, and there is even a vegetarian board on 3FC to get ideas.

The big thing is, stay positive. Once you get a bit more confident, get some advice on your exercise. I have a lot of weight to lose, and have found since I started being serious about the exercise, and incorporating weight training, the pounds are coming off easier.

It is hard, and it is frustrating, but hang in there, and let your body know who's boss, it needs to learn to get rid of pounds instead of hang on to them, and it takes a while for it to catch on.

actually soy products are dangerous and therefore I am trying to cut them out of my diet.

it is very hard do eat healthily for me because I am extremely busy and I cannot go out and buy fresh produce everyday...The produce is expensive, and doesnot keep long at all. I end up throwing out half of what I buy because it spoils so easily. One cannot live on brown rice alone. And I am not about to try seeing as that is part of the reason I have gained weight in the first place. I am trying to cut out the pasta and rice, or at least eat it VERY rarely.

Hi Marissa,

It sounds like you're suffering from the same disease as many of us: excuse-itis. There are terrific (and inexpensive) salads you can make with bulgur and carrots and chickpeas and onions. Frozen veg are actually considered nutritionally superior to fresh veg that has been sitting around. There are a lot of fresh things that don't spoil, and frozen fish is not too expensive. Try couscous recipes. Eat more legumes. Try increasing the incline on your new treadmill.

And don't forget that you may not really have regained the 5 pounds. You may have still been full of salt and fat and cheese (and beer?) from your Mex food splurge, which would make you retain water. In my experience, one night's indulgence doesn't make much difference, and if you go back on program after the bad weigh-in, the next weigh-in will prove it was just a passing moment and not "real" weight gain. And hormonal fluctuations also can make you gain weight when you haven't.

So don't give up! And remember, slow steady loss is the best kind.

Carla

what about frozen, dried, or canned fruits and vegetables? They retain almost all the same nutritional value as fresh, and are a much better choice than a lot of other options. I haven't found eating healthier to be any more expensive than my old diet was, because I'm buying healthy food instead of junk. It sounds like you're doing pretty well with exercise. Remember that this is not a short term commitment. It'll take as long as it takes, that's becoming my new mantra.

I don't shop every day. I work 8 hours a day and have a four hour commute on top. I shop once a week. I buy a variety of vegetables, and use the ones that perish first. Things like zucchini, pepper, carrots among others keep for a week without a problem in the fridge.

I am curious as to what your meal plans will include, if you are excluding fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, rice and soy products?? What sort of things do you eat now?

I have lost weight eating grains, fish and vegetables, if you are looking for some magic bullet, I haven't got one. And this fallacy that soy is dangerous, I just wonder how the Chinese and Japanese have managed to live so long, without nearly the amount of disease and obesity that we have in the Western world. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I am not sure what sort of advice you want, except to be told that its all too hard and you should just give up. If you really want to lose weight, you need to find a way around all these obstacles you seem to have set yourself.

I agree--harsh reality may sound just that: harsh. But it needs to be heard. Excuses won't get you anywhere, and I should know--I have a million of them, and yet I have overcome most of them and am losing weight. I certainly don't have any extra $$ to spend on healthy foods, which was a major complaint of mine early on (I have already been working nearly 70 hours a week at 2 jobs just to pay the bills--I can't afford to spend extra money on food!). However, the only healthy foods that are more expensive are usually those that are prepared, which are actually filled with sodium and make you retain water anyway, so you don't want those expensive foods anyway! Things like microwave meals, low-fat or low-cal snacks, "healthier" condiments and sauces--these are all more expensive, but the good news is, you don't need them! Stock up on whole-grain pastas (which are MUCH better for you than regular "enriched" pastas), brown rice, and FROZEN fruits and veggies. I have had some of my frozen fruit in my freezer for months, but I know it will still be good when I take it out!

I also don't have time for things like grocery shopping for fresh produce all the time. I go grocery shopping once a week (sometimes less--once every other week). Like I said, I'm pretty much flat broke (thanks to having to buy a new car when my old one broke down), and I leave my house at 5:30am and get home between 9 and 11:30pm every Monday-Thursday, plus I still work 6am-2pm on Fridays. Therefore, I've got most people beat on the "I have no time to eat healthy" and the "I have no money" excuses I eat a lot of chicken, but being a vegetarian, I am assuming you actually like some veggies (I have a problem with most vegetables in that my taste buds reject them ), so you have a lot more options! Make an eggplant parmesan with low-fat mozzarella cheese and no breading. Have lots of salad--include hard-boiled eggs for protein to keep you feeling full longer. Make fruit salads. Frozen strawberries, peaches, blueberries, raspberries--you name it, it lasts forever, and the generic store brands are pretty inexpensive. As for fresh, I will buy fresh apples, oranges, and kiwis because they seem to last a bit longer (things like bananas and fresh strawberries go bad pretty quickly). Frozen veggies rock, also. You're right--you can't live on brown rice. However, you can combine brown rice with other stuff to make great meals. I make a mean stir-fry: a bag of frozen sugar snap peas, a bag of frozen broccoli, a bag of frozen "stir-fry mixed veggies" (corn, red pepper, and broccoli, I think), a can of crushed (or chunked, whichever you prefer) pineapple, and some teriyaki sauce all served over brown rice--YUM! Whole-grain pasta is great, too, and even better if you can add veggies to it (though I have to make my own sauce anyway to watch the sodium, as jarred sauces tend to have a lot). I have even found boxes of whole-wheat pasta at my local dollar store, which is cheaper than the $1.88 it costs per box at my grocery store. I can go on and on with options for you--you just have to try new stuff out.

I also cook once a week (usually Sundays) and put everything in little Gladware containers in the fridge or freezer to eat throughout the week since I don't have any time to cook during the week. Go ahead and eat your Ben & Jerry's--just make sure you measure it and include the number of calories for the amount you're eating. You seem to be doing well with the exercise so far--I only get in three 30-minute workouts a week, so you're a step ahead of me there

As for the 5 pounds, you did not really gain it all back in one meal. That is impossible. In order to do so, you would have had to have eaten 17,500 calories MORE than you normally would for the day (since there are 3500 calories in a pound), which is darn near impossible to do! Restaurants are great at hiding salt and sodium in their foods--just drink LOTS of water for a few days to flush it out and show your body you don't need to retain the water, and it'll be gone in no time.

Speaking of which, make sure you drink lots of water. "They" say at least 8 servings a day (total of 64 ounces), and I have heard that you should drink and additional 8 oz for every 20 pounds you want to lose. This will help to ensure that your body is hydrated and performing properly and not retaining water, which will help your weight loss. You also say that you gained 5 pounds back after that meal--are you weighing yourself every day? If so--STOP! Most people can't handle that stress since our bodies can fluctuate by a number of pounds even in the SAME day! I can weigh 294 when I get out of bed, 297 by lunch time, and 293 at night, then 300 the next morning! Our bodies have a lot going on (hormones, muscle, water, etc...), so weighing too often can just be depressing. Try only once a week or even once every 2 weeks for a more accurate record of your progress.

Well, now that I've darn near written an entire novel here, I hope some of this might help you. Of course, there's no helping you until you can overcome your case of excuse-itis We've all been there and had all the excuses there are to have, and yet we make progress, so I know you can, too! Good luck!!

Actually, there are different studies that say different things. Some studies say soy could have dangerous side effects, and others have shown all of the numerous health benefits of soy. I personally have seen in my diet the wonderful things from eating soy. It is also very important for vegetarians to get protein, and soybeans, along with other beans and nuts, are the best way to go for that.

Who isn't busy? I am a self employed (working numerous hours per day creating movie replica costumes for a living), I am the mother of two children under 6, and I am the member of a well known dance troupe who performs and rehearses out the wazoo. We are all busy, and you just have to learn to make the most of your time.
I don't have the time to do all of the things I once did, so I manage my time differently. I have a jogging stroller and a bike trailer for when my husband and I go to the local walkway to exercise-they come with us and get a fun ride! I do two things at once-I polish my toenails for a performance, and they dry while I color my hair. It is all about time management.
You definitely do not have to go to the store to buy produce every day. Twice a week is sufficient. If you are throwing a lot out, then you are buying more than you are eating in a few days time. Think about how many servings of fruit/veggies you eat per day, and only buy enough for that amount x3 or 4 days.
If you buy a cantalaupe and a bunch of bananas for instance, buy the bananas slightly green, so that they are ripening the first day or two when you are eating the cantalaupe. Then they will be ready when you are. Apples keep well for a week or more, so if you buy a bag of apples, and then are more perishable fruit or veggie, eat the other first, and the apples are still fine a couple days later.

I agree that most of the scale weight that you saw was water, and the undigested food that had not yet "left" your system, if you know what I mean.
When you first start a healthy eating plan, you lose some water weight at first, as well as your digestive tract clearing out a bit and not holding as much food. This is one of the reasons why people may lose 4-6 pounds their first week. What you lost isn't all fat. After the first initial week or two, weight loss slows down to 1/2-2 pounds per week if you are doing it healthfully, and this is the rate where you are losing body fat and actual body size.

I've seen a bunch of conflicting info about this. Most recently there is a thing about soy products decreasing men's sperm counts. The thing to remember, of course, is that people all over Asia have been eating soy products regularly for hundreds of years, and don't seem to have had any huge negative side effects (their men are certainly not infertile!). Plenty of soy is eaten in Japan, and the Japanese have some of the longest lifespans around.

Maybe there are some negative side effects, but it seems to me if millions of people in Asia have been eating tofu for hundreds (thousands? when was it invented, anyway?) of years, it can't be that bad. Everything in moderation, of course.

Right, and they are also eating a diet of whole grains (lots of rice), fish, and plenty of vegetables as well.

Siren223, I've been eating and drinking soy products for 19 years now and I'm very healthy. Overweight, but healthy. I would much rather eat my soy products than not have any protein other than beans, no thanks. I don't eat fish, I'm a vegetarian, so my soy products will suffice. They're delicious, too. I know people who are older who have been consuming soy products all their life and they are very healthy. I try not to believe everything I read.

My first suggestion is to back off the exercise. I know this is contrary to what others are saying here but you've probably got a calorie deficit going that is way too much. You body is putting on weight because either it's muscle gain or it's muscle gain and more fat. If you don't fuel your body enough then it will keep the fat and add more to it!

Coming from a sedentary lifestyle into a light moderate to moderate exercise program is a shock to your body. 6 days a week! Your body is on tilt, full tilt. If going from a sedentary lifestyle to exercise go slow, very slow. Gradually increase your speed, length of time, and intensity. Start with 15 minutes, 3 days a week. Then go to 4 days a week, then 5 days a week. When you can do this without muscles aches and pains then increase to 20 minutes. Same routine. A typical change would be about every 6 weeks. BTW sedentary means no regular cardio exercise. Cardio is not the same as doing housework. Don't I wish! : )

I started exercising in November 2004 and got up to 45 minutes a day by March like lots of people suggested on another list. Boy did I pay! My entire program came to a grinding halt because of my aches and pains. I don't normally get ANY aches and pains when I exercise. So when I did I knew it was too much. Also I stalled in my weight loss because I wasn't eating enough food [1500 calories] but I was burning 880 calories a day through cardio alone!!!

And from what you're eating I would say your body is after the carbs and that is what it needs to replenish the energy you used during exercise. Exercise burns both glycogen and fat. There's an excellent article on this at lifetimefitness.com under their magazine June issue. I get the magazine and love it. I don't work for them and don't get any money for telling you this. It's loaded with great advice and information.

You're right not to restrict your nutrition program. I used to be a lacto-ovo-vegetarian. I ate lots of beans, whole grains, eggs [egg whites], occasionally fish, root veggies, low carb veggies, lettuce of all kinds, low fat cheese, yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, etc. I still make my own homemade bread from scratch including grinding my own grain. It's less expenisve that way.

Make sure you fuel after exercise!

Start lifting weights. Muscles burn fat all the time. Cardio burns fat only while you do it.

Get the trial copy of CalorieKing and plug in your food amounts to see what you're eating. Right now I'm eating 2000 calories a day, more or less.