***Not sure where is best to post, but I also posted this in the 40's area as well.
Hello, I have been on this site for several years and unfortunately I have not really accomplished a whole lot. Great intentions but always falling 2 steps back. Now granted I blame myself and no one else but at this point in my life (I'll be 50 next year) I truly believe I am feeling the effects of my extra weight. For me I would like to lose about 70 pounds which would put me little under 200 ( a weight I have not see since about 2000) plus I am tall so that helps but I just feel so dumpy. Hey, I would be happy to lose even 50 or 30.....
Here's my issue: I want to lose the weight but Im sick of hearing people on other weight loss sites say if you want to lose it then do and if not then you really dont want it bad enough. To me, that is so far from the truth. To me, this has got to be one of the hardest things I have tried to do and I feel like this because #1 I have been over weight pretty much forever and #2 food is everywhere and I am one to get caught up into the moment and lose my focus and eat because everyone else is eating. I also have no support except for my husband. Unfortunately he is one of those people who can stop eating this or that right on the spot to lose weight but me.....I find that very difficult. Im very picky, set in my ways as far as taste BUT I love junk food!!
So, as I write on here one more time, I am seeking help, support and advice. I do not work around food but I do take my lunch...no going out ever....and I work at a job where I walk a lot. Unfortunately with certain physical issues, I do not lift weights anymore. Then I go home, sit a lot and I eat till I go to bed. That is where most of my calories are and then some. I literally eat till im sick.
Honestly, I am sick of counting calories....it almost seems I eat more when I count calories so what are some things anyone has done to get the weight loss going? I just feel like the weight is stuck on me.
What do you do for support? Do you meet here online or just deal with it alone? Any help would be great!!
Dms6k, may I ask a couple of questions? 1. What kinds of junk food do you gravitate toward? (I'm a sugar junkie myself.) 2. When you say you are picky, what foods do you not like? I'm asking because, like you, after years of counting calories, I became sick to death of counting calories. I think it's a tried and true method for some people, just not me. I always felt deprived and I was always hungry. I was always doomed to fail. It was always just a matter of time. What I have discovered is that I am carb-sensitive, and carbs are the food I gravitate toward. If I could eat anything I wanted without gaining weight, it would be meals made with breads, cereals, pastas, rice, and potatoes, and of course desserts, desserts, and desserts, lol! Being carb-sensitive means when I eat those kinds of foods, which are quick-burning carbs that raise blood sugar quickly, my body overproduces insulin in response to get my blood sugar down to normal levels, only because it's too much insulin, my levels don't normalize but drop quickly and drastically, causing my body to CRAVE the types of food that would raise my blood sugar quickly again. And of course, the types of foods that do that are quick-burning carbs, so around and around I go! I can eat those foods and immediately feel hungry again because my blood sugar drops quickly again. It never seems to level out. So counting calories allowed me to eat the types of food I wanted in limited quantities, but it was never enough because I was on a hunger roller coaster with quick-burning carbs. The only way to break that cycle is to spend a few days without quick-burning carbs and get that roller coaster under control. Then on occasion, you can eat the foods you love again (for me, it's once a week--I eat my favorite foods every single week and it's actually part of the plan)! I'm on a modified version of something called the Slow Carb Diet. It's not low carb exactly. I don't count carbs, so I don't know how many I eat. But it's based on slow-burning carbs along with protein and fat. I could never follow the actual book diet and I think the author of it is a bit of a quack, but the foundation of the diet with my modifications works REALLY WELL for me, and now I find the way I eat very easy, SOOOO much easier than counting calories. What's better, I'm never hungry (because I eat till I'm full and don't have cravings anymore) and I don't have to count ANYTHING! If you are interested in learning more about what I'm doing, I've outlined it here: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/othe...hread-2-a.html. Because you are a picky eater, maybe exactly what I'm doing wouldn't work for you (you know what you kind of diet you would be able to follow and what just wouldn't fit you), but maybe you could modify it to work for you. If you are carb-sensitive (and since you love junk food, it sounds like you might be), this is a great plan! And if you think you might like to try a plan that is carb-conscious, feel free to join us on that thread! We have a great support group! Oh, and as for food being everywhere and tempting you, that's not your imagination. Our bodies do react to visual food cues. I make a point of avoiding even watching tv food ads or looking at magazine articles about food. Why tempt myself? Anyway, whichever direction you go, I wish you the best!
Wow, big hugs to you and I do understand 100 percent and then some. I am just beginning to make progress and have absolutely decided to never quit. I've tried that before and it leads to health issues. I would recommend the thread Jacqui has, I've peeked in at it occasionally and it looks so supportive. I have been trying zero carb,,,,(a bit radical) and now I'm checking out medifast, (yep, I'm fickle). But the one thing I know for sure, is I have to go low carb. Sugar and white flour is a major trigger.
It is great you have a supportive husband, so do I. Mine lost all his weight with Medifast and an Atkins type of diet, now he's into exercise and trying to get me there. It's sort of sickening that it seemed so easy for him, but he says it really wasn't easy.
You have us here. Jump in!
Last edited by FinallyFree; 09-26-2015 at 08:07 PM.
I also find it discouraging when people say that you have to really want it and if you're failing it's because you don't want it enough - that just adds insult to injury. My NT who coaches me through intuitive eating said something that made sense to me though. She said that overeating serves a purpose in my life and that I will continue to overeat as long as it serves that purpose.
To me eating is behavioral so I don't diet, it's not about WHAT and HOW MUCH I eat but instead it's about WHY and HOW I eat. My behavioral patterns indicate that I turn to food in times of stress and as a way to deal with anxiety. I also tend use food to comfort myself. Though I have built up great new skills of self care I still turn to food in times of stress. Occasionally I will eat at night. This happens when I haven't eaten adequately during the day and have felt overwhelmed with responsibilities and stress all day. It feels calming to sit at night after everyone goes to bed and have a big bowl of popcorn or some chips. I do it sometimes but when it is habitual is when it becomes a problem.
So try to figure out, are you eating enough food during the day or are you eating too little calories? Deprivation always leads to a binge in my experience. Then, are you using food to comfort yourself? What else could you do to comfort yourself at the end of the day? Could you call your best girlfriend for an evening talk? I do that every could of weeks with my BFF, we get a mug of tea and Skype. Could you write in a journal? Talk to a priest? Go for a calming walk? There are many ways to insert calm in our lives, not just food.
Anyway that's what works for me.
Last edited by Palestrina; 09-27-2015 at 08:11 AM.
Another vote for low carb here! I know it might not work for everyone, but for me it's been life changing. I've gone from struggling to stick to low calorie diets and frequently binging in the evenings to feeling completely in control – almost never hungry, no cravings and losing weight steadily. Now I occasionally choose to treat myself to something totally off-plan but generally it doesn't feel worth it any more. I get my kicks from seeing the scale and inches drop and fitting into clothes I hadn't even tried on for years
Jacqui D thank so much for the offer. I May just take you up on it. I have been doing something low carb, I just alternate when I get bored or feel the need for something new. I haven't tried the slow carb yet, that will most likely happen when I'm at goal. That one sounds wonderful.
The thing about low carb (whatever style) I just plain feel so much better. I have also given up processed foods and an allergy I had concerning my ears itching from allergies and skin problems completely cleared up. I was amazed. My doc told me to stop the processed foods and she also thought the problem with my ears was an allergic reaction to some type of food. I'm so happy it went away. I had it for years.
Rainbow, I agree, it's so cool.
Palestrina, I agree with you when it comes to overeating in general. When a person does it habitually it's usually not really about food. Finding the root will help. I think it works that way with drinking too much also. As it turns out I think we sometimes don't even let ourselves in on the problem and just stuff it. So food always looks like the problem. I believe it's an ongoing challenge, until we realize what's going on and take a different course to deal with ongoing problems in life.
Well anyway DMs6k,,,,,Jump in somewhere. Don't give up, others have the same struggles you do, and we can help each other.
Not New Here But Need Advice and Encouragement
