Sometimes I think that losing weight would be easier if I were heavier, because then I would have more bad habits to correct. For example if I was eating a lot of fast food I could cut that out. I could stop having dessert every day. I could start exercising.

The worst bad habit I had was drinking too much beer ( And not the light stuff either; my favorite was imperial stout, which packs a hefty 300 calories a bottle.) but I've cut way down on alcohol. Except for the occasional (like once a month or less) pizza I don't eat fast food. And I limit myself to two slices.

I'm not a big dessert eater either.

I don't go to a gym but I do hike trails with my dog and some of them are pretty rugged. And I get a lot of exercise on the job. I clean a 200 room laboratory every day. All day I am walking up and down hallways and stairs pushing or carrying various pieces of equipment . I wore a pedometer for months until the batteries wore out. I average 7 miles of walking every day.

I also ride a stationary bike and do weight training.

My average calorie count during the work week is 2100. It is much much less on the weekends (maybe 1300-1400). I know that is high and I am working on getting it down. But I can't go too low or I won't have enough energy to do my job.

I have the same problem with losing weight. I am very active and have done away with all my bad habits. I see that, like me, you are not the tallest of the bunch. Maybe we just have to fight harder due to a smaller frame

marlu and Mermom,

I notice neither one of you lists your weight. It's hard to comment without knowing where you're at.

The idea that maybe if you weighed more it would be easier to lose weight--well, that's some joke!

One suggestion I'd make regardless of your weight would be to use a calorie tracker if you're not already--and just see what it turns out you actually do eat every day. FitDay is a good one--lots of members here use it. But there are others as well. Be sure to list every thing you eat and drink that has calories. That includes beer, coke, tea with sugar, etc. After a week of tracking you should have a good idea of what you're eating.

Also, FitDay gives you an idea of your basic calories burned, based on your age, size, and activity level, so you can look at that, too. You can use FitDay free if you do it online.

Good luck!

Jay

Well, I'm not sure if it's easier, but I understand what you mean about identifying some bad habits that, if corrected, would help. This is the problem I have with some of the diet advice I've read in books and such: They always act as if people's habits are so routine that they can easily identify one that will add up to weight loss over time. It just doesn't work that way for me. I have a lot of good habits, too, but my main bad habit is that I love snacking and, in general, I just eat too much. But isn't that what most of us here need to work on

JayEll, I've been writing down everything I eat and drink for the past two years. That is how I figured out my average intake.

I don't use Fitday, but I am registered at the Daily Plate, which is a simular program. According to them I need to be eating 1630 calories a day in order to lose a pound a week. I put my activity level as very active. Maybe I should have put it as extremely active.

I don't think 1630 calories would be enough to get me through the day. And since my job is my exercise (or a good part of it anyway) it's not like I can skip a day because I'm low on fuel.

By the way, I'm 5'1", 140 pounds and 49 years old.

And I stand behind my original statement. If I were heavier I would need more calories and I would have more bad habits to change. Also if I had a less physical job (changing jobs is not an option, took me four months to find the one I have) I could probably get through the day on less fuel.

By the way, for those who might offer food suggestions, I leave the house at 6.30 AM and I don't get home from work until after 5. And I have no access to a fridge or microwave on the job.

I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed and hopeless.

Having been 145 lbs at 5'9" once -- I agree with you -- when I would put on 10 lbs in the winter, it was horrible to try to lose it and took forever. Now, being close to 100 lbs overweight, it does come off quicker, initially, but you will always end up with just a small amount to lose and by then you've corrected all those "bad habits" so you would be in the same boat you are in now and, I don't wish a significant amount of extra weight on anyone!!

So, keep up the good work, I know it seems like forever, but it will come off.

Hey again!

At 5'1" and 140 pounds, you're overweight but not obese. If you lost only 10 pounds, you would be in the normal range for body mass index (BMI).

You may indeed have a harder time losing weight. I'm pretty sure that 1630 cals. would be about right for you to lose weight, given your activity level, size, and age. The challenge for you would be to try it and see what happens.

You might want to try our Featheweights forum--that's for folks who are getting down there in size or who don't have a great deal to lose.

Here's a link:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/foru...ysprune=&f=197


Don't give up!
Jay

How do I limit myself to 1630 calories and still make it through the work day which is essentially 8 hours of continuous exercise, some of it fairly heavy exercise, without collapsing?

If I wasn't working I could stick to about 1300 calories a day, no problem.

I know I'm not obese at 140. But I am pudgy and I don't feel comfortable in my body. I would still be pudgy at 130, healthy BMI or not. Actually according to the old way of calculating weight, which is allows 100 pounds for five feet and five pounds for each inch over I should weight 105.

I would be content at 120. deliriously happy at 110.

It's true that you would need more calories, but I'm not sure the other part of your statement is true. I ate too much when I weighed 275, that's for sure, but I've had many times in my life when I ate pretty much like everyone else and I even exercised and I still didn't lose any weight. I was obese but I didn't have what most people think are the habits of an obese person. At my heaviest, I did have some of those bad habits and I've had to break them. That's extremely difficult to do, however, so I'm not sure why you think that would make things easier for you. And you can trust me when I say you do NOT want to deal with more weight to lose. Your job would be very difficult at a higher weight, it sounds like.

I know you're frustrated, and I can see why. Maybe you can tell us what kinds of things you're eating and we can help you see if that's causing a problem. If 1600 calories isn't enough to fuel the work you do, it could be because of the kind of food you're eating, maybe? As a point of reference, you say you walk at least 7 miles a day. I run between 5 and 10 miles on most days and I often do other exercise on top of that, and I weigh 35 pounds more than you, but I feel quite energized with about 1400-1600 calories. We're all different, but the only other thing I can think of to help you is to take a look at the kinds of food you're using as fuel instead of just the number of calories.

I echo the what are you eating thoughts. Are you eating whole grain foods, good doses of protein, fruits, veggies? Those are better long lasting fuels then eating something high in sugar that will leave your system much quicker. Whereas the others are more lasting.

I also don't necessarily thing being heavier will help you lose weight faster. 2 weeks ago I started changing how I eat. Before I was 164 (30lbs over weight) and getting 800 cals a day in processed foods and things that just did not last long in the body. Now I try to get 1400-1500 a day in cals from good foods like whole grains, protein, fruits veggies etc. I also cut caffeine and drink nothing but water and milk with breakfast (always) and lunch (sometimes). In 2 weeks I lost 9 lbs. In the end I think it comes down to calories in (from good sources) to calories out with in reason.

I've been trying to figure out how to respond to this post for a while. I think I understand what you're saying on one level, but as a formerly morbidly obese person, and currently overweight person, I'd ask you to think about it from a different perspective.

Yes, sure, you might lose more weight (pounds) faster, but you'd have so MUCH to lose! It took me an entire year to lose 100 pounds and was still obese!! I have loose saggy skin that will never go away without surgery, a zillion stretch marks, and have done damage to all my joints because of my weight.

Every day I have to fight with demons and bad habits. Every single day. I would not say that losing weight from being fat was "easy". In fact, I'd love to be contemplating how few pounds I had to lose to be a "normal" weight.

I really don't think you want to be fatter. Trust me!

I started with only about 30 pounds to lose and my weight loss has been very slow. At no point did I ever lose more than a lb per week and lately it has been a lot slower than that. Also, at no point was it ever as easy as just giving up alcohol (I never drank much to begin with), soda (always drank diet), fast food (rarely ate it) or other bad habits. To lose weight, I have had to measure, weigh, and track every piece of food I put in my mouth from day one and I've had to keep my calories at around 1300 per day. And, yeah, there are definitely times when I read a post, usually from someone that weighs quite a bit more than me, describing how he/she started exercising or gave up regular soda and immediately starting losing 10 lbs per week (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but sometimes it seems that way), and I think "it must be nice to have it that easy."

But then I thank God that I'm not able to do that. Because that person has a lot more weight to lose than I do and a long road ahead of him/her. Even though I'm losing weight at a snail's pace, chances are, I'm going to get to my goal first. I've read wyllenn's story and others' who've had over 100 lbs to lose and while their stories are very inspiring, I can appreciate how much more work they've had to do than me, even though they may lose weight at a faster pace and a higher calorie level. And I'm thankful that my story is quite a bit less inspirational. Weight loss is tough work, no matter what stage your at. And to get to goal, everyone has to go through the final stage where you've pretty much already given up all your bad habits and yet you still have weight to lose. So even if I were heavier and able to lose weight by making a few changes in my diet, I'd still end up right where I am now. It just would have taken a long time to get here (and I'd have a lot more loose skin to worry about).

While your original statement is true, if you were heavier, you could lose weight at a higher calorie level, the fact is, you'd just have that much more weight to lose and once you lost it, you'd be where you are right now.

It sounds like you are going to have to find a way to cut more calories from your diet. It may be that you need to find foods that are more filling or that you need to eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. An average of around 2100 calories per day is a maintenance level caloric intake, especially for someone at your weight, even with an active job. In fact, it is only your active job that makes 2100 calories a maintenance level for you. I expect my maintenance level to be around 1400-1500 per day, which is less than the calories you can eat to lose weight.

I think some great points have been made about how if you were heavier and lost quickly, you would still get to the same place and be where you are now. One thing I would like to point out is that sometimes, the changes very overweight people need to make are not as obvious as those you mentioned. I very rarely eat fast food or drink soda, very rarely eat dessert (and when I do, it's jello with light cool whip, sorbet or sherbet in small portions) and I exercise regularly. Even with that, my weight loss is slow. I eat more fruits, vegetables and non-processed foods than almost everyone I know. I'm not denying that I have issues to improve (portion control, for one) but it is not necessarily true that people who are obese can easily and quickly drop a lot of weight. I know you were just giving examples, but I thought those examples may be rooted in some beliefs about the lifestyles of larger people and I wanted to gently mention it's not always that simple.

I don't know what you're eating, but I will say that even though I am eating lower calorie foods than I did at one time, I have more energy. I have noticed for myself that I tend to need more protein and fewer carbs to feel full. You have probably already experimented with that if you have kept track of your intake for 2 years, but if not, it may be a good thing to try.

marlu, that is what you have to figure out! A lot of us have good "reasons" why we can't do what we have to do, but they make no difference in the end.

You have to take food with you to eat during your work day. You have to plan your strategy--what you're going to eat and when. You already know how to track your calories with The Daily Plate, so the rest shouldn't be too hard to work out.

Why not try it and see what happens? I do not think you're going to collapse on the job unless you plan to work 8 hours without eating.

Good luck!
Jay

According to several different websites the kind of work I do (heavy commercial cleaning) burns between 200 and 225 calories an hour. That means I am burning between 1600 and 1800 calories a day on the job alone. Add in a couple of trail hikes, and house and yardwork and other exercise and I must be burning at least 2000 calories a day over and above my bmr.

That is why I can't see how 1630 would be enough.Again, as I've said before, it would be plenty if I wasn't working, or if I had a less strenuous job. (By the way all of my jobs have been very physical, some of them much more so than this one.

I know I have to do take food to work with me. I do take food to work with me. The problem ( and it is a problem, NOT an excuse) is that since I have no access to either a refridgerater or a microwave at work I am pretty much limited to sandwiches or things I can put in a thermos.

Snacks are usually fruit, hard-boiled eggs, wasa crackers with reduced fat cheese, homemade oatmeal bars (90 calories a bar.)

I drink a lot of water