Getting Back On Track
 

So I started at a weight of 184 and had lost down to 179 as of last thursday, but now I've hit a barrier and actually gained a couple of lbs back. Any suggestions on how I can get back on the weight loss wagon?

Should I:
1. excersise more(only been hitting the gym about twice a week because it's all I seem to have time for)
2. change my eating habits back to the veggies lunch with just a small turkey sandwich that I was eating before
3. drink more water(which I'm working on doing now..may be up to 4 or 5 glasses daily)
4. all of the above? :?:

I'm kind of lost here. Please help me get back on track! :woops:

Yes, all of the above. If you were losing consistiently through those methods, then by all means get back to it.

But maybe you'd also like to examine what pulled you OFF track to begin with. Were you not eating enough tasty foods? Not enough variety? Were you not planning ahead and had to eat whatever was available and made poor choices? These are all things that you need to look at.

I would also consider making exercise a TOP priority. Make time for it - no matter what. No ifs ands or buts about it. If you can't get to the gym, then take a walk, ride a bike, pop in an exercise DVD.

We all stray from time to time. The key is to make those times few and far between and to GET RIGHT BACK ON TRACK. You'll be so happy that you did. :)

All of the above.

And try to work your way up to a minimum of 8 cups of water per day. You'll be amazed how it flushes fat and toxins out. Do you drink caffeine in large doses?

Don't give up and stay positive! I know how hard it is, but that's why we're all here: constant support!

:carrot:

I don't generally drink a lot of caffeine anymore. I barely drink any sodas and if I do it's normally Sprite, and I absolutely HATE coffee. Drinking 8 glasses of water a day is tough though.

Hey bnorah!

Can you guess my answer? ;)

Yep, all of the above. But see if you can come up with an alternative now and then to the turkey at lunch--unless you really love it! Maybe have tuna or chicken breast once in a while?

Re: the water. It's not hard to drink 8 8-ounce glasses if you approach it as a glass of water every hour you're up. Of course, you may forget and skip some, but just get in the habit of drinking on the hour, say. 8 ounces isn't a tall glass--just a short one. Half a cup.

Re: the exercise. I was told that to support weight loss, the minimum is 4 days a week. I used to go 5 or 6--not so much now that I'm maintaining.

You can start losing again! Take heart! :cb: :cb: :cb:

Jay

Drinking water is important, but I'm not sure it helps flush out fat. It certainly keeps you hydrated!

As for the original question, most of us need to wrap our minds around the fact that we can't lose the weight and go back to our old habits. So, you need to do things you can do long term (that's why Robin's questions are good ones). Otherwise, you're just going to keep falling off plan. So, while you may need to cut calories at lunch, if you get bored of the same thing everyday, you won't stick to it. And you will need to keep exercising regularly, but it doesn't have to be at the gym. The challenge is figuring out what works for you.

We're here to help!

Originally Posted by wyllenn:
Drinking water is important, but I'm not sure it helps flush out fat. It certainly keeps you hydrated!

We're here to help!

Actually it does. Our bodies are 70% water and our bodies will try to hold on to it like crazy, esp. when it thinks it's not getting enough (= water retention and bloating). Water primes the body for fat loss. Water gets bodily functions going, the kidneys have to function with water and when they can't, they rely on the liver. If the liver (which turns fat into energy) gets overloaded from its regular duties, it metabolizes less fat and again our bodies hold onto fat and fluid retention.

Also, I've read that drinking ice cold water helps as the body has to heat it up thus revving up the metabolism. YAY!!

There are lots of articles on this and I hope you find some encouragement to drink some more!! I looooooooove water!!

:carrot:

I don't want to hijack the thread from bnorah's questions and concerns, but just wanted to respond regarding water. There's no doubt water comprises the majority of our bodies and is very important. We do need water (from wherever we get it).

When you look on the internet, there certainly a lot of sites that claim water flushes fat -- but when I look at information from biochemists and doctors, they indicate (pretty emphatically) that water doesn't flush fat from the body. Now, I'm not a biochemist and readily admit I don't understand the process well but am always looking to learn. So, if you are aware of good research (not just claims) that shows how it water does flush fat, I would love to see it.

The information I have is from several places and I learned this in college when I had to take all the anatomy and physiology classes I needed for my degree. I am going to place my bet that those books are accurate. ;)

When you consume fewer calories than your body needs, your body turns to fat for energy. Body fat is broken down through a series of complex metabolic processes. It just makes sense from that standpoint that if you drink more water, that waste or fat will be excreted.

I just can't believe that all those resources are wrong but I'm going to ask around because you have my interest piqued to find the latest information. :D Luckily I work in the health field and have access to hundreds of docs. It'll be interesting to see what they say... :hug:

I don't like water, didn't make any particular effort to drink any while I was losing weight - didn't seem to stop me from losing 70+ lbs and keeping it off for over 2.5 years. Just never got on the big water bandwagon and from personal experience, I didn't need it.

aymster -- I'd be curious to hear what you learn, too! When I did an internet search yesterday none of the emphatic biochemists went into any detail, which was frustrating. I might quiz our biochemist on campus when I get the chance, too.

I'm sure water is important to our bodies' many functions (though perhaps not in the quantities sometimes recommended), but HOW is beyond me.

I wonder if some of this is in the details of the language used. That is, water is necessary for the liver to do its job, etc... but then do some people take it and make a bigger claim about flushing fat that makes it sound like it plays a different role than it really does...

Glory -- I'm not on the water bandwagon either, but both of us do get plenty of liquid in our diet (we must or we would be dead), so that's not to say water isn't important. In fact, your whole diet of eating non-processed foods might give your more hydration than many people who eat more processed foods...

Hey folks! We've gotten off topic here. The original poster was asking about her four steps to help get back on the weight loss path, not about water alone.

It might be a good idea to discuss the water question in PMs to each other? :) Or, you could start a separate thread.

Cheers,
Jay

Jay -- Sorry, yeah, I was thinking we should start a new thread or something... :^:

So... Getting Back on Track (as the title says...)

bnorah, it's been a week or so, how are things going now?? Do you feel you've been able to make any progress? Use any of the ideas? Is it helping or do you still feel lost?

Not exactly. But somehow I've dropped another 4 lbs somewhere along the way. I have been kind of stressed out lately over some personal issues, so that might have been a factor in the weight loss. My grandmom lost about 20 lbs after having a stroke because she was worried about losing her independence. She's not able to do a lot for herself now because of it.

So tomorrow basically starts a new week for me. I didn't count today due to it being a holiday. But I'll be able to start hitting the gym again as of tomorrow. Wish me luck, and maybe I can tackle this whole water increase thing.

Good luck! and congrats on the weight loss! Sometimes our bodies seem to hold onto the weight for a while and then *whoosh* ...

i'm a little late in this thread...but i sencond what everyone says about keeping up the exercise...at least 4-5 times a day, increasing your water (it really does help..however it might do it...it helps), and incooperating more fruit/veggies.
another suggestion i might add is journal everything you eat. That way you are truely taking into account what you are eating..taht way if you have a few weeks where you didn't loose..you can go back and see why. It also helps if while journaling your food you also put how you were feeling..therefore noting triggers that might be a "challenge" to your weight loss jpurnal.

Also understanding that you are starting a process for life..not jsut a quick fix diet...therefore, you need to learn healthy habits that you keep and not stray from on holidays etc...even though we are all guilty of straying...but you will find that once you start incorperating some of the ideas...you will be better at party situation and holidays.

also ensure you are getting at least 5-6 servings of fruit/veggies a day...it really does help. They are lower in calories than most snack and add filler. It helps if you can increase the higher fiber veggies too.

hope that helped and good luck!

Thanks for the wooden spoon, Jay... :dizzy:

I trust tomorrow will be a better day, bnorah! You'll get into the gym and feel great! I am doing the same and I can't wait!! Love the feeling after a good workout!

I'll be thinking of you tomorrow morning! :cheer:

Yes, I'm really looking forward to getting back in the gym. And as of right now, so far I've almost had 5 glasses of water today. Yay for me!

Ok so I had a relapse and ended up gaining back those 4-5 lbs that I lost. Ugh, I'm getting so frustrated! :(

Hey bnorah,

What happened to bring about your relapse? Maybe you can learn from this.

Jay

I think that tracking what you're eating very thoroughly is very helpful. Then you'll know on the days you gained that you had 500 more calories and perhaps that was why your weight went upward. At least, that's what I have been doing:)) Even on days I blow it I am committed (for once) to adding my food anyway. This discipline is changing me for some reason, not to becoming a super GURU dieter, which I can never be; but to someone more moderate ...and the metamorphosis is kind of slow, but it's definitely there because I'm seeing happy changes in my scale. So... maybe you could start with tracking your food? And try to do 1 thing everyday for exercize, even if all you feel you can squeeze out is a stretching video. This has helped me tremendously!

I've been hearing a lot about the idea of a food journal. Maybe I should start taking that advice? :lol: Anyway, I'm back down 2 more lbs. Can anyone give me any techniques to get me motivated in the early mornings to go to the gym? I'd appreciate it.

Hello,

I don't know if I can give you any technicique's but I can tell you what i did.

My weight had gotten to 188... I am 5' 1 1/2" :yikes: I was tired of being fat and having nothing to wear. I made the decision I was going to get up. I wrote on a BIG POSTER Board my reasons of why I wanted to lose weight, then at the bottom I wrote. The decision is yours...What is your decision this morning. YOU are in Control!!! I put that poster board in my bathroom, where the alarm is. That morning I woke up at 4:20am... Went to the bathroom, hit the snooze, saw the poster board, thought about it for a few seconds, then got dressed. I am happy to say it has been 1 year, 4 days since working at in the morning. I have only lost 14 lbs.. but 17 inches. I should of lost more, but i'm not going to beat myself up about it. This past week I started on my eating better journey. I'm happy to say, i'm on day 5 of journaling.

I know it's hard to get up, but I had to, cause in my case, I work and when I come home I'm too tired and stressed.

You can do it. You just have to make that decision to do it.

14 pounds is still 14 pounds! Good for you, 1day! :cheer2: :cheer2:

Jay

I just have very much difficulty getting up at 5am to hit the gym. I work 2 jobs, and on some nights don't get in until 9:30-10pm. At that time, I'm still kind of wound up from the day so it's nearly 11 or so before I get to bed. That makes getting up at 5am a big struggle because I'm exhausted.

Don't give up, bnorah!!

I think you may have some good success keeping a journal of what you eat and how you felt that day. I use Fitday.com cuz it's easy and free. The key is to be honest. If you have a handful/sm. bag of M&M's, then log it.

Have you tried pre-planning your meals, too? I usually do that on Sunday and I am much more successful that way. I'm just starting to gain control again and I am having some planned cheats so I don't feel deprived (just once a week, though! ;) )

Keep getting into the gym, eating clean and stay positive. You'll see changes soon. :carrot:

But how do I motivate myself to get up at 5am? That's so early!! I honestly would rather hit the gym in the morning before going to work, so that I know I went and it's out of my way for the rest of the day. How do you early risers do it?

Originally Posted by bnorah:
But how do I motivate myself to get up at 5am? That's so early!! I honestly would rather hit the gym in the morning before going to work, so that I know I went and it's out of my way for the rest of the day. How do you early risers do it?

We just do it!

Really, you have to work psychologically to make exercise a priority in your life. You can motivate yourself by thinking of the calories you burn, or how great you're going to feel when it's over, but ultimately, you just have to force yourself to do it. After a week or two of making yourself do it, it will stop seeming like such a big deal and will feel normal. And great.

Tell you what--there are going to be days when you just can't make yourself get up at 5 a.m. So, you need a backup plan. For instance, you might be able to get some walking in between jobs, or on your lunch break or other breaks. Even 15 minutes of exercise is a good thing. Sleep deprivation is not a good thing!

Just be sure that you get some physical activity throughout the day, if you miss your 5 a.m. "appointment."

Jay