Not really sure if this is the right place, but it seemed to be a good start.

As I said in my introduction, I'm 28 yrs at 6ft and roughly 240 lbs. (Scale is kind of off, need a new one.)

For a year now my diet and lifestyle as completly changed. I'm eating better foods, not nearly as hungry as I used to be. Definatly can't eat as much as I used to. Eating alot more fruit, never did eat alot of dairy (it messes with my sinuses) So I stay away from dairy as much as possible. Bread, pasta, rice, all that carby foods I barely touch anymore. Once in while I'll have a sandwich with weat bread, Soups with rice or noodles. But it's always the wheat or brown rice /Noodles.

I never did drink alot of soda Majority of what's out there I can't stand the taste to. When I do drink it, it's 7-up, Root Beer or orange crush. I seriously don't drink alot of that. When we go out to eat, I ask for stemed veggies instead of the rice or potatos that come with the meal. I don't eat potatos with meat anymore. Junk food, Mostly have Corn chips and Salsa. Even with that I get that like once every couple months when I have a snack attacks. Which really doesn't happen that often. Lately I get sugar free candy (When I eat candy) and No Sugar added Icecream. I do however drink alot of juice, although recently I have been doing 1/3 juice, rest is water. I have these multi-vitamin supplement powder for added taste. Kind of like ZippFizz. Only it's something different.


With all that, one would think I would be losing weight somewhere. And last year my (new) boyfriend got me a membership to Ballys so I can go work out with him. Was doing that for a good couple of months, good workouts. Recent months I've been working out at home because our schedules don't match anymore. Go to the gym on weekends.

Yet. My weight hasn't changed at all. I go between 3-5 lbs on and off, other than that it has been staying the same. What am I missing? What am I doing wrong? I don't do the whole calorie count thing cause well, it confuses the heck out of me and I don't want to spend a whole lot of time figuring it out during each and every meal. But I'm not eating carbs, dairy, or starchy stuff. Exercising regularly... Cept the last month, to many reasons... But I've been doing the regular workouts for a year now. So I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong... Granted I'm happy that I'm not gaining anymore, but don't understand why i'm not losing either.

Sorry for the long winded posts.

Kazzy

Kazzy

Im no expert but why not keep a food diary to see what you are eating and the effect of different foods? also portion control, eat smaller amounts, its not always what you eat but how much ! Also are you varying your diet ? your body gets used to the same things and can stall. It could also be you are not eating enough. I would if you could count your calories approximatley even, to see how many you are eating its suprising sometimes just how many or how little you are consuming.
Not sure if any of this will help just a few thoughts from a fellow dieter

Amanda x

Kudos for you for making some lifestyle changes!! Keep that attitude!

I agree that keeping a food diary is essential. You'll be astonished how your food intake adds up. Try fitday.com cuz they have a lot of foods already in their system and you can add your own by plugging in the info from the sides of boxes/bags. And it's free!

How often are you eating? Maybe you could try 5-6 small meals during the day to keep your metabolism up there. How much water are you drinking? Maybe up that a bit...

You can do it!! Just don't give up!!

I work behind a desk all day so I mostly snack threw out the day instead of having an actual lunch or whatever. Like if I get hungry I'll have a couple peices of beef jerky, or a few handfuls of trailmix, sometimes 1/2 peanut butter sandwhich if I don't have the jerky, and that seems to work. When I get home I'll have something for dinner, no it's no the same thing everytime. Sometimes me and my boyfriend will make something on Sunday and have enough to last threw out the week. My portions are not big at all, I used to be a bottomless pit as a kid and teenage years. Anymore a few bites and I'm full. Just not hungry it seems, sometimes I have to force myself to eat because I haven't had anything but the trailmix all day. I know I'm probably not eating enough, but I can only force myself to eat so much ya know?

As for water, I know I'm definatly not drinking enough of that. I have a hard time with that. But out of a 20 oz bottle, I do just little bit of juice, rest is water so it like water down juice. Along with that vitamin powder stuff. I tried drinking more water, I do it for so long then kind of get bored with and go back to my juice.

Thnx for that diary advice, will check it out. I seriously do have a hard time with the calorie count thing. I tried to figure it out but it just totally went over my head.

Kazzy

It all comes down to calories in versus calories out.

Yes, of course exercise is great, and some foods are plenty better for you than others..but unless you have a medical condition (is that a route you checked out?) you WILL lose weight if you burn off more than you eat.

Calorie counting ain't hard..you are clearly an intelligent woman so it oughta be fine, just keep a notebook of what you eat..then work out how many cals you've eaten, and see if you are actually eating more than you think you are...you must be in order not to be losing, as you've made so many good changes!

I know this to be true, I have counted calories for 6 years. I actually find it easier to maintain on 1900-2000 worth of junk food every day rather than healthier stuff..it just comes down to cals in, cals out. Then its a case of what food you get this calorie intake from as to how good and healthy you feel!

Emily
xxx

I agree with the other comments about calorie counting/keeping a diary. You say that calorie counting confuses you...what about it confuses you, maybe we can help you out? You'd be surprised how many calories are in trail mix...and the nutritional info on the back of the bag? They usually measure it in something like a 2 Tbls serving! Like anyone actually only eats 2 Tbls of it. Anyway, I realize it must be frustrating to be stuck at the same weight. Even if you don't count the calories of the food you eat (which would be the most helpful thing to do), if you at least write down what you have eaten, you may see that you've eaten more than you thought you did. And are you drinking alcoholic beverages? Those calories add up VERY quickly. Good luck to you and don't give up!

doing something to keep track is VERY important. Weather its weight watchers points or calorie counting or other methods...its very improtant. You can use Fitday.com to help you keep calorie o****ing done well. Then find out for your weight...what should be your daily intake. For example at 180 i was suppose to be consuming 1600-1800 cal a day to loose weight. next i don't think dairy is the enemy when it comes to weight loss. yes you need to limit your fat and many dairy product are high in fat. But studies have shown that calcium is a key contributor to helping with weight loss. They recommend 2 dairy servings a day. I do mine through yogart and skim milk. I feel i've actually lost more weight when i was making sure i was consuming some dairy. Give it a month of watching what you eat, calorie counting (or what ever you use), food dairy, and exercise. If you haven't lost 1-2 lbs then maybe you should see a dr just incase its a thyroid or endocrine issue. But more than likely, if you aren't paying attention...you may be consuming way more calories than you realize. I found out that when i work hard, i actually eat more..and if not careful eat wayy too much. Many people have the misunderstanding that just because you are working out, you can eat until satisfied. You will feel more hungry when working out and have to have a fine balance of filling but low calorie food.

Good luck and i hope this helped.

I guess in when it comes down to it, calorie counting doesn't "Confuse" me. I just know that I would get bored with counting up EVERYTHING I eat, going to the store and spending time looking the packages of EVERYTHING I buy. I don't like shopping as it is, that would just mean spending more time in the store. Just don't have the paitence for it. Though I will try it again, yes I have tried it once or twice before. That's how I know this.
I eat enough to fill me up but not feel bloated or sick, Which is one serving, I cook enough to for one serving so I don't go back for 2nds. It's mostly hard for me to keep up with the whole calorie counting thing. Also I've heard pros and cons about it, not going to get to much into that cuz well, don't wanna argue about it. Specially being new here.

Perhaps I can just find a new method? One that would be easier?


How does that point system work? I've obviously heard about it, just never heard the details about how it works.

I will also look at that fitday.com and see if that will help.


It isn't that I think dairy is my enemy when it comes to this. It's my enemy by messing up my head, lungs. My sinuses can't handle alot of dairy, I just can't drink /eat alot of it. 2 servings a day would kill me, I can have a glass of milk once in while. But I just can't have a lot of milky products, it will congest me to the point to where I feel like i'm suffocating. That's why I stay away from it. I take calicium supplements, it's still probly not enough but it's better than nothing. Dairy just isn't good for me personally.

I know it seems like I'm making up excuses, but I am serious about losing this weight and that's why I'm here to get better advice for what I'm doing wrong.

I don't know what else to snack on threw out the day that would have the protein to keep me awake, or make me not so hungry. That's why I went for the trail mix. I thought it was good enough, it's peanuts, dried fruit, raisins, walnuts, almonds. The fruit and raisns are not coated with sugar, the almonds are plain, not covered in that salted roasting flavor. (Which I love)
How isn't that good for you? I eat a little bit threw out the day, not all at once. I could go for weatthins or something, but it doesn't take away the hunger, just makes me eat more. So I don't know what else to do for that. I do have some kind of fruit as well in the middle of the day for a semi lunch.

Thanx
Kazzy

I also add to the advice on keeping a food diary. If you don't want to look up the calories to begin with, then at least write everything down with portion sizes included. That way, if you do decide to look at calories, you can back calculate for the diary days. It's easy to switch to healthier food and then still eat too much of it - I've done that too much to think of! Fitday is convenient because it calculates the calories if you have food and amounts - but keeping that initial record is the important part.

The advantage of eating healthy food is better quality fuel for your body, but as Emily says, it's total calories in vs out that counts in the weight loss field. I like to snack on almonds, but limit any one day to 11 almonds - that's a reasonable quantity for a snack, and easy to measure. Perhaps you could portion out your trail mix into little ziplocs so that you know the portion size you are eating at any one time. Dried fruit contains good nutrients and fibre, but it much more calorie dense than fresh fruit - the water is gone, so that calorie-free bulk is missing. Perhaps you could substitute some fresh fruit or veggies some of the time? I can understand the advantage of the dried mix and jerky for convenience (keeping in your desk) but maybe bring in fresh stuff each day and rely on the mix for when you don't have enough with you. If you don't like plain veggies you could keep a low-calorie dip at work if there's a fridge. That gives lots of great snacking options.

Congratulations on making a lifestyle change. It sounds like it only needs refining, not a total overhaul. Keeping the diary - setting a baseline and tweaking, should help. Good luck,

Jax

Hey Kazzie,

Whether it's calories, Weight Watcher points, or serving sizes, most folks find that they have to track their food in some way. It's too easy to under-estimate what one is eating if you don't.

For example, what is the serving size of the trail mix you eat? (From the nutritional panel on the package.) How many calories are in that serving size? How many servings do you eat throughout the day?

Just as an example, one brand of trail mix has a serving size of 1 ounce, and a package contains 14 ounces. That 1 ounce has 162 calories, of which 103 are fat calories, so it's not a low fat food. The whole 14-oz. package therefore has 2,268 calories. So... that's the kind of thing that's helpful to know.

Jay

I buy it in bulk, so the facts are on the pouring container at the store. I can understand what you are all saying. That does make sense. Next time I go shopping again *once a week* I will look at the trail mix I buy.

Anyway. For now I have to go to work, so will start a diary when I come home tonight. Also I bought a new exercise video, thinking perhaps my routine is not enough. HAven't really changed it in awhile.

Thank you for the advice, I will find something that works..... Eventually. I also have to keep reminding myself that I also have been threw a lot, I'm just now to the point to where I can put some serious time into this. I just need all the help I can get hehe.

kazzy

Its just a choice - count, or stay at this weight!

upt to you chick

Emily
xxx

One of the things you may find is that if you count for awhile you may need to only periodically count afterwards. But you need to count for awhile to KNOW what you are eating. If you are the kind of person that can later keep your portions in control, you may not need to count forever, or you may find a system that works for you.

But quite frankly where you are right now is...you have healthy food, but you MUST be having a portion issue otherwise you would be losing weight and you are not. I've been there. I have been obese on all healthy food.

Trail mix IS a healthy food, but it is also a highly caloric food. I absolutely would not substitute wheat thins for trail mix (maybe turkey slices with veggies?), but you may need to explore other options....but you cant know until you have a solid knowledge of where you are now. Then you can choose where to make cuts. Maybe it is substitute something for the trail mix, maybe it is have 80% of the portions you are currently making on everything....once you know where your strengths and weaknesses are you can make informed choices.

After you have been tracking for awhile then you can also start to explore other ways to make calorie control liveable for you.

Also, once you have a food diary, you can get ALL kinds of suggestions on how to tweak from this group!

Hang in there, kazzy! We'll try to help.

Jay

I don't understand how it's a portion issue to be honest. I'm seriously hardly eating when it comes to meals. As for the trail mix, I take that because well, the body needs protein threw out the day. Protein bars and just simple straight fruit and veggies make feel like i'm starving. They don't stop the hunger. So far trail mix has been doing that.

I don't eat a lot of it. just like, roughly 1/3 cup I guess, haven't measured it. to exact, every 3 or so hours. I tried to eat a huge giant apple (yes this was huge) threw out the day instead of the mix, and like always, it just made me that much hungier. I don't like taking meat slices, because well, I eat while i'm working and typing with meat juices all over the fingers.... yea.. well.. doesn't work to well hehe.. So I really don't know what to do to replace the trailmix. I seriously thought the mix would be a good thing. Munch on a small hand full when I start feel hungry every so many hours. Didn't realize it was so bad for you like that. Now I feel like I can't have anything...

kazzy