Hello Everyone!

I am new to this... and I recently started my new way of life yesterday 12/12/07. I really like low-carb diets, since they're easier for me to stick to, but I am approaching the diet a bit different this time.

I currently weigh 265 lbs. I think... which is a gain of 30 lbs in the last 3 months. Yikes,.. I am not sure how that happened so quick. Regardless, I have never been skinny, the thinest I've been was 215 lbs. and I am 5'9''. I would love for once in my life weigh under 200 lbs!

My major question would be... do you think I can reach 200 lbs, by March if I do the following:

In the morning I eat a cup of various fruits and some walnuts. For lunch I have some grilled chicken and cucumbers with lime. For dinner I am also eating chicken. At least for the next week until I go grocery shopping for the following week.

Normally, when I started the low-carb diet, I usually ate blueberries or strawberries on occassion, but they aren't in season... so I resorted to the various fruit bowls that are available at the grocery store.

Unlike in the past, where I did not exercise but went on with my usual routine, I am now exercising. In the past I had lost about 30 lbs in 2 months without exercising, but always got stuck there after 2 weeks or so of no results and then somehow gave into sweets. I am not going to do that this time! Yesterday, I walked 3 miles at 3.0 mph on the treadmill while I read. However, my goal every day is 5 miles, which would only be about an hour and 45 minutes of my time. Completely worth it if I do get quicker results as hard as it is initially to actually "go" to the gym.

Has anyone tried anything similiar? How long will it take to see results? I get so disillusioned if I don't see results... but I'm not going to let that get me, I'm 22 and I need to get healthy to avoid any serious health issues later in my life. I want to feel confident about my body one day... and feel beautiful.

Thanks everyone!

Zaina

According to my bariatric doctor, anyone can lose weight if you eat your proteins first, veggies second, fruit third, no or low carbs/starches/breads/ and NO sugar.

Zaina, just make sure it's something you can stick to forever and not just a "diet" that will come to an end at some point. The key is changing your eating habits forever instead of just for a set time to lose the weight; otherwise, it will come right back on, unfortunately. For example, there's no way on earth I could live a life without sugar, or without lots of carbs for that matter, so I lost weight by counting calories and not eliminating any particular foods. We all find what works for us as individuals. As for losing a certain amount by March, you can shoot for that but your body may not always cooperate with your schedule, so it may be better to just set small goals and not put a lot of pressure on yourself to hit them by a certain date. You can definitely do this, though. I'm your height, and I never thought I'd see the other side of 200 either, but I'm at 160 now and I don't plan to ever get anywhere NEAR 200 again. Now that you've made a commitment to a new healthy lifestyle, you'll be joining me in "Onederland" eventually -- so just keep posting and reading stuff here at 3FC and you can do it!!

I think one thing you might want to ask yourself is this: What's going to stop yourself from quitting at the 30lb mark again? What's different this time? What are you changing to make your plan more sustainable, to make it something you can really stick to and make a lifestyle change instead of just a temporary on-again, off-again diet plan?

More importantly, how are you going to make sure you don't bounce back to another 30lb gain when you don't even know how the last one happened?

You might want to spend some time evaluating your current eating habits before you decide you know what to do next. Figure out what you're eating now that caused 30lbs in 3 months. And it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a check-up from a doctor before you begin... I'm no expert but 30 lbs in 3 months is a lot, very quickly, and if you feel you aren't sure how it happened it may point to an underlying health issue.

Losing 65lbs by March is... well... kind of unrealistic if you want it to stay gone. You give yourself 2 and a half months to lose 65 lbs, when it took you 3 to put on 30? Weight is not going to come off as fast as it was put on, and certainly not faster, assuming you're interested in a healthy diet. I'm not saying your goal is unattainable -- au contraire, I'm positive you can do it and keep it off! But you might want to re evaluate what you want out of the diet... do you want to do what you did before, lose quickly, and gain it back plus some? You need to make sure what you're doing this time is different from the times before, and that you can stick with it. It's great that you're exercising now but make sure you give your body enough fuel so it doesn't burn out.

Good luck with everything!!

I think that, for your size, your timeline is a little unrealistic. But it is eventually acheiveable! It may take a little longer than you like (and let's face it - NONE of us like that losing weight takes so darned long), but regardless of speed, it'll be worth it.

Onto your menu plan - have you calculated how many calories a day that is? Cucumbers are very low, so unless you are eating a LOT of chicken or adding things you don't mention (cooking in healthy fats, servings of veggies, etc), you probably aren't getting nearly enough calories in this menu. Generally, it is hard to meet the nutritional needs of your body eating below 1200 calories per day...and at your current weight, you can likely lose at 2 lbs a week at a level much higher than that.

Weight loss is only part of the game - maintenance is another issue entirely. Losing weight by eating in a way that you can't continue for the rest of your life makes maintenance near impossible (and it is hard enough as it is, so why stack the odds against you?). You need to find a plan that you can sustain, with minor tweaks, throughout your entire weight loss journey and, beyond that, for the rest of your life in maintenance. Eating fruit, a few walnuts, some chicken, and some cucumbers would not be sustainable for me.

Keep posting and reading here - best of luck to you!

Personally I can't go without having some kind or starch. i get moody and really tired. I have switched to whole grains since I changed the way I eat. No white bread and all my cereals are whole grain and packed full of fiber. I usually have 1 cup cereal{ I love Smart Start Healthy Heart Cinnamon Raisin}with 1/2 cup skim milk{230 cals with milk} in the morning or 2 nutri-grain eggo low fat waffles{158 cals with syrup} with sugar free syrup{better than you'd think}. For lunch I usually do a oat and flax pita with turkey breast{sara lee from the deli},cheese and lettuce. I usually have some leftover veggies{broccoli or zucchini} from the night before with that as well. For dinner it just varies. Sometimes spaghetti, white beans, chicken{of course} and sometimes beef loin. I have veggies and a starch with dinner as well. I try to limit my beef to either round steak or shoulder loin since they are lower in calories. I grind my own beef for chili and tacos. Not so much for calorie control but I cannot stand getting a gristle in my hamburger, it makes me gag! I measure everything and weight everything. I eat three meals a day and probably get in 2, sometimes three snacks a day. I use a lot of frozen fruit, especially in my yogurt. I love the frozen mixed berries{blueberries, raspberries and blackberries} with the light vanilla activia yogurt. That is my favorite night time snack. I do exercise 5 days a week for and hour. I walk 30 min at 4.5 on my treadmill and run for 30 min. at 6mph. This took a while to get to though. I used to just walk and slowly worked my way up from there. I do hand weights and crunches as well. I have an exercise ball I use for various other things as well. I agree that really limiting your diet will more likely cause you to slip up. I do have the occasional item that isn't healthy but I still count it towards my daily calorie intake. If you want to keep the weight off this needs to be a life change not just a diet. Because diets end and to maintain you loss you will not be able to go back to your old eating habits. Good luck on your journey, this is a great place for advice and ideas.

Congratulations on realizing you need to make a change at 22 instead of much later.

Everybody's covered a lot of issues for you, so just to give you a comparison, I lost 44 pounds in the first 2 1/2 months after I changed the way I eat and started working out. That was at 1200 calories a day and working out 5 days a week and not "screwing up" even once. I also started at a higher weight than you so that will effect your number as well. While everybody is different, my weight loss is considered pretty quick so I think your 65 pounds in that amount of time is probably unrealistic.

However that doesn't make it not worth starting and you will see a huge difference in yourself way before you get down to 200.

Zaina, can you do a version of a low-carb diet that includes some veggies? I would starve on a menu like that. You need lots of lovely veggies to help you feel--and stay--full.

Don't forget, people who weigh more can lose weight on a higher number of daily calories. There's really no need to restrict your calorie intake so dramatically, I wouldn't think.

I really appreciate everyone's response to my inquiry! I did find my diet a little bit unrealistic. However, I've been doing pretty good... my major problem, and I think the reason to why I gained so much weight so quick is that I give up to easily, I eat a cookie, and figure.. oh, I messed up anyway, I'll have 20 more! I'm trying to change my mindset. I've been adding more veggies in my diet, for instance, yesterday I made a lentil soup with chicken, carrots, green beans, garlic... it was good and very filling. I know lentils aren't really low in carbs, but for the first week, I'm trying to get the hang of changing my diet and experimenting. Yesterday I had a baklava, I was a bit upset with myself after eating it, but now I realize, I need to resist, it's only instant gratification, nothing else! I'm really glad that I realized what I had done before I ate more and given up so easily. Normally, I probably would of snacked on that rather than real food all day.

Since I started the diet-today is day 4, I have gone to the gym everyday and cannot wait to go to the gym tonight! I'm trying to think positive about the gym, even though I don't like it. Once I'm there, it's really not that bad. This week I am walking 3 miles at 3.0, so I finish in an hour. However, I think on day 8, the beginning of my second week I may go for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

I'm really excited about the results I will see in a few months. Now that you guys point it out, my goal is pretty unrealistic. I'm going to aim to 20 lbs by feb 12th. I'm guessing, by past attempts, I'll probably lose 15 the first month... and 5-10 the next... then platou... but this time, rather than giving up, I'm going to keep going!

I ate a lot of sweets previously, and a lot of fast food ... ehhhh! So, I think my body may initially react quick since the calorie intake is dramatically less, and on top of that... I'm exercising! Which is something I never did... unfortunately.

I'm very excited, and once again, I am glad that you are here to support me! My family and friends don't live near me, so it's nice to talk to people who are in my shoes or were once and understand.

Thanks again and I will keep everyone posted!

Zaina