I'm not the type to eat 100% clean. I went from eating fast food min. once a day and not working out ever, to working out atleast 2-3 times a week and eating fast food twice a week. I know that's still not "perfect" and I need to do more to see results, but I have not seen ANY change. Not even in my tape measurements.
I'm starting to feel super discouraged. Do I really need to start calorie counting everything to see some kind of change? You'd think eating better and incorporating some work outs would have already definitely brought results.
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Sorry that you're disappointed in not having good results. Exercise is good for you. It improves muscle tone, strengthens your heart and lungs, but really doesn't do a lot for the scale. The scale weight is mostly dependent on what you eat. You may not be eating as much fast food, but you might be replacing it with something that's not a lot better. You don't necessarily have to count calories, but eat healthy meals, and keep between meal snacking to a minimum. There are a lot of free online trackers where you can track what you're eating and that might help you see where your problem lies. Look to see what your eating that contains the most calories and fat, then see if there's something else you can choose that would be better for you. Once you find a way of eating that starts to give you a loss, make that your new lifestyle, instead of a diet.
It might be harder to notice immediate change becuase you're starting from a fairly "low" weight. 5'6" and 173 means you might have a harder time shedding weight than someone with 100+ pounds to lose. For example, these last 20 for me have been killer even with restricting to 1200 a day and going strict keto. But Wannabe has a great point in that exercise is good for you and for things you can't see, like hearth health and endurance. Hang in there, if you're eating better, eating less, and moving more, you'll see results soon!
I don't calorie count, but I do watch my portions. I do it by eating out of a bowl instead of off a plate (we have normal bowls but huge plates) and if it fits in the bowl, I'm golden. That's pretty fast and loose, I realize. There are portion systems out there that are a lot more specific, such as the 21 Day Fix program, but mine works for me so far. I don't think you have to eat perfectly clean- I think any diet has room for splurges- but fast food is not something I would choose to eat routinely just because it is so nutritionally deficient and full of chemicals and such. I save my splurges for things like a really good piece of dark chocolate or something. But weaknesses and cravings are very individual.
If you don't want to modify your eating any further, would you be willing to up your exercise to 5-6 days a week? You'd probably see results then if you did that. You don't have to go for a long time if you don't enjoy it. I've been mostly doing short 25-ish minute workouts, but intense, as I'd rather work harder for a shorter amount of time and just get it done. I do still get results, and my stamina has gone through the roof (which I notice when my friends get me out hiking or bike riding every couple of weeks) due to the intensity of the exercise.
I feel like I am in the same boat that you are in. I started to cut down on my fast food intake and push myself to workout more, but I realize that some other changes need to be made I guess. The thing that I am going to be trying now is what the poster above alluded to, which is portioning my food out. I have had several people tell me that it really helps you rework some of your eating habits and this is one of the best ways to have it reflect on the scale I guess
Hello! Exercising and limiting your fast food intake from every day to twice a week is a great start! That's definitely a great step in the right direction!
I wouldn't say you have to go straight in to the diet and exercise regimen of someone who's been living that way all their lives. In fact, that's probably not even healthy for you. For a very small case in point, I refer you to my experience. I jumped right from "sedentary" to "exercise six days a week," and in the second week of doing that, had to go to the doctor to find out those sharp pains in my calves were pre-stress fractures. Don't do that.
My advice would be, first of all, not to give up!! It's so discouraging not to see any difference after a month, and I want to congratulate you for coming here instead of throwing your hands in the air. The most important thing is to stick with it! Second, see if you can slowly work yourself towards more days of exercise and less days of fast food. Maybe you can start by adding more vegetables to your diet, or cutting something else that's processed or heavy in sugars/oils/whatever from your day, or (as those above me have very wisely pointed out) making your portions smaller. See if you can get yourself to one fast food meal a week, then one every two weeks, then one a month, etc.
Maybe you could even try making your favorite fast food meals at home? If you can find a recipe that gets close to what you want it to taste like, you'll be able to cut a bunch of the chemicals and processed ingredients they're using. You can put less salt on the fries, more vegetables on the burger, etc. That way, you could still be getting the satisfaction of eating your favorite meal, but without all the addicting ingredients they put in the fast food to try and coax you into buying more.
I don't know if you'll see this since you posted a few weeks ago...
I think you could do it either way, take your time getting used to whatever changes you think would be good in your diet, or start looking at calories. I think the advantage of looking at calories is that you could see which foods are likely to be the worst culprits in preventing weight loss. You wouldn't have to start counting calories for everything all the time, but you would find out which foods you like that you can eat plenty of, and which are more calorie-loaded, so you could make trade offs.
For example, I have a friend who recently did more work than usual to cook a crock-pot chili in attempt to be healthy. Well, it was healthy in a lot of ways (lots of vitamins and fiber), but I don't think he realized it was loaded with calories so probably wouldn't be great for loosing weight. I'm not sure if it was lower calorie than the restaurant food he usually eats. I think if he knew about the calories, he might enjoy the taste of a home cooked chicken and sides just as much, and for no more effort, it would be a lot less calories.
However, it can seem like a hassle to learn about calories at first, so I think looking up a few things at a time, and getting a general idea of how many calories would make sense at each meal or snack is a good way to start slowly.
I kind of feel like you're asking a trick question. It DOES NOT have to be all or nothing, especially right from the start. But that's also the same with seeing changes with your body. Of course if you went all in and made excessive changes to your diet and fitness you'd see huge results. That's why there's nothing wrong with taking it slow and going at your own pace. Your body will change the more and more you keep up with these habits and implement more of them into your schedule. Nothing is immediate, it takes time, so try to be patient with yourself.
Not only does it not have to be "all or nothing" -- it SHOULD NOT be "all or nothing"! The most important thing when it comes to losing weight is sticking with anything that keeps you at a calorie deficit. Too many people will take on some major changes all at once (e.g. much more exercise, much smaller diet, etc), and though they might see some quick results, most won't lose more than 5% of their body weight, give up shortly thereafter, and slowly regain that weight back.
It sounds like you've made some healthy choices. Weight changes take time, and tape measurements even more so. If you want to try something additional, I would recommend logging your weight every day, and then after 14 days, looking at the trend. See if you are losing weight, and if the rate of weight loss is in line with your expectations. If not, then step 2 would be to start calorie counting, but no need to go overboard, just for a week or so! Try to be accurate about it, and see if your calorie intake is inline with what you expect. You may be eating more calories than you think, and just logging for a week will give you a better sense of what the next set of small changes could be.
Take things one step at a time! I am not a fan of completely overhauling your diet and exercise routine all at once, since so few people are able to stick with it. But I think doing the couple things I mentioned above (tracking weight trend, doing a one-week food log) will help ground you, and help you understand exactly what's going on. It can be frustrating feeling that your efforts aren't working, but you're probably using a one-off weight measurement or tape measure to make that judgment, which won't be accurate. The nice thing about looking at the weight trend, or looking at a food log, is not only that it will help tell you exactly what is going on, it helps you figure out what you can do next -- something a single weight measurement or tape measure cannot.
Does it have to be all or nothing? Discouraged!
But weaknesses and cravings are very individual.
