JEC, glad you are safe and also glad you have a housesitter. That should help you to relax some while you are away.
J-Mom - ain't it cool to be sore?
Hey everyone else.
The past two days I have scrounged through my purse around 2PM looking for change (i purposely have carried no money this week) to buy some chips, crackers, junk ANYTHING cause I was craving so bad. I ate more carbs last night than I should have but I made sure they weren't junk food stuff. I even dumped dishwashing liquid in my natural PB cause I knew I was gonna eat the whole jar if I didn't. Today, day 3, I looked at my clock and made it to 6PM without any cravings. Detox is successful.
Now I have to get back in the gym. Haven't been all week, mostly sleeping and getting home back in order. However, I am so afraid that this is the start of where i fall off each time, that I have GOT to find a way to not stop this time. I'm into some of my 10s but not anywhere near the weight I need to be. For my height, I need to shed another 25lbs at least. I planned to go to the gym tonight but my ex just informed me that he has an appt. so I have to pick up the crew early. Cross your fingers for me that tomorrow morning there will be a post that I made it to the gym at 4:30AM.
(yeah, yeah, I know what Yoda said, but cross your dern fingers anyway, okay)
Thanks for the offer of help So you being Insulin Resistant, what do you do? I do know BFL does not help me lose. tried it.
Here is a bit about my lifestyle:
I drink water all day long, so that is not a problem. I am a stay home mom. As far as working out, I have been going to the gym at least 2 times a week sometimes 3 for weights, some days I go in the circuit training room for variety, its kinda like curves. I then walk on the treadmill at home 2-3 time a week 20-30 min. When I cheat, well, I have noticed when I eat carbs I will have no control to walk past chocolate for instance. I am a bit of an emotional eater, but mostly I eat regular food and helpings, like hubby and kids, difference Im the only one who is fat
I eat usually eggs and fruit for breakfast. Lunch might be a sandwich, or soup, salad, maybe leftovers. Dinner is usually turkey or chicken of some sort, could be tacos, chili, roasted chicken and potatoes with veggies, or hubby could bring home a pizza, its always different.
The food thing is hard to say. I can say this, when I avoid carbs I am in better control of my eating. Its hard to be good after carbs. For instance if I do eat cereal in the morning, my day is blown, I will eat everything in the kitchen.
I have tried to eat some carbs, I have tried to eat no carbs, I have to say that I think the fewer the better. I cant eat just meat and cheese, but if I avoid cereals, breads, sugars, rice, pasta, I think I do better as far as control goes. Its hard to not eat those things I love pasta and bread, but when I eat it I do literally lose control of my eating. I need to realize that.
I welcome the advice and help, thank you so much, opinions please
All right! Your last paragraph indicates that you already know what will trigger your carb cravings, and that's half the battle. I also cannot eat cereal or oatmeal in the AM, or it's kiss the day good-bye. Same for bananas. It took me months to learn these triggers, and avoid them at all costs. If I don't, the price to be paid is pure ****, physically and emotionally. You need to find good carbs that you like, specifically low-gly carbs, that you can eat with every serving of protein. I love pasta and bread too, but had to make a decision as to what means more to me - losing weight or a minute or 2 of enjoyment. Also, instant gratification played a big role, as well as emotional triggers and being able to recognize them. I still deal with these almost hourly.
It takes practice, patience and persistence to change bad habits that are comfortable to good habits, that once they become habits (like measuring and weighing) are as automatic as brushing your teeth. Same for exercise. We all need to do something in the movement dept. every day. That doesn't mean you have to work out every day. Even playing with children vigorously, or going for an evening stroll after dinner is movement.
I never believed I could do it, but I told myself that life is so short, I would give it my all for 6 months just to see what happens. Could you give it your all for just 90 days to see what happens?
Great – that’s a good start but I have more questions!
When you weight train what sort of training so you do? Weights/reps/sets/timing? How long is your total session and how exhausted are you at the end of it? When you walk do you leisurely walk or huff and puff? Does your heart rate go up significantly? How is your breathing and sweating?
Regular food and helpings? Regular to whom? Give me some examples of portion sizes… (if I ate like my husband I would be the size of a house!)
So you eat 3 times per day? Do you snack at all? How often does hubby bring home pizza? How many pieces are you likely to eat if you eat the pizza?
What type of carbs in the morning have you tried? (i.e. bread, cereal, oats etc) What serving sizes are you eating? When do you find yourself hungry after you eat breakfast? What other foods do you eat WITH your carbs?
When you tried to eat some carbs – what were they? What was your physical and emotional reaction to a no-carb diet? Were you working out at the time on no-carbs?
I know our Mel is en route to visit her daughter at college or she would answer this for sure!
Like I said above - we're all different and we have different triggers For me, my bugaboo is NIGHT EATING. During the day I'm fine and dandy...it's after work that I tend to want to pick pick pick at whatever. The plan of having liquid shakes all day and then one meal at night would SO not work for me, because that one meal would turn into a major bingefest. (reminds me of something my dad said years ago...when he tried doing SlimFast and told me he gained 3 pounds in the first week - "I don't understand - I did the plan just as the commercials said - I had a shake at 8:00 in the morning, a shake at noon, and then dinner from 6:00 - 9:00!" ) (that's my Dad for ya!)
Dip said everything so beautifully that the only thing I can say to add to it is - just take it ONE DAY AT A TIME. I've recommended personal journaling often. That's worked for me for YEARS. For me, journaling doesn't mean posting in a blog on the Net - it means getting a journal book, taking a pen or pencil, and writing the old fashioned way (usually I do this in bed just before turning off the lights). Personal journaling is a catharsis for me. Another idea (which I got from BFL) is to write down what you plan to eat the night BEFORE and stick to that.
Tiki - Ornish is the low-fat guy . He's also the vegetarian guy and he's big into whole foods, non-processed foods. He did the Reversing Heart Disease and Eat More Weigh Less books. Dr. Andrew Weil's approach is very similar. It reminds me of spa eating. Here's a quote from his website (i'm too lazy to type from the book:
Quote:
The diet that Dr. Ornish recommends is a low-fat, plant-based diet that uses fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and soy products in their natural forms. This incorporates moderate quantities of egg whites and nonfat dairy or soy products and small amounts of sugar and white flour. These foods give you a double benefit: They are low in substances that are harmful and are rich in literally hundreds of substances that may be protective against heart disease and many other illnesses.
I love the book, the recipes and it seems very much like something I can stick with and there's some great science behind it. The only thing I worry about is the protein with weight lifting factor. Any advice?
When I train, I do have the BFL book so I try to do it like he says. On the tred I do 20-30 min, I hit my 10's, huffin and puffin, then I back it down. On weight days, I do either a upper or lower body work out, I do 3 sets, 10-12 reps, working up to what is for me very hard. I work each body part at least 2 different ways.
I do snack when I am off plan. When I am trying then no. When I was trying BFL I would have a EAS shake 2 times a day between meals. As far as portions, I have done WW and kept track, but when Im not on that I do not weight or measure. As far as pizza portions usually 3 pieces, sometimes 2 rarely 4. usually its 3, and 1 pepsi. We have this meal usually 1 time a week, we miss a week here and there though.
Carbs in morning, I have tried it all, toast with eggs, oatmeal, cereal. If its toast with eggs its 1-2 piece of toast with 2 whole eggs. If i were to have cereal, its usually a bowl of some grain fruit kind. If I have carbs I will be hungry within an hour. If I dont I could go 4-6 hours without hunger.
No carb diet, Well its hard to not eat at least fruit for me. And its hard to convince me fruit is a bad thing, so no carb is very difficult for me.
I just purchased the insulin resistant diet book and syndrome x book. They make a lot of sense to me, considering my personal problems with insulin. I am not saying that way of eating is necessary for everyone. I do believe however everyone is different and the needs will be different too.
Sandi, regarding those steel cut oats ... I can't remember where you live, but you should be able to find them in a number of places, beginning with health food stores and good groceries. Your question sent me to the web, where several writers said that many health food stores sell oats in bulk, sometimes under the name Irish oats or oat groats. I saw prices in the $1.50-$1.60 a pound range. Compared to the $5 or $6 the fancy metal tin cost me, that's a bargain. And, as I said earlier, I also found an American product -- clear plastic bag, about $3, at my regular market. Steel cut oats look like tiny pellets, compared to the flake appearance of regular oatmeal. Good luck.
BabySteps, I think we all understand your need for success. We've all been there, done that. But consider this: the liquid diet you are contemplating is bound to be pretty low in calories. Study and study (not to mention our own personal experience) shows that our bodies adjust to continued low-calorie diets by harboring reserves. So, instead of losing weight, your body looks for way to conserve every calorie of energy. Result: scale doesn't budge.
When we say we believe you can do this, we're not saying it's easy. Learning a whole new way of eating and living is not easy. But it's worth it. And it sounds to me as if you've actually started -- you're not at square one.
Like many others here, I have to watch my carbs very very carefully, but I've not given them up. I have discovered, for example, that I can eat a small baked potato and be just fine. I can eat a single piece of multi-grain bread (although I have to be careful here) or a half a cup of brown rice or a cup of oatmeal and also be fine. I can eat squash and corn and many fruits with no problem. BUT, pasta, bagels, a 2nd piece of toast, English muffins are all disasters for me. So it's experiement, experiment, experiment.
I second JC's notion to measure those portions. Do you have a food scale? They're wonderfully helpful.
Dip, thanks for those powerful words: patience, practice, persistence. How right you are.
Tiki, your story of the change hunt hit home. Oh, do I know and hate those days. Now, listen to me: you are NOT going to fall of this time, if we have anything to say about it. You've come too far. I am going to be looking for that post saying you made it to the gym. If they had one of those little smiley faces wagging their finger, I'd insert it here
And finally, my most pressing question of the day: whoinheck is Rachel Ray?
Babysteps: I have PCOS too! I can't say I'm a particular carb craver, though. One thing I found out RIGHT AWAY when I started writing down what I ate and counting the calories: I just can't eat as much as my husband eats, and that probably goes for kids, too (they seem to burn through a lot of food!).
Before I started paying attention, I just ladled out big helpings to both of us, "one for you, one for me," not even thinking about how many calories were in there. When I started measuring and weighing my food, and giving myself about 1400-1700 calories a day, that's when the pounds really started to roll off faster. I wish I had done that from the beginning. Duh!
But doesnt BFL say not to measure? Maybe I should give the weighing thing a try...I still have the WW stuff..Should I use that to keep track? So do all of you measure and keep track? I didnt think you did, so, how many calories, carbs, fat, pro., do you all recommend?
BabySteps: I wouldn't get too far ahead of yourself right now, just take it easy, one thing at a time. Just get a notebook, or a diary is good since it already has all the dates, and just write down what you eat. Everything. Then at the end of the day, take out your calorie reference book and add it up. Just try to get a reasonably healthy day at this point, and don't beat yourself up. Don't get too wound about carbos/protein, etc. The point right now is just to get into the habit of observing your own behavior.
So just keep it simple. It's just a teaching tool, not something you're going to get judged or graded on. And it's only for you, no one else has to see it. All you want to know right now is: how am I eating? Once you accumulate a few days or more of data, you should see some patterns emerging. But don't push the process, just write it down. If you binge, just write it down. Don't let embarrassment stop you. Just write and observe the results, as calmly as possible.
baby steps.;.. my heart's breaking for you. let these ladies help you with all their wisdom from their hard-won experience. from what i've seen, it sounds as if you have tried many many many things, with minimal success.
i'm with mrsjim about the journalling.. it's really the only way to figure out right now what's working and what's not. and it also seems to me that eating regularly scheduled meals and snacks would help give you some much-needed structure over your food.
and have you noticed how everyone posts their food plans for the day? they KNOW pretty much what they're eating and when they're eating it. they've PLANNED their days. and that seems to be a key point here. once you know what works for you, it'll be important - essential - that you schedule your day so that you can make it all happen.
and about the shakes. look.. wls patients have 2 of them a day right after their surgery [we're not talking about carnation instant breakfast here]. and it's temporary because we need to learn to eat again, and sooner rather than later. the only reason we use them is because there's no way we can get the required protein in without them. as with MrsJim's situation, we are medically supervised.
it's NOT a good idea to use them as food substitutes under normal circumstances. but having said that, having one a day as a snack might help keep your cravings under control.
and i'd suggest losing the fruit for breakfast. have it later in the day as a snack with some protein, like cottage cheese or cheese. some of us can't have carbs in the morning. i think i'm one of them.
and i've decided this week that, as much as i love them, pretzels are a major trigger for me. it's not white bread or pasta or chocolate or even cookies. it's those DA*** pretzels!!!!
so it's different for everyone. the challenge for you [and us because we do want you to succeed here!] is to find out what works best for you.
don't give up!!!!
and thanks for the info about the steel cut oats robin and sandi.. i'm going to see if i can find some. they sound so much better than glue-like regular oatmeal!!!
hi everyone!!!! i follow your adventures, but don't often post. and to tell the truth, this has NOT been an exercise week... bronchitis. and the doc changed some meds today [new antibiotic after the chest x ray]. so cross your fingers!!!!!
Body mass question. I had my body mass tested like I told you, my question is, it put me at 163.59 pounds of lean body mass. Now my question is I felt great at 170 pounds, before fat surounded me. Anyway, since I am 163.59 pounds of lean body at this time, what about adding muscle? This paper has my goal weight at 221 pounds (26% body fat). I dont want to end up at 221 pounds, I want to be about 170, doesnt this mean I will need to lose muscle not add it?
BabySteps: I wouldn't get so into these details if I were you. It could lead right into "analysis paralysis" or obsession, which isn't helpful. I think you just need to keep exercising gently as frequently as you can, and get some structure into your days. Just keep doing that, day after day after day. Don't worry about the future, focus on today. Only today.
At this point worrying too much about this stuff will only stress you out, and that will make losing harder, not easier. Try to be calm and peaceful. Move more, eat less, eat healthy, write it down. And relax-- remember to enjoy your life as much as possible. Breathe.
) (that's my Dad for ya!)
