2 questions: staying on track through summer and loss rates with measurements

hipari

Hi! I have two questions/worries bothering me, here’s some background for both:

I have been on and off MFP since Christmas day 2015. I have tracked weight and measurements for 2.5 years, but this spring is my first consistent food log effort (75 days in). I go to the gym regularly and work with my trainer once every two weeks, and as of this March I also email him my food journal and weigh-in results weekly. I have IBS, which I have under control by limiting cereals and some legumes. My current plan is working and my weight loss is more consistent than before, although I’m working on my eating habits to increase my loss rate (currently about 0.5lbs/week). I weigh in weekly and take measurements every two weeks (waist-hips-butt-thigh). Current weight is 203lbs, next goal is one-derland and the big goal is 176lbs. I’m a grad student and work at an office part time, with more hours during the summer when I don’t have to study.

1) My weight graph has gone way up every summer, and I’m worried that will happen this year as well. Any tips for staying on track through summer, the magical time of vacations, sunshine, parties and less overall routines? My job is about 4 days a week, and I have 5 weeks of summer vacation, so there’s a lot less routine.

2) I know one can’t spot reduce fat, but still. My waist is where I have the most to lose, and also where it would be most important to lose, both health-wise and for vanity. My waist is also where my loss rate is slowest. When I started 2.5 years ago, I lost a lot from my waist. This year, I have consistently lost the least amount on my waist, both in centimeters and percentage wise. Is there any healthy way I can increase loss around my waist? When I say ”waist”, I mean the measurement that goes over my belly button. Hips go over hip bones, for butt I have a scar at about my widest part that I use as a marker, so the measurements are taken from the same part every time.

kommodevaran

I think you just have to come to terms with that you need less food than you think you do or are used to eating. If you can get your needs and wants more in line, victory will be yours.

hipari

Of course I need to do that, to increase my loss rate, for one. That’s the obvious goal for the mental process, but I’m looking for concrete help on the issues I listed. Is there some specific connection to my issues with summer weight gain or losing less around my waist compared to other parts of my body? If that was meant to be concrete advice or a tip, I think I’ll need a clarification.

nooshi713

Summer is fun with bbq, parties, probably more social events etc. On the other hand, it is also a great time to be active and outdoors. There are lots of fresh fruits in season. Meals can be lighter and healthier than winter where comfort foods are more common.

kommodevaran

hipari wrote: »

Of course I need to do that, to increase my loss rate, for one. That’s the obvious goal for the mental process, but I’m looking for concrete help on the issues I listed. Is there some specific connection to my issues with summer weight gain or losing less around my waist compared to other parts of my body? If that was meant to be concrete advice or a tip, I think I’ll need a clarification.

Your summer weight gain can't have anything to do with your belly fat. Belly fat is just fat on your stomach. You can't decide where fat is stored or taken from. But when you get closer to goal weight, your stomach will most likely be smaller, like the rest of you.

I don't really believe in tips, but in getting into the right mindset, which - for instance, in this case - could be, by separating what everybody has to do, from the specific ways you have to do it. Some things are so obvious that we lose sight of it.

hipari

Yeah, summer weight gain patterns and belly fat are two separate issues, I’m just currently worried about both. Kommodevaran, your clarification helped and gave me a second opinion in this being a lot of mental work. I completely agree, and I’m getting there. I suppose right now I just need my emotional side / subconscious to catch up with my rationality. I know I can’t spot reduce, I know slow and steady wins the race, I know I need less food than what I’ve eaten previously, I know it’s about making choices. If my subconsciousness could agree with me, that’d be great.

The summer thing is tricky though, with all the events bbq etc and less routines. The routines help with the mental side, since I don’t have to make conscious decisions about everything when I can just roll with the routine.

yvonne_beavis

I have the same issue in the Summer. It is counter intuitive in one way, as the better weather makes lighter food a good option, but I am really a creature of habit and once my routine is broken, even by nice things like holidays, I find it very difficult to be disciplined. Rather than getting too depressed about it, I am trying this Summer to maintain my current weight, and to resume weight loss in September. That's one option.

kommodevaran

hipari wrote: »

Yeah, summer weight gain patterns and belly fat are two separate issues, I’m just currently worried about both. Kommodevaran, your clarification helped and gave me a second opinion in this being a lot of mental work. I completely agree, and I’m getting there. I suppose right now I just need my emotional side / subconscious to catch up with my rationality. I know I can’t spot reduce, I know slow and steady wins the race, I know I need less food than what I’ve eaten previously, I know it’s about making choices. If my subconsciousness could agree with me, that’d be great.

The summer thing is tricky though, with all the events bbq etc and less routines. The routines help with the mental side, since I don’t have to make conscious decisions about everything when I can just roll with the routine.

This was really uplifting. Just feeling that you have a choice, is going to make you feel empowered. Making food choices in a world of plenty, is difficult, but it's also a great privilege and a responsibility we have to take seriously, and ourselves. At meal times, especially when there's a bbq or buffet or potluck, maybe you could take a look at all your options, think about what you like best, and pick some of your favorites, while keeping in mind that if you miss out on something, you will have more opportunities later - the frequency of opportunities is what's actually creating the problem in the first place.

hipari

yvonne_beavis wrote: »

I have the same issue in the Summer. It is counter intuitive in one way, as the better weather makes lighter food a good option, but I am really a creature of habit and once my routine is broken, even by nice things like holidays, I find it very difficult to be disciplined. Rather than getting too depressed about it, I am trying this Summer to maintain my current weight, and to resume weight loss in September. That's one option.

It’s a good option, too! I don’t want to break my streak, though, and there’s the extra motivation that I’m going shopping for a wedding gown at the end of the summer. I’m not on a wedding diet of any sort, though, my goal is to lose what I can (my sanity not being among things lost), get a dress, lose some more, get alterations if needed, get married, have a family and comfortably try on the dress on my five-year anniversary. Sure, I’d like to lose some weight before the wedding and the dress shopping, but my ultimate weight loss motivations are unrelated to the wedding, which just happens to happen within the same timeframe.

mywayroche

Use the nice weather to get outside and walk/run

kshama2001

nooshi713 wrote: »

Summer is fun with bbq, parties, probably more social events etc. On the other hand, it is also a great time to be active and outdoors. There are lots of fresh fruits in season. Meals can be lighter and healthier than winter where comfort foods are more common.

Yes, I am more active in the summer @hipari - take up gardening or swimming? (I don't mention walking/hiking because I do that year round, actually more in the winter.)

I do also eat differently in the summer - more greens and veggies and less higher calorie starchy foods. Lots of entree salads (easy on the dressing!) I'm not interested in baking in the summer, and so replace baked goods with much lower calorie fruit.

MelanieCN77

It's already been said but there are no tips, it's just do or don't. You clearly know what the game plan should be. You're right, routine does help. You may have to decline food/drink events once in a while if too many are falling too close together, if you can't manage your intake at them.

hipari

Yup, I know what the game plan is, different tips and tricks are merely useful in making following the game plan easier while my mind is still working on getting there. I always try to be more active, but that’s another thing that’s harder without routine - I don’t have a car and use my feet or mass transit to get everywhere, so I’m pretty active throughout the week without really realizing it. During the winter, too, it’s harder to hit my deficit in the less busy weekend days.

kommodevaran

I just realised something, maybe it can help you too: Knowing what the right thing to do, is, doesn't necessarily make it easier to do it. It makes it possible, but it can still be hard.

Psychgrrl

hipari wrote: »

Yeah, summer weight gain patterns and belly fat are two separate issues, I’m just currently worried about both. Kommodevaran, your clarification helped and gave me a second opinion in this being a lot of mental work. I completely agree, and I’m getting there. I suppose right now I just need my emotional side / subconscious to catch up with my rationality. I know I can’t spot reduce, I know slow and steady wins the race, I know I need less food than what I’ve eaten previously, I know it’s about making choices. If my subconsciousness could agree with me, that’d be great.

The summer thing is tricky though, with all the events bbq etc and less routines. The routines help with the mental side, since I don’t have to make conscious decisions about everything when I can just roll with the routine.

Summer doesn’t have to have less routine. You can choose how to structure your vacation days to help keep you on track. The same thing with what you eat (or don’t eat) at the bbqs and other social gatherings. They don’t have to derail your progress either. It seems they have in the past, so pre-plan so they have less of an impact. You have more control than you think, you just have to choose to take it.