Really struggling

ktsj2015

My weight has always been up and down in a range... I used to be focused and motivated and when my weight was up I could get on plan and lose it.

As I’ve got older I’ve found getting focused more difficult and I’ve struggled to stay on plan since menopause.. last year I was struggling but managed to maintain a healthy weight because I was naturally active walking to work.

Since then I’ve changed jobs and Im working from home. exercise of any kind needs to be a conscious effort, my average step count is about 2k which is pathetic.

Since I changed jobs my weight has crept up and I’ve been very aware of if ... it hasn’t been a surprise and each week I promise myself .. I’m going to do weekly exercise, I’m going to move more every day even if it’s jut a little bit .. I’m going to cut back on the foods I know are bad ... I haven’t vowed to be perfect I don’t expect perfection if anything right now I just want the upward trend to stop ....

But every week is worse than the last .... I honestly don’t know what to do , my job is busy and high pressure I’m tired all the time I haven’t had a day off in weeks between work and other commitments .. I just cant seem to focus on this as well .. I don’t need to be skinny I’ll be happy with healthy ... how do I stop the up trend? So I can begin to think about a down trend?

UnderShield

I’d say anything you eat after 6-7pm will accumulate in your body and increase weight. Try to stop eating anything after dinner and also do intermittent fasting (16hrs without food). Stress is a major reason to gain weight so do some meditation to release tensions after work which might be helpful.

Five0Six

The above comment is one way of doing it. You'll find there's as many ways and preferences for diet and exercise as there are members here. The one thing that remains constant is a calorie deficit is what drops the pounds, however you choose to implement it.

There's a saying I like. It goes "you can restart your day anytime you like." So it's noon and you're over your calories? Okay, eat a sensible dinner and don't beat yourself up. Having a bad week, bad month, bad year? Nothing says you can't restart it right this moment.

It sounds like the stress you're experiencing is definitely affecting your health habits. Something I've found can help is to remind myself that eating sensibly is a form of self care. A sort of "I'm going through a lot right now so I'm going to treat my body to a healthy and reasonably portioned diet." Make the diet changes part of what you're doing to be nice to yourself instead of something you beat yourself up over.

Terytha

UnderShield wrote: »

I’d say anything you eat after 6-7pm will accumulate in your body and increase weight. Try to stop eating anything after dinner and also do intermittent fasting (16hrs without food). Stress is a major reason to gain weight so do some meditation to release tensions after work which might be helpful.

That's some broscience right there. Time is a social construct. I promise you that your digestive system does not care if it's 6 pm or 2:43 am or noon. I will come back later with the links if you like, but studies have shown that no matter when you eat or how often you eat, your weight loss or gain is unaffected by it.

Intermittent fasting works well for some people and horrible for others. Try it if you like, but it's a big change, might make you feel worse. It's not necessary at all.

There are no bad foods or good foods. Assigning moral values to food leads to a bad relationship with food which is absolutely gonna give you negative feelings around dieting. You've got a lot on your plate, you don't need that kind of negativity.

Instead of avoiding any foods, why not just weigh and track them for a bit? MFP will tell you how many calories you need to stay within to lose weight, and once you know what you're eating, you can start figuring out where you can cut back or make substitutions. Calorie is king. Eat fewer calories and you will lose weight. Even at 2K steps, which is all I usually get in a day.

elisa123gal

All I can say is it can change. I know exactly what you mean, for most of my life, I always exercised and dieted when needed and just got the job done. Then, somehow I lost all motivation to keep it up and gained about 40 pounds.. it was really weird and even though I knew how to lose it and keep in shape. I just lost my desire to do it and figured I might be stuck being fat.
I snapped out of it a year and a half ago thank goodness! What I did was go back to what worked for me when I kept in shape..the same eating and exercise..and it all came off. When I look back.. it was when I started trying fad diets and counting calories that never worked for me.

so, go back to your basics.. rinse and repeat...

LyndaBSS

Terytha wrote: »

UnderShield wrote: »

I’d say anything you eat after 6-7pm will accumulate in your body and increase weight. Try to stop eating anything after dinner and also do intermittent fasting (16hrs without food). Stress is a major reason to gain weight so do some meditation to release tensions after work which might be helpful.

That's some broscience right there. Time is a social construct. I promise you that your digestive system does not care if it's 6 pm or 2:43 am or noon. I will come back later with the links if you like, but studies have shown that no matter when you eat or how often you eat, your weight loss or gain is unaffected by it.

Studies also show that quality of sleep can directly affect your weight, so that 2:43 am snack could work against some people. Just a thought. ☺

Terytha

LyndaBSS wrote: »

Terytha wrote: »

UnderShield wrote: »

I’d say anything you eat after 6-7pm will accumulate in your body and increase weight. Try to stop eating anything after dinner and also do intermittent fasting (16hrs without food). Stress is a major reason to gain weight so do some meditation to release tensions after work which might be helpful.

That's some broscience right there. Time is a social construct. I promise you that your digestive system does not care if it's 6 pm or 2:43 am or noon. I will come back later with the links if you like, but studies have shown that no matter when you eat or how often you eat, your weight loss or gain is unaffected by it.

Studies also show that quality of sleep can directly affect your weight, so that 2:43 am snack could work against some people. Just a thought. ☺

True enough! Unless you work nights. Although I think there's also studies about night workers generally getting not great sleep.