What Can/Should I Be Doing Different?

DupreeTheTRex

Hello,

I’ve been wanting to lose weight for a very long time now. When I was at my lightest five years ago (160lbs) I was healthy and in shape. I moved from a physical job to and office and within a year I put on 120 lbs. I have been slowly making lifestyle changes in an attempt to get back to my healthy weight but nothing really seems to be working. I will be keeping accurate diary entries for the next few days on this ap with the goal of trying to identify areas for improvement. All entries are done with a scale and are rounded up if needed. I’m looking for some advice on what I can improve on.

Some background information:

I quit drinking alcohol over two years ago hoping that it would result in weight loss. It did, but only about 10lbs. I continue to remain sober because my bank account is very happy and that makes me happy.

I used to drink 3-4 energy drinks daily. After getting married this August I promised my wife I would try to quit. I haven’t had an energy drink since the morning after my wedding on August 3rd. I’ve not lost any weight as a result.

My next goal is to cut back on sugary drinks (soda pop) and to instead drink water/apple or orange juice when I want something sweet.

I also am trying to figure out how to control binge eating. Sometimes I can’t help myself and I end up eating a bunch of take out. This has happened much less since COVID hit but I’m pretty sure this has played a major role in slowing down my progress. Any tips for controlling urges would be appreciated.

I drink two servings of Gfuel daily. This is a caffeinated beverage with much less sugar than an energy drinks. Most of the ingredients are also just powdered fruit. I mix it with some nasty powders I need to drink to help with the healing of some internal hemorrhoids and fissures. I won’t be stopping drinking this for at least two months because the Metamucil is pretty disgusting with just water. If I do stop drinking this I would be substituting black coffee.

I have crippling anxiety. I used to work out between the hours of 1am and 4am every day in a 24 hour gym just to avoid people. I could do this because I was working afternoons and evenings. When I started my office job I could only work mornings and so I stopped going to the gym. I won’t be looking for a new job because this is my dream job. My goal is to eventually have enough space for a home gym or possibly get into running (maybe both). Maybe once recreational sports open up again I can join some sort of team. The biggest thing holding me back from doing this was that I didn’t own a car until about a month ago (29 years old and bought my first car).

We are currently choosing to use a meal kit service throughout the pandemic in an attempt to avoid public spaces. I usually finish my plate but sometimes half or more I cannot finish and I eat it for lunch the next day. We’re using HelloFresh (Canadians here). If you know a healthier service that operates out of Canada I would love to know about it.

ALZ14

I think the gradual changes you are making are great! My fist cughestion is to be careful drinking fruit juices, they can contain a lot of calories per serving with little/no nutritional value. I personally try not to drink my calories, I would rather chew them, but not everyone is like that. You can try switching to diet sodas, propel, Zero Sugar Gatorade/Powerade, etc if you want to drink something with flavor but without calories.

You are probably aware of this, but there is no “quick fix” and even big changes may take some time to start showing up. So you can do this at your own pace, taking baby steps or you can go “all in”, whatever you think you will be able to stick with long term.

Good luck!

DupreeTheTRex

Thanks!

I know 100% that going all in for me won’t work. Prior to being my healthiest weight I had been rubber banding for years. This was another attempt at going all in the ultimately failed. That’s why I’ve been taking things so slowly. I don’t want to make huge changes all at once because I’m afraid it will result in failure like it has in the past.

With the fruit juices, I’m hoping that it will only be a “once in a while” type treat. But Gfuel has been doing good to satisfy my sweet tooth. At 15 calories per serving it’s pretty good!

I’m also trying to eat more fruits in my diet because my doctor thinks I don’t eat enough fiber. Pears, blackberries and raspberries were the top of the list of fruits that were in a pamphlet he gave me.

RunsWithBees

A few ideas from my experiences, not sure if it helps you or not but thought I’d share

I would add in that getting good quality sleep is important for your health journey and is something to be prioritized IMHO. If I don’t sleep well it throws the rest of the day off and it’s harder to have the willpower to do what I need to get done.

I don’t have a binge eating problem but I am a boredom eater so I try to keep busy with hobbies or tasks especially later in the evening which is when I feel the urge to snack. I also have to limit my TV time because watching TV makes me just want to eat! Nothing gives me the munchies like watching TV, not even being online causes me that urge, so I try to do anything else whenever possible.

The type of anxiety I suffer from is severe social anxiety and I’ve had to come up with different strategies to overcome it so that I can reach my exercise goals. I’m a runner (trail and pavement) and some days my anxious brain tries to talk me out of going out to exercise but I remember my goals and just try to keep my eyes on the prize! My health goals are more important to me and I have to keep moving forward no matter what! Running actually helps calm my anxiety a lot and keep it in check and I enjoy it so much! I’ve lost 43 pounds and kept it off for 6+ years so far. I feel the best I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

Good luck on your health journey, you got this!

jessef593

DupreeTheTRex wrote: »

Thanks!

I know 100% that going all in for me won’t work. Prior to being my healthiest weight I had been rubber banding for years. This was another attempt at going all in the ultimately failed. That’s why I’ve been taking things so slowly. I don’t want to make huge changes all at once because I’m afraid it will result in failure like it has in the past.

With the fruit juices, I’m hoping that it will only be a “once in a while” type treat. But Gfuel has been doing good to satisfy my sweet tooth. At 15 calories per serving it’s pretty good!

I’m also trying to eat more fruits in my diet because my doctor thinks I don’t eat enough fiber. Pears, blackberries and raspberries were the top of the list of fruits that were in a pamphlet he gave me.

Canadian also.

Have you tried tracking your calories? Theres no mention of daily intake or TDEE

DupreeTheTRex

Not sure how to calculate TDEE, I’ll need to look that up. I’ll be tracking my calories over the next few days/weeks to get an idea of my average daily consumption. Using a scale of course for accuracy.

jessef593

DupreeTheTRex wrote: »

Not sure how to calculate TDEE, I’ll need to look that up. I’ll be tracking my calories over the next few days/weeks to get an idea of my average daily consumption. Using a scale of course for accuracy.

https://tdeecalculator.net/ there ya go. Same one I use. Though none are exact. So it will take some tinkering after a baseline is established

AK121730

The fact that you are so invested in soliciting help is a sure sign of the success that will come to you. Using the MyFitnessPal barcode scanner was how I lost 60lbs and have kept it off for over 5 years. I have always been a freak in the weight room but realized it was only a part of the equation. A bunch of my neighbors and friends are Doctors and all of them used to tell me that I was doing myself a disservice by not being aware of my macros consumption regardless of how hard I worked out. Once I started zapping every barcode of something that I wanted to eat, I dropped a ton of weight. Now, I am still not where I want to be which is 10% body fat while still being able to bench 315. I am currently at 16.8% body fat and can bench 325 as a 45 year old which is good but still not where I want to be.

I quit drinking 15 years ago and the one thing that helped me stay away from booze was to tell myself that I was not going to drink today. In all honestly, it started with me saying I would not drink for the next hour. That turned into 6 hours, then 12 hours then 24 hours then a week.... and so on. I tell you this because it works for everything. Take your current challenges and apply the chunking strategy of “i will not do X for the next hour” or “Next 12 hours” ect.

We all have anxiety. I firmly believe that the truly STONG people in this world are the ones that have the courage to talk about their challenges and ask for help.

You’ve inspired me through your courage to post what you did. Thanks and rock on brother!

Courtscan2

HelloFresh is great, I use it on occasion. Some of their meals are VERY calorific though. You can check the number of calories in each recipe before you order, so I would continue to use them, but choose their lighter calorie options. Then, rather than enter the recipe calories in your diary, actually weigh all of the ingredients when you get them, and enter the ingredients separately, as I've found the actual calories and macros can vary wildly just because they've sent you, say, 400 grams of chicken breast rather than 300 grams for a certain recipe.

_runnerbean_

Great work so far on cutting out the alcohol and being more aware of your foods. I noticed you are not going to the gym, that’s fine but try to move more through the day. If you have a step counter on your phone find out how active you are and try to gradually increase it. If you’d like to start running get in the habit of going for a 30 minute brisk walk at least three times a week. Outdoor walking is great for anxiety, better sleep and a small amount of calorie burning. Those 30 minute walks will eventually become your runs if you use a programme like couch to 5k.
As others have said, weight loss is mainly about the foods we eat but activity is good for overall health and will support your weight loss goals.

bmeadows380

Note that there is a difference between TDEE and the NEAT system that MFP uses. TDEE is your total daily energy expenditure, which includes your intentional exercise. MFP uses the NEAT method, which just accounts for your "keep you alive" energy needs plus day to day life, but expects you to count back your intentional exercise calories.

So when you set yourself up in MFP, did you fill out the guided setup? That will give you a good starting point in determining your calorie needs. You input your starting weight, height, age, sex, and your activity level based upon your day to day living WITHOUT your intentional exercise. Most people choose sedentary as their starting point, but in reality, I think most people are actually lightly active. If you have a desk job where you sit a large part of your day, I'd suggest starting with one of those two settings. But if you have a job where you are on your feet normally all day long, your activity level may be higher than that.

Then you choose your desired loss rate per week. Please note that 2 lbs/wk is a highly aggressive rate - losing weight or deficit eating is very stressful on the body, and the bigger the deficit, the more stressful it is. Not saying that 2 lbs/wk won't work for you, but just note that its not appropriate for everyone, nor is it necessary to lose the weight fast. The better goal would be to work on building new habits sustainably in a slow and steady way as a means to learn a new lifestyle that will break the rubber band cycle. Plus, dieting should be as easy as possible so you can stick to it! Meaning whether you lose 10 lbs in 5 weeks or in 10 weeks, it doesn't matter in the end - as long as you lose the 10 lbs. And doing it over 10 weeks gives you more calories each day to help with binge episodes.

MFP expects you to add back your daily intentional exercise calories. Some people use their fitness trackers to do this form them; others like me use the MFP exercise database. Many of us also only track a portion of that time to factor in the variability that comes with our actual energy expenditure versus the generic model calculated by a formula.

If you prefer to not add back calories at all, then I'd recommend using the TDEE method linked above and choose a calorie goal based upon your total energy expenditure including your regular exercise. Once you have a rate set, you can come back into MFP and manually change your calorie goal to the TDEE number and eat to that.

Then give it 4-6 weeks, eating at that calorie goal and giving your body time to adjust to your new eating method and because weight loss is not linear. Look at your actual loss compared to the calculated one you expected in that time and adjust your calorie goal as necessary to get you where you want to be.

Finally, do you have a food scale and do you log your foods here? Tracking your intake by weighing your foods and using appropriate entries here at MFP is a great way to see where you are in terms of a calorie deficit and to ensure you are eating at a deficit because without a calorie deficit, you aren't going to lose weight. So right now, do you have a means of accurately gauging how much you are actually eating? A lot of people, like me, are horrible at eye balling portion sizes and we end up eating way more than we think we are. I've had that battle with my mother for years because she thinks she's eating less than she actually is and is usually appalled at finding out what the actual serving size is (and to find that she's eating 2 or 3 times that).

GabiV125

You have 3 topics and I’ll address each.
1. Health: If your body can tolerate, I recommend trying on fruits until you found the one that helps you be regular. The absolute classics are: plums, apples and mangoes .
2. Exercise: You are correct in starting with small changes, so for exercise I suggest to start with some YouTube short stretching videos. Then when you want to change add some body weight and any type of exercise you enjoy.
3. Nutrition: Did you consider homemade food? There are tons of Easy Quick Recipes for Beginners available . I’m not saying you are a beginner, but you work and probably don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It may be fun to try something with few and clean ingredients, and start with just one meal a week.
Good luck!

DupreeTheTRex

Hi Gabby,

I’ve bought a few fruits that I like and am trying to incorporate it into my diet. Exercise is still on the table but I’m hesitant. As for home cooked foods, almost all of my meals are cooked from scratch using fresh, locally sourced ingredients. All a meal kit is, or at least the service we use, just provides us with the fresh ingredients and recipe cards. We do all the cooking.

Dogmom1978

Have you tried any YouTube videos for workouts? There are a ton of free options out there and you can always start with body weight exercise.

I also have anxiety and used to attend a 24 hr gym, but that even started having other people in it at crazy hrs like 1 or 2 am. Luckily, I have a large basement and a husband who started researching all sorts of gym equipment. I now have a full commercial gym in the basement (literally commercial equipment: cybex, hoist, life fitness, etc). It took 2 years of patiently searching for great deals on used equipment to do this. My husband turned it into a business and now we sell used equipment as well (he sells, we joke that I handle procurement via emails etc).

Definitely weigh and log everything. I’m a nervous eater and I get nervous a lot. I bring carrot sticks, apples, and cucumbers with me pretty much everywhere. That way, when the urge to eat something comes over me, I’m eating something low cal and healthy.

srk369

I've been listening to the Half Size Me podcasts recently and I really like the message of changing habits (which you seem to be doing!!) but she also talks a lot about binge eating. If you like podcasts, it might be worth listening.

DupreeTheTRex

srk369 wrote: »

I've been listening to the Half Size Me podcasts recently and I really like the message of changing habits (which you seem to be doing!!) but she also talks a lot about binge eating. If you like podcasts, it might be worth listening.

I love podcast! Favorite past time while I’m at work. I’ll have to check them out!

Thank you.

chocolate_owl

Spend a few weeks turning into a pro with logging. Weigh and measure everything. It's tedious at first, but you'll get comfortable with it, and it will be much easier for you to assess portion sizes going forward. Log every single thing - every carrot stick, every condiment, every vitamin - for a while so you can get accurate data. You might find you have *feelings* and *expectations* about it - it's a burden! It's supposed to be a magical weight loss system but I'm not losing much weight! - but push those things out of your head. Logging is a diagnostic tool. It's there to give you a picture of what you're actually consuming and let you know if there's something you need to change.

Some weighing/logging tips:
-Since you're using a scale, enter everything in grams or ounces.
-For produce, meat, and other "unpackaged" food, USDA entries tend to be accurate and have the option to log in weight. For example, search "USDA raspberries."
-Weigh calorie-dense items, especially fats. Oil and butter are easy to inaccurately measure with spoons.
-Initially weigh your packaged food to make sure the weight is accurate compared to what the label says.
-If you've logged a food before, the mobile app lets you easily search for it, but the PC version doesn't.

Don't just think of exercise only as stuff you do in the gym. You can do body weight exercises in your living room. You can search YouTube for cardio kickboxing or pilates and do a "class" at home. Going for a walk is exercise. Even pacing around your house is burning calories! Exercise serves two purposes: to increase your calorie deficit, and to make your body more able. Do things to accomplish those goals.

I'm neurotic and I feel a lot more comfortable when I have a clear plan, so I tend to pre-log my whole week when I'm doing my weekly meal planning. I'll pick out recipes, enter them into MFP's recipe builder, and get an estimate of calories. I'll log all my meals and make sure I've got a padding of about ~100 calories every day. Then when I cook, I'll update the recipe with exact weighed quantities. Any leftover calories mean I get a bonus snack!

Good luck to you

ChickenKillerPuppy

Ditto the Half Size Me podcast suggestion, and I also like We Only Look Thin podcast.