I feel lost

klaustrumpet

I’m 44, a dad of an amazing 11 year old, and husband to the most wonderful wife of 14 years. In the past 4 months I’ve decided that I’m sick of being overweight. I did blood tests that showed I’m not pre diabetic, which surprised me, but my vitamins and minerals were low. I went to a naturopath who asked me to do some IV injections to get minerals and vitamins up. This worked great, my energy is better throughout the day and I’ve stated 10 minute workout session on weekdays via fitness plus. I even started therapy sessions as I went through a bit of a rough childhood. Despite all this, I’m still not able to get my eating habits under control. I feel like I’m at a crossroad. Either I smarten up and get in shape, or accept that I’ll be this big for ever.

I’d love to hear from anyone who this resonates with and might have some advice to give.

Thank you for reading this much

SafariGalNYC

the thing I struggle with is being fatigued due to stress… so I’ve been trying to biohack my way back to feeling energetic through exercise and good nutrition. When I’m in a roll, I feel great.
I also started all this with an elimination diet a long time ago to see what items didn’t sit well with me.
Re your vitamins being low, did the Dr talk about gut health? A lot of vitamins are absorbed in the intestines… an elimination diet can help with gut health if you have any sensitivities to gluten, cheese etc…

Re eating habits.. I had to decide that long term feel good was better than short term… that helped… and getting healthier for my family and stocking healthier foods for them too ☘️

AnnPT77

Y'know, a step or two at a time is fine. You're making improvements. That's good. Give yourself credit for that progress!

The same kind of gradual tweaks can happen on the eating side of things.

If you have time to log food and feel OK about doing it, that can provide some useful insights, but it's not absolutely essential. I'm old, and remember when people lost weight without calorie counting at all, just thinking in terms of cutting back portion sizes of calorie dense foods like baked goods, candy and fried foods, maybe ramping up filling but lower calorie foods like veggies. It's not all or nothing, and it doesn't need to happen all at once.

In particular, if energy level has been an issue, and can be further improved, that's a help. I'm talking things like sleep hygiene, if available, maybe better nutrition. Not only can we burn more calories without pushing ourselves when energy is better, but low energy also tends to trigger cravings, because food is energy, and a tired body is energy-seeking ( . . . voilà, cravings!).

Fatigue can be especially likely to trigger evening cravings, and sweets cravings. Of course stress tends to increase fatigue, too, so any non-food stress management techniques could possibly be helpful.

When you say "Either I smarten up and get in shape, or accept that I’ll be this big for ever", honestly that sounds a little all-or-nothing to me, even though it's true in a black and white absolute sense. It's just that the practice is more nuanced, more of a continuum of options over time, than that suggests.

I'm betting that you can think of some positive eating-side changes to make that would be fairly manageable, practice those until they can happen almost on autopilot, then start on some new manageable tweak when you have the energy/willpower to devote to it. Incremental progress is progress.

What changes to make is very individual: Maybe more veggies, maybe healthier snacks or no snacks, maybe smaller portions of some things, maybe a gradual shift toward less-processed foods that many people find more filling and nutrient-dense than refined foods . . . anything that sounds workable to you, a step at a time. Give yourself the patience and grace to work at it as you have the energy, but don't give up the effort.

Just a thought.

No matter what path you choose, I wish you success - the rewards are worth the effort!

totameafox

Try finding activities that your family will enjoy doing together. All activity is good. It doesn't have to be cardio or weight lifting all the time. Health is the best thing you can give and teach your child.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/147555-speak-friend-and-enter