Not sure where to go
I have been battling weight forever and a number of health problems at the age of 53. The latest issue if shortness of breath doing basically anything and back pains when standing walking I found one Dr that found some lung issues that are there and it is what it is - no way to repair that.
the doctor did state I should lose weight like every other doctor but this one sent me to a weight management Dr. so I went with a open mind to see what they would say.
The nurse came in an immediately said oh you are here for Zepbound. I said I don’t know what I am here for others than learn what options there may be to lose weight. I met the doctor and showed me my body scan of obesity, lots of fat, ok muscle, ok water/. The only option was zepbound but allot of changes I need to make. 1500 calories a day (110+protein, under 90 carbs), walk 10000 steps, strength training and daily cardio for and hour a day. Gee that is a text book answer if I ever saw it. If I was able to do that, why would I not just be doing that. Puzzled.
I can’t walk 30 ft without being out of breath, how I will get those steps in and cardio - can not see it. sure try a little each day but the dr thinks I need to do it fully now.
Now with the restrictive diet why even bother with the zepbound at all?
I started looking for 1500 calorie meal plans and have not found a decent plan and will need a ton of work to create one. The ones I see are eating allot of foods I will not eat.
Possibly I can find a meal service but don’t have the money for that. I don’t cook much as I don’t like what I cook. Sick of salads, I hate chicken and do not like leftovers. And only I will be eating this plan so just making a single meals for me. Hard to make a good plan.
I have been on Low carb for 6 weeks and dropped 28 lbs from 313. Very low carb is not sustainable for me. I am starving myself and skip eating when I get frustrated when I can’t find low carb food.
Plain steaks, broccoli, lots of cheese, chicken crust pizza, peppers, hamburger (no bun), some chicken (I hate it), and salmon. Most of these meals I can stand as bland and I will not stay eating them. Low carb = no sauces so meals are not enticing.
I also know it’s calories in vs burned. Hence the 1500 plan they want me on. I can’t see that sustainable more than a few weeks. Making small changes will not work for me as I will not make progress and will keep falling back into old ways.
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For those that have drastically changed their lifestyle what are some pointers?
Anyone go from eating whatever to a restricted caloric meal plan overnight?
Any good ideas on how to cook and make a meal plan that I can live with? Like good tasting meals and not just a can of tunafish in a piece of lettuce Or a grilled chicken breast that is dried out and no flavor.
How to plan to shop and have foods that will last more than a few days, example a piece of fish will last a day or so, ground beef may last a few days before not tasting fresh.
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It seems like quite a few people here gave you suggestions from their experience on your other thread, things that are potentially at least partial answers to the questions you're asking in this thread.
I'm not trying to be a jerk when I say this, but I honestly tried my best on that thread, and I think some others did, too. Have you reviewed that thread again, by any chance?
It sounded like you had begun to make some positive changes, which is great . . . but it sounds like some of the same things are feeling like challenges for you now.
Truthfully, I didn't reread that whole thread in detail again myself. The only thing I can think of that I may not have mentioned there is that there are some apps that offer tailored meal plans with recipes. This is just one example:
I don't work for or use that site, just am aware of it and have played with it a little. I've been told that if you sign up for an account there, you have more detailed controls over things like macros or food preferences than the simple ones they let us try out without an account. I'm sure they have competitors, too.
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just wanted to start this new as now I have direction from the doctor but I see this as a huge challenge. The doctor did not say to ease into it but rather go all in. This is what I am struggling with to how to make that happen. I will go reread that thread.
I have looked at some apps and some may have potential but cost money to get more than a sample menu. Don’t want to waste the money if it’s not what I need.
The doctor did mention high protein shakes as some meal replacements.
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Obesity is usually a multi issue err.... issue.
I don't know that you can think clearly yet. But really you have to, one by one, tackle obstacles till you have more new wins than strings of non working status quos.
Every single thing you said can be flipped on it's head and viewed differently.
The one thing that CANNOT be viewed differently is where you're a passive passenger in this trip.
You WILL, soon I hope, decide to bite the bullet and become involved with a twist of personal commitment that should move you from "I'm doing this reluctantly and against my wishes because I have to" on to "I am doing this with a spirit of discovery and exploration because I want to".
The glp drugs for many people (based on what I hear) cut down the food noise, allow you to be satiated with fewer calories and, in general, make it easier to adhere. That's far from nothing
At your weight you may or may not have to eat as low as 1500 Cal to see progress but, as with many of the things you've identified, the fact that you will give up if you don't see immediate progress is a choice that you will be making and not a rule that cannot be broken.
There are show stoppers and there are preferences. Correct identification, and reclassification from show stopper to preference, if needed, will let you move forward.
I would offer you input re the "tasty" options you seek if I knew that answer. But all I can do is give you the answer that worked for me: my goals became more important to me than the perfection of the next meal.
This led me to concentrate first on satiation for less calories and only when I got that down did I worry about taste trade offs that might involve more calories.
In the end you ARE able to adapt, if you embrace the challenge
I look forward to hearing about your successes
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yes I have started trying hence no carbs. After 6 weeks I am starting to find meals besides the meats I have been eating that I am tired of. Example. Tried to make no breadcrumb meatballs, had a few and threw the rest out - did not work.
The good thing I find with very low carb. Is I don’t have to measure anything. I also don’t go for heavy fatty foods (like bacon). If it has more than 2 carbs I don’t eat it. Most no carb meats and an occasional vegetable is typically lower in calories and what’s most likely the reason for the 28lbs lost so far.
Now the dr wants me to flip from the very low carb to just calorie counting of 1500 calories. Not ease gradually into it but do it all now.
Figuring out a piece of chicken at 3 oz , add some amount of green vegetable (cups?) and some startch (cups?) and have it be close to 500 calories w/ 35g protein and less than 30 carbs. This is the challenge I have been looking at trying to find a way to do it. After a week of grilled chicken, broccoli, brown rice for every meal will get frustrating. This is what I know.
trying to find some satisfaction in anything would be nice. Yes food is a reward that I probably need to learn to not treat it that way and then I would not care about taste. When I have a long day at work I need something to enjoy. If I am stressed out and I am forced to eat something I really don’t want. This will lead to bad choices.Then the exercise piece. I am hoping losing some more weight would allow me to exercise/walk and then strength training and cardio. Still too out of breath to do much and this may never change but maybe it can a little.
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Any explanation as to why they that you need the extra speed? 28 lbs in six weeks.
Even if we assume that 8lbs are glycogen. I.e. "borrowed" weight loss because of switching to low carb that will come back when re adding carbs because it is not actually a loss of fat reserves. This still leaves 20lbs in 6 weeks... a 120lb a year pace.
That's neither something to sneeze at and it is not exactly slow! 🤷♂️ TBH it is at or higher than the 1% of bodyweight per week rule of thumb.
So I wonder if there was any explanation as to why a push for extra speed.
Also in order to lose this much so fast given limited activity you are probably not eating much more than 1500 Calories right now anyway.
Btw if you don't like chicken but want similar calories look into pork tenderloin and also fish that are less fatty than salmon such as tilapia, bass, cod, haddock, sole, polock, even tuna in more limited quantities and also into shrimp or clams for example
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I recently stumbled on Coach Viva. I've watched a number of their videos. You might find their videos helpful. In particular they have one on the 80/20 rule —> 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. I'm not a doctor, but it seems like you weight-loss doctor is just pushing you to take weight loss medication and not being particularly helpful. You may want to go back to your family doctor and get a different referral.
Common knowledge (or at least common in the MFP Community discussion groups):
- Weight loss comes from being at a caloric deficit. Exercise is for building and maintaining muscle.
- Restrictive diets don't work long term because they are not sustainable.
What is the point in being miserable all the time? That is no way to live.
Your TDEE is probably around 2400 calories per day. To attempt a 1500 calorie per day diet is a 900 calorie per day deficit. That is really dramatic.
If I were you, I'd start more slowly and focus on food first and add exercise later. My suggestions, in the following order add these habits into your life one at a time and add the next one every 2 to 3 weeks:
- record everything you eat — ALL, accurately —> get used to doing this.
- review your data
- how many calories are you eating? are you eating enough protein? are you eating enough fiber? are you drinking enough water?
- evaluate which of those is the most not where you want them?
- make a goal of adding more of that item, make a plan as to how you will add more of that item. For example, say your protein isn't high enough, then what kind of protein do you like to eat? plan to add one of those a day.
- repeat 1 & 2 until you are meeting your protein, fiber and water targets.
- add walking — every week add 1000 steps to your step goal. repeat until you get to 10000 steps
- add strength exercises
This is not a fast process. It is a long process for a lifestyle change. Most people are not able to sustain a dramatic lifestyle change overnight.
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that makes sense. Dr showed me my resting calorie requirements based on my weight and a body composition scan is 1800. Add 200-300 a day for just moving what ever little I do and then 1500 calories were prescribed to lose 1 lb a week. The amount of exercise she expects me to be able to do(just can’t at this point) would be another couple 100 calories. We went through to keep the good muscle weight to lose the fat weight.
Come to think of it you are right, this doctor did not listen to me. I went for education and got the blueprint from a poster child. Took 2 months to get the appointment.
My ultimate goal for all of this is to be able to walk and do anything without being out of breath or to be able to stand more then 2 minutes without back pain let alone walking. Hence starting with the Dr, then pulmonologist, cardiologist, sleep doctor, weight doctor, and soon GI doctor.
Todays breakfast.
3 eggs, some shopped up ham, some breakfast sausage crumbles, 2 slices Swiss cheese, cooked with a 1/4 tsp unsalted butter. I don’t know the exact amounts of ham/sausage
If I put that in MFP and guessing at the amounts. If could be 400-800 calories. That is a large range to guess. This might have 2-3 carbs from the cheese. No idea on protein and fats. Don’t have premium.
This is why if I did go on a counting calorie meal plan / lifestyle. I would prefer premade meals to learn this.
Today I won’t eat lunch as I has a large breakfast.
Dinner we are planning on have turkey burgers with Swiss cheese, tomato slice and two large portobello mushroom caps as the bread. That should be 350 calories and 6 carbs. I need to find a side. Now when dinner comes something will come up as always and then this plan will be a waste and the food in the trash. Will try though.
During the week I don’t eat breakfast and have been eating partial grilled chicken Cesar salads from a deli at work. I have no idea how to measure what I am eating there. There is chicken cooked somehow, Romain lettuce, Parmesan cheese and their Cesar dressing (sparingly). I get fed up after maybe 1/2 of it and stop eating them. Is that 200 or 700 calories?
we went out to dinner the other night, I had a bacon cheeseburger with no bun and instead of fries I had a salad with dressing. I have no idea how to count those calories.I don’t drink allot of water. I don’t drink sugar drinks like normal soda or juices. I do have Coffee, some water, or some zero sugar soda or zero Gatorade. Also cut beer out but do have vodka club sodas or bourbon on the rocks.
Was thinking frozen premade meals from a food service so I could just microwave when I am ready to eat. I know preparation is key. But life is life and everything changes all the time.
The 28lbs lost on very low carb has been good but I don’t believe it’s sustainable. If I go off the rails on one meal then I am out of ketosis and that work is gone. I have had this happen and once I have carbs it becomes extremely hard to resist them with severe cravings. That is why I stopped low carb 2 years ago after losing 47lbs to go on vacation and gain all the weight back in a few months. I know it’s going to take years to get to a goal weight of 185. I just want to make that change that will be proven to work. Not a guess and in 6 months - oops that is not working and start a new thing again.
I have to find the balance. I don’t want the weight medicine as that is just another bandaid but not fixing anything. It may help. Caloric deficit is the only way to lose the weight. I need to learn to find peace with my life and how to fix the lifestyle. Someone said I need to figure out what is blocking me on the inside. I don’t know.2 -
I second the pork. There’s several cuts that are 140 cal/4 oz.
Also look for Top Round London Broil. There’s cuts of it that run as low as 130-4 oz, and are quite good grilled, with leftovers on salads or in low carb wraps.
If you have access to a dietician, take full advantage. My gym has a staff dietician (NOT a nutritionist!) available at discounted rates. My health insuror offers free phone consults with one. They are invaluable for reviewing your diet plan, meals etc and making useful (and tasty!) suggestions and substitutions.
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I realize there are social considerations. But at some point social considerations don't mean **kitten** when I'm dead.
I have two scales on my counter and one in my car. I've been maintaining my weight for 9+ years after going from almost 300lbs to 155lbs over a time period of two years starting at age 48. I'm 5ft 7" and a bit (172.25 cm when measured carefully without socks and with assistance). After getting in the 155 range I've gone as far down at 149 when I had more time and less distraction during COVID and popped as high as 170 on the bounceback with family issues and COVID reopening. I'm back in the 155 to 160 range but still trying to bring it 3 to 5 lbs under.
As it turns out I do have some health issues and the likelihood of me being around and still relatively functional today would have been severely less than 100% had I not lost the weight.
Why are you wasting your time WONDERING how much you ate?
Why are you making suboptimal decisions by not KNOWING the calories you're consuming?
Why, several months in are you still wondering how many calories you spend in a day? Your logged food and drink + weight loss results could give you a million times more accurate answer that the most accurate dexa scan!
The calories of sausage crumble vs ham are vastly different. You can add at least 50g of egg white to each 50g egg with minimal taste impact and major caloric impact. You can substitute stronger cheese than Swiss (think smokey cheddar or sharp Romano or parmesan if blue cheese would be a shock) and reduce the quantity in half or less saving major calories. You can have a **kitten** Snickers bar or ice cream cone with the savings. Or if you're smarter than me, you can use the savings to have some vast quantities of watermelon or cantaloupe or a tomato cucumber and onion salad with just oregano and lemon!!!!!???
If you don't decide to put in the work and effort and examine the options all that you will ever know is that you have to eat "less".
A future of "less" with no hope for MORE is a bit bleek to contemplate. But it is a failure of imagination and a failure of confidence in your adaptability; not an unchangeable reality.
Get greedy and try to optimize your options within the parameters you can reasonably operate in and still achieve a reasonable set of goals.
Remember the sacred cow examination? All impediments including work, family, friends, relationships, habits, favourite hobbies, preferences, everything can and should be reviewed under the lens of is this helping me? Hindering me? Neutral? Can it be modified or mitigated? To what extent?
Yes, you do have to remake your life. NOT in one day. But just as much as all this doesn't have to be done in one day, just eating less for six months also will not resolve the issue.
I truly do wish you can find success.
I will try to stay off your threads to give others the option of answering more along the lines of what you want to hear as I don't know that what I say truly resonates or if it is constructive for you. 🤷♂️
Glad to see you seeking sustainability even at the expense of speed.
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thank you. I do appreciate your replies.
I am torn between the low carb and some progress that was made to what the doctor prescribed with low calorie.
Today’s meal was for low carb where calorie counting has the goal. I tried to add it up and it’s high. I can drop the meats right out of it and be ok. Tonight’s meal is under 400 calories so my total for today could be 700-1300 calories.
Delis and most non chain restaurants don’t have nutritional info on their menu. So would that mean I should ignore those? When at work should I get a scale and take the chicken out of the salad and weigh it as well as a measuring cup to see the amount of lettuce? So they make salad dressing that does not need to be refrigerated that I can leave in my desk? (Note: work buys lunch that we eat at our desks - no true lunch break). I guess the real answer is make something home and bring it in. Maybe premade protein shakes like premier protein that is 160 cal, 30g protein and 3g carbs can be my breakfast and lunch. Then I have to figure what to do for dinner.
Going off low carb to the diet the doctor wants will introduce 70-80 carbs a day, does that mean the 28 lbs will come back and eventually go away on 3 months? I tried to ask these questions to the doctor but it was more about the damn shot.
Thanks for the help. I am trying hence the low carb. 28lbs dropped is almost 10% of body weight, I don’t feel any different.
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you can eat anything you like! Just count the calories and weight it.
Want a burger? Eat it.. just stop at x calories. If the doctor says under 90 carbs.. that’s multiple servings of food.
It may not be the healthiest menu.. but weight loss is about calories.
Every thread you are miserable - why not look at the 27 lb loss as a huge win?
Why is the menu not sustainable? Because x food has that much power over you? Screw that. Overcome and be the success story.
If you have breathing issues and health issues, isn’t it time to prioritize your health?
no one here can champion your health the way you can.. whether it’s easy or not is a matter of perception. Hard to me is being morbidly obese and not being able to walk.. the chicken parm be damned.Celebrate your wins! Life isn’t all about food. What do you want to accomplish? Where do you want to travel? What type of relationships do you want?
Where do you want to be in 10 years? Ask yourself some questions and work towards it..
you say “ you have been battling weight forever” - there are 53 year olds climbing Mt Everest.. make a change for your quality of life.
So what do you do this time to make real change?
As someone who has family members in a nursing home bedridden because of morbid obesity.. it’s unfathomable that you aren’t taking this Hail Mary for your life.
F the chicken parm! Live!
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Look up glycogen in liver and muscles.
That's the non fat weight that gets depleted with low carb.
Larger bodies also tend to have a larger range of water weight variation
A FAST weight change is almost always non fat weight because fat reserves will pretty much be depleted at the 3500Cal of *actual, not estimated* deficit per lb rate.
Forget quick AI answers.... Google just gave a doozie a few minutes ago :)
2 to 4kg of variations for non fat (i.e. "water weight) is probably good enough for a working hypothesis. That would be 5 to 10lbs.
So I would call the remaining 20lb a solid and not insignificant start. You may want to put your weight in a weight trend app such as Libra, happy scale, or trend weight to smooth out temporary blips.
Many people eat lower carb as opposed to ketosis level carb. Especially to lose weight. Hyperpalatable food is harder to control than whole food for most people.
You can experiment with lower calorie sauces. Not everything will be the same, of course. But people do get used to even zero added salt or moving from 4 cream and 4 sugar to black for their coffee! Ask me who I know who now drinks his coffee black like his heart and inadvertently (and embarrassingly) spat out in the middle of a McDonald's lobby the double double they gave him by mistake!! 🤪
No salt or black is probably just as big a move as exploring lower calories sauces or rubs or coatings
As a shortcut.... "hot" (sriracha type hot) or strong tasting (garlic, onion, umami flavours like nutritional yeast or mushroom knorr) can hide a lot! Possibly worth exploring! 🤔
Glycogen would partially come back with the addition of carbs and not go away. There is always variations day to day. The variation you're looking at is similar to the jump you've seen when going "off" ketosis and going "on" ketosis. It is certainly not 28lbs. Probably closer to 5lbs (3 to 8) at a guess for most people
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I agree with the tough love from @PAV8888.
I have another saying "choose your hard" —> Which is harder, eating fewer carbs or staying at 300lbs?
I recently watched a YouTube video that said "Changing your 'diet' every few weeks/months is like planting a seed and then every two weeks digging it up and expecting flowers." —> Pick a plan and stick to it, adjust as needed, but don't start all over.
Having said that, I know 'white-knuckling' through virtually no carbs is extremely difficult. I have a suggestion regarding cravings. Watch this YouTube video from Coach Viva. She taught herself how to deal with cravings by learning the difference between hunger and cravings. Extract from her Fat Loss Case Studies document:
- Hunger, comes on slowly and persists for a long time if not satisfied,
- Cravings are triggered suddenly and can disappear just as suddenly if given time to
pass. - So people find that most of the time, they can actually wait out the
craving. - An example of a wave-riding strategy is to drink a tall glass of water, pause
for 10 minutes, then check back to see if you still want the snack. If you still
want it, take one and eat half. Drink water, pause, and repeat.
I just want to check your definition of carbs —> Are you thinking of carbs as starchy carbs like bread, potato and rice? Or are you thinking of carbs as all fruits and vegetables?
In terms of food logging. Personally, I believe the benefits of logging what you eat far outweigh any difficulties associated with logging. I find the first 6 months of logging was a bit of a pain, but after that became really easy because we eat the same things over and over again. Once you've logged it once, you can copy it for the future entries and MFP is pretty good and 'remembering' what you previously logged.
Options to logging:
- In terms of tracking food in MFP, I strongly recommend you pay for Premium. It isn't very expensive and it opens up the "take a picture of my plate" logging option. I've used it and it is pretty accurate.
- Alternatively, if you are not into detailed tracking, then may I suggest using this 'hand' technique from Precision Nutrition I hadn't heard of them, but this link was included in the Coach Viva Fat Loss Case Studies document. They even have an online questionnaire you can fill in to get customized 'hand' portions. There is even a low carb option for creating your own personalized plan. Then what you could do is create some general protein, carb, fat 'food items' in MFP and just keep track of things that way.
- Just write it down with pen and paper as you go throughout the day
- Use your phone and log it in a Google Sheet
Ultimately, you have to figure out what will work for you. The psychology of writing it down and the need to take a pause before eating something is extremely powerful in and of itself. We can support and cheerlead you all day long, but you have to write down what you eat or you are just winging it and white-knuckling avoiding carbs. Carbs are not the enemy, too many calories are the enemy. You need to eat nutritiously dense lower calorie foods.
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the low carb meals I am eating now are no to low carb. No starch vegetables. Salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers onions, and meat like steak, ground beef, ground chicken, sausage, some fish (I would like more). No bread, no bread crumbs, no corn, no potato’s, no rice. but I also am not eating high fat like most low carb calls for. If I read the package and it has more than 2g of carbs I am not eating it. Bacon is like once in a blue moon, I am probably doing it to the extreme.
I don’t mind low carb meals but there will come a day I won’t have the option or if we go to an event or vacation where lo carb is not an option. That is why I am scared it’s not sustainable.Have not had a chicken parm in almost 2 months ;)
I’ll look at the dr viva videos
my goal is to be able to not be out of breath getting dressed or walking. I don’t know if the weight is making it worse due to lung issues but it not making it better. And to be able to walk more than 30 ft without feeling the need to stop due to back pain.
besides health I was hoping to relocate out of where we live now due to deteriorating neighborhood but family is not for it. So I need to find SOMETHING to hope for.Let me ask this, since I do treat food/meals as a stress relief reward for the day. Besides alcohol, “extracurricular drugs” ( I don’t use them) What would I substitute for a daily win to feel satiated and stress relief?
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I’m low carb, low glycemic.. I travel world wide and am actually on flight in Los Angeles right now - sustainable is about choice. You don’t have to have the bun, cake or bread in any place I have travelled from Asia to Africa to the Middle East there are meat, fish, vegetables.. low carb is always an option.
Feeling satiated is personal.. try volume eating. Stress relief from food is a circular merry go round.. look for non food and alcohol options.
If you were going to tell a person you were mentoring like your child how to overcome- what would you tell them?
Re relocating: aren’t you the bread winner? They go where you go.1 -
I'm going to take a stab at answering your recent post in detail . . . but I share some of PAV's feelings that the real issue is that you need to engage deeply with this goal, when I feel like you're cognitively turning things that could be solved into insurmountable obstacles in your own mind.
Even you said "Someone said I need to figure out what is blocking me on the inside. I don’t know." IIRC, on your other thread people suggested that counseling of some type could help with that "I don't know" part.
I'll put some things from your post in bold, my comments in regular font.
Today’s meal was for low carb where calorie counting has the goal. I tried to add it up and it’s high. I can drop the meats right out of it and be ok. Tonight’s meal is under 400 calories so my total for today could be 700-1300 calories.
To me, that implies that you have 200-800 calories to spend on protein? Do that. If you use a food scale, which I believe was suggested on your other thread, you can pin down the day's other calories more accurately, and know how many you can spend on protein. Protein is important.
It's even an option to eat somewhat over 1500 calories today, but below your estimated weight-maintenance calories, to get adequate protein, and accept that your weight loss will be very slightly slower as a result.
Honestly, doing that today is not a big deal in the long-term picture, as long as you keep chipping away at finding habits that give you adequate nutrition at approximately your calorie goal, habits that are reasonably full and happy (not necessarily perfectly full and happy) and give you reasonably good overall nutrition on average (not necessarily perfect nutrition).
Problem solving is a process. Finding suitable new habits is a process. Today is a learning experience in that process. Work on the process. Today can be better than the old days, but not yet perfect. Tomorrow can be better, as long as you keep working at it.
Delis and most non chain restaurants don’t have nutritional info on their menu. So would that mean I should ignore those?
Of course not. Two things:
- You can use data from similar dishes at chain restaurants to estimate the calories from non-chains. Don't pick the lowest estimate in the MFP database, pick something middling to high. Alternatively, you can deconstruct the food you ate into components, and estimate those. Example: Maybe ham sandwich is bread plus mayo plus white bread plus cheese plus lettuce plus tomato, estimating the amounts of each. Log that. I think on your other thread we suggested discreetly snapping a phone photo of your food (no flash) if it can be done politely, to help you estimate it later. Pretty much all the people who have succeeded in weight loss do one of those things, maybe a different one at different times. You can, too.
- As you continue measuring or even better weighing food at home, you'll get better and better at estimating foods in delis and non-chain restaurants. Some of us make a game of weighing, trying to guess the weight of a thing at home before we look at the display. That helps us get better at estimating. Getting better at estimating is part of the process I mentioned above. Most of us who've succeeded have done it well enough to succeed. You can, too.
When at work should I get a scale and take the chicken out of the salad and weigh it as well as a measuring cup to see the amount of lettuce?
You can, and some people do, at least if we're talking about a hunk or few of chicken on top of a green salad, not tiny chopped up chicken. Or, you can refer back to what I said above: As you use weight or measurement at home, you'll gradually get better at estimating. That can work fine for you, as it has for many of us. If it's chicken salad with tiny chopped-up chicken mixed with mayo or whatever, treat it like restaurant food: Eyeball to estimate the amount, use a middling to high calorie entry in the MFP database to estimate calories.
So they make salad dressing that does not need to be refrigerated that I can leave in my desk?
Oil and vinegar is shelf stable for quite a while, including flavored oils or vinegars. They're available in small bottles you could keep in your desk. Some other flavoring ingredients that could be added are also shelf stable (herbs, spices, powders). Also, think about how it is in some delis and such: There are individual packets of salad dressing that don't need to be refrigerated, and are intended to be one serving of salad dressing. You can buy those yourself, and put some in your desk. Look at your grocery store, but also restaurant supply or online places like Amazon. Some of the online ones are lots of packets, but usually a dressing you could try bottled at home to see if you like it.
Yes, it may take you a while to find a dressing your enjoy or at least can tolerate. That's part of the process, too.
Going off low carb to the diet the doctor wants will introduce 70-80 carbs a day, does that mean the 28 lbs will come back and eventually go away on 3 months?
No. It's the calories that determine fat loss, and that was true even when you were eating low carb. Eating higher carb at the same calories will result in slightly higher water retention, so the scale might have an initial jump. If you stick roughly around a consistent carb level, whether that's 70-80 or a higher range, the water retention will level out, and the results of body fat changes will show up on the scale in the form of multi-week weight trend.
There's nothing magical about the carbs when it comes to weight loss, if you're tracking calories. That's true even though some hucksters on the internet may say otherwise. Yes, we're each unique individuals, but we have certain physiological things in common. I'm not the only one by far, but - even as a person shorter than you, and probably older - I lost weight fine eating around 150g carbs daily, and maintain a healthy weight eating 225g+ most days.
More individually, high-ish carb intake can increase some people's appetite, or low-ish carb intake may decrease some people's energy level, but you'll figure out where you fall on that spectrum, and those subjective experiences provide insight while sticking with calorie goal manages the weight loss side of it. Carbs per se don't cause weight gain, other than through calorie level.
—
Honestly, I would truly like to see you succeed. There are limits to how much I can help, or am willing to try to help. I wouldn't be surprised if others feel similarly. This is a problem set you can solve, but for that to happen, you need to commit to the process, invest effort in the process, decide you're going to learn and change . . . or it's not going to happen, no matter how many ideas others offer. You've been offered many, many ideas that have worked OK for others, in this and your other thread. That's all we can do. The rest is you.
That brings me back to my starting point in this post: If you don't understand why you're road-blocking yourself, counseling may be the answer. It can be a good answer. I've seen a psychotherapist myself, though it was for a different issue than weight loss. It helped me. Maybe it can help you, too.
Best wishes, sincerely!
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I don't know about you, but a thing that was very true for me was that reaching a healthy weight reduced severity and frequency of all kinds of pains; and gradually improving physical fitness helped me get past gasping for breath from physical effort. Other people here have said similar things about their weight loss and physical fitness improvement, so I'd bet that would be true for you, too.
How to gradually improve physical fitness when there is pain and gasping? Do what we can, increasing what we do as whatever that is slowly becomes easier: A manageable challenge is the sweet spot for activity. If you can walk 30 feet without unmanageable change, do that. If you can do that 4 times a day now, do that. Next week, 5 times. Etc. There are even chair exercises that don't involve walking at all.
Those may not be the right numbers of times or the like, but that's the concept. Do what you manageable can, but that's a bit challenging, not punitive. As you can do more, do more. Keep going. That's a process, too.
Stress relief: It's probably obvious that if you can eliminate or reduce sources of stress, do that. Some stress can be thought we impose on ourselves, even. Consider that.
Common things that other people use for stress relief, with some of the things working for some people, other things for others: Prayer or meditation, being outdoors especially in sunshine and fresh air, journaling, creative hobbies like sketching or painting, calming music, mild exercise like stretching which can even be done in a chair, improved sleep habits, deep breathing exercises, adult coloring books, absorbing hobbies, and more.
There are dozens of ideas online you could try, if you do a web search. Again, this is a process of experimenting and finding what works for you. Other people can give you ideas. You are the one that needs to give those ideas a fair try, and find what works best for you.
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@age_is_just_a_number thanks for the Coach Viva tip. Just watched allot of her videos and wow they make total sense of where I am and some things to try to fix the mindset.
I even went for a walk down the street and back with the dog. What is happening?
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That is awesome!
Re your question What would I substitute for a daily win to feel satiated and stress relief? — Honestly, anything that you enjoy that does not involve food. Ann made a bunch of suggestions above. There is a motivation category here in MFP. There are also challenges. I recently joined the 100 day challenge. I find logging into the challenge and reporting in daily very helpful. Other things I do at the end of the day, when the fridge or snack cupboard or alcohol are calling out to me include drinking a big glass of water, stretching, brushing my dog, playing a game on my phone, phoning a friend, non-caffeinated tea (like chamomile), doing some housework (I know, I am weird that way). When I do succumb to a craving and have an evening snack, I take a small portion and savour it. Say I was going to have peanuts. I used to fill a small bowl with peanuts, now I will take 10 in my hand and eat each half one at a time.
I believe you are on a great path and you will be successful. A little progress every day adds up to big results.
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I went from eating pretty much everything to a restrictive meal plan pretty much overnight.
Restrictive meaning 1200 calories (sometimes 800-1000) and 10-20K steps a day.
Breakfast is generally one egg scrambled with one slice of cheese on one slice of 1 carb keto bread. 190 calories.
Lunch lately has been 2 cups of arugula/spinach, with two sliced mini cucumbers, with one slice of cheese, one hard boiled egg and two strips of bacon, around 225 calories.
dinner is usually a small grass fed steak and a cup of green beans.
Snacks are sugar free jello, an ounce of almonds, or a bit of sugar free chocolate. Cucumbers are also great for snacking.
I like the RealGood low carb frozen meals, they have a low carb lasagna bowl for 270 calories, or low carb chicken strips (breaded with chickpea flour) that are 130 calories for 4 ounces. I also like pork loin (low calorie as has been suggested before) , or roasted turkey. Sometimes for a rare treat I have a half of a pbj sandwich.
These are things I like, so it really isn't a hardship to eat them. Sure I miss certain foods, like bread, coffee cake, whatever, but I am more interested in losing weight. I have lost 48 pounds since October. 62 pounds total. 3 pounds to go before I am a (high end) normal weight and BMI, though I'd like to lose another 20, to get to the mid range of normal weight.
So it is possible to go low carb and restrictive calorie for a long period from formerly eating a lot of junk. And to do it without drugs.
I am really looking forward to losing these last three pounds. Then I might add more leeway into my diet for a meal or two a week, during those last twenty pounds.
It can be done. Mostly I think it is just a question of what you want more.
As for cravings, generally if you can wait 20 minutes or so, the craving goes away. A quick 250 steps can help. (or 1000). Sometimes you get cravings more because you are thirsty than hungry, but it can manifest as hunger. So drink something low cal, or have a cup of sugar free jello. The craving will probably go away.
Good luck.
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@patriciafoley1 Congratulations on your weight loss!! It is impressive. It is on the higher side of weekly loss at 2lbs per week. I’m glad you are thinking about how to transition to maintenance.
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I have been trying to get my blood sugar into a normal range (my A1C was 10.4 and blood sugar was near 300 when I first tested it) so I have been working very hard. In the last month, after having read a lot of studies that indicated an 800-900 calorie diet could be necessary to reverse T2, and that 1200 calories (in peer review dual comparative studies) might not do it, I dropped down to that level. Fortunately, after 6 months of low carb dieting (and only 3 pounds from normal weight) my blood sugar tested at 96 (normal!) this morning. (And all without drugs) I am so happy. So I can lighten up a little.
I'd still like to get into the middle range of normal weight, so will try to lose another 20 pounds. But my main goal was to reverse my T2.
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bully for you for actually sitting down and researching, weighing choices, and making decisions suitable for your own self.
Kudos on the loss, the reading, the goal, and pouring such consideration and flexibility into it. 👍🏻
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You've said you hate leftovers, hate dried out chicken and love sauces. No wonder you hate these leftovers! You didn't like the food in the beginning!
You can "meal prep" things and freeze or refrigerate individual servings in glass Tupperware bowls. That way you know the calories and ingredients.
You can make things like black bean burgers baked, with a spray of olive oil with mango salsa. The fiber makes these filling and these are only about 250 calories each. You can do the same with anything you like or even just buy bean burgers. Google recipes. I hate anything with more than 8 ingredients, so I limit mine to this. I mean, you can make burger patties with mushrooms and no bread for also maybe 300 calories each.
It doesn't have to be chicken and doesn't have to be dry. You can make a coating yourself with egg and blended oats for crunch. It adds about 75 calories to each item if you spread it out thin for 3 items etc. I count the spray of oil as 10 calories, not the "0" they claim.
Maybe pick 2 things to meal prep one day a week so when you are exhausted at 9p and there is nothing to grab, you'll have this.
Keep pantry items around with spices (like ginger and rosemary) and ingredients you like.
i am cheap so if work buys lunch, I'd eat that but just choose items that are lighter and very flavorful. Shrimp, Avacado, quinoa bowls, fajitas without the tortillas or sour cream etc.0
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