So disgusted with myself

asciiqwerty

1. You don't need to cut anything out of your diet (meat, dairy, carbs, fat, etc.) in order to lose weight. No foods are the "enemy" here, and no foods are inherently bad. Meat didn't make you gain weight, eating at a caloric surplus made you gain weight.

2. You don't need to exercise in order to lose weight. A lot of people are under the impression that exercise burns more calories than it actually does. Exercise is for your health and to make your body look good. Weight loss, however, happens in the kitchen, not in the gym.

3. You didn't mention how long the scale has been stalled or even if it has been stalled at all. Are you gaining weight, not losing, or not losing fast enough for your liking? If you're gaining or maintaining your weight (and not lifting), you're eating too many calories. If you're not losing fast enough, it may be because you're expecting too much. You didn't put on the weight overnight,and you aren't going to lose it overnight.

4. Excuses, cut it out. Your new job did not cause you to gain weight. Like I said, eating at a caloric surplus caused you to gain weight.

5. Kick the word "diet" out of your vocabulary. Diets are temporary. If you want to take off the weight and keep it off, you need to look at this as a new way of eating that will stick even after the extra weight is gone. You shouldn't be doing anything now that you don't plan on doing for the rest of your life. This goes back to #1. If you cut meat just to lose weight and plan to eat meat again once you're thinner, that's a bad idea. Why not just eat real food that you enjoy, even if it's meat and dairy, but eat at a caloric deficit?

6. Are you logging? Are you weighing/measuring all of your food? What is your daily calorie goal? Do you know your TDEE? Opening your diary would help, if there's anything in it. You can't complain that you're not losing weight if you're not doing the most basic step - weighing and logging your food. Guessing isn't going to cut it.

^^^^^^^^ all of this

it takes patience and dedication
the key is being honest with yourself

the best plan if to burn more than you consume (calories) > do more eat less
you don't have to cut out any food group, in fact doing so can be problematic

if the numbers don't add up, you're probably overestimating burn and underestimating consumption check out one of the great threads on logging accurately

LuvDarkChocolate

I feel your pain. Really, it is very very frustrating at times, when you follow a diet plan, and you don't see much in the way of results. I must have instant gratification or I start to have doubts and lose interest. The good news is that you've been hanging in there for a long time and that tells me you have something a lot of us would fight for....and that is will power. So you have the internal motivation, it just wants to see some results and right now.

You have some facts to gather. Go get a cloth measuring tape and right before you go to bed, measure your waist. Just your waist. Write it down. You're convinced you are exploding, you need to see the numbers...measure your waist once a week at the same time, right before you go to bed. If you are burning more than you are eating you will see it change....even if it is just a 1/4 inch, that is positive progress and they say low and slow is best way.


My waist was 34 now its 40

Good luck!!

Friend me if you'd like!

LuvDarkChocolate

I guess I was telling myself that with the changes I was making that I was going in the right direction. Thank you everyone for all of your suggestions.

mzco14

I'm not perfect but I think you may need help understand MFP. You don't have to cut out everything. Are you eating enough? Are you hitting your target #'s? Maybe you should start over and follow the guidelines- they really do work. Best of luck to you !!

edack72

Wow that is a tough lifestyle , I am always the person who says you can always find time to exercise but trucking , maybe you can turn your cab into a gym of sorts and start a whole new trend....I feel your pain man this is a hard journey and never easy I have been onn and off the weight loss bandwagon for many years and find its my lack of will power to stick to anything .....i do enjoy exercise and I am luck enough to have a schedule that leaves no room for excuses...GOOD LUCK to you ...keep on trucking

athenaheim

One thing I have been told is that you cant do the same thing everyday. After doing the same thing for so long your body gets used to it. Try stepping it up on the treadmill raise the incline level a little bit. As for the eating situation try eating in low sodium. Dont completely cut out your meats or beans. Sodium adds water weight. Good luck and keep your head up.

RaeLB

As much as I'm an advocate for a vegan diet (for ethical reasons), losing weight is all about a calorie deficit.

Calculate your TDEE and eat a 15-20% deficit.
Weigh your food so you can log it accurately.
Eat lots of protein (plant sources: lentils, beans, chickpeas, greens, tofu, etc).
Take measurements of your body and track your progress this way, not by the scale only.

LuvDarkChocolate

I do eat beans, lentils and grains. I'm not sure how I might have mis quoted there. Sorry about that.

Legals81

Weight loss is really difficult (unfortunately) and it is hard to stay motivated. I'm on here most days if you want to add me as a friend. No magic answer but support if you want it :-)

bcattoes

I followed the macrobiotic diet for a while years ago. It is a very healthy way to live, but it's important to remember that the diet is not a weight loss diet specifically. It's a way of eating for health and being in tune with your body and surroundings. You still must keep a calorie deficit if you want to lose weight. Though I will say that I found it really easy to keep a deficit eating this way, but I also found the diet hard to maintain after a while as it was so different from the way I was used to eating, though I do still use some of the principals.

A sedentary job, be it trucking or sitting at a desk, can make losing difficult. Try to work little bits of exercise into your day. Maybe carry some resistance bands or a jump rope with you when you drive. And don't expect to lose the weight quickly. Just be patient.

pink192

You stated you don't like meat, have you tried Quorn as a substitute?

Quorn is good in protein.

LuvDarkChocolate

LOL!!!! a jump rope? Sorry but that made me crack up. Thank you I needed that.

Ksh1055

Try freezing your yogurt and/or protein shakes for a change of pace. Make smoothies with plain/vanilla yogurt with 2x protein with your favorite fruits. These can also be frozen. If any thing gets too hard, just pop it in the microwave a few minutes until it is the consistency you want. I also put about 5 ounces of skim milk and blend in chocolate protein powder and freeze to make a great tasting ice cream for evening. Still haven't lost my taste for chocolate or crunchy foods, darn it.

It is frustrating, but not the end of the world, just a little bump in the road - so to speak. Your job does make sticking to your eating program harder, but you just need to make a plan that will work for you. Make a list of high protein foods and pack them up for each trip. You can make or take protein rich products (protein powder, bars, tuna fish in packets etc.) on the road with you. Anything cold (milk, egg salad, string cheese, yogurt, fruit) just put in a cooler.

If I know I'm going to be traveling or away from home for a long stretch, I enter the foods into FIT. You can print out a copy (if you need to) prior to going to help me keep on track and know I'm getting the correct amount of nutrients, specifically protein the I require. This has worked well for me so far.

You can do this, you're not alone and we all make bad decisions every now an then, we're human and this is a complete life-style change. There are going to be hiccups. The idea is to realize when there is a problem and get it back under control. I have to watch my carbs like a hawk as I have noticed my carb calories are at the high end.

Keep on truckin.

Karen

Gemini61454

I see a lot of truckers through the job I work and see common threads. Just think of it as changing what you can change. Every pit stop walk around your truck a few times. Packing your lunch is great. You will soon think those burgers are not yummy when your taste buds are refocused. Calories must be counted. I've not been a perfect example, but I can tell you that once you commit to writing down what goes in, and limiting it, you will see results. I've been doing it off and on for 40 years. It does work.

bcattoes

LOL!!!! a jump rope? Sorry but that made me crack up. Thank you I needed that.

Always glad to bring a smile, but what is funny about a jump rope?

wilsoje74

I have been at this for a month. The decision to cut out meat was easy for me. I honestly just don't like meat, I never have. Even as a child my mother would try ram it down my mouth. It just made me sick. I don't like the smell. I am ok with no dairy as I figured it would be a good move to cut it out.

do you track your calories? Regardless of what you eat, you need to be at a deficit to lose. How do you get protein without meat?? I'd try to get at least 30% protein.

wilsoje74

LOL!!!! a jump rope? Sorry but that made me crack up. Thank you I needed that.

jumping rope is great exercise, why so funny??

PJPrimrose

I'm more sorry you're so down on yourself more than anything. The thought of jump roping in a truck stop parking lot is funny to me too, but I'd do it anyway. Hell, it could entertain the others . It's good to get out and move around when you stop for a lot of reasons. Truckers are at higher risk of blood clots. Getting out and walking about fast for as long as you can would help with that. My brother was a trucker. He did sit ups in the sleeper thing to help him stay awake if he had a long haul. I think he did pull ups off a truck part too but he was male and young. Reduced calories can only help if nothing else. Good luck!

SuzyA13

I was in exactly the same place as you just over a year ago. I was in a stressful situation and piled on 40 pounds in 18 months. I was so ashamed of myself I stopped going out, stopped seeing friends and hid in the house- making everything worse!
You just have to take it one day at a time and remember that it takes a long time to put the weight on, it'll take time to get it off again. I've lost about 30 pounds now and I did it just by calaorie counting (my Doctor recommended 1400 a day) and uping my activity. At first, if i tried to do any strenuous exercise my lower back was really painful, so I just started walking. 20 minutes on a nice evening. To the shops and back at the weekend. It made a huge diference!
When I was brave enough to join the gym, I was advised to do interval training which has really worked for me. I do short sessions on the treadmill of about 20 minutes. I do 3 mnutes at a fast but bearable pace, then 30 seconds to 1 minute of as fast as I can do. Because it's quick, i can get my head around doing it. I also weight train and tend to start my workout with weights, then cardio. I don't really enjoy it, so I try and get it over and done as quickly as possible, that's why intervals work well for me.

Celebrate every pound off. In the UK, margarine comes in 1lb tubs so every pound I lost i used to imagine melting a whole tub of marg and pouring it away, it was a good motivator .

Best of luck, you really can do it.

LuvDarkChocolate

Well I'm having a mental picture of my husband laughing at a 53 year old woman trying to jump rope.