Discouraged Member No. 137

Wookinpanub

Very depressed after my weigh in this morning. Gained 2.4 lbs in one week. I absolutely killed it in the gym working out every day except Sunday plus other activities like cutting the grass and golf. My diet and lack of will power are really holding me back. I just love to eat. I eat out a lot for work (this past week included chili cheese coney, prime rib sandwich + fries, burger & sweet potato fries), was home alone and ordered Thai noodles, had a family cookout with countless snacks & beer, played golf with 6-8 beers, went to two ball games with a slice of pizza, nachos, brat & beers. My wife is very social and likes to drink and I wish we would cut back a little on the socializing while I am trying to lose weight. We were at a ball game last night and just finished sharing a tray of nachos and a few innings later shows up with a brat to split. We had pizza at home before we left for the game. She knew I was trying to not eat much bc of my Wednesday weigh in but she is always tempting me with food and alcohol.

I guess I need to be stronger as no one has a gun to my head forcing me to eat.

It is just frustrating to work so hard in the gym and not see results on the scale.

wheird

Sometimes mine needs Gatorade and a peptalk.

leodora1

I think one lesson I've learned is "fun" from two weeks ago shows up on the scale today. It isn't a tit for tat exchange so the hard work you put in this week will eventually show up if you continue with it. Also, for me, water is a huge ordeal as I age. This can be a five pound difference from week to week, especially knowing I didn't eat 17,500 extra calories in one week.

caracrawford1

I think you know the answer to your problem. you can easily outeat your workouts.What might be funfor you to do is find lower cal versions of your favorite foods. Alot of the time, they taste surprisingly good and/or you only have to make small modifications to the original recipe.

tibby531

pizza is a "heavy" food - makes you retain water. next week should be better. don't give up, yet.

Mikkimeow

Very depressed after my weigh in this morning. Gained 2.4 lbs in one week. I absolutely killed it in the gym working out every day except Sunday plus other activities like cutting the grass and golf. My diet and lack of will power are really holding me back. I just love to eat. I eat out a lot for work (this past week included chili cheese coney, prime rib sandwich + fries, burger & sweet potato fries), was home alone and ordered Thai noodles, had a family cookout with countless snacks & beer, played golf with 6-8 beers, went to two ball games with a slice of pizza, nachos, brat & beers. My wife is very social and likes to drink and I wish we would cut back a little on the socializing while I am trying to lose weight. We were at a ball game last night and just finished sharing a tray of nachos and a few innings later shows up with a brat to split. We had pizza at home before we left for the game. She knew I was trying to not eat much bc of my Wednesday weigh in but she is always tempting me with food and alcohol.

I guess I need to be stronger as no one has a gun to my head forcing me to eat.

It is just frustrating to work so hard in the gym and not see results on the scale.

It really is a combination of diet and exercise that causes you to lose weight. You exercise to become fit, you eat within your calories to lose weight. Do you have a calorie goal that you stick to? There is nothing inherently wrong with what are you are eating, it is the quantities.

I suggest you read this, OP. You are right, no one can make you put a gun to your head for you to lose weight. This is all you, all the time.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

nutmegoreo

The sodium in the nachos plus all the exercise likely contributed to water retention, which would contribute to the weight gain. Nothing wrong with continuing to enjoy the same things. Take a smaller portion and fill the void with some extra fruits and veggies.

ETA: Read the sexypants link!

UsedToBeHusky

You are no. 137 for this hour, right?

Seriously, we all get discouraged. You just have to keep your mind on your goal, and try not to let the setbacks drag you down. I've been at this for years, and I'm still thinking it's going to be another year or so to get to goal.

But it's called dedication. I get discouraged. I get unmotivated. But I never lose my dedication to EVENTUALLY get to my goal.

Try limiting yourself to smaller portions. Maybe that will help you get control over your eating habits. A lot of the time, I will eat pretty light throughout the day, and save my calories for my family. Because they always want to eat out or buy ice cream or whatever.

Laurenloveswaffles

It is just frustrating to work so hard in the gym and not see results on the scale.

Welcome to reality. I always thought that I could eat whatever I want and just kill it in the gym. But nope, I wouldn't be here if it worked that way. Unless I did countless upon countless hours on the elliptical.

Set a calorie goal with a reasonable deficit. Log everything you eat, and do not go over on your calories. You will lose weight.

laurenkoszola

Not that I have any room to talk, but have you tried eating healthier options when you eat out for work? Or maybe just telling your wife no, I'm good on sharing food. And you also don't have to drink every time you socialize too.

That's my two cents.

jld11050

Its the beer and cocktails that hurt - try non alcoholic beer ( odouls amber is good but beleive it or not the best n/a beers are old milwaukee and busch). Saves tons of calories and I believe alcohol inhibits metabolism ( not sure but I may have read that somewhere lol). Small step but once you get used to it socializing will be easier.

ParisRoses

We are all on here for support and because we are on a mission with challenges. Obstacles are part of that challenge. It's about learning self discipline and keeping that end goal in mind but at the same time it is a day to day battle. Do not let this depress you, let it pull you to push harder. We can all do this. You are on here because you are trying so keep that up!!! I also love food!!!

MitchmDee

Days like this are bound to happen. Just reset and refocus and you'll get back on the wagon. You'll realize it was a fleeting feeling, then the day will get better, the week will get better and in time the months will get better.

Don't beat yourself up.

SEAFOODMAN

you need to determine how many calories you want,carbs 150-200, keep sodium in check.................if you want to eat bad, you must do a 36hr water fast.....burgers and pizza will keep you in neutral.......and you don't want to kill it in the gym for nothing.......you can never outburn a bad diet lol..........once you have your plan set, you should plan whole day early so you know exactly where you stand and if you can fit a slice of pizza in it or not..........I was doing stupid stuff and looked at my diary and have been more strict, and keeping carbs down, calories in check and sodium under, i've dropped 12 since last friday, tho I did a 36hr fast lol

doctorregenerated

My husband is the big socializer. He always tempts me with a nice time and the food and alcohol are always so nice. Afterwards, its just me, looking in the mirror at someone who made choices that were not what was in the plan In the end, this is about you and the person staring back at you. Figure out how ita going to be. Get right with what you want. Begin saying no and setting your boundaries. Its hard at first if its unfamiliar but like a muscle, saying no to excessive food and alcohol will make you stronger.

ReenieReenie05

Sorry you're feeling discouraged, the key here is not ONLY to exercise. Don't get me wrong exercise is GRREAT in and of itself, however; you MUST MODIFY your CURRENT EATING HABITS! I can't stress that enough. First of all I think that a lack of support from your spouse can be very detrimental to your success or lack thereof. Explain to your wife why getting in shape and eating clean is important to you, feel free to list all the reasons you embarked on this journey to begin with. Help her understand where you are coming from, the better idea she gets the more inclined she will want to be to support you and do whatever she can to help you reach your goals, afterall you are a TEAM! Your success will indeed be hers as well and knowing that she helped you will create a great sense of grattitude towards her (WIN/WIN situation Yeei!!). Don't consider yourself as being on a "diet" think of these changes as a lifestyle modification keep healthy foods at home and when traveling carry nuts/trail mixes/fruits when possible to snack on and as far as meals are concerned try to stick to lean meats and always include greens with your meals. Lastly, DON'T always rely on the numbers on the scale to define whether you are doing well or not (given the exception of this weeks bad eating) muscle weighs more than fat, and sometimes we tend to fluctuate 2-4lbs (try to weigh-in at the same time of day with NO CLOTHES to get a more accurate reading). Being healthy doesn't necessarily mean that you have to EX-COMMUNICATE THE WORLD (although I do think it would make things much easier haha) be more conscious of the food choices that you are making while out and about and try to limit yourself to a few alcoholic beverages per weekend. If you know that you will be eating out on a certain day of the week try to look up the menu online and input the food into MFP and then build the rest of your meals based on your remaining calories. Hope this helps! Stay motivated and never trade what you want RIGHT NOW for something that you've wanted for yourself for a looong time (happy & healthy YOU!).

Wookinpanub

Great words of advice and encouragement..Thanks! I knew my diet had been gradually getting worse of the summer but I always at least seem to lost 1-2 lb every week with hard exercise. I had a feeling my weight would go up this morning bc for dinner last night I had 3 slices of pizza, few bites of Caesar salad, split nachos and brat, 3 diet sodas, a cookie with icing - ALL after 6 PM.

I have not tried counting or tracking calories because it seems like a pain.

The other issue I have is that I am a very picky eater - I don't eat fish, not much fruit and hardly any veggies.

Ferrous_Female_Dog

I guess I need to be stronger as no one has a gun to my head forcing me to eat.

It is just frustrating to work so hard in the gym and not see results on the scale.

That's it right there. This isn't on anyone but you. You do not HAVE to eat when there is food at social functions.

And you can't out-exercise a crappy diet. You can only burn so many calories in a week.

ReenieReenie05

@SEAFOODMAN -what is this 36hour water fast that you speak of? LOL

Curious minds would like to know
Thanks in advance!

Reenie

chasgrey

I feel your pain. I feel that my wife sabotages my diet plan also. I know I drink too much when I go out. I did switch from regular Coors (148 calories) to Coors Light (102). It helps, but not much. I also noticed that salt kills my weight. It makes me retain water. And for all my life I thought that was a woman thing. All kidding aside, don't deprive yourself, or you will get discouraged and quit. Just acknowledge that not every day will be a weight loss day and accept it. Slow and steady wins the race. This month I'm stuck at only losing 2 pounds. Which sucks, I wanted to be down 4, but I know what happened, I accept, and keep trudging along. You'll get this.

To everyone that says to quit drinking, cut back eating blah, blah, blah... It's not really support, it's pointing out what you already know. Now accept that some weeks will be bad, but the end goal is still attainable...

ankleWED

I have been there too !
In fact lost 16 pounds and gained 11 back . I BELIEVE OVER THE YEARS I HAVE LOST OVER 100 POUNDS AND SAME THING HAPPENS
.BUT I am not giving up my health depends on it. I can do this .I must try harder.
Skip the condemnation and just get back up..
Today is a new day.
I exercised today until it hurt. Today I am having smaller portion sizes. I will eliminating sugar, bread , and cheese.

I would limit the times that I eat out.. While the restaurant foods taste so good. They have been loaded with salt and fats & sugars.. The chips will be on my on the hips and fries on the thighs which do not look good. Oh my arteries would get clogged with those fats.
Drink water with your meals skip the sugared drinks or alcohol that lowers your will power to say no .

"Motivation phrase" The moment you want to quit that is when your body changes."



Sorry I am so wordy. You can do it . Keep your focus on your goal.
The new healthier you!
Thanks for sharing your story it was motivating to me !
Peace out!

fat2skinny50

My husband loves to share food too when we go to games or any event. What I do is take tiny bits this way he doesn't feel bad and i don't overeat my calories. Beer is alright too, just have 1 or 2 and drink slow. Don't let this slip get you down, just pull yourself up, dust yourself off and attempt to do better next time you are out. Good Luck, I know you have this and I will be reading your success story soon

leggup

You don't have to cut back on socializing in order to lose weight! It's also no good to cut back on socializing right now while you're trying to lose weight; as soon as you start back up, the lbs will come right back. Find a sustainable solution to attending these events.

I always try to save up a few calories for booze and enjoy myself if I'm going out or partying. My friends are big on throwing potluck events or going to all you can eat things. I plan to have extra calories on those days and the days leading up, plan for additional exercise, and then log the results and move on. Sometimes I'm up 2-3 lbs after an event. The longest I've held on to party weight is a week or so. Letting one event set you back a week or two is not the end of the world.

So you had a pizza and then went to a baseball game and ate more. I would look into why you think you ate at the game. Was it because food was there? Did you feel deprived or X type of food? Were you still hungry?

Wookinpanub

So you had a pizza and then went to a baseball game and ate more. I would look into why you think you ate at the game. Was it because food was there? Did you feel deprived or X type of food? Were you still hungry?

The real story is my intention was to semi-fast yesterday, just one protein shake in the morning and a half one for dinner. I knew I had some bad diet days leading up to yesterday and I always weigh in on Wednesday. So I get home from work and I told myself, I will just eat this greek yogurt for dinner. Then 15 minutes later, I will just have this slice of deli ham and kraft slice of American cheese. Then the pizza went in the oven and I said just one slice. 3 slices later I talk myself into eating a piece of cookie cake. We get to the ball game and I split some nachos with my wife. I have a weak spot for nachos and I know my wife didn't eat much for dinner and was hungry so I didn't want to say no don't get them. An hour later she shows up with a brat to share.

My god that is like 5,000 calories just for dinner. So much for fasting.

leggup

So you had a pizza and then went to a baseball game and ate more. I would look into why you think you ate at the game. Was it because food was there? Did you feel deprived or X type of food? Were you still hungry?

The real story is my intention was to semi-fast yesterday, just one protein shake in the morning and a half one for dinner. I knew I had some bad diet days leading up to yesterday and I always weigh in on Wednesday. So I get home from work and I told myself, I will just eat this greek yogurt for dinner. Then 15 minutes later, I will just have this slice of deli ham and kraft slice of American cheese. Then the pizza went in the oven and I said just one slice. 3 slices later I talk myself into eating a piece of cookie cake. We get to the ball game and I split some nachos with my wife. I have a weak spot for nachos and I know my wife didn't eat much for dinner and was hungry so I didn't want to say no don't get them. An hour later she shows up with a brat to share.

My god that is like 5,000 calories just for dinner. So much for fasting.

That's just the thing though; you know exactly why you went overboard. You were under-eating and then overate to compensate, plus there was a trigger food (nachos). I can prep for bad eating later in the day or week, but I can never fast/go low after over eating. I log it and move on. You made yourself especially vulnerable to those nachos. Some people can save up calories (re: fasting), some can't. I'd chew off my arm and eat an entire cake if I fasted all day.

Is there a way for you to squeeze in a portion-controlled nacho treat every day/every few days? That way you don't feel like housing it when you do get your hands on it. I'm that way with nice cheeses. We always have some in the fridge so that I can have it whenever I want. I'm never tempted to eat the whole brick/wheel because I know it's for the full week.

lastfarewell

Since you don't eat much in the way of fruit or veg, you are not getting the fiber that would help you feel full longer and make it easier to resist temptation. consider looking into the free app gym-pact.com and using the veggie pact. You set your own goal for the week and if you don't meet it, you are charged $10. If you do meet it, you get a couple of bucks that comes from people who didn't meet their goal. It handles the financial part with either your paypal account or your credit card. It is pretty dang amazing, if you ask me.

I am horrible about exercise and am using it very successfully.

Another benefit: Veggies and fruit are easier to track and record. Tracking is crucial to my success.

Best wishes and hang tough!

futuremdnca

Also feeling very discouraged....considering doing something more drastic
I think my stress is what's keeping me from losing weight, so I'm trying to decrease that but I'm not sleeping as well as I'd like because I'm doing my clinical rotations in the hospital.

Wookinpanub

It did get better...I broke my routine and weighed myself this morning and I lost exactly 5 lbs in 48 hours according to my scale. I think it was a combination of eating bad the evening before weigh in and then having two pretty good diet days (give myself a B+ for diet).