Sometimes . . .

ishtar13

Wasn't sure where to put this.

Sometimes I think people sound like this on here:




What I'm finding is that in the past, I quit when I had a bad day. I quit when I felt fat. I quit when I overate one meal. I quit when I didn't lose for a week. I quit too easily.

This time, I haven't quit. My first appt with the nutritionist and doctor was in March, and I haven't given up.

And I'm down about 17 lbs total.

But I wouldn't be, if I gave up again.

It is so painfully slow. I hate that. It's hard. I hate that, too.

Some weeks I don't lose anything. Some weeks, it's only 1/2 a pound. Some weeks/days, it appears that I've gained. Today, I woke up feeling bloated, fat, and gross. I looked in the mirror and thought I looked about the same as I did in March.

Then I stepped on the scale, and saw a new low number.

So glad I haven't given up.

And I think that's the key, really.

PhilyPhresh

What kind of eating plan are you on? Are you following any specific diet or meal plan? I know that proper eating was a big deal for me. I worked out for months and didn't lose a thing, but once I started eating in a way my body would react I have dropped almost 40lbs in almost 6 months! It sounds like either way you are on the right path, just curious to know how you eat.

ishtar13

What kind of eating plan are you on? Are you following any specific diet or meal plan? I know that proper eating was a big deal for me. I worked out for months and didn't lose a thing, but once I started eating in a way my body would react I have dropped almost 40lbs in almost 6 months! It sounds like either way you are on the right path, just curious to know how you eat.

No specific plan.

I am working with a nutritionist and doctor, though. I was showing insulin resistance and symptoms of "metabolic syndrome X", in other words, pre-diabetic.

I'm trying to eat "cleaner" but not 100% (I've eaten McDonald's, Taco Bell, pizza, chocolate. . .).

We went through several different BMR/TDEE calculators, and I'm trying to eat in between there (above BMR, below TDEE. I enter everything here, and then enter calories and macros in a spreadsheet, where I average out weekly numbers. Last week, I averaged 1569 calories (a little high, but still below TDEE) with about 46% carbs, 30% protein, the rest fat.

I'm lifting heavy, so I'm aiming for a pretty high protein. My goal is about 40/30/30 (carb/protein/fat), but I'm not strict on it as long as I'm getting at least ~100g protein on average (usually more like 120g).

Because of that, I'm probably eating a lot less carbs than I used to and more protein (see lifting heavy).

So, for cleaner eating, I'm trying to add more veggies than I used to eat. I used to eat a lot of meat/bread or meat/pasta meals, now I'm trying for more meat/veggie with much less bread/pasta.

PhilyPhresh

That is good. I am no doctor, so I am not going to pretend to be smarter than them! But I will say if you are into strict dieting you should really look into the Paleo lifestyle. this will help you in several ways because you are pre-diabetic, you are lifting heavy, and you want/need to lose weight. Basically if you don't know much about Paleo you are eating meat, fruit, vegetables, and nuts. No sugar, no starches, no dairy, no legumes... It is an amazing diet and really not that hard to stick to if you are devoted to losing the weight!

ishtar13

I've thought about it, but I'm not giving up yogurt and legumes. I love me some beans (fiber! and protein), especially black beans and lentils, roasted garbanzos and hummus (none of which I can see as "bad" for you).

I don't like strict diets.

I want to make changes that are sustainable, and I don't think Paleo would be for me.

I also have some arguments with the idea behind Paleo.

Pre-historic (although perhaps not "cave man") peoples did make yogurt even before agriculture. There's some evidence (my friend the archaeologist tells me) that some paleo peoples may even have cultivated grains in an unstructured way before they settled down.

PhilyPhresh

and that's totally cool. I would recommend using it as a basis to follow, but make it your own. If you don't want to/can't give something up then don't! (unless its like ice cream or Oreos or something... then you're going to fail) but whatever you do I totally agree it has to be maintainable. I honestly will drink a chocolate milk every couple weeks or so just because I love it so much Honestly the fact that they say "cave men didn't eat that" isn't what I go by, but the research and evidence of the effects of the foods. Dairy bloats me up like a balloon, so I stay away from it. I do like beans, but I can live without. I don't much care for sweets most of the time, but soda has been a huge struggle for me! But if it were easy we would all be thin right!?