Hmm I lost ten pounds... can I be done now?

Kitsada

Wow. I've seriously underestimated the MFP community, both in its size and diversity of views. I did not expect so many people to reply, nor for their ideas to touch on so many different areas.

To those of you who have reached out to me to try and motivate and friend me on here, I thank you. I've only just realized I can see your food diaries and this might give me more ideas. I suppose you can see mine too and see I'm far from deprived, just whining for having to make changes that you've identified that yep, I really don't want to do. I still want to be magically thinner. I know theres no magic though. Only sensible eating and yeah I know, I suppose exercise.

Its not as though I lay around all day. I do work, I do have kids, and I really am busy. Too busy to exercise? No, I probably could, and occasionally I do walk some, I just never want to. It seems most of you are exercising and thats great, I know its the best thing, and I admire your will.

Yoovie, you do look great.

Muscle vs fat debate can continue.

I'm feeling kind of fragile and can't deal with the criticism posts now. I might look again next week.

I came home from grocery store with fruit, veggies, and salmon, and managed not to buy more wine. I'm calling it a day.

Thanks

stljam

For the record, I think there is an issue of semantics here.

While it is true that it is incredibly hard, if not impossible, to gain muscle while eating at a deficit, building muscle and reducing bodyfat is possible. Building implies working on, or developing what's already there. Gaining muscle has to do with creating something where there was nothing before and that has to happen at a surplus.

At least, I think that's the issue here.

yeah which is why I stated that you cant do that for more than a week before it stops working.

Yep.

Hmmm... Is this true even if you still have a lot of excess body fat to take energy from or does this only come into play as your bf% gets down lower?

Hmm, I think I need to learn more about gaining muscle vs building muscle and get rid of my ignorance regarding what I thought was a tOmAto vs tomato type thing.

gimpygramma

I never dieted in my life, before starting to use this site maybe 3 months ago. I was shocked and horrified to see what I would normally eat came up as far as the math goes with the calories and fat and whatnot. I was like omg, no wonder, this happened.

So, with huge efforts, over like two months, I managed to lose ten pounds. I nearly cut out red meat, cheese, reduced booze, as I identified these as my major downfalls. Tried to control portion sizes. Switched a lot of things to whole grain. Ate more veggies, more fish. I made a lot of changes, and it was a serious pain in the *kitten*.

At 5'6" and still 210 pounds though, I need to keep going, and it really seems like too much trouble, I'm tired of it. Also my body seemed to adjust to the changes, and I have to watch very carefully just to keep the ten pounds off. A little slip, order pizza or something, and I'm back up a pound or two. I don't want to exercise, I really hate it, I'm not willing. Also busy.

Help, how do you stay motivated, keep going?

Wow. I could get emotional about this. Pardon me while I vent.

How can you stay motivated? You are only 44. You know that your extra weight is not good for your health but the consequences are years away.
But they will come. Think you will just die of a heart attack? Not everyone is so lucky.
My husband is obese and has been since he was your age but he enjoyed a full range of outdoor activities and a busy social life that included lots of beer and Chinese food.

At 55 he began having severe attacks of gastric reflux every time he exerted himself.
And he had these really painful joints in his feet. Found it quite immobilizing.
The inflamed joints were gout. He’s been on medication for that ever since and it helps but the pain never completely goes away.

And he does have reflux but it became so bad that they did further tests and found that a lot of his pain was from angina. At 57 he had a quadruple by-pass. Don’t know how they do those now but twelve years ago they cut open his chest, broke his ribs and spread him open like a book. It made for a pretty painful recovery period. Oh and did I mention that when he came out from under the anaesthetic he found he was hooked up to dialysis? That was temporary. His kidney function stabilized at between 20-30% and he has since been able to manage it with medication for the most part. Just as the arteries that feed the heart can be damaged, so can those that service the kidneys. Often people don’t even know there is a problem until a lot of damage has been done. It was also just after his by-pass surgery that he found he had diabetes. So he is on about 12 different prescriptions. Fortunately we have insurance that covers it all. Not everyone is that lucky.

Now when you are 70 or 100 pounds overweight it is also very hard on your joints so it is not surprising that by the time my husband was 60 he was using a cane…remember the gout is still painful too. The kidney specialist was concerned that the hip replacement that was needed might well be another blow to the kidneys. My husband decided to try to do without it since he did not want to end up on dialysis for good. But the pain got worse. He was on so many pain killers that he lost his mental functioning…I wasn’t sure if it was the drugs or age related dementia. Finally he could stand the pain no longer so he had the hip replacement. The surgery was complicated by his excess weight. He has not made the full recovery that some of his peers have. He still uses a cane. He was in hospital and bedridden longer than most. He was hard to move and he developed a bed sore. It infected. Because of his diabetes it took six months to heal. During that time I drove him to the hospital for intravenous antibiotics every day. They could have set this up for us at home but that would have involved putting a port into his arm and since he has very few good veins left since his by-pass and they will need one when he has to go on dialysis the doctors did not want to risk damaging another vein.
He is 69 now and still 100 pounds overweight. Like you he thinks the pain of dieting isn’t worth it.



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Capt_Apollo

simply put if you didnt gain any weight you didnt gain any muscle...

i don't understand how you are not understanding this.

i have not lost weight in months. but i'm getting stronger by lifting more and more weight, and my body fat percentage was been dropping.

just for arguments sake, lets say you lose a pound of body fat in a month. now, because of strength training, you gain a pound of muscle. therefore, at the end of the month, you have stayed at the same weight, but your body composition is different.

and you don't have to eat at a huge surplus to build muscle. i eat at about TDEE, and i have no problem getting stronger and faster.

McBully4

simply put if you didnt gain any weight you didnt gain any muscle...

i don't understand how you are not understanding this.

i have not lost weight in months. but i'm getting stronger by lifting more and more weight, and my body fat percentage was been dropping.

just for arguments sake, lets say you lose a pound of body fat in a month. now, because of strength training, you gain a pound of muscle. therefore, at the end of the month, you have stayed at the same weight, but your body composition is different.

and you don't have to eat at a huge surplus to build muscle. i eat at about TDEE, and i have no problem getting stronger and faster.

strawberrytoast

Youve done 10lbs already! This is huge step in the right direction. Just keep doing what you wrre doing when you lost it,


Oh and if you exercise you feel so proud of yourself after it.

emily3816

You want motivation???? You're 10 pounds away from Onederland!! I'm at 210 as well, although only 5'3 1/2", but hell, knowing I'm so close to a major goal is motivation enough for me. And as well as what other posters above me have said, you do not have to give up everything you like to lose weight. I've lost 32 pounds since July and I eat mexican food every night. I dare you to take a look at my diary. Please keep up the good work, it will pay off...I promise!

As a side note, you look fabulous!

I stay motivated by coming to MFP on the tough days and reading through posts on the community page about how people have lost 100lbs or more! It also helps me to look at my friends who have lost 30+ pounds and check out their diary, ask them questions, etc.

Don't give up, you CAN do it! When you don't want to exercise, go pull weeds from your garden or grab the vacuum cleaner! Exercise doesn't have to just be done at the gym!

rheilala

I never dieted in my life, before starting to use this site maybe 3 months ago. I was shocked and horrified to see what I would normally eat came up as far as the math goes with the calories and fat and whatnot. I was like omg, no wonder, this happened.

So, with huge efforts, over like two months, I managed to lose ten pounds. I nearly cut out red meat, cheese, reduced booze, as I identified these as my major downfalls. Tried to control portion sizes. Switched a lot of things to whole grain. Ate more veggies, more fish. I made a lot of changes, and it was a serious pain in the *kitten*.

At 5'6" and still 210 pounds though, I need to keep going, and it really seems like too much trouble, I'm tired of it. Also my body seemed to adjust to the changes, and I have to watch very carefully just to keep the ten pounds off. A little slip, order pizza or something, and I'm back up a pound or two. I don't want to exercise, I really hate it, I'm not willing. Also busy.

Help, how do you stay motivated, keep going?

The only thing you can do is try not to give up or get frustrated. At one point, I was at a 4 month plateau. I got frustrated and almost felt like giving up..then I tried what you did (which is to eliminate what could possibly be the factor of not losing weight). That has helped up until two weeks ago, I am at the same feeling again. Sorry to bring my negativity upon everyone in this thread, as I try not to..but just keep at it and don't give up!

Just because you lost 10 pounds, doesn't mean that's it! You just have to push yourself harder! Keep it up!

byrnet18

I never dieted in my life, before starting to use this site maybe 3 months ago. I was shocked and horrified to see what I would normally eat came up as far as the math goes with the calories and fat and whatnot. I was like omg, no wonder, this happened.

So, with huge efforts, over like two months, I managed to lose ten pounds. I nearly cut out red meat, cheese, reduced booze, as I identified these as my major downfalls. Tried to control portion sizes. Switched a lot of things to whole grain. Ate more veggies, more fish. I made a lot of changes, and it was a serious pain in the *kitten*.

At 5'6" and still 210 pounds though, I need to keep going, and it really seems like too much trouble, I'm tired of it. Also my body seemed to adjust to the changes, and I have to watch very carefully just to keep the ten pounds off. A little slip, order pizza or something, and I'm back up a pound or two. I don't want to exercise, I really hate it, I'm not willing. Also busy.

Help, how do you stay motivated, keep going?

Wow. I could get emotional about this. Pardon me while I vent.

How can you stay motivated? You are only 44. You know that your extra weight is not good for your health but the consequences are years away.
But they will come. Think you will just die of a heart attack? Not everyone is so lucky.
My husband is obese and has been since he was your age but he enjoyed a full range of outdoor activities and a busy social life that included lots of beer and Chinese food.

At 55 he began having severe attacks of gastric reflux every time he exerted himself.
And he had these really painful joints in his feet. Found it quite immobilizing.
The inflamed joints were gout. He’s been on medication for that ever since and it helps but the pain never completely goes away.

And he does have reflux but it became so bad that they did further tests and found that a lot of his pain was from angina. At 57 he had a quadruple by-pass. Don’t know how they do those now but twelve years ago they cut open his chest, broke his ribs and spread him open like a book. It made for a pretty painful recovery period. Oh and did I mention that when he came out from under the anaesthetic he found he was hooked up to dialysis? That was temporary. His kidney function stabilized at between 20-30% and he has since been able to manage it with medication for the most part. Just as the arteries that feed the heart can be damaged, so can those that service the kidneys. Often people don’t even know there is a problem until a lot of damage has been done. It was also just after his by-pass surgery that he found he had diabetes. So he is on about 12 different prescriptions. Fortunately we have insurance that covers it all. Not everyone is that lucky.

Now when you are 70 or 100 pounds overweight it is also very hard on your joints so it is not surprising that by the time my husband was 60 he was using a cane…remember the gout is still painful too. The kidney specialist was concerned that the hip replacement that was needed might well be another blow to the kidneys. My husband decided to try to do without it since he did not want to end up on dialysis for good. But the pain got worse. He was on so many pain killers that he lost his mental functioning…I wasn’t sure if it was the drugs or age related dementia. Finally he could stand the pain no longer so he had the hip replacement. The surgery was complicated by his excess weight. He has not made the full recovery that some of his peers have. He still uses a cane. He was in hospital and bedridden longer than most. He was hard to move and he developed a bed sore. It infected. Because of his diabetes it took six months to heal. During that time I drove him to the hospital for intravenous antibiotics every day. They could have set this up for us at home but that would have involved putting a port into his arm and since he has very few good veins left since his by-pass and they will need one when he has to go on dialysis the doctors did not want to risk damaging another vein.
He is 69 now and still 100 pounds overweight. Like you he thinks the pain of dieting isn’t worth it.

[/quote]

This exactly. This is just a common patient in the hospital. I am sorry that you are the partner having to go through all of this with him, but the reality is that obesity kills you slowly. Unless you're lucky like you said and die of a major heart attack. It is these patients that I care for that made me decide to get healthy and lose 83 pounds before damage was done. Best of luck to you and your husband.

RozWynn

I don't want to exercise, I really hate it, I'm not willing. Also busy.

Help, how do you stay motivated, keep going?

That is very key. Exercise. And if you don't exercise at all, just adding a brisk 20 minute walk a day may be what you need to jump start your loss again. I too am very busy, as are probably most people, I commute to work, I am pursuing a second college degree while working full time and supporting a kid in college but I make time for what is important to me, my body which has to maintain me for the rest of my life. So try to find 20 -30 minutes a day.

myragardenivy

just because you lose fat and get leaner that does not mean you are building muscle...


a lot of people on this site have those concepts mixed up.

to build muscle ie add mass one must have a calorie surplus over a period of time

to lose weight cut fat one must have a calorie deficit over a period of time

now someone explain to me how you can do both at the same time...

now when you get leaner aka lower you body fat % then you body will be more muscular thus making it more efficient, but you are not "building muscle" when you get leaner. you are just removing a lot of the fat from around the muscles you already have.

Im sorry but you do have this a little confused and we have already explained how you do both.

By eating with a surplus (which doesnt even have to be that much of a surplus) you are building muscle. The muscle you are building from scratch burns fat at a higher rate - you keep getting stronger - you keep burning exponentially more just by existing. You lift heavy, you push hard, you burn off the fat - and not just while youre exercising but for the entire day following that workout.

When you eat at a deficit, your body must burn off stored fat and that lowers your body fat percentage.
When you eat at a surplus because you are lifting or building muscle, your body has to burn off stored fat WHILE using your surplus cals AND stored fat to repair and rebuild your muscles.

Both scenarios lower your body fat percentage.
One scenario leaves you looking droopy at goal weight.
One scenario leaves you looking like you think your going to look at goal weight.

you can lift all the weights you wants but you are not going to build muscle and reduce fat at the same time...

Im walking proof that you are 100% wrong. In the last two years ive been focusing on strength, Ive lost 0 pounds, 14% body fat and over 24 inches around my body as well as going from a size 11/12 to a 7/8 and thats exactly what happened. I built muscle, I lowered my body fat and I didnt lose any pounds. I just shrank.

so how much weight did you gain??????

you are atrociously bad at math 175-175 = +/- 0

simply put if you didnt gain any weight you didnt gain any muscle...

Let me try to explain, for fun.
This is basic chemistry.
First, look up the definition of mass.
You will see that mass does not, ie equal muscle, but mass equals the weight of a substance.

Therefore If;
mass of muscle + mass of fat = your total body mass ie. your total body weight


Then;
50 lbs of fat + 50 lbs of muscle = 100 lbs total mass = 100 lbs of total weight
And also
30 lbs of fat + 70 lbs of muscle= 100 lbs total mass = 100 lbs of total weight

However;
One of the above equations has more muscle mass, then fat mass. This is called conversion of fat mass to muscle mass, because the total mass is not changed, but the muscle mass is increased. So if I wanted to convert fat mass to muscle mass, without changing my total body mass, I would have to exercise, and also keep my calorie intake equal to my calorie output.