Cant get on track

susiereib

I am 5ft 6" and weigh 162lbs. I want 20 lbs gone yesterday. I just overate 1500 calories. I have been yo yoing bet 10 lb for a year. So frustrated and i am 40 and in menopause

Timbit5

everyday is a new one...forget about the past and start fresh tomorrow...you can do it...I had a huge scare this past summer with my health and that has become my driving force to get to the gym daily and work off 87 lbs even if it take a year or more

SanteMulberry

I am 5ft 6" and weigh 162lbs. I want 20 lbs gone yesterday. I just overate 1500 calories. I have been yo yoing bet 10 lb for a year. So frustrated and i am 40 and in menopause

I agree, middle age weight problems can be pretty frustrating but there is one thing you can do to get your appetite under control and it isn't hard. Just cut back your carbs to 100 grams a day (and it should be complex carbs that you eat) and eliminate sugar entirely. Simple carbs in too high an amount will raise your blood sugar precipitously and put your hormones like insulin and cortisol out of whack and then sugar feeds the monster as well. It is also good to exercise---not because it burns that many calories, but because it helps to right crazy hormones. If you normalize your insulin through keeping your blood sugar lower (by not eating sweets and simple carbs) it will increase and normalize your thyroid function (making it easier to lose weight). Insulin resistance is countered by lowering body fat through exercise.

The source of yo-yoing is usually vanity. You know... "I just HAVE to lose 40 pounds before my college reunion! I''m going to go on (*fill in the most absurd crash diet you can think of*) and I will be sure to be slim by then." (I have much experience of this myself.) Once the unhealthy effects of the crash dieting set in, going off of it and then regaining the weight (usually plus more) becomes inevitable.

Losing body fat is important primarily because it is very unhealthy to be too fat. This is a lifestyle change that must be a lifetime commitment if one is going to forestall getting sick with the myriad of chronic diseases that happen to people who don't take care of themselves. It's about health, not vanity. Yes, you might get sick anyway, but being healthier will ensure that you recover faster.

nicleed

I'm also pre-menopausal and this is what helped me go from 80 kgs to 68 since July this year:

1. cutting carbs back (I was a carb-o-holic) and upping protein. I still have a lot of carbs - but mainly from dairy, fruit and vegies (although I still eat bread and pasta - just less of it). I don;t eat read meat, and my husband is vegetarian, so protein can be tough. I have greek yogurt, cheese and supplement with shakes/bars when needed.

2. Small cut from TDEE- about 10 per cent. Like many, I came to MFP, set my goals to 2 pounds a week and was given 1200 cals a day. I very soon learnt that was unsustainable - I was starving and moody! So started to up them. And I found that if I gave myself the extra cals, I didn't always need them, so it was totally psychological!

3. Exercise: I exercise everyday. Not intensely, but enough to get the heart rate up. I go to curves for some resistance training, but intend to stop once my annual membership comes up and join a "proper" gym. And on the days I am not at Curves, I do at least an hour's brisk walk (luckily we live near the beach, so exercise is not a chore!) I eat back most of my exercise cals.

4. I take a multi, iron, vitamin D everyday. And occasionally calcium, but I get plenty of calcium from dairy/tinned salmon/etc.

5. I didn't deprive myself, and I didn't sweat it on the days I went over. I wasn't going to knock back my daughter's birthday cake! And when the family had takeaway pizza - so did I. And I gave myself the occasional weekend break from logging - plus a week off when we went to Bali.

I have just accepted your FR - so feel free to look at my diary (which is open anyway)

susiereib

Thank you every one for your replies.I am on 5 days of low carbs ,under 100g and under 15g of sugar. I cooled it on exercise for 1 wk to get my eating under control and the scale is down 4.5lbs. I also gave up my 1 diet pop a day and now just water.My mood feels evened out.