It's all too much and too frustrating!!!

Hey everyone. I'm sorry but I'm having a bit of a rant. I've been trying to watch my diet and exercise for the past year now. I only recently found MFP and have found it really helpful. Now that I'm learning more about diet and fitness, I've been getting more and more overwhelmed and frustrated. A little discouraged too.
I thought I was doing okay with my diet. I don't deprive myself of my fav foods, but I def eat healthier and watch my portions. I also have been exercising at least 4 to 5 times a week. I did well at first, but now everything's coming to a halt. So I started reading threads on here to try to figure out what's the cause of my plateau.
I'm finding out things about eating too many carbs and sugars, adding more protein, doing cardio vs weight lifting, etc etc etc.
Long story short, I thought I was doing ok but after reading all this it makes me feel like I really have no clue what I'm doing and I could have done so much more the past year. It just seems like so much info to process and a lot of trial and error to find the right combination that will work just for oneself.
Okay. Pity party/ rant over. Lol!!:laugh:

Replies

  • Shock_Wave
    Shock_Wave Posts: 1,573 Member
    Simple find out what exercises you like to do and do them. Plug in your info here at mfp and follow mfp the mfp program. Diet and exercise is custom for every one and their schedules and preferences experiment and find yours. :smile:
  • mona_patty
    mona_patty Posts: 170
    change your exercises. if you are doing well with food then it must be the exercising. I've heard you have to change your workouts weekly cause then your body adjusts to it... Keep finding different ways to burn calories
  • I learned that it's not so much what you eat... its when and how much!... try eating all your meals before 9pm everyday and watch your portion sizes.... that's what's been helping me... don't look at healthy foods like they are the plague because in all honesty some foods that are good for you sometimes taste way better and are more satisfying than the alternative food that you were going to eat... and remember this DEPRIVATION WILL BE YOUR UNDO-ING... instead of eating the whole of something eat half of it and don't wait til the end of the day to eat that something bad... I usually eat a chocolate lava cake every other day but i eat it and then burn it right back off.... and don't make workouts a chore make it fun by doing things you like to do anyway... hope i was of some help
  • AmyLyn1983
    AmyLyn1983 Posts: 100
    Thanks for the advice. I'm not giving up...I just got a little overwhelmed. :wink:
    I should have added...I'm currently doing 30DS. Level 3 day 4. After this I'm moving on to the Jillian Michaels/Biggest Loser Cardio dvd.
  • kairisika
    kairisika Posts: 131 Member
    You can only do so much at a time. Pick one thing at a time to work on. And don't worry if you don't see immediate results.
    Do you think you are doing 'fine' with your eating, or 'well' with your eating? If it's been going okay, then perhaps tuning it a little further would be a good start. If it's good, then start with something else. But just pick one thing, and maintain it for a week or two until it feels steady, and like you can maintain it without too much work. Then pick one other thing to work on.
    If you have specific questions, ask people - but don't get too overwhelmed with all the possibilities.
  • myfitnessval
    myfitnessval Posts: 687 Member
    i totally understand your frustration because i was there not even a month ago. being on this site and reading all these forums can be an information overload at times and its hard finding a balance of what works best for you vs what is SAID to work best lol. kairisika says it best, just work on one thing at a time. for me it was first getting my calories under control, and then getting all my fiber in , and then controlling sodium, then it was getting more protein, then it became eating less starches, then it was eating al my vitamins without taking a supplement, and now its finding a balance between all of those and my sanity! lol so i feel you girl.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Don't be too hard on yourself, I know I've reached a point many times in the last 18 months where I just want to throw in the towel and say "who the hell do I believe?". For very viewpoint or opinion or research, you can find an opposing viewpoint and it can seem completely impossible to find your way through all that info.

    My best suggestion is just to pick one approach that makes sense to you and go with it. Don't listen to every single opinion (if you did you would probably be trying to make a vegan diet that included 40% animal protein and having fat free cool whip on everything. Clearly that isn't going to happen - please tell me it can't happen!!)

    For me - my strategy is to aim to have most of my meals consisting of home cooked food made from actual ingredietns with not too much processed stuff. But I eat rubbishy snacks now and again (way too often actually) and I don't beat myself up over it.

    I run because I love it, but I've found that strength training makes me feel and look good to, so as soon as my next race is over, I'm going to start incorporating strength work again.

    That's what makes me feel good - just try out a few things and see what you like. But don't overthink it!
  • Yakfoot
    Yakfoot Posts: 2
    I have found that one of the most powerful things about MFP is its educational function about your diet. Mind boggling things like the fact that breaded and fried okra has about 10x as many calories as raw or steamed. Holy Smokes!! But you don't really need to worry about it much, just be honest with yourself and faithfully log your meals. So what if you are a little over for a while its an educational process. MFP will calculate everything for you so you can better choose your diet as you go on. Sounds like you are doing fine with your exercise. I don't know if MFP has those types of exercises in its data but it probably has something similar that you can use to get in the ballpark. This will raise your calorie allotment on exercise days. But the main thing is diet education over time. Be honest, be faithful, MFP will do a remarkably good job seeing that you lose weight. Chin up girl, patience is a virtue. My mother enjoyed telling me with a smirk that its always found in women and never found in men. Of course I always disagreed.
  • AmyLyn1983
    AmyLyn1983 Posts: 100
    Yeah, I could totally see how reading every forum in here could drive you crazy. I'm just going to buckle down and work with my health and wellness coach. I really need to work on my carbs and sugars. I eat a lot of fresh fruit and I think that maybe part of the issue (?). I eat only whole wheat/whole grain. No soda or sugary drinks other than my 1 cup of coffee each morning with 2 splenda packets.
    Thanks again to everyone replying on here. I only wish I had found MFP sooner!
  • kairisika
    kairisika Posts: 131 Member
    An extra note - The second poster is flat wrong.
    Yes, your body will adapt to an exercise, but not immediately the first time you do it. Changing your exercise program every week will not only be not an exercise program, but will not get you anywhere. A typical program should run for at least six weeks, and up to four months or so. 12 weeks (3 months) is usually pretty ideal. Change up more often if you need variety, and less often if you do well with stability. So yes, if you haven't changed anything in a long time, it can help to try something new. But make sure your body has a chance to learn and progress in a program before moving on to the next one.

    It sounds like you have a good plan going with the fitness - finish what you're on, and see what the new program does for you. And work one thing at a time with your eating and other habits.
  • kairisika
    kairisika Posts: 131 Member
    Fruit is certainly not bad, but it is a lot of sugar. You may find some use in switching out some of your fruit intake for vegetables, but fruit is certainly a good part of a diet.

    If you see ideas that look like something that could work for you, write them down - in a notebook, a word document, or whatever. Keep working on the one thing you've decided, and just add any other ideas to your future possibilities list. The next time you're ready to move onto a next step, you can consult your list for things you've decided would be valuable goals.

    If you have a health and wellness coach as you mentioned, that would probably be a great resource to analyze your diet and give you suggestions.

    Finally, remember a plateau is normal, and can last for differing amounts of time. As long as you are doing things that contribute to good health, don't worry too much about a stall. It's a normal part of the process. And *definitely* make sure you are also measuring measurements, clothing fit, body fat, or other such non-scale determinants. Often when the scale doesn't move, other things do.
  • AmyLyn1983
    AmyLyn1983 Posts: 100
    Thank you Kairisika. :flowerforyou: Most helpful advice.
  • funpilot56
    funpilot56 Posts: 100
    Wellness coach replying...
    First the science:
    It takes 21 days for the body to adapt to ANYTHING...new job, change in shift, nutritional considerations, exercise programs. From that 21 days you MAY see some changes but most things measurable will occur in 6 weeks so it is imperative that you stay with your programs. That being said, switching up programs weekly, while giving a variance, will not allow the body to adapt to what you are trying to do.
    Next, the practical:
    Once you notice a plateau, on the nutrition side of things you need to pick your poison....Carbs, Sodium, Fats, calories, etc. It is very difficult to work on all components at one time. Again, stay with it for at least 6 weeks then re-evaluate. For those who are diabetic, carbs may be something to work on. Those who have hypertension, sodium, etc. Generally, I try to get people to not change anything but the amount and frequency they eat. Then re-evaluate and look at the types of foods they eat. Remember, if you are used to fried, fatty foods, you will still want some in your lifestyle because most people don't like change...you just need to eat less of them. For exercise, it is basically just movement and getting your heart rate up for an extended period of time. How many have done P17X? Never heard of it? It's those people who do P90X for 17 days and stop. the goal is to be consistent....30-60 min/day; 4-5 days a week; 6-8 weeks (preferably 12 weeks) before changing routine (periodization). Hope this helps.