this may seem a little petty

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  • AJB87
    AJB87 Posts: 29 Member
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    Consistency is the main thing.

    You'll have good days, bad days, and awful days.

    Just log, exercise, rinse, and repeat.

    I would definitely recommend strength training along with the walks you've been taking.

    Remember, "Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." - Robert Collier
  • dmhebdo
    dmhebdo Posts: 1 Member
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    I was feeling the same way...but I do notice a difference in my waist and hips. I have been walking five times a week for 45 min a day. The scale hasn't moved for a week as far as I can tell. I am hoping it's all turning to muscle?! But I am determined to lose 10 more pounds...my goals say I will lose .9 lbs/wk, so hopefully SOON I will shed another pound!! Hang in there!
  • sherlc29
    sherlc29 Posts: 5 Member
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    Well, I've been on my life style change for awhile now. When I was told I need to lose weight or become this or that......I was like but I'm pretty proud of myself...I exercise three times a week....So I went somewhere to think. Thankfully I have a doctor who is well versed in nutrituion and exercise.

    Lessons Learned:

    If your current physician can't specificially take a interest in you by providing you with a diet and exercise plan.....find one who will.
    I don't mean give you a piece of paper and say have at it.....he/she should help you set goals and do progress checks.
    Its not a overnight sensation.....if you've never seen the movie What About Bob watch it.....he takes baby steps
    Make one small change or goal and stick to it no matter what......fall off the wagon? WELL GET BACK ON IT AS MANY TIMES AS IT TAKES TO MAKE THAT CHANGE OR GOAL A NATURAL PART OF WHAT YOU DO.
    As you find success continue to make more small goals/changes.
    Educate yourself and you will realize how much you health care providers DO NOT know.
    As you progress you will start to not only feel better but look better too.
    So no matter what don't give up; your not on a weight loss plan or diet its a lifestyle change.
    Choose your activities that will get you up and going.
    Don't drink your calories
    If your going out to dinner eat salad greens with oil and vinegar during the day for lunch
    Broiled, baked, poached food; want it fried? Remove the skin.
    Condiments and sauces on the side
    Look up the DASH diet on the National Institue for Health its a good starting point for diet change.
    Find your eating "flow" and make changes within your flow; don't change your flow
    I changed mine by making a protien smoothie....didn't work cause I eat oatmeal every morning. So I put sprinkle my protein and flax seed in my oatmeal.
    Water is your best friend
    I went out and hired a personal trainer, I need steady help and encouragement (that was my weak area)
    Find your weak points and find a way to mediate them;
    Find that annoying friend who will hold you accountable and don't tell them off when they do (or at least try not too) :)
  • ChristiH4000
    ChristiH4000 Posts: 531 Member
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    Hi! It's taken me years to put everything in place that I do now, and I still struggle BUT you are doing the right thing and you are making a positive difference just by taking the baby steps. Every single thing you do, like getting yourself to log, is a step in the right direction so just keep it up and you will make progress.
    The time it takes is frustrating, but it takes time to do it right and make it last forever.
  • HotMummyMission
    HotMummyMission Posts: 1,723 Member
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    Congratulations so you should be proud of yourself ! Your getting. To it an your trying of anybody try's to nock you there *kitten*'s your gonna do this promis this time next year you will be where you want to be but you have to stick to it x
  • JoanB5
    JoanB5 Posts: 610 Member
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    Hi there! I took a look at your food diary and I have one basic suggestion based on what I saw that might be a good place to start. It seems like on the days when you overeat, you tend to have meals with a lot of different things in them, such as both potatoes and flour tortillas together, or both salmon and chicken in one meal. It might be helpful to try to limit each meal to like 3 foods even if they all aren't the healthiest starting out, such as one protein, one starch/grain, and one veggie/fruit serving (these can be mixed like in a salad of course), as I believe there is research showing that the more food options we have in front of us, the more we tend to eat because out body is excited about having so many options. If there is less of a variety in front of us, we will get bored with the food quicker and tend not to eat as many calories. This seems like a good place to start, and you can gradually begin to make healthier choices from there. Good luck, you can do it!
    ^ THIS. Good advice. I do this.
  • Wrenbot87
    Wrenbot87 Posts: 100 Member
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    There's a saying that goes something like, "you've gone farther than the person still sitting on the couch". It takes determination. I've had some white knuckle days where it was hard to turn away from the cookies. I've had days where I dragged myself to the gym even though I really just wanted to lay in bed. You just have to know what your end game is. If you keep your eye on the prize you'll make it there eventually. It isn't easy, and I still have a long way to go...and I know I won't always be successful...but I know where I want to be.
  • jeepinwelch
    jeepinwelch Posts: 33 Member
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    My first month of doing all of the right things really sucked. The scale wasn't moving, my pants were still too tight and I was to the point that I wanted to ***** slap the next person that said "you know muscle weighs more than fat so you are probably gaining muscle". I don't know if it is part of getting older but my body took longer to adjust to the new routine and hung on to every bit of fat in every cell it could. Then the scale started to down, slowly. It is still not consistent and horribly frustrating but the scale is gradually moving in the right direction. I am feeling better and I don't have to hang on for dear life to the hand rail as I navigate the steps first thing in the morning. Be strong and stick it out! It will happen.
  • ApexLeader
    ApexLeader Posts: 580 Member
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    if you didn't lose any weight, then you are making mistakes somewhere. you aren't exercising enough or you aren't recording your food correctly or you are slacking in both areas at times and that is throwing you off. you need to identify your mistakes, make a plan to fix it ("I will record every day. I will weigh all of my food. I won't snack and I'll drink more water." Etc), and then actually commit to your plan and make it work for you.
  • chica6578
    chica6578 Posts: 76 Member
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    Hi there! I took a look at your food diary and I have one basic suggestion based on what I saw that might be a good place to start. It seems like on the days when you overeat, you tend to have meals with a lot of different things in them, such as both potatoes and flour tortillas together, or both salmon and chicken in one meal. It might be helpful to try to limit each meal to like 3 foods even if they all aren't the healthiest starting out, such as one protein, one starch/grain, and one veggie/fruit serving (these can be mixed like in a salad of course), as I believe there is research showing that the more food options we have in front of us, the more we tend to eat because out body is excited about having so many options. If there is less of a variety in front of us, we will get bored with the food quicker and tend not to eat as many calories. This seems like a good place to start, and you can gradually begin to make healthier choices from there. Good luck, you can do it!

    i never thought about the starches and carbs and just choosing ONE of each. My mom makes fresh tortillas 3x a week and she loves to cook potaties and those are just the meals i have always known to eat. so i usually duplicate them because they are familiar. and i always feel like i have to have lots of variety and color in my meals, like in fried potaties my mom will add carrots or tomatoes. so i do too, and then we ALWAYS ate bread with eveyr meal. so i've been trying to eat less during the day because i know i eat lots in the evening. i havent learned how to completely say no.
  • avababy05
    avababy05 Posts: 930 Member
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    One thing in your food diary that really stuck out to me was the extremely high levels of sodium, excess sodium causes water retention which then is relfected as either weight gain or no loss...Try to reduce your soidum intake by graudally decreasing the amount of processed/fast food/canned foods you eat and aim to be under 2500mg everyday and drink water (don't drink your calories)...

    Try this along with a dedicated exercise plan of 30-60 minutes at least 5 days a week and I bet you by this time next month you will be recording a loss..

    This and you have extreme low cal days and the next day you're way over.
  • nashiyashi
    nashiyashi Posts: 17
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    I know what you mean, it can be hard to change eating habits that you have grown up with and had for a long time. I think that it's great your mom makes fresh tortillas 3 times a week, home made food is the best! Unfortunately simple carbs such as white bread, potatoes, tortillas etc. are often not very filling unless you eat a large portion, and it is very easy to overdo it with those types of foods. You can still eat the tasty tortillas, but maybe with just meat and veggies one day and then have a potato dish the next day. If you can't reduce or eliminate the bread with every meal yet, maybe start to choose whole grain breads/rolls that are higher in fiber and will therefore fill you up more quickly.

    Also as another poster said, watching sodium is important, I think I lost about 4 lbs of just water weight alone when I cut sodium way down, and it can be hiding in so many foods! Is your mom supportive of you trying to get healthier and lose weight? It helps to have supportive people around, if she is willing to get on board maybe you can try out new recipes together :-)
  • Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door
    Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door Posts: 735 Member
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    It's taken me 2 1/2 years to get from 250+ pounds to 178 pounds where I am now

    what I would say to you is two things

    1. take it one step at a time , one day at time

    2. don't focus on how far you have to go, but instead focus on how far you've come
  • emrogers
    emrogers Posts: 328 Member
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    I am the type of person that needs to work out AND watch what I eat to lose ANYTHING scale wise. That's just the way my body responds. I was in your shoes several months ago when I couldn't get the scale to move at all. However, I wanted to see results but wanted to stuff my face on the weekends with whatever my heart desired. Then I'd cry and ***** about it and give up and do it all over again. The bottom line is that you have to clean up your diet, when I mean diet, I don't mean give up everything you love, I mean, eat in moderation, LEARN that you can't eat out every night. I finally stopped feeling sorry for myself and decided to commit and clean up my eating. I've also been busting butt in the gym 5-6 days a week. Guess, what? I'm finally down 4lbs, yea, it's not what I thought either, I thought by now I'd be down 8! but guess what, the scale is moving in the right direction, I've also lost over 10 inches all over and its been a consistent working out AND clean eating for about a month.

    So, glad you realize you're not 100% there yet but you're on your way. You have to be fed up with being fed up. Oh and guess what? Once you see that scale moving and you losing, it becomes ADDICTING then you go HAM the next week and the scale moves AGAIN!

    Good luck!
    Elce
  • Shetchncn1
    Shetchncn1 Posts: 260 Member
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    I have no words except keep trying. Nothing with happen if you don't try. And this is not the funny part- we are getting older and it will get harder. So keep trying!!!!
  • ajroberts11
    ajroberts11 Posts: 29 Member
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    I know how you feel. When I first started here at MFP, I had horrible eating habits, virtually no exercise (except walking my doggies). It took me quite a while to find what worked for me. Logging EVERYTHING and not lieing to myself was the first step. If I was going to eat crap, then I was going to log crap. Once I was able to take accountability for what I was eating, I started to make adjustments to my diet and tried to add more exercise in my daily activity.

    After a couple of months of figuring out what changes I could make that I could and WOULD stick with the rest of my life, things started to happen; I started the drop the pounds, feel healthier and have much more energy.

    Give yourself some time, TAKE A HARD LOOK at your lifestyle and start to make changes and move more. For me, if I would have looked at the BIG picture right away, I may not have made it this far.

    Just please don't give up. Your health is worth the little bit of extra work that it will take to get there. After doing this for a little more than an year now, this isn't hard anymore, this is how I choose to live. I hope you can get here too!

    This is great advice! I hope you really read it!

    Change is so hard, and it's even harder when you feel overwhelmed by the big picture. Do what you can, as you are able to incorporate it into your life. Make each day an opportunity to do something healthy; add an apple for a snack, eat frozen grapes instead of ice cream, walk a little further or a little faster than you did the last time... each day make one choice that is healthier than what you chose yesterday.

    You CAN do it!
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
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    Hey, I don't even know you and I'm proud of you.

    I haven't taken the long road and can't relate to that, but you appear to be on the right track and all you can do from here is be patient. I agree with others that have recommended weight training. I think it's normal to feel unsure of what you're doing, but you're on the right track. The scale can be deceptive and obsessive. If your waist looks less bloated, then you're on the right track. Walking works wonders! I used to walk at lunch daily and lost inches as a result. Keep up the walks! Good job!
  • NewCaddy
    NewCaddy Posts: 845 Member
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    Its hard to make changes...I understand. I've been doing this for just over two months and have lost 20 pounds (lots more to go). What worked for me is to focus on one food item and one fitness item. I was a terrible pop/soda drinker and while I definitely logged my food to watch the calorie intake, I didn't really change the foods I was eating at first. I just cut out my pop. I allowed myself one a week (much better than the 2-3 I drank each day). Fitness, I joined a gym and decided I was going to go 3 times a week.

    Now I am working on other things. Trying to do better with salads and salad dressing. I've now added the 30 Day Shred to 5 times a week with 2 days off plus my gym.

    Many of us have been here before. I've quit in the past because it was do or die. Well, I went from one extreme to the next too quickly and couldn't stick to it. This time around I realize I'm a work in progress. We all have set backs (for me this past weekend it was dinner and drinks :drinker: with my two sisters on a Friday night....it led into a hungover, not healthy Saturday) but the big thing is to get back on the horse....my Sunday was good :bigsmile:

    Good luck!!
  • EatYourVeg
    EatYourVeg Posts: 55
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    I noticed that most of your main meals (Breakfast, Dinner Lunch etc) are good, but you're snacking on things in between... they're tipping you over the edge of your allowance and snacking is never consistent.

    I think going through your cupboards and throwing out ANYTHING you know deep down inside is not good for you.
    Make the most of My Fitness Pal and I would also suggest going for walks! They work wonders for not just burning some extra calories but they make you feel good too.
  • FifiLaPhue
    FifiLaPhue Posts: 20 Member
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    I will encourage you because I have been JUST LIKE YOU! Started at the gym on Feb 28th 2012 at 266 lbs. Faithfully went 5 days a week - 30 min cardio, 30 light weights. DID NOT BUDGE an ounce!

    Gave up ( in my head) about 6 months later, while watching the scale climb to 269. People tried to console me: Dont worry, you are gaining muscle. I said: NO ONE wants 269 lbs of MUSCLE!

    Anyway, started Weight Watchers and lost between 1/2 to 1 lb a week, got to 261. GREAT! Then my father became ill...up went the weight. I agree that at this point was not really trying. My HEART wasn't in it! But my body was doing the gym thing. Went back up to 269.

    So I guess like you, I have only started to get really SERIOUS about this weight loss thing since February of this year once I "got over" the fact that my Father died. I looked at my food choices more clearly- my WW points and my Fitness Pal calorie intake, and found that despite the low calorie intake, and sticking to points, my CARBOHYDRATE intake on some days was VERY high.

    I have cut carbs to 20-50 grams a day, increased green leafy vegetables, eat protein with every meal ( but in 4oz portion sizes) and have lost 6 lbs since January 25 which was my decision making day at WW.

    I track every day on both sites, and ensure I am not overeating carbs- NO FRUIT FOR ME! That was my killer. WW allows unlimited fruit and vegetables, unfortunately you can over-do. So I am a Meat, Green Vegs and an occasional complex starch eater - nothing that is WHITE in color- bread, potatoes, sugar etc.

    I believe that most people lose well on this or a variation of this low carb lifestyle. I suggest you try it for a while, and see if it works for you....you don't have to stay on it forever, but my personal experience is that CARBS are my enemy.

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