weight loss obstacles we all face... :o)

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TiniTurtle
TiniTurtle Posts: 595 Member
in Motivation and Support
so i was messaging back & forth with another girlie on here about the 6 Week Six-Pack & we were talking about being able to do it 6 days a week & the obstacles we have for our success... some are funny & some are just simply a pain, but i was wondering what the REST of MFP goes through to exercise & meet their caloric goals.

AFM- When it comes to exercising, i have a whole slew of excuses to keep me from pulling on my sneakers for a run or turning on the DVD player; mostly my nosey mother, who i will NOT workout in front of- i overcome that by doing my DVD's when she works evening shifts & i'm babysitting my cousin (he's 9 & we have custody of him) & occasionally i make him do them with me :o) i also don't have much time with my bf, who just started night shifts. we don't live together yet, so when we are both free (a rarity) we spend that time together & i'm not going to want him watching me suffer through a JM workout! & then i'm in school full time (only till march 21st though, yay!) & nursing school is a lot of reading & hw & studying & my program is an intensive one, so some nights after class/clinical, i just want nothing more than to curl up in bed with the tv on or a non-medical based book.
With food... i still live with my mother & i don't come from a family who cooks much, so we eat out fairly often, thankfully most nutritional information is listed online these days for common restaurants, so i'm able to look it up before ordering. i've overcome that by using the MFP iphone app & the computer when it isn't already on here or i've specialized it & i also began buying my OWN groceries (lol my cousin refers to it as Jen's food whenever he wants something i've bought) & i bring my lunch most days to clinical or class to avoid the temptation to eat out with my classmates... which is another obstacle in and of itself- nursing school. students bring in food their kids made, we eat out constantly on breaks, nursing stations at clinical almost always have yummy food to pick at from patient's families & then you have my bf in there of course- & keep in mind he is underweight (6'4" & 145-150lbs) due to an abnormally FAST metabolism that i pray my daughters inherit one day :o) my bf eats a ton of fast food & because we don't live together yet (i won't till we are at least engaged), we don't have a place to cook together, so we end up eating out most meals. thankfully he is very understanding & lets me pick where we go, so it is more of a rotate between tgif, applebee's, & cheesecake factory type places (so i can keep my dinners less than 600 calories), but say an example lunch for us- we go to subway & i get my little 6inch, cut in half lol & a bag of sunchips or a cookie & he gets a footlong with a bag of regular lays chips (he likes to eat them ON his sandwich) & then we'll go through the wendy's drive through & he'll order for himself 10-20 nuggets & 1-2 large fries & maybe a chocolate frosty too (depending on how hungry he is)... so we go back to his house to eat & i haveto make my little 6 inch last while he scarfs all that baha so i'm sure you can all see why it wasn't difficult for me to overeat & gain comfortable relationship weight with him. i'd love to get my hands on his lab work, i'd imagine his cholesterol is through the roof!

anyway- i was wondering what everyone else on MFP goes through to overcome life so they can own their day & be happy & healthy :o)

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  • kisses4cutie3
    kisses4cutie3 Posts: 3
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    As far as career/school goes, I'm right there with you. Literally! LOL. I come from a hardcore filipino family and my mom cooks everyday. That's not necessarily a good thing, because she cooks WHATEVER. And by whatever, I mean, CARBS, FATS, SODIUM, CHOLESTEROL...and the list goes on...and of course, RICE, RICE, RICE! It's great food, but not so great on my weight.

    As you know, I've cut off rice completely and changed into cauliflower rice (Have you tried making it by the way?). It cut off my daily caloric intake by more than half. Overcoming that obstacle was a hard one but I pushed on.

    I mostly bring my own food from home when in clinicals or school but if I do decide to go out and eat, I make sure I go on the websites to see the nutritional facts ahead of time to stay below my caloric daily goal. So far, so good. One day at a time. Exercising has also helped to keep me a little more active than I used to be. Thankfully, it's not the holiday season, because around that time, you wouldn't believe how many filipino foods my family makes. It's enough to last a person's lifetime...
  • kbloodworth
    kbloodworth Posts: 107 Member
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    Interesting. I don't face any of those same obstacles. I used to get embarrassed if people watched me workout, but (this is going to sound stupid) after watching The Last Samurai, I realized "too many minds" prevents you from doing what needs to be done.

    For several years i went to school full time and worked full time, and that is when I gained a majority of my weight. Now I'm done with school, but I do have a job that takes 45-50 hours pretty regularly. I just pack a lot of lunches/snacks, and schedule in my workouts.

    I used to eat out all the time, but have forced myself to cook over the last year. It saves money, it's better for you, and with my dietary restrictions (no gluten or dairy) it is almost impossible for me to eat out and not get sick.

    The part I can relate to: your bf eating junk all day and never gaining weight... my sister and her daughter moved in with us about a year ago (just till she gets back on her feet), and she seriously eats 2x what I do, and is somehow more than 30 lbs lighter than me. And she eats junk. She brings home Sonic, Wendy's or Del Taco all the time, and when she does cook at home she makes things like frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, and beef burritos smothered in cheese and a half cup of sour cream. She also drinks Dr. Pepper (my favorite drink) every single day. And she has dessert almost every night: a milkshake with three scoops of ice cream or a frozen drumstick ice cream cone. She is also a baker, and makes cookies, cakes, brownies (all the things I can't eat) and leaves them around the house. A few months ago she made chocolate-covered bacon?! This is my sister- same genetics! How is this f*ckin possible? Obviously she took after the Asian side of the family with her small frame, and I took after the Italian/Russian side with my stockier build and curves. I keep telling myself, this situation was created to test my willpower and discipline, but honestly, I can't wait until she moves out.

    Luckily, my husband has been very supportive. For the most part he eats the same things I eat, since I do the cooking (of course he's lost weight on my diet without even trying).
  • kbloodworth
    kbloodworth Posts: 107 Member
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    Another Filipino! My grandmother (rest in peace) would cook a feast even if I was only stopping by for 30 minutes, and get offended if I didn't eat all of it. Her catchphrases include "Eat! Eat!" and "Why you so 'taba'?"

    Yes and there is always a pot of rice, and lumpia and Adobo... Yum... I miss it.

    My other grandmother is Japanese and it was variations of the same thing: fresh rice in the rice cooker, egg rolls, and Sukiyaki. I think I'm going to have stir fry tonight.
  • kisses4cutie3
    kisses4cutie3 Posts: 3
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    yes, they feed and feed you but call you fat to your face. LOL. I never could understand but they're older so we have to respect them no matter what.
  • TiniTurtle
    TiniTurtle Posts: 595 Member
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    @ kblood- have you tried the diet dr pepper? i don't drink regular soda, but the commercials say they taste the same baha & i'm concerned my bf is going to lose weight too once i'm cooking for us & we're having less sodium & he'll me eating so much less than he is now. he teases that he'll still be getting fast food as snacks between my meals, because he'll miss his nuggets.

    @kisses/Doreen- lol i haven't & need to! i'll end up texting you when i buy cauliflower so you can remind me how to make it :o) possibly tonight actually, if i get to the store.
  • AmyW4225
    AmyW4225 Posts: 302 Member
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    I can totally relate! I am graduating in April from nursing school! I understand all the hardwork that we have to put in. I also have two young children and a hubby that works 3rd shift. He watches the kids while I am at school and when I get home, he sleeps. That leaves me very little time and energy for weight loss. I gained 10 pounds in the beginning of school and maxed out at 173 pounds! Then, I told myself, ENOUGH!! I became conscious of everything that went in my mouth! No more snacking while studying and no more crap food from the cafeteria. I lost a bunch of my weight while on summer break and then continued to count calories and exercise(when I find time). I have lost some weight during school and then comes the harder semesters! All I have been able to do is maintain!! It's tough, just do what you can until graduation and step it up a notch in time for summer. :wink: I am finishing with an easier semester(leadership) and have been on spring break for the last week, so I've been hitting the gym as hard as I can! I am hopeful to start losing again before graduation in 7 weeks!

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