I'm literally at a loss as to what to do.

Inemity
Inemity Posts: 3
edited November 13 in Getting Started
I need to lose a LOT of weight. I have high blood pressure, and I'm at risk for diabetes. Every day I try to eat better, but by the end of the night I'm eating junk food and drinking a soda. My motivation should be there, but it's not. I try to be on the treadmill 40 minutes a day (thank you Sons of Anarchy for keeping me interested so I get those 40 minutes in), and I've been getting extra exercise from shoveling, since I live in Mass and we have like 6 feet state-wide. The hardest parts for me, is feeling like 40 minutes a day isn't enough, and not knowing what else to do and trying to get my diet right. 300 grams of protein? How do I get that, every day, without getting tired of eating the same food every day? What if I'm craving a soda? I like the carbonation, so I try to drink the carbonated 0 calorie flavored waters, but they're mostly tasteless. I'm at my wits end. Sorry for the long-winded post, I have nowhere else to rant about this, and would love to get some advice/opinions.

Replies

  • mscheftg
    mscheftg Posts: 485 Member
    Why 300 grams of protein?
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    Here's my 2 cents. Take it or leave it.

    First things first: you need to get your diet under control. Nutrition is for weight loss; exercise is for fitness. So I know it's easier said than done but you need to lose the junk food and sodas, that is unless it fits into your calorie intake for the day, but it sounds like it does not.

    Exercise can come later on once you get your eating habits cleaned up a bit. And here's some tough love: you aren't going to be able to eat whatever you want, whenever you want. You just can't. If you can fit it in, great, but you can't eat a whole pizza just because you feel like it or a 2 liter of soda because you don't like the taste of diet. That's how you got where you are now.

    It takes some time to start new habits and break old ones. Don't do too much at once or you'll get overwhelmed. I"d say start with the diet.
  • DirrtyH
    DirrtyH Posts: 664 Member
    Questions:

    1. What is your calorie goal?
    2. Why do you need 300 grams of protein?
    3. Why do you feel like 40 minutes a day isn't enough?
    4. What is wrong with having some soda every once in awhile? (I agree it's better not to drink your calories if you can avoid it, but if you can make it fit and don't go crazy, why not have some?)
  • farfromthetree
    farfromthetree Posts: 982 Member
    Hi, You are trying to do too many things at once. You can do this but you need to take a step back and do small changes.
    I would focus on weight loss for now. Weight loss happens in the kitchen, fitness in the gym...Fitness will come and is so much more fun when you have dropped a few pounds!!

    Don't be so hard on yourself as far as getting a workout in. Just start cutting back your calories. Find out how many calories you should be eating so you are at a deficit. If you need help, please reach out and ask someone to help you figure this out. Don't worry about hitting 300 grams of protein, just eat protein
    If I want a soda, I have a diet soda or a sparkling flavored water. If you want the carbonation, have it. Do not deprive yourself...that is a recipe for failure. If you want something in particular, fit it in your daily calorie goal. But, when you have used all of your calories for the day....stop. Find something else to do or do what I did and just go to bed!!

    Read MFP, pay attention to the people with thousands of posts...they have been here a long time and know what they are talking about. Read this Link:


    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    It is a learning process and every day you learn more and more. When I started I was pre diabetic and had high blood pressure. Both gone.
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
    Don't have the food around.
    Make it a point to your family that tempting foods can't be in the house.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    Inemity wrote: »
    I need to lose a LOT of weight. I have high blood pressure, and I'm at risk for diabetes. Every day I try to eat better, but by the end of the night I'm eating junk food and drinking a soda. My motivation should be there, but it's not. I try to be on the treadmill 40 minutes a day (thank you Sons of Anarchy for keeping me interested so I get those 40 minutes in), and I've been getting extra exercise from shoveling, since I live in Mass and we have like 6 feet state-wide. The hardest parts for me, is feeling like 40 minutes a day isn't enough, and not knowing what else to do and trying to get my diet right. 300 grams of protein? How do I get that, every day, without getting tired of eating the same food every day? What if I'm craving a soda? I like the carbonation, so I try to drink the carbonated 0 calorie flavored waters, but they're mostly tasteless. I'm at my wits end. Sorry for the long-winded post, I have nowhere else to rant about this, and would love to get some advice/opinions.

    Perhaps you're being too restrictive with your diet daily, which leads you to eat "junk" food at the end of the day?

    I make coke fit into my day, because I like coke. I also eat lots of different things people would consider "junk" food because I enjoy it. I pre-log my days, so I can everything (including treats) fit. I've lost 70 pounds so far and I've stuck with this for 10 months now.

    It would help if you opened up your diary, so we can give more specific advice :)
  • mscheftg
    mscheftg Posts: 485 Member
    To further my original post... here's some thoughts...

    Did you set your calorie goal or go with the My Fitness Pal option?
    What are you eating throughout the day that is "eating better" but leaving you hungry by nightfall?
    Do you have any supporters around you?
    Do you have a goal weight? Are the pounds too lose so large that you can't imagine ever losing that much?

    I see that you have no MFP friends yet, either. It would be a good idea to have some friends. And start logging your foods (with an open diary) so that people can help you out. We can't give quality suggestions without knowing how it can be improved. :)
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    Exercise is great for overall health but you shouldn't need more than 40mins to get a good burn in...try sprints and high frequency sessions to really get the blood pumping and burn those extra calories

    BUT....There simply is no other way around it. You need to get your eating under control. Weight loss is 90% accomplished in the kitchen. I used my home exercise bike for 3 months and watched 2 entire seasons of a sit-com, lifted weights and really didn't lose any weight because my eating habits were brutal (I also work construction so get plenty of daily activity).

    MFP was great cause it took the guesswork out of what to eat. The honest answer is it doesn't matter. Just stay under your caloric limits and the weight will come off. You can fine tune your intake of protein, carbs, salts, etc once you are used to eating under control. I would not worry about that until you make some progress. You may find all the restrictions deflating and hard to manage otherwise.

    Keep us informed, and feel free to add me.

    I definitely can relate. I managed to do it, and know you will too.
  • farfromthetree
    farfromthetree Posts: 982 Member
    dmpizza wrote: »
    Don't have the food around.
    Make it a point to your family that tempting foods can't be in the house.

    What works better than this is to learn how to eat so you do not feel deprived, this way you will be less tempted inside and outside the home. Because if the tempting foods are not in the house, they are going to be everywhere else.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    300 grams of protein is crazy ridiculous - even half that is abnormally high for most folks.

    The rule of thumb is 1 gram per pound of *lean body mass*, not per pound of you. What's your body fat percentage?
  • coueswhitetail
    coueswhitetail Posts: 309 Member
    It does sound like you are trying to do too much without a clear plan and getting overwhelmed.

    My suggestion for easier weight loss is to eat more beans, fruits and vegetables and cut the junk food and soda. All you have to do to lose a pound a week is to eat 500 calories a day under your maintenance calories. Use MFP to calculate your calorie needs to lose one pound a week. Then just log all your food and keep to your calorie goals. As you go along you can tweak what you are eating to improve your nutrition or cut more calories or balance your macros. But you will learn a lot just by logging your food even before you make any changes to your diet. You will start to see the impact of that one extra soda or that small bag of chips on your caloric intake. Then you can start cutting things that give you the largest bang for your caloric buck.

    I found Dr Fuhrmans Eat to Live book very helpful to implementing a change in eating that is sustainable and highly increases our nutrient intake. You might want to check out his website. http://www.drfuhrman.com/default.aspx You don't have to buy the books or products but you can get good advice on how to modify your diet on his website or by watching his videos on Youtube that are from his show on PBS.
  • robinmmurphy3
    robinmmurphy3 Posts: 65 Member
    I understand the carbonation craving. For me it's Diet Pepsi. It's like my "crack". I know how bad it is, but crave the carbonation SO bad. I have found my savior. Zip Fizz! Love it. If you are not familiar, it is a drink mix that you add to water. Comes in individual tubes and in several flavors. It is fizzy and flavorful and only 10-20 calories a tube, plus it's loaded with vitamins, green tea and other things that are much better for us than sugar and Aspartame. I buy it at Costco or you can order it from Amazon, etc.
    Start out small, make small changes or you will feel overwhelmed like you already are. You can do this! Take one day at a time!!
  • dianabergenpt
    dianabergenpt Posts: 3
    edited February 2015
    Hi,
    I never post stuff, but just read this & want to send a bit of encouragement:

    I'm into fitness, but LOVE to eat.
    I've been using MFP for 5 weeks now, and just started to see results.
    As earlier people have posted - don't be so hard on yourself. Eating better and regular exercise should eventually become a Lifestyle, and not just for weight loss (I've learned this in the past, but we all fall off the horse now and then - expect that, and just keep going).

    Start looking at your "Nutrition" daily, to see where you're going over/under - it really makes a difference. Again, it took me FIVE weeks to start to see trends, and make changes that were DO-ABLE, for ME.
    No one can tell you what you can and can't eat, except YOU. If you like soda, you're not going to be happy if you go cold turkey. But, after a while, you might realize that cutting some calories/carbs somewhere else allows you to have it guilt-free, or maybe if you have a half of a soda twice a day, you'll be happy & not feel deprived (maybe drink a glass of water in between sips - filling up on water has really cut down my cravings, and forces you to take a break from eating, to assess if you REALLY are still hungry, or just eating for pleasure.).

    And, DO EXERCISE - if you don't mind it/enjoy it, you'll be happier afterwards because you can have extra calories!
  • dianabergenpt
    dianabergenpt Posts: 3
  • dianabergenpt
    dianabergenpt Posts: 3


  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Hi, I've LOST a LOT of weight, so I can speak from the benefit of hindsight. If you have a LOT of weight to lose, you aren't going to do it in a month. So settle in for the long haul and incorporate those habits that you can continue the rest of your life.
    Every day I try to eat better, but by the end of the night I'm eating junk food and drinking a soda.

    Log your current eating habits in to MFP for a few weeks to get a sense of what you are doing. I get the sense that you are pouring a lot of energy in to being "good" all day and when your reserves of discipline are gone, it's back to old habits. I suggest rather that you eat happy throughout the day (within reason), cutting back a LITTLE on your portions. Then focus on getting the nighttime eating under control.
    ....[exercise]...

    All good. Keep it up.
    300 grams of protein? How do I get that, every day, without getting tired of eating the same food every day?

    Protein is a macro. There's just as much different sorts of proteins as there are carbs, so if you are fearing monotony, make a list of your proteins and have a different one, prepared differently, every day.
    What if I'm craving a soda?
    Find a diet soda you enjoy. Buy one bottle of every flavour you can find until you discover your magic. Find that aspartame and embrace it, baby!

    I think you are making a manager's mistake of confusing important with urgent. It is important to get your health issues under control and lose some critical weight. But this is not a fast fix. Find your groove and go with it.
  • eileensofianmushinfine
    eileensofianmushinfine Posts: 303 Member
    ditch the soda and the junk food. Just don't let it in your house. period. I use a whey protein shake to get more protein in my diet. use the MFP to record everything you eat. I find that when I see it in print/screen, I can start making informed choices about foods that I eat. Remember, weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.
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