Burned out trying to lose weight
tar284811
Posts: 3 Member
Hi everyone, this is my first time posting here but I've been logging my food for a while now. I started my journey at 270 lbs. I lost 50 pounds through healthy eating but I've slowly started to regain the weight. Today I'm at 225 and have recently been a little higher - losing and regaining about 8 pounds. This is not only frustrating but has become upsetting. I've been trying to lose weight and keep it off for maybe 7 or 8 years now. I successfully lost weight once and was happy, but it didn't last. I gained it all back and more. Before that I had lost 30 pounds and also regained weight. I'm officially burned out because of this weight loss rollercoaster I've been on. It's really getting to me and I don't how much failure I can take.
I've researched different methods of exercise - Pilates, Barre, strength training, Fitness Blender videos, yoga - but there's always something I can't do: not strong enough, bad knees, etc. Also, there is always some reason I can't (or won't) exercise: too tired and 'not in the mood' are big ones.
I don't want to give up but it's looking like the best option right now. I don't know what to do anymore. Please help!
I've researched different methods of exercise - Pilates, Barre, strength training, Fitness Blender videos, yoga - but there's always something I can't do: not strong enough, bad knees, etc. Also, there is always some reason I can't (or won't) exercise: too tired and 'not in the mood' are big ones.
I don't want to give up but it's looking like the best option right now. I don't know what to do anymore. Please help!
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Replies
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Do you own and regularly use a food scale? If the answer is no, try that first.0
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Pick any of those exercises and do the parts that you CAN do. And work up to the parts you can't currently do (or skip them if they're injury related). It's normal not to be able to do a new exercise right off the hop. Very normal. Try to lose weight slowly... 1 lb a week is enough. It's still downward (even 0.5 lb a week is downward)! That way hopefully you won't stress out too much. It might be a little frustrating sometimes how slow it seems, but just remember that statistically, slower weight loss is more likely to stick since you have a long time to hammer in those good habits.
Also, don't avoid every treat food. You can eat 80-85% healthy and still have room for the foods you love - as long as you plan for them. And you'll still be eating healthier than a lot of people by doing that.
I agree with using a food scale to measure your portions. It makes it a lot easier to be more accurate with your logging. And they're only $10 - $15 online.0 -
What will happen if you give up? Nothing good! I would suggest you need to start thinking about this journey in a more positive, STRONG light....I understand you are tired, and frustrated...but this is a forever thing, your body...and you ARE WORTH IT! Time to get your head on straight, stop making excuses, and take this weightloss thing by the horns...YOU CAN! As above, go get yourself a little digital food scale...you can find them at Walmart for 15 bux....I've heard Amazon has them cheap too! Then, start logging everything you put into your mouth, and start moving your body more. STICK TO THE PLAN. It works!! If you have a "bad" day, put it behind you, and don't let it turn into a bad month. Today is the first day of your new success, if you really want it! xoxo
Feel free to add me if you like, I'd love to help you if I can!0 -
We have all been there once, twice, hundreds of times. I don't have the perfect answer. You did it before you can certainly do it again!! Don't beat yourself up this journey is HARD. I have also gained and lost and gained and am still trying to lose. We can't give up nor can we make excuses!!! Walking is good exercise! You don't have to be a fitness guru just get moving. You don't even have to exercise to lose weight. Make mini goals towards your ultimate goal and maybe that will keep you motivated, I make excuses all the time and it has gotten me nowhere. I want to lose 40 pounds and I have made up in my mind that this is last time I am starting over and I have to stick with it. Am i going to have bad sometimes, yep but i am still going to keep going. That swim suit and those shorts are calling my name. Good luck! Feel free to friend me if you want me along on your journey!0
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What if you changed your goal to "eat well for life"? The scale is a cruel taskmaster, and often does not reflect our hard work. It goes up and down based on water weight fluctuations and only the average result over months gives a decent picture of what's really going on.
What if you rephrased your weight loss story to having successfully lost the weight several times? This means you are good at it and you know what to do.
Even though I've lost a lot of weight by reducing calories, my fitness goals are my favourite thing because the "rewards" are so much more tangible than the almighty scale. Like being able to run to the store. With my legs, not the car. Again, rephrasing your plans to the things you can do instead of the things holding you back can flip your ambition back to hopefulness. I am in my fifties with bad knees and a belly that gets in the way during yoga. I get good advice, do my stretches and strengthening exercises, modify moves as necessary, and do all the things. Modified.
I'd like your opinion of this blog post, if you are so inclined.
http://www.drsharma.ca/running-down-the-up-escalator
I find Dr. Sharma to be sympathetic to the dieter's dilemma. His sympathy made me braver.0 -
Thank you for all the replies everyone!
P.s. - jgnatca, I completely agree with your opinion. Thanks for sharing.0 -
What if you changed your goal to "eat well for life"?
exactly this...
I know "lifestyle change" is cliche and honestly kind of annoying...but that truly clicked for me when I started looking at this from a life perspective and a wellness perspective and changed my mindset from the scale to actually eating for health and wellness...same for exercise.
For a long time now, my goals haven't revolved around some arbitrary number on the scale but rather being as healthy and fit as I can possibly be. My goals are to live a long and healthy life and to watch my boys grow into men and travel the world with my wife when I retire rather than being laid up or sick or worse when I'm 60+.
I eat and I exercise towards those goals...having lost 40 Lbs in the process has been a fantastic bi-product of good livin'0 -
I totally understand your frustration with the gaining and then losing yo-yo that you have experienced. I suggest that you use MFP to analyze your eating patterns and the types of food that you eat at certain times of the day. This method helped me to realize that I was wanting to eat certain kinds of foods at certain "periods" of stress in my life.
Also, you need to find out why you feel moody or tired when it comes time for you to exercise. It might be as simple as something that you are eating messing with you or even lack of good sleep.
Best of luck to you.0 -
If the exercise programs you listed are too hard for you, why not start with something simple -- walking! -- and build up slowly. The important thing is to be active. Stretching is also very important. If you start a walking program, you will gradually find you have more energy and want to do more. If the weather prevents you from walking outside, try "mall walking." Many people do this, and some malls even have special early hours for people who just want to do mall walking, rather than shopping. The most important thing is to do SOMETHING and to do it regularly. It isn't that the walking will burn huge amounts of calories, but it helps your metabolism and will make you feel better. It has many other benefits, too.
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Try Shakeology. I have been using Shakeology for just under 60 days, I feel great, don't crave the foods that are not good for us. I also cut bread and pasta out of my meals. I am continuing to loose weight and feel great. I have a friend who introduced me to it as well, she has lost almost 40 pounds, and reduced her insulin intake by 1/2.-6
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Congratulations on your original loss!!! For a different perspective, instead of focusing on weight loss, change it to improving long-term health through small steps. Go for a walk, do wall- pushups, brush and floss before bed, try to move around the house continuously for 10 minutes puttering a couple times a day, choose to drink a glass of water instead of a soda, leave 2 bites of the junk food on the plate, or try to log honestly for a week without changing anything to get a real perspective of how much and what you are eating. These small changes will start making an impact over time and will lead to other positive steps. Try not to focus so much on the scale, but rather on other indicators, how your clothes fit, walking up the flight of stairs without getting winded,etc0
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too tired = have you had blood tests done recently? I had that for a while, turned out to be an iron deficiency.
Consider opening up your diary so we can see what your caloric intake/foods are.0 -
Try Shakeology. I have been using Shakeology for just under 60 days, I feel great, don't crave the foods that are not good for us. I also cut bread and pasta out of my meals. I am continuing to loose weight and feel great. I have a friend who introduced me to it as well, she has lost almost 40 pounds, and reduced her insulin intake by 1/2.
Don't waste your money...0 -
Try Shakeology. I have been using Shakeology for just under 60 days, I feel great, don't crave the foods that are not good for us. I also cut bread and pasta out of my meals. I am continuing to loose weight and feel great. I have a friend who introduced me to it as well, she has lost almost 40 pounds, and reduced her insulin intake by 1/2.
No.... Don't do this. It's just another scam quick fix and as soon as you stop you will put it all back on.
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This article was linked by an MFP member, SideSteel, who is a mod on the Eat, Train, Progress community here and also hosts the ETP Facebook page. It may help you think through your frustration and help you figure out how to make a more lasting change/mindset. It's pretty good. I only read it yesterday, but it mirrored pretty much what happened to me; and I found the "weightloss ride" to be exhilarating and freeing--not a burden or nightmare. I wish you the best in your journey and hope this helps.
Finding Your Why0 -
You can do this - you have proved that you can. I'm new here but have spent a lot of time reading the advice. The constant theme here is success is a given if you log your food and eat within your calorie limits. What is so cool is that it's not all that complicated. And when you reach your goal, you will still have as much support as you need to keep the weight off. Good luck on your journey. Feel free to add me.0
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I agree with what many folks on here have posted. I went from 290 to 207 in about 8 months...I have since come back up to 240. But...I can now bench press double what I could when I was 207...and can run a mile in under 10 minutes. Unthinkable before! Weight, strength, a healthy cardiovascular system, and general good health are not always tied together. I know skinny people who've had heart attacks, and heavy people who lived to be 90. You have to find what is making you feel better, both physically and mentally, and do that activity.
Everyone has a niche. I like to visit the gym twice a week, and walk around the farms near my home on a regular basis with my wife and kids. I like to eat whole wheat bread, real butter, whole cheese, have a glass of milk straight from a cow, enjoy a steak on weekends...and then temper that while I'm at my office with protein shake lunches, hard boiled eggs, avocados, fresh fruit, veggies with Hummus...it's what works for me. Just keep your chin up and find your niche...what makes you feel healthy?1 -
Shakeology is not a scam. It is a way of healthy eating. Have you tried it and failed? Is that why you feel it is a scam?-5
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Shakeology is not a scam. It is a way of healthy eating. Have you tried it and failed? Is that why you feel it is a scam?
Your "friend" who lost 40 pounds isn't also selling you the shakes and trying to make you a consultant is she? Have you hosted a party for her yet? Shared your FB friends to have a FB party for her? Bought crappy samples as stocking stuffers?
Be careful - that kind of support will turn you into the next tier in her pyramid. Then, like all good "work from home" opportunities and "own your own business while helping TRANSFORM LIVES OMG!!!" you can take to the hills of FB and MFP the tales of your success and "opportunities" for self employment and the life changing experience that shakeology was.
It's a scam. I bet you are not loosing any faster than anyone else eating the same calories and at the same weight / activity level.
It doesn't make you loose weight. It's not a program. It's a low cal meal that basically forces you into a deficit since you are practically eating 1 meal less. That's probably about 200-300 calories you are shaving off. Any protein shake will do the same thing.0 -
Shakeology is not a scam. It is a way of healthy eating. Have you tried it and failed? Is that why you feel it is a scam?
To me, it is a scam in the sense that it doesn't teach you how to eat to continue to lose, or to maintain, without it. It perpetuates the yo-yo dieting so prevalent among those types of diets, and yo-yo dieting is known to have a negative effect on our health.0 -
Actually my friend did not try to sell me anything. I saw her results--we have been friends for 30 years. My shake includes items I was already using in my breakfast plan, such as non-fat greek yogurt, Almond milk, fresh fruit, etc. I am no longer hungry before lunch, and don't require a 3 pm snack to make it through the day. I enjoy the shake so much, I have worked it into my week night routine 2 nights a week. It works for me, and I see what it has done for others. It is the ingredients in the shake that work for me.0
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blankiefinder wrote: »Shakeology is not a scam. It is a way of healthy eating. Have you tried it and failed? Is that why you feel it is a scam?
To me, it is a scam in the sense that it doesn't teach you how to eat to continue to lose, or to maintain, without it. It perpetuates the yo-yo dieting so prevalent among those types of diets, and yo-yo dieting is known to have a negative effect on our health.
Yep. That ^^0 -
FYI, Shakeology isn't a 200-300 calorie shake either. I guess you haven't done your homework.0
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All MLM products are ripoffs. They don't teach you healthy habits, they're not actually good for you and they leave a big hole in your wallet. People who tell you they work are only trying to trade on your desperation to sell you this junk. Eat REAL food, paying attention to calorie counts and nutrition. Weigh everything so you aren't fooled as to portion size.0
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First, I was once told by a kinesologist, that it might be hard for an obese person to start a regular exercise regimen. It can be very stressful for the body because, the extra weight is already impairing our movement. He suggested to loose weight to a somewhat middle overweight BMI and then start that kind of exercise. Meanwhile you can focus on low impact, lower intensity, like simply walking. You will walk longer and faster as time go and eventually you can move on to higher impact and increased intensity.
Second I tried a few different time to lose weight. They are diet preference for each of us. We are all different. Your new diet should be a way of eating that you can keep for the rest of your life. Don't over do it by eating 1200cal. A good way for me to find a long term eating plan was to calculate my maintenance calories for my goal weight and eat that amount. Once I will reach maintenance, I will already be used to eat that amount and i will have develop habits that should stay. Are you going to drink shake all your life? no then don't drink shakes. Anything that you believe you will not be able to commit for life should be pushed aside. Relearn how to eat properly: making the right choices and portion size. Just this process or re learning to cook, choose food, design meals and portion is a slow learning curve.
You also sometime need to do some introspection and find a good reason with an emotional connection, a meaningful emotional connection, why you want/need to lose the weight. It really helps to stay focus when you faces some struggles on your journey to health.
You are worth it.
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Learn to love yourself again, just as you are. If you love yourself it will be easier to stay motivated. Also, you could try eating organic and eat mostly a plant based diet (Nothing packaged, nothing with additives and toxins) Eating lots of toxins will actually make your body hold onto your fat for protection against these toxins. I did this before i had my baby and I lost all my fat and felt amazingly energized and healthy. Its a long slow process but you wouldnt be on here if you werent trying. Good job!!0
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