Can't seem to get "un" stuck from vicious cycle. Help!

kbean33 · February 2012

Hello all,

I have been on mfp for about a year. It is a great site. I have lost some weight, but nothing significant. I need to lose 30lbs. I think that I have a mental obsession with weight loss that hinders me from sticking to my plan and succeding. I see people who have lost over a hundred pounds, and I am just in awe. Then I think...why can't I lose 30?! I know that I have an emotional tie to food, and that night time is my enemy. I break the night time eating for a few days, and then go off for the next two. I am in sales, and have to go to lunches with clients, which throws me off. I am such a routine type of girl. I do exersize regularly, but because of my eating I stay in the same place. I have been doing this for so long (years!) that it is making me crazy! I am really at a loss (not weight ).I have so much discipline in other areas of my life, but when it comes to food it takes me to my knees. I have a big vacation coming up in April, and I would like to at least have lost 10lbs by then. Has anyone gone through this? Has anyone gone through this and broke the cycle? Thanks for letting me vent.

vvllmm48486969 · February 2012

I feel your pain, my friend. I weighed 266 pounds at my heaviest. My sugar was going up, my cholesterol was through the roof and I knew I had to start watching what I ate. I did pretty good, lost 33 pounds and then, bam! I hit a wall. I hovered at that weight, up a couple pounds, then down a couple pounds, for months. I got a new Android phone and downloaded the "My Fitness Pal" program and it helped keeping a food diary, because I lost another 10 pounds, but it took weeks and weeks and weeks.

I was grocery shopping at one of the big box stores and wandered through the book section and saw "The 17 Day Diet" book. I'd heard about this on Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz both. I know, I know. Another diet book you say! But I bought one and read it and thought, well, this doesn't sound so bad. It has a lot of the foods I was already eating so, I thought, I'll give this a try. I'm like you. I was a evening snacker. Nothing I like better than peanut butter on whole wheat. I had one pretty much every night before bed. Well, I started on the 17 Day Diet and I've starting loosing weight again. Fast. I've just finished the first 17 day cycle and I'm already down nearly 10 pounds in just the first 17 days. (I'm now at 215. That's 51 pounds down altogether). And you eat 5 times a day! B/L/D and two snacks. You are never starving!

There are 4 cycles. You start out on the first cycle, eating low-sugar fruits, lots of green veggies, eggs, chicken and fish and fat free dairy. (Yep, no simple carbs, pop, sugar, etc) This is the "cleansing" cycle. What they are trying to do in the first cycle is break your cravings for simple carbs and sugar. And it does! Believe it or not, after just a few days, I didn't crave those things as much as I did. And now I feel awesome! Believe me, I'm not saying that first week was easy. It wasn't. That first week was the hardest week of my life! The first 3 or 4 days especially I was cranky and felt crappy. I was suffering from carb withdrawal! All the science guys in the world can say there is not such thing as being addicted to carbs. They are wrong! I would have killed for a piece of bread! But now that I've gotten through the cleansing cycle, I don't really miss the bread.

I'm now on Cycle 2 where I get to add a few more food items, like lean beef, lean pork and some complex carbs like potatoes, brown rice and beans. Don't get me wrong! I'm still using my "My Fitness Pal" religiously to log everything I eat. It comes in especially handy when I eat out, which my husband and I do pretty much once a week. Every Cycle you get to add new foods, and by Cycle 3, you're even adding stuff like Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, and such. Once you finish Cycle 3 (each cycle is 17 days), if you still have more weight you want to lose, you go back to Cycle 1 and start over (weight loss isn't as fast on Cycle 2 and Cycle 3). This keeps your body guessing and your metabolism up so you don't have those horrible plateaus. But if you are at your goal weight, then you go to Cycle 4, the stabilization stage (Cycle 4 includes "weekends off" so you can eat your favorite foods without guilt). And you do have to exercise. But, they start you out easy. 17 minutes a day of something physical (walking, jogging, etc). Who can't do something for 17 minutes?

Now, this is not a temporary diet! It is meant to be a permanent lifestyle change. The book gives you the tools you need to learn what kinds of things to eat, and how much to eat and even when to eat it. (no carbs after 2pm!) And you can live on the 17 Day Diet forever. I particularly like the sample menus they give you. It sort of takes the guess work out of what to eat. I love it! My meals are already planned and I know exactly what I need to buy at the store that week for the next 7 days. (And you all are saying, what about the husband? He is a junk food junkie, pizza, burgers, fries, etc. and I have made separate meals for us for years.) And I have tried new foods I have never tried before and found them pretty tasty. Like Eggplant Parm. Maybe you should give this diet, uh, I mean, lifestyle change, a try! You have nothing to lose........but weight!

cmriverside · February 2012

Yes. I think this site has many people like this.

I really think higher protein and less processed carbs was the answer for me. Mostly, higher protein. I used to fill my calories with fruit and breads, cereals, crackers. I was always looking for more.

Then I switched to eating more meat. All my life I was a very low meat eater. It was the "thing" that finally broke my cravings for "more".

Good luck.

tuffytuffy1 · February 2012

I have been here since June and only lost 10 pounds (in fact I think I gained a pound or 2 back after my work trip this week). I go to a personal trainer 3 days a week and also do some interval cardio work. I am 43 and I just cannot seem to take the weight off like I could in my 30's. I don't snack at night, but I do drink alcohol which I know is probably the reason the weight is so slow to come off. I agree with the PP, I think I need to eat more protein, I only get about 50 grams a day. I wish I could help you, I feel your pain.

irefusetoquit · February 2012

I was in that cycle for the longest time about two years ago. I followed nutrition plans (protein, carbs, etc) for some time and gained weight. But what I didn't know is that I was building muscle underneatht he fat.

So I changed my diet. It was very difficult, I'm not going to kid ya. But I chose a very simple, structured meal plan that I stuck to very consistently. In addition to the meal plan, I exercised daily. I just kept on doing it for months and months.

What was really important was logging EVERYTHING that I ate. And I'm talking EVERYTHING THAT YOU PUT UN YOUR MOUTH. I knew that if I was going to eat it, I would pull out my phone to log it in myfitnesspal. And if I was out and I was unsure of the recipe and I couldn't find it in myfitnesspal, I wouldn't eat it and I would choose something else.

The consistency paid off because I dropped weight and inches. But just as you, there were trouble spots.

At the time, I began a new workout program. So I changed my nutrition plan to match it. High protein, low carbs, low sugar, low fat - and I chose foods that I KNEW htat I would eat and stick to! The moment I did that EVERYTHING changed! In six weeks i lost 5 pounds and 15% bodyfat!

Now, I'm using a totally different workout program - but I still stuck with my basic nutrition plan and increased the calories accodingly - without going over my limits! Have I seen changes? YES! Do I feel different? YES!

Can you do this?
ABSOLUTELY!
Go through your nutritional breakdown (fat, carbs, sugar, protein, etc) and find out what is important to you. What do you want lowered?

The biggest concern - go through your nutrition in myfitnesspal - what foods impact you the most - carbs, fat, sugar, etc. Find ways to substitute them with healthier alternatives.

Look its challenging, I know, I've done it. TWICE!

If you need a hand, let me know. We're here to help each other!!

YOU CAN DO IT!!!

xsmilexforxmex · February 2012

I brush my teeth after my last meal or save calories so i can afford asnack after dinner...

daveainsworth · February 2012

You are in a routine, and you need something seriously difficult to shake yourself out of it.

What can you do to change your night-time routine? Exercise later, maybe?

What is there in your house that you can just throw out? What are the three foods in your fridge that are worst for you? Bin them - don't buy them again. If you find yourself binging late at night, but you're good during the day, make sure you don't buy the problem foods that you want to eat late at night.

My other advice is to take on something really big that will force you to act differently. Sign up for something like a half-marathon, and promise to raise money for charity. Once you've told people, you're stuck with it, and you've forced yourself into a position where you have to exercise loads and eat healthily.

Also, remember that people's perceptions are nonsense.

@tuffytuffy1 - 10lbs is a good effort. If you carry on for another year at the same rate, you'll be where you want to be.

Can't seem to get "un" stuck from vicious cycle. Help!

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