Need advice and encouragement

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2004
Need advice and encouragement
9
Tue, 04-20-2004 - 8:49am
Hi all,

I have so much weight to lose (150) to be at my ideal weight. All my life, my weight has been a problem. I finally decided to make a good effort to do something about it and I'm not succeeding.

For the past 23 days, I've exercised at least 30 minutes. I've not skipped a day. Yes, I know you don't need to do it everyday, but I need to do it everyday. I need it to become a habit. I figure if I can get through 30 days, it will become a habit. In the past, I've always skipped exercise if I had a bad eating day. Now, I do it at 5 a.m. so regardless of my eating, I exercise. During the first week, I wasn't wonderful with the eating (but did exercise). Since then, however, I've been pretty good with the eating. Not perfect, mind you, but much, much better than I normally am. I find exercising makes me concentrate a bit more on the eating.

So... sounds good right? Wrong. In the 23 days, I've lost only 6 lbs. Then... this past weekend, I went away. I ate semi-bad (vs. the really bad I would have without trying). Definitely not horrible, definitely not great. I'd say two bad meals in the weekend (but I did still exercise). Wouldn't you know that I gained back 4 of the lousy 6 lbs I had lost in those 23 days!

I'm so discouraged. I'm a big person so I'm used to weight coming off quickly in the beginning. Here I am exercising (which I didn't do before) and now it's not coming off. Plus, I gain it back sooo easily.

I really don't like the idea of a low carb diet. I hate all that protein. Just makes me feel it's unhealthy but mainly, I just hate eating that way. I've been just watching portions, making better choices, and manually counting calories (loosely).

Is it possible for me to lose weight without following a low carb diet but rather counting my calories and exercise? Have any of you lost weight just by doing this (not low carb, but low calorie)? Any advice for getting the pounds to come off would be appreciated.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-02-2003
Tue, 04-20-2004 - 9:25am
Hi! Welcome to the board, and hope to see you around lots!

First of all- CONGRATULATIONS on your 23 days of exercise! That's a big step right there. Don't forget that muscle weighs more than fat and if you're gaining muscle you won't see as much change on the scale- see if it helps to measure every week or two or three so you can see the difference!

We all have bad eating days. I am in the middle of a naked jungle run from hell at the moment and currently having a heck of a time pulling myself back on the wagon. In fact, I distinctly remember being dragged by the wagon for several hundred yards and I think it ran over me on it's last pass. There are carriage wheel marks on the back of my legs...I think Amy was driving....(wink)

I personally do a low carb diet, when I'm not screwing it up. I have a hypoactive thyroid and PCOS- I'm insulin resistant. Low carbs is helping me where low cal/low fat etc weren't helping at all. I would suggest talking to your dr. and having bloodwork done to check all your assorted levels before you try a "diet", but eating healthier and drinking lots of water are great boosters no matter what you end up doing. I know there are several people on this board who have lost without lowcarbing it, so I'll let them give you more advice on that.

Bye for now and take care!

Mel


*edited to correct a glaring typo....


Edited 4/20/2004 9:28 am ET ET by melodyneve

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2003
Tue, 04-20-2004 - 9:51am
Hi! I understand how difficult it can be to do all that work and not see the results you want...it really makes it hard to stick to the plan!! But you should be confident in yourself that you are truly making an effort! Exercising every day is impressive! That is one of my own downfalls...I am really bad with sticking to an exercise routine! That's why I'm surprised the weight came off like it did in the 9 months that I've been on Atkins. I know you're opposed to low-carbing, and I was at first too. I thought "how on earth can it be healthy to practically cut a whole food group out of your diet???!!?" But the truth of the matter is that I didn't have all the information about Atkins. It took a while to persuade me that it's not FAT that makes you fat, it's SUGAR! I don't know what plan you're following, but I think that if you at least keep an eye on your sugar intake, and try to increase your fiber, you'll see some more of a loss.

I'm not trying to convince you to follow a low carb diet if you don't want to, and I'm not saying that with Atkins, you'll lose as much as I have without

exercising....afterall, EVERYONE should get regular exercise, even if you don't have a weight problem. I'm just trying to point out that maybe if you do a little more research about low carb diets, you won't be so opposed to them. If you'd like, you can come visit up over at the Atkins board! When I first started out I had a ton of questions, and the girls over there are so helpful!

Good luck, whatever you decide to do, and keep up the good work with exercising!!!

~Sabrina 264/208/160-165, Atkid since July 17/03
Avatar for brens2boys
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
Tue, 04-20-2004 - 9:51am
Welcome and congrats on the exercise!I have to second what Mel said about muscle weighing more,and therefore she's right in if your gaining muscle from exercise,you wont notice the scale move so much at first...but don't give up!You're doing awesome from the sounds of it.

As far as diet,I'm doing basically the same as you are and so far I've lost somewhere between 30 and 35lbs.I could probably be losing faster if I counted calories better and stayed on a decent exercise plan,but I have to admit,I'm lazy,lol.It is working though...the weight is coming off slowly and I can now fit into some clothes I couldn't even get over my arse in Sept.Everyone has their own way of eating though...so I'd say do something that works for you.

Hope you stick around,the ladies are wonderful here.

Bren

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 04-20-2004 - 9:56am

Welcome to the boards and let me tell you congrats on changing your life, eating and getting in all that exercise!

  Shawna-- Proud Cl for 100 Pounds or More to Go 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 04-20-2004 - 9:57am
Oh and have you been taking your body measurements?

  Shawna-- Proud Cl for 100 Pounds or More to Go 

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2004
Tue, 04-20-2004 - 11:33am
Hi and welcome! You're doing great so far, even if you don't think so. Losing 6 pounds in 23 days is awesome! That's 2 pounds a week and experts say that you should lose between 1-2 pounds a week for successful, healthy weight loss. Keep it up and I promise you that you'll see the results that you're looking for. I'm not counting anything, carbs, points or calories, but I've been making conscious efforts to eat healthier, watch my portions and drink at least 64 oz of water. I also exercise 4-5 times a week. I've lost 21 pounds since the beginning of the year. I know that it's not coming off as fast as some people, but I'm 21 pounds lighter and I figure that even if I only lose 1 pound a week, that's 1 pound more than I was losing before. I guess the key is patience. I know it's discouraging to only lose 6 pounds when you were expecting to lose a lot more, but I lost 6 pounds my first month and I was happy about that. I figured if I was losing then at least the scale was going in the right direction. Maybe it's all in how you look at it. Also, as other posters have said, muscle weighs more than fat, so you may have only lost 6 pounds, but you probably lost more fat than you realize.

This is a great place to come and get support and encouragement, so visit often! Good luck and I hope to see more of your posts, and I hope that you'll start to see the results you want soon.

~~Linda

~~Linda

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2004
Tue, 04-20-2004 - 12:53pm
Thanks to all of you for your posts! I appreciate your advice and encouragement.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-14-2004
Tue, 04-20-2004 - 1:34pm
Hi, welcome and the first thing I wanted to say is that you are doing GREAT. Your weight loss was great for 23 days. Please don't be discouraged when you diet and exercise in a healthy way and the weight comes off slower. That's how it's supposed to work. If you have 150lbs to lose, you, like me, are in it for the long haul. Trimming maintenance caloric intake by a couple hundred kcal and exercising 30 min/day is the best way (imho) to take off weight effectively.

Shawna had many great pieces of advice, so I won't restate what she already said, but I wanted to let you know that humans need about 1/2 oz per pound of body weight for effective metabolic function for sedentary adults. More active adults need more water.

If you are 300 lbs, then you need 150 oz of water a day. convert to ml and you find that this means you need over 2 liters a day for BASIC METABOLIC FUNCTION. 14.75(half of one ounce to one ml) * 150 (oz total) = 2 212.5 ml

If youre exercising the percentage can go as high as 75% rather than 50%. which means approx 3 liters a day of water for a 300 lb person who exercises.

If you aren't drinking aenough water, your body won't metabolize as effectively = retention of body fat/toxins etc. etc.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2004
Tue, 04-20-2004 - 1:44pm
Some form of exercise is good, but I'd suggest keeping a food journal to record what you've eaten each day, number of calories and fat grams, and then work on that pattern. We lose weight by taking in fewer calories than the body burns each day, and of course you burn more with exercise and it's good for your health for a number of reasons, but the calories really do count. Good luck, and have fun with it. It doesn't have to be hard work, not at all. It should be a time for making conscious decisions to live a new and healthier way. And you've already started that, by regular exercising. Congrats on that decision.