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| Tue, 04-20-2004 - 8:49am |
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.

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