Tired of being fat

[Skywalker]

I find that I can keep the weight off by adjusting my diet. I have no sugar cereal with splenda and fruit, 1% milk every morning. For lunch, I cut up an apple, have few slices of cheese, and some crackers with a diet coke.
The calories I save on those 2 meals allow me to eat what I want for supper, only I don't do seconds or over do it. It is freeing to eat what you want; ie, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, lasagna, etc. I just don't over do it and I feel like I can eat "normal" too.

Quoting this part because this is what works for me as well. I do "one meal a day" fasting, and I only eat dinner. For dinner I eat whatever I want or feel like that day, nothing is off limits, and like you, I don't have seconds or overdo it. But its IS very freeing to just eat whatever you want.

I also find fasting just works best for me. I found doing weight watchers for example, having to journal my food and eat within points (not sure if they still do that now), I found myself almost fixating on my food intake, how much I could eat, what I should eat for meals and snacks, etc. Like my life felt like it was revolving around food choices. With fasting, I literally don't think about it, its like a weight (no pun intended) lifted off my shoulders. And its cheaper lol. So I just go about my day and then eat what I want for supper. I know this isn't for everybody, I get that. But everybody is different and this "clicked" for me.

Another thing that it has taken me time to learn is to never beat yourself up over food. We all have to eat. If you make a "wrong" choice don't feel guilty, we need to take the emotion out of eating. Just move on and don't self-sabotage.

 

[AustinTink]

Quoting this part because this is what works for me as well. I do "one meal a day" fasting, and I only eat dinner. For dinner I eat whatever I want or feel like that day, nothing is off limits, and like you, I don't have seconds or overdo it. But its IS very freeing to just eat whatever you want.

I also find fasting just works best for me. I found doing weight watchers for example, having to journal my food and eat within points (not sure if they still do that now), I found myself almost fixating on my food intake, how much I could eat, what I should eat for meals and snacks, etc. Like my life felt like it was revolving around food choices. With fasting, I literally don't think about it, its like a weight (no pun intended) lifted off my shoulders. And its cheaper lol. So I just go about my day and then eat what I want for supper. I know this isn't for everybody, I get that. But everybody is different and this "clicked" for me.

Another thing that it has taken me time to learn is to never beat yourself up over food. We all have to eat. If you make a "wrong" choice don't feel guilty, we need to take the emotion out of eating. Just move on and don't self-sabotage.

Intermittent fasting has been great for me as well. I don’t eat after 7pm. I have my supplements and liquid in the morning. Light breakfast of one piece of wheat toast and yogurt or something similar around 11. Fruit/veggies and cheese or similar around 3 then a regular meal around 6:00.

Being able to eat whatever I want for dinner makes all the difference. For example, I had a chicken fajita burrito for dinner tonight. It was giant and will fill me up until I break my fast tomorrow.

The cravings don’t happen when you know you can have anything you want one meal per day. And the fasting has been wonderful for my gerd. Almost eliminated it entirely because I never eat close to bedtime.

I have a minimum of a gallon of water a day some days much more. Walking and yoga are my daily exercises.

Fasting isn’t for everyone but it makes me feel great and my energy is way up. I urge anyone struggling with weight loss to give it a shot.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The calories in/calories out mantra is one that is too simplistic as we're finding out over time. It is a lot like BMI. It's not that neither is a tool to be used but rather neither are able to effectively customize for people. Fad diets and fad exercise stuff comes and goes but they are trying to encapsulate how a simple formula seemingly isn't working for everyone.

As an example a PP is right that hormones do play a role, larger for women than for men. Haven't y'all see the playful comics showing how a man does xyz and loses a bunch but a woman does the same and nadda, of course that's just generalizing but it can be more difficult for women to lose weight based on our hormones alone. My sister-in-law actually found out she had PCOS and once she was on medication we did notice her losing weight and that girl is not an exercise OR good eating habit person (she mostly eat junk food/fast food because she's poor). Now she did lose more weight by being in more warehouse setting job so that constant movement and passive type exercise helped. They aren't quite certain with PCOS if the relationship is you're overweight or obese so you're more likely to develop it or if there's a more causal relationship for some (because not all who have PCOS are overweight or obese). PCOS is a hormonal disorder that has a common side effect of difficulty in losing weight and unfortunately one of the things they have found is that if you can lose weight sometimes the side effects can lessen.

I was actually reading an interesting study the other day, one that because of the result they advise additional research should really be done. Exercise in these study participants literally changed the composition of their cells. The way the cells interacted with the fat in the body is the findings that intrigued them the most. The exercise can help with metabolism (which can help with food you eat) as well as help those on the bubble of developing issues, it also appeared to sorta act as a protective bubble for that bad meal.

Tailored advise and attention to the issue is something we as a society are still struggling with adopting.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I've hardly been on my old bike since because it can aggravate my bad knee, and I ended up "loaning" it to my non-driving bonus son back in the spring with no real intention of ever getting it back.

I don't know if you were ever able to do PT for your knee but one of the things with the DB Method (a squat machine) that has been so helpful is it takes the pressure off your knees.

My calves (I've lost close to 2 inches here as an example), knees and thighs are all much stronger than they were before I started using it and I feel zero pain. People with knee surgery and total knee replacements use it (my mom being one of them) but in any case that might help with range of motion and might be able to help you build up to using a bike more frequently without it getting to aggravated.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

3 things that helped me both before and now during my weight management program:

1) Meal prep.

2) write down everything you eat-including calories. Don’t not eat anything or give yourself a chance to indulge, but keep track. This also allows you to try new things.

3) Ask your friends and family for help and support. Because 99% of the time they are also looking for help and support. We share recipes, brands we enjoy, and just overall support.


Also stay hydrated with water every day, and remember even walking a half hour a day helps!

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm in the same place you are, and it's awful. What I've decided to do is focus on strength for awhile, because my weight is bad enough, but the sedentary habits developed during the pandemic have also destroyed my muscle tone. I need to get my body stronger again, and then I think that doing all of the other things I need to do to lose weight won't be so totally daunting.

Best wishes to you.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Just popping back into the thread to update: I decided not to have the bariatric surgery after many sessions with a nutritionist, various doctors and a psychiatrist. It just is not for me in the long run, but I learned a lot about when and why I eat. I just can't seem to get myself motivated to get off my rump and start moving and eating better. I'm really, *really* struggling to give up the refined sugar. I go for a week and get terrible headaches, so I reintroduce it. I might be giving up on that.

 

[DLgal]

Just popping back into the thread to update: I decided not to have the bariatric surgery after many sessions with a nutritionist, various doctors and a psychiatrist. It just is not for me in the long run, but I learned a lot about when and why I eat. I just can't seem to get myself motivated to get off my rump and start moving and eating better. I'm really, *really* struggling to give up the refined sugar. I go for a week and get terrible headaches, so I reintroduce it. I might be giving up on that.

I am the same way with sugar. It literally helps my migraines stay at bay, and I have no issues with blood sugar regulation so I just let it be. Often in the throes of a migraine attack, I can finally knock it out by eating an ice cream sundae. True story. Don't feel bad if your body seems to need a little sugar. You can try swapping out refined sugar for more fresh fruits, and healthier options like honey or molasses sweetened things. Ultimately it's not the sugar itself that causes weight gain, it's the vehicle the sugar is delivered in. Try simply not eating processed, packaged sweets, candy, soda, etc. Stick with raw sugar in your coffee or tea for your sugar fix, or honey drizzled over plain yogurt with fresh fruit, etc. There are healthy ways to eat sugar.

 

[pxidst119]

I have been gaining like crazy the last few years and anything that worked before just was not. I needed a mindset change so I tried noom. I like listening to the lessons and have so slowly been changing my foods adding more from the green list and less processed. It teaches you how to choose less calorie dense foods and I actually feel like I’m eating a lot of food. The first 3 weeks I didn’t lose anything and even gained a pound but kept making small changes and slowly the mindfulness began to stick. I finally started to lose some weight and really feel satisfied with what I’m eating. I despise logging but I do it and I actually think it’s easier to think of foods in three color categories vs a variety of point values. Also I was reading more about cortisol and started to think I might have been causing more stress than needed with my crazy exercise routines and running. I pulled back to walking for now to see if that makes a difference.

 

[ronandannette]

I'm in the same place you are, and it's awful. What I've decided to do is focus on strength for awhile, because my weight is bad enough, but the sedentary habits developed during the pandemic have also destroyed my muscle tone. I need to get my body stronger again, and then I think that doing all of the other things I need to do to lose weight won't be so totally daunting.

Best wishes to you.

Ah, yes - there's slim and then there's fit, and the two are not the same at all. I had a substantial passive weight loss last summer due to an illness that completely killed my appetite. The initial (rapid) loss was about 20lbs. and because my appetite and cravings have remained extremely small compared to what they were, I've continued to lose, albeit much more slowly and am still losing now. (For years I had wanted to lose 25lbs off my 5'0" frame and I have achieved that; from 160 to about 133.)

BUT...without having combined any exercise, the muscle-mass loss is obvious and I'm alarmingly saggy and weak. My body looks and performs NOTHING like it did the last time I was at this weight, which was when I was 30 and pre-childbearing. For me, although the weight loss was easy, exercising to raise my energy levels and get firm and strong is what will take willpower and a concerted plan. I know this, but yet am just not there with the motivation or emotional capacity.

 

[disneyseniors]

Just popping back into the thread to update: I decided not to have the bariatric surgery after many sessions with a nutritionist, various doctors and a psychiatrist. It just is not for me in the long run, but I learned a lot about when and why I eat. I just can't seem to get myself motivated to get off my rump and start moving and eating better. I'm really, *really* struggling to give up the refined sugar. I go for a week and get terrible headaches, so I reintroduce it. I might be giving up on that.

Congratulations on giving it a good go!
I find that if I stay away from sugar, I don't crave it. But if I eat sugary food, then I crave it.
So it's better to stay away from it for me.
Maybe after the sugar effect has worked itself out of your system, you will not feel the need for it.
I never had headaches from doing this. Maybe it's something else that's causing them?
I hope this helps some and keep going; you can do it!
I enjoy reading your posts on the threads here and find myself in agreement with them

 

[Her Dotness]

I've an unusual approach.

Buy yourself some clothes that fit well now but are ugly enough you won't enjoy wearing them. You'll look better to others because your clothes fit nicely but won't feel you look good. (Mine were pastel "granny" slacks, elastic waists, worn with those tops that have stuff stuck all over them--cutesy animal appliques, sequins and stick-on gems, etc. Yes, I'm more than old enough to be a granny, but I didn't want to look like the ideal Worst Dressed Granny at all. ICK!)

Every time you wear them, remind yourself you needn't wear these things for long if you work seriously and steadily to lose weight. Then, work at it gradually.

Yes, you need exercise, but it needn't be at a gym. Just walk more! Walk for 10 minutes every day, then gradually work up to more. Walk in place indoors for those minutes if you can't get outside for whatever reason (including "don't wanna") If you skip a day here and there, don't worry about it. Get back at it the next day.

Took me 10 years to lose the 25lbs I wanted off, but I did it slllooowwwly and steadily and maintained because it was methodical. When the scale went up a bit, I ate less, ate healthier and walked more.

When the ugly clothes get baggy, buy some flattering ones to motivate you to keep going. You'll be amazed how much incentive losing some weight can give you.

Slow and steady does it.

 

[MissDisney21]

I apologize now but I’m feeling sad today and just needed to vent.

I was heavy for a long time, but managed to lose weight when I got married (years ago), and then aside from when I was pregnant managed to stay within about 5 lbs of that for quite a while. When the pandemic hit I gained weight again (like many people), but started exercising more and actually saw a bit of improvement. The greatest strides came from cardiovascular health, which for me was huge.

Fast forward a year or so and return to office was announced. I immediately stopped all exercise (my hatred of commuting is well documented here) and gained a bunch of weight back.

I tried hiring a coach which didn’t do anything, tried paying for expensive diet food, and kept both a gym and peloton membership but has worked. I’m feeling depressed that none of my clothing fits, I have fat rolls everywhere, and looking at photos of myself (I’m working on the family Christmas book) just makes me want to cry. At home I spend most of my days in my husband’s XL clothing or leggings because my jeans are a nightmare. I’m also intimidated about getting back into peloton because I have lost so much vs where I was. Now after many weeks of diet food and actually gaining weight I don’t want to keep throwing good money after bad.

I don’t know how to change my mindset and actually start to see improvement. Work has been HORRENDOUS lately so the thought of doing anything more just isn’t going to happen.

How have you motivated yourself to make positive changes in your life? The coach didn’t help at all, but I’m hoping this board might.

Quick note to OP - It’s been a few months since your post and I hope you are in a better place. Weight management is HARD! Life is HARD! Work is HARD! Try to be kind and patient with yourself. Sending positive vibes your way!!!

 

[Karin1984]

Just popping back into the thread to update: I decided not to have the bariatric surgery after many sessions with a nutritionist, various doctors and a psychiatrist. It just is not for me in the long run, but I learned a lot about when and why I eat. I just can't seem to get myself motivated to get off my rump and start moving and eating better. I'm really, *really* struggling to give up the refined sugar. I go for a week and get terrible headaches, so I reintroduce it. I might be giving up on that.

Keep in mind that with sugar, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can reduce it and let your body adjust slowly. If you take normally two donuts as a snack, take one donut and replace the other with sugary fruit like grapes or bananas. And this process can take as long as you want. You can take months to take it from step 1 to step 2, if that's what you need.

Or keep the real sugary things, like donuts and cakes etc. But pay close attention to everything with added sugars and find low or no added sugar replacements, like with yoghurts, ketchup, bread. These can contain a lot of hidden sugars.

 

[MommaKetch]

How have you motivated yourself to make positive changes in your life? The coach didn’t help at all, but I’m hoping this board might.

Sounds cheesy, but it has to come from within. What jolts me into making a change is the scale, and the metrics that go along with being overweight. For short term motivation, I am using our upcoming Disney trip. For long term, it’s that I want to live a long life, and be there for my children well into their adult hood.

The holidays were food and sweets heavy this year. I am not being hard on myself for my choices, but I do have to make a change. I’ve done this before, and can do it again. As others have mentioned, sugar is my weakness. The more I have, the more I want.

My method for weight loss is that it is simply math, and the numbers don’t lie. Like others here, I use the MyFitnessPal app to track what I eat. I set my daily calorie goal in the app based on the number I get from this calculator:

https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

I also get on my Renpho body weight scale in the morning. Before drinking any water or coffee, but after using the bathroom. They have a corresponding Bluetooth tape measurer that I highly recommend. That way you can get an accurate measure of your BMI and all that. I purchased both on Amazon. I only measure my body once a month.

My little rewards are watching those numbers go down. If I eat within my daily calorie goal, with no exercise, the numbers WILL go down. If I do light exercise, they go down faster. I will say that in the MyFitnessPal app, I do not let it add back calories to my allotted daily limit based on my movement that day. I track my movement on a smart watch, and it can link that if you choose.

If going the route of tracking what you eat, I’d say invest in a digital food scale. I tend to measure each portion in grams (g). It’s far more accurate, and sometimes I end up with MORE food to eat. You can place your plate or bowl on the scale, then turn it on, and the number will be at 0. Here is what I do for breakfast, with my bowl already on the scale i turn it on, scale reads 0. I pour in my cereal until it gets to my serving size (39g). I turn off the scale, turn it back on to read 0. Slice in my banana until it gets to 100g. Turn off the scale. Turn it back on and switch over to measuring liquid ounces, pour in my milk to 6 ounces, and EAT.

Counting calories takes about a week for my body and mind to adjust. The first 3 days are the hardest, and I do get hungry and grumpy. But it will pass. If I’ve fallen off my routine and gained weight, when I start again, I drop 5-7 lbs the first week, so that motivates me to keep going. After that it’s usually 1-1.5 lbs per week. When I add in excerise. I can drop up to 2 lbs a week.

Also when counting calories and nutrients, you realize what you can eat to stay full. Lots of veggies!! Protein! I do not tell myself I cannot eat things. That is dangerous, and I’ll eventually rebel. Instead I’ll have a very small portion, and I’ll make sure to log it in my app. Accountability is key.

Another shortcut in the MFP app is to create “recipes” I have one for my coffee. I drink it with milk, cream, and sugar. I call it “MK’s coffee” and it makes it easy to log and go. I also have a few staple recipes, like our meatballs, that are saved in there. It makes it easy to plate up and go since I already know my portion size. For ease, I buy precooked chicken breasts from the grocery store, bins of pre washed lettuces, anything I can do to make it easier to eat healthy.

I realize this thread is a few months old, just thought I’d add on my tips for finding a daily HEALTHY calorie limit, how I measure my food to track on MyFitnessPal, and how I measure my weight, BMI, etc using the Renpho digital scale.

I will edit later to add the brand of food scale I use. It’s slipping my mind right now. But there are plenty on Amazon to chose from.

Happy to help keep others motivated! And always open to learning a new trick or two. Having others that are on the same journey is motivation too. This is not easy per say, but it’s rewarding in the end.

 

[DLgal]

Just the friendly reminder that weight loss is NOT "just math." It's been proven a few times over that calories in/calories out is not as simple as it seems. Hormones and your intestinal flora (your biome) play a HUGE role in weight gain, and it is finally starting to be more widely recognized.

The biome aspect is super interesting and I suggest everyone do some reading on that topic. They have shown, definitively, that certain intestinal species can literally change how much energy your body absorbs from food, because some bacterial species are SO efficient at generating their own energy from the food you eat that they need less of it, leaving you with more, which then gets stored in your body as fat. It's crazy. When you have an overpopulation of certain bacterial strains, you can eat the same number of calories as someone who doesn't have an overpopulation and you will gain weight and they won't. In the future, they hope to have personalized weight loss options based on the bacteria in your own intestines, as well as ways to tweak the populations to ensure better overall health. It's pretty neat stuff.

The postulation is that overuse of broad spectrum antibiotics may be to blame for the obesity epidemic. They found worse ratios of good/bad bacteria in study subjects that had taken antibiotics in the last 3 years.

In the meantime, you can help balance your gut with a lot of varied fruits and vegetables.

 

[MommaKetch]

Just the friendly reminder that weight loss is NOT "just math." It's been proven a few times over that calories in/calories out is not as simple as it seems. Hormones and your intestinal flora (your biome) play a HUGE role in weight gain, and it is finally starting to be more widely recognized.

The biome aspect is super interesting and I suggest everyone do some reading on that topic. They have shown, definitively, that certain intestinal species can literally change how much energy your body absorbs from food, because some bacterial species are SO efficient at generating their own energy from the food you eat that they need less of it, leaving you with more, which then gets stored in your body as fat. It's crazy. When you have an overpopulation of certain bacterial strains, you can eat the same number of calories as someone who doesn't have an overpopulation and you will gain weight and they won't. In the future, they hope to have personalized weight loss options based on the bacteria in your own intestines, as well as ways to tweak the populations to ensure better overall health. It's pretty neat stuff.

The postulation is that overuse of broad spectrum antibiotics may be to blame for the obesity epidemic. They found worse ratios of good/bad bacteria in study subjects that had taken antibiotics in the last 3 years.

In the meantime, you can help balance your gut with a lot of varied fruits and vegetables.

Yes!! Thank you for mentioning that aspect. Clearly if you are trying to eat healthy within a calorie range that should make you safely lose weight, and there is zero progress, something is up. Thyroid check, hormones, digestive, etc! A visit to your doctor for further testing is absolutely needed.

I was coming from a point of what works for me, and jumping off from the discussion of others that use the calorie counting app, MyFitnessPal. It also tracks many other aspects of food besides calories, and you can switch it to track other components instead. For example. It will tell you when a food is high in protein, or salt. Maybe one day it will tell you if a certain food is high in certain beneficial gut bacterias? That would be wonderful!

I do appreciate your input about our gut biome, and reminder to eat a varied diet of whole foods, especially fruits and veggies

 

[DLgal]

Yes!! Thank you for mentioning that aspect. Clearly if you are trying to eat healthy within a calorie range that should make you safely lose weight, and there is zero progress, something is up. Thyroid check, hormones, digestive, etc! A visit to your doctor for further testing is absolutely needed.

I was coming from a point of what works for me, and jumping off from the discussion of others that use the calorie counting app, MyFitnessPal. It also tracks many other aspects of food besides calories, and you can switch it to track other components instead. For example. It will tell you when a food is high in protein, or salt. Maybe one day it will tell you if a certain food is high in certain beneficial gut bacterias? That would be wonderful!

I do appreciate your input about our gut biome, and reminder to eat a varied diet of whole foods, especially fruits and veggies

The problem is, visiting your doctor is likely to result in a whole lot of nothing actionable. There really isn't anything doctors can do for us NOW with this information. But it can certainly be a motivation to stop eating processed food and begin incorporating more fresh produce into your diet.

There are also a lot of ways medications can cause weight gain. Something as basic as an OTC antihistamine can lead to weight gain because histamine is a natural appetite suppressant. Other drugs like beta blockers will literally slow down your metabolism by slowing down your heart rate. It can be very frustrating to be on some of these medications and be doing everything right on the food and exercise front and STILL gain weight.

Some people only have a small amount of control over their weight, is what I'm saying.

I used MFP for years. It no longer works for me. I eat a diet of like 95% whole, nutritious foods, limit my intake to about 1500 calories, amd workout 30-60 minutes most days of the week. I have been steadily gaining about 5 pounds a year for the last 3 years. Nothing is helping and my doctor has no answers, but I am on daily Allegra for allergies and a beta blocker for a heart arrhythmia.

At this point, I have just made peace with how my body apparently wants to be.

 

[40ariel]

I apologize now but I’m feeling sad today and just needed to vent.

I was heavy for a long time, but managed to lose weight when I got married (years ago), and then aside from when I was pregnant managed to stay within about 5 lbs of that for quite a while. When the pandemic hit I gained weight again (like many people), but started exercising more and actually saw a bit of improvement. The greatest strides came from cardiovascular health, which for me was huge.

Fast forward a year or so and return to office was announced. I immediately stopped all exercise (my hatred of commuting is well documented here) and gained a bunch of weight back.

I tried hiring a coach which didn’t do anything, tried paying for expensive diet food, and kept both a gym and peloton membership but has worked. I’m feeling depressed that none of my clothing fits, I have fat rolls everywhere, and looking at photos of myself (I’m working on the family Christmas book) just makes me want to cry. At home I spend most of my days in my husband’s XL clothing or leggings because my jeans are a nightmare. I’m also intimidated about getting back into peloton because I have lost so much vs where I was. Now after many weeks of diet food and actually gaining weight I don’t want to keep throwing good money after bad.

I don’t know how to change my mindset and actually start to see improvement. Work has been HORRENDOUS lately so the thought of doing anything more just isn’t going to happen.

How have you motivated yourself to make positive changes in your life? The coach didn’t help at all, but I’m hoping this board might.

I have recently discovered this Les Mills + app and they have great workouts. They have a Journey to Health program and beginner workouts that are positive and encouraging. They also have a six week nutrition journey. You can pick a program and they will coach you through it. Hang in there, maybe if you are able to, you could start with a short 20 minute workout each day. Exercise makes a huge difference in my life.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Here I am again. I have started a diet, actually the old Weight Watchers plan from the 90s. You count components, not calories except for the 'free' calories you get every week to spend however you like. I'm finding it easy going counting how many breads, how many fruits, how many milks, and how many unlimited veggies per day. I've been on the diet for three weeks and have lost ten pounds. I don't expect the weight will keep dropping off like it has, but I'm happy with the results so far. I've already gotten some benefits from eating better-I no longer feel sluggish all the time, and I'm happier with myself for taking this step.

Lots of weight to lose, not gonna lie. Facing up to just how obese I've gotten was hard. I think if I keep this mindset I'll be okay, though.