weightloss success stories?

[JamesM]

Sorry, but I respectfully disagree..And I might just have more experience than you do...but I dont want to start a pissing contest..

 

Okay. Been lifting weights off and on for 32 years. Not that this gives me more knowledge than you...agree with that.

 

I guess my point was that losing fat and exercising only go hand in hand for the majority of people if they eat less calories than they burn. Too often those that exercise forget to cut back the calories.

 

 

A body that has little or no muscle mass will be a fat magnet...Its a proven fact. And no diet will work in the long term if its just crackers and celery stalks....500 calories a day is just dumb..

 

Agree. I would much rather lift weights than do cardio for that very reason. Muscle burns calories...but only if they are used to exercise. Fact is...muscle mass without fat loss does nothing as you stated.

 

And NO diet will work if it is not a life changing eating habit. This I am sure we agree on. Twenty years ago, I lost 30 pounds in three months by eating carrots and weight loss dinners and cutting out all snacks. I kept it off for about three more months and then slowly gained it all back. That taught me something important about myself.

 

I was never fat, but before getting back into the gym, I could gain 15 lbs or so pretty easily eating around 3000 cals a day, yet now that I have a lot of muscle mass and train regularly, I currently eat between 6000 and 7000 calories a day of clean food and only slowly gain muscle mass and NO fat....If your theory was correct I should be fat as a horse. (I'm 5'6" and currently weigh 210 with a bodyfat around 12%-14% or so...which is pretty lean.)

 

First let me congratulate you on your great gains. I am impressed. Some people have higher metabolism rates which is another factor in all of this.

 

Second, so if I read this correctly, your muscle building and exercise is burning the calories you intake...which is my point. If you exercise and this burns what you take in, then you are at a good point. However, if you eat more than you burn, then your lean body will gain fat. Or did I miss something?

 

No one I know that loses weight without a good exercise plan ever keeps it off...

 

Like I said...If you dont move around you just become a magnet for fat deposits..

 

 

I separated those because here is the key. It is not the exercise plan at the gym per se but the burning of calories that does it. When I lost my weight two years ago, I read an excellent book called Move a Little Lose A Lot Move a Little, Lose a Lot: Use N.E.A.T.* Science to: Burn 2, 100 Calories a Week at the Office, Be Smarter in as Little as 3 Hours, Reduce Fatigue by 65%, Extend Your Lifespan by 4 Years: James Levine M.D., Selene Yeager

 

I recommend it highly for everyone. The whole idea is simply that move and lose. Eat what you burn. This means that for many who cannot find time to get to a gym, they simply can find other ways to move and burn.

 

It is not the exercise plan that is important. It is the moving and exercise that burns more than is being eaten. If I eat 2000 calories and lose weight, then I am doing the right thing. If I am eating 6000 calories and not gaining, then good for me.

 

Sitting in a chair and barely eating is certainly not what I meant. And yet it brings up the point that a person who is wheel chair bound is in big danger of gaining too much weight. Why? Not because he or she is not exercising, but because he or she is eating more than is being burned.

 

Going to the gym every day and running on the treadmill only to eat whatever tastes good without watching the calories will not help lose weight.

 

Personally, I have only lost weight when I monitored my eating habits. When I exercised and weight lifted two hours a day without controlling my eating habits, then my fat never disappeared. Yes, I gained muscle, but I wasn't lean. Now I am lean and have defined muscle tones....just not as big of ones as I had in my 20s.

 

It all comes down to (for the tenth time probably) burning more or equal to what you eat. And this needs to be followed up with choosing healthy food.

 

Choosing a diet that is not what you will do for your life will cause short term losses, but long term it will cause greater weight gains.

[thefooloftheyear]

Okay. Been lifting weights off and on for 32 years. Not that this gives me more knowledge than you...agree with that.

 

I guess my point was that losing fat and exercising only go hand in hand for the majority of people if they eat less calories than they burn. Too often those that exercise forget to cut back the calories.

 

 

 

 

Agree. I would much rather lift weights than do cardio for that very reason. Muscle burns calories...but only if they are used to exercise. Fact is...muscle mass without fat loss does nothing as you stated.

 

And NO diet will work if it is not a life changing eating habit. This I am sure we agree on. Twenty years ago, I lost 30 pounds in three months by eating carrots and weight loss dinners and cutting out all snacks. I kept it off for about three more months and then slowly gained it all back. That taught me something important about myself.

 

 

 

First let me congratulate you on your great gains. I am impressed. Some people have higher metabolism rates which is another factor in all of this.

 

Second, so if I read this correctly, your muscle building and exercise is burning the calories you intake...which is my point. If you exercise and this burns what you take in, then you are at a good point. However, if you eat more than you burn, then your lean body will gain fat. Or did I miss something?

 

 

 

 

 

 

I separated those because here is the key. It is not the exercise plan at the gym per se but the burning of calories that does it. When I lost my weight two years ago, I read an excellent book called Move a Little Lose A Lot Move a Little, Lose a Lot: Use N.E.A.T.* Science to: Burn 2, 100 Calories a Week at the Office, Be Smarter in as Little as 3 Hours, Reduce Fatigue by 65%, Extend Your Lifespan by 4 Years: James Levine M.D., Selene Yeager

 

I recommend it highly for everyone. The whole idea is simply that move and lose. Eat what you burn. This means that for many who cannot find time to get to a gym, they simply can find other ways to move and burn.

 

It is not the exercise plan that is important. It is the moving and exercise that burns more than is being eaten. If I eat 2000 calories and lose weight, then I am doing the right thing. If I am eating 6000 calories and not gaining, then good for me.

 

Sitting in a chair and barely eating is certainly not what I meant. And yet it brings up the point that a person who is wheel chair bound is in big danger of gaining too much weight. Why? Not because he or she is not exercising, but because he or she is eating more than is being burned.

 

Going to the gym every day and running on the treadmill only to eat whatever tastes good without watching the calories will not help lose weight.

 

Personally, I have only lost weight when I monitored my eating habits. When I exercised and weight lifted two hours a day without controlling my eating habits, then my fat never disappeared. Yes, I gained muscle, but I wasn't lean. Now I am lean and have defined muscle tones....just not as big of ones as I had in my 20s.

 

It all comes down to (for the tenth time probably) burning more or equal to what you eat. And this needs to be followed up with choosing healthy food.

 

Choosing a diet that is not what you will do for your life will cause short term losses, but long term it will cause greater weight gains.

 

I see some common ground here....

 

I guess most of my experience comes from helping people who have approached me for advice on achieving a particular weight loss/fitness goal..The ones that just dieted generally didnt fare nearly as well as the ones that dieted and followed an exercise regimen...especially one that included resistance training..

 

Also, the ones that constantly chirp about the "eat less than you burn" really dont see the whole picture...Metabolic rates and the way that individuals process certain foods vary widely..Ive used this example before, but its worth rementioning. My dad was the worst eater I had ever seen..3 pack a day smoker and ate nothing but junk or carb laden stuff like huge plates of pasta with loaves of Italian bread, cakes, sweets, etc...Never saw him eat any vegs and only ate protiens on rare occasions..And he was sedentary...He was an athlete as a kid, but after 30, he didnt do anything..Hed have a heart attack climbing a flight of stairs..He was 170 his whole life and never gained weight...My mom was the complete opposite..If she ate his diet shed be a 500 lbs in no time..

 

,02

 

TFY

[darkmoon]

no cheese, butter, salt, sugar, rice or pasta

 

 

somebody will contradict me, but these things are fattening, if you think some or a little is okay, it is not totally okay, it is self-indulgence

 

 

exercise is slow to show results unless you cut out fattening crappy foods

 

 

I lost 18lbs dropping cheese, in three weeks, and full fat milk now, never touched salt for years, sugar sometimes

 

 

talk to a decent nutritionist about the many details of healthy eating if your are new to it, unless the redoubtable people on this thread have covered it already, really, a life-plan of not much fattening food is the fate of those with naturally chubby tendencies, and never eat much in the evening, use the day to burn off what you consume

Edited February 27, 2014 by darkmoon

[JamesM]

I see some common ground here....

 

I guess most of my experience comes from helping people who have approached me for advice on achieving a particular weight loss/fitness goal..The ones that just dieted generally didnt fare nearly as well as the ones that dieted and followed an exercise regimen...especially one that included resistance training.

 

I think we agree more than we disagree. From my own experience, cutting back on calories to equal or be less than the amount of energy expended is the only way to lose weight. And I agree that weight lifting helps better in the long term than does cardio only.

 

Also, the ones that constantly chirp about the "eat less than you burn" really dont see the whole picture...

 

Metabolic rates and the way that individuals process certain foods vary widely..

 

Actually, the whole picture is simply that...eat less than you burn. The other factors determine how that happens. My metabolism at 25 is different than it is now at 50. I could eat double the calories that I eat now and never gain weight. Once I hit my 30s, things changed.

 

But no matter....it still is eat less than you burn. However, it is important to know what your "burn rate" is.

 

Ive used this example before, but its worth rementioning. My dad was the worst eater I had ever seen..3 pack a day smoker and ate nothing but junk or carb laden stuff like huge plates of pasta with loaves of Italian bread, cakes, sweets, etc...Never saw him eat any vegs and only ate protiens on rare occasions..And he was sedentary...He was an athlete as a kid, but after 30, he didnt do anything..Hed have a heart attack climbing a flight of stairs..He was 170 his whole life and never gained weight...My mom was the complete opposite..If she ate his diet shed be a 500 lbs in no time..

 

Yes, there are always exceptions to every rule. We all know of that one person who smoked til he or she was 90 and never got cancer. But most people who smoke will develop health problems to a smaller or greater degree. I know of a lady younger than me who died from smoking related illnesses and also eating related illnesses (diabetes and cancer). I know of many who have high blood pressure at my age from smoking and also from being overweight.

 

And we could go on with more examples.

 

But for the sake of this thread......

 

Losing fifty pounds seems much more daunting when you first start. I know the idea of losing forty was far fetched to me two years ago. In fact< I set out to lose twenty five at most. I figured if only I could take that off, I would feel great. Then when I reached it, I though that maybe another five to ten wouldn't be bad. And when I came closer, I found out that my BMI would be good if I lost another ten. Then I realized that this was equal to my optimal weight when I was in my early to mid twenties.

 

So here I am.

 

The biggest thing you need to do now which may be the hardest is...get started and develop a new routine and plan. I think it would be great if part of that involved a report on this thread every week or two as to your progress.

[BUBS]

Thank you all for your input! Wow, loving the feedback and support in this journey I'm about to start. I've been trying to take everything into consideration to come up with a reliable but also forgiving diet and exercise regime, that I wont get too burnt out on but also will provide me with results.

 

Since my ex left in October of 2012, I have let myself go in ways that I never could've imagined. I feel like I've started and stopped a billion diets, and its a shame because right before we broke up I was almost at my goal weight and healthier than I had been in years, and I threw that away. Now especially starting a desk job a few months ago where I can get up minimally (phone operator) I've found the weight just getting worse and worse from eating fast food, chips, chocolate, and anything else that's terrible for you ALL day with absolutely no control. No physical acitivity whatsoever. While it would be AMAZING to lose 50 pounds in 5 months at least point I will be grateful to just see myself making any effort whatsoever instead of acting like a dead woman walking since he left.

 

So in the past I found the most effective weightloss for myself was always cutting back on carbs, not to an extreme degree, but cutting out white breads, pastas, rice and so forth, as well as sugar. Of course after a while I'd always fail because bread,cheese, and chocolate are my kryptonite. So I spent all night trying to come up with a plan that would be somewhat forgiving to me along the way, but still would be HUGE step up from where I'm starting from.

 

 

My plan is to prep my breakfasts, lunches and snacks for work 5 days a week, which would mean the majority of my food that I was eating would go from fast food and crap to healthy whole foods, I figure grilled lean meats with veggies for lunch, hard boiled eggs and string cheese for snacks, as well as raw veggies like carrots and so forth, egg white omlettes with veggies for breakfast, or an ensure or yogurt... and sugar free jello with cool whip for sweet cravings.

 

If I can maintain that during the 5 days of my work week, than no matter what I'll have a calorie deficit unless I go nuts on the weekends, but that's highly unlikely. I also hope to do 3-5 days of my p90x routine since every time I go low carb and hybrid it, I see the best results, and also because I want to build up more strength to do more rigorous work outs in the future once my weight is off.

 

On the weekends I'll allow myself 1-2 cheat meals in moderation, and if throughout the week for dinner or at some point i really want to give in to a craving I will but only in the smallest portions, I.E a piece of chocolate versus the whole bar, and so forth.

 

I go out a lot normally on the weekends, so those will be the most difficult for me, like I said I plan on having a cheat meal or two in smaller portions, however I do intend on focusing more on the healthier side of the menus if I go out, like salads, grilled meats and veggies, and so forth.

 

Do you guys think this is a reasonable plan? I want to be forgiving to myself, as I know if I fold and have something unhealthy, I don't want to give up or get discouraged. I think focusing 5 days a week on doing 40-60 minutes of p90x, and eating lower carbed, healthier whole food throughout my work week is a good start. If you have any suggestions to kick it up a notch, or take it down I'd love to hear them.

 

Yesterday was my first day "trying" this idea out somewhat. I know whatever I lose now is water weight, but its still factored in to my total weightloss so the sooner that comes off the sooner I can get an idea of how much I have to really lose in fat. So yesterday I had an ensure, a yogurt, chicken with veggies for lunch, two hard boiled eggs, a string cheese and jello, and did an hour of cardio p90x and 15 minutes of the ab ripper. The day before I weighed in at 160.4, and this morning 156.4, so 4 lbs in water weight! I'm sure that itll fluctuate but my goal of weighing myself everyday is more or less because I log everything, so on days where I gain or don't lose I can pin point what I did wrong, versus days where I have the most lost, I can pin point what I did differently if need be.

 

Let me know your thoughts and I'll keep you guys updated on my progress! Thank you all so much for your thoughts! It's all helping to motivate me more.

[jba10582]

The plan that you come up will be the right plan for you because you are basically experimenting with various activities and foods that you subject it to day in and day out and your experience and knowledge of your own body grows with time...so, I think the log will be a great idea and you can quantify what is really going on. I find it helpful to track everything you eat for a week or two every once in a while, so you know exactly how many calories you are putting in your body. There are BMR calculators to find out about what your caloric intake is with the lifestyle of your choosing...of course as TFY mentioned there are certain people who have exceptionally high metabolisms so its not going be exact, hence the logging is a great idea!

 

As you also mentioned, the water weight will fluctuate, so, many recommended that you weigh yourself under the similar conditions each time, to get more accurate data of changes. One idea might be to get on the scale second thing in the morning once a week. I find it interesting to also weigh myself before and after a workout to get an idea of the water loss during a typical workout as well.

 

Also don't worry about changing your routine or adapting later as well, because something may happen in you life between now and then and you may even get to take it up a notch or may have to take it down for a short period. I think the shorter the goal, the easier it is to obtain, then you can move to the next baby step. See the overall trend move in the direction you desire. Regine may have another good idea about taking a before and after picture over time which visual can track your progress as well as this is what often matters most to people looking for positive changes in this area.

[JamesM]

Don't refer to them as "cheat" meals. Think of them as rewards for doing a good job during the week.

 

When you are out with your friends, do not be too strict on yourself but do watch what you eat.

 

I would avoid all foods not in your plan during whatever period you have decided not to "cheat." You will feel down on yourself and may quit trying to lose.

 

Once you begin to lose weight and gain confidence in yourself, then you will feel like your plan is no longer restricting but instead a big tool for your health and looks.

 

Any plan as jba said, is good for you as long as it fits your lifestyle. Do not be afraid to change it as you go...such as allowing certain foods and dropping others.

 

Here is a good book to read. I have found it also very applicable to why many fail in their food habits. Your library may have the books I mentioned.

 

Why Diets Fail (Because You're Addicted to Sugar): Science Explains How to End Cravings, Lose Weight, and Get Healthy: Nicole M. Avena Ph.D., John R. Talbott: 9781607744863: Amazon.com: Books

[Madman81]

I've been on a healthy living regimen since Christmas. Just before the holidays, I stepped on the scale and saw "239 lbs" (I'm 6'1"). It surprised me a bit because I didn't FEEL like a fat guy, and I didn't really think I looked like one (though it's entirely possible I was deluding myself).

 

Coincidentally, my father-in-law gave me a Fitbit Flex for Christmas, and I have to say, it's been very helpful for keeping me honest. I've tried tracking my calories before using phone apps, but I always lose interest after about two days or just plain forget. Having a device on my wrist at all times helps me remember, and it turns out I get some enjoyment from tracking my calories, exercise, etc. and having access to the various analytical tools.

 

So far, I'm down about 14 lbs, to around 225 lbs. (I had stomach flu last week and literally dropped 4 lbs in about 24 hours, but most of it came back.)

 

I seem to have hit a bit of a plateau (I'm nearly 42 and I understand weight loss gets harder as you get older). Wondering if anybody can chime in.

 

I shoot for a daily deficit of 500-1000 calories. Usually I succeed in reaching it. I haven't cut out carbs completely but I try to avoid them after mid-afternoon; as for those that I DO eat, I generally restrict them to whole grains. (Natural peanut butter on whole wheat bread, ideally with some blueberries on it, is my go-to quick breakfast.) I've mostly cut out coffee (switched to green tea) and I've all but totally cut out diet cola (which I used to be able to drink anytime of the day and still sleep). Mostly I'm eating pretty clean. I've reduced my alcohol intake, though not cut it out completely; my wife and I like to have a few on weekends. I generally avoid beer, though in truth I had two last night. (Probably need to drop the beer completely.) I eat decent amounts of red meat and salt.

 

In terms of exercise, I go to the gym a minimum of 5 days per week. The majority are cardio, 1/2 hour on the treadmill (which I'm actually starting to like), with the rest being 45-minute weight workouts broken into body groups. Plus I attend two 1-hour karate classes per week.

 

Can anybody point to any glaring errors in the above? Steps I should take and improvements I should consider?

 

Thanks alll...

[BUBS]

Maybe you need to increase your caloric intake to switch it up a bit?

[Sivok]

I've been on a healthy living regimen since Christmas. Just before the holidays, I stepped on the scale and saw "239 lbs" (I'm 6'1"). It surprised me a bit because I didn't FEEL like a fat guy, and I didn't really think I looked like one (though it's entirely possible I was deluding myself).

 

Coincidentally, my father-in-law gave me a Fitbit Flex for Christmas, and I have to say, it's been very helpful for keeping me honest. I've tried tracking my calories before using phone apps, but I always lose interest after about two days or just plain forget. Having a device on my wrist at all times helps me remember, and it turns out I get some enjoyment from tracking my calories, exercise, etc. and having access to the various analytical tools.

 

So far, I'm down about 14 lbs, to around 225 lbs. (I had stomach flu last week and literally dropped 4 lbs in about 24 hours, but most of it came back.)

 

I seem to have hit a bit of a plateau (I'm nearly 42 and I understand weight loss gets harder as you get older). Wondering if anybody can chime in.

 

I shoot for a daily deficit of 500-1000 calories. Usually I succeed in reaching it. I haven't cut out carbs completely but I try to avoid them after mid-afternoon; as for those that I DO eat, I generally restrict them to whole grains. (Natural peanut butter on whole wheat bread, ideally with some blueberries on it, is my go-to quick breakfast.) I've mostly cut out coffee (switched to green tea) and I've all but totally cut out diet cola (which I used to be able to drink anytime of the day and still sleep). Mostly I'm eating pretty clean. I've reduced my alcohol intake, though not cut it out completely; my wife and I like to have a few on weekends. I generally avoid beer, though in truth I had two last night. (Probably need to drop the beer completely.) I eat decent amounts of red meat and salt.

 

In terms of exercise, I go to the gym a minimum of 5 days per week. The majority are cardio, 1/2 hour on the treadmill (which I'm actually starting to like), with the rest being 45-minute weight workouts broken into body groups. Plus I attend two 1-hour karate classes per week.

 

Can anybody point to any glaring errors in the above? Steps I should take and improvements I should consider?

 

Thanks alll...

Have you tried Intermittent Fasting? Do a month where you fast 16 hours a day and get 3 meals (4 on LIFTING days - your 4th is your post-workout protein day) in during that 8 hour time block. If you have the willpower for it, it works WONDERS. You'll want to go fat, protein, virtually no carbs.

 

Also, make sure your cardio workouts aren't just flat steady jogging. Do HIIT (60 seconds of a HIGH speed, 60 seconds of a LOW speed. do this for 20-30 minutes).

 

It'll be hell, but it works wonders

 

SOURCE: I weighed 267 at one point and dropped to 192 in less than a year.

[Real36]

Good luck Bubs! I lost 40 lbs a few years ago and have kept it off. Right now I'm trying to lose an additional 30 lbs but haven't really set myself a time limit. What has worked for me in the past is sticking to a 1200-1500 calorie per day diet and tracking my food intake in a written form. I don't know if it works for everyone but logging what I eat makes me be accountable for it so I double think before I eat some things.

 

This time I have downloaded the myfitnesspal app on my iphone. I love it because you can input calories and activity. It gives you more complete picture of what you are taking in and what you are burning off. Two other useful features are the barcode scanner which lets you input things that you eat that have a barcode on the packaging and the graph that shows you the percentage of nutrients you are taking in daily. It's been super useful for me.

 

For exercise I have decided to stick to realistic time lengths and level of activities. I know that I do not enjoy getting on the eliptical machine for an hour so instead of doing things like that I put the ear buds in and walk for a couple of hours twice a week. I like to swim so I volunteered to coach Special Olympics Swim team at my job. Now I'm in the pool twice a week doing slow laps with my folks.

 

I don't think 50 lbs in 5 months is a realistic goal and realism really is the key to being successful. If you have the chance watch the documentary Hungry for Change. It helped me get a better understanding of the longterm effects of diet and exercise.

[BUBS]

Hi everyone, I know it hasnt been a week yet but a few suggested that I keep an update on my progress, and I look forward to hearing more of your success stories for inspiration as well!

 

I'm on day 5 of trying to get healthy, get my life in order and lose weight and I've been sticking to it so far, which surprises me. For me enough is enough though and I'm doing my best.

 

I've lost 6lbs in 5 days, and yes I understand that most of this is water weight but I'm still proud of myself. I ate healthy over the weekend, despite allowing myself to indulge if I chose, I chose not to so I can get a good kick start to everything before next weekend. I did work out Saturday for a short period of time, but I tried to rest as well to prepare myself for 5 days straight of working out this week, since after work mon-fri is the only time I really have to work out.

 

 

So things have been working for me so far. I've been keeping a log every day of what I eat or what workouts I do, as well as my morning weight so I can see exactly what I might have done wrong on days where I gain and so forth. I've been reducing my carb intake a great deal which is why I'm assuming so much weight has come off in such a short period of time. Other than Sunday where I had a bagel, for the past 5 days I haven't had any bread, rice or pastas. But I'm not going to an extreme of cutting out all carbs or limiting myself insanely. I prepped food for the next two days of work, not dinners just lunch, snacks and breakfasts, I figure a salad for dinner or something along those lines is fine. So I'll keep you guys posted in the next few days and along the way.

 

Thanks for all your support so far!

[VeronicaRoss]

Since you gained the weight because of emotional eating you really need to address that so your work to lose weight isn't temporary. And you don't develop an eating disorder.

 

Learning to deal with emotions in other ways will be a great life gift to yourself.

 

There's counselors that specialize in eating, there is also Overeaters Anonymous which is free.

 

Good luck!

[jba10582]

very cool! I like the idea of pre-prepping the meals, that way you can really know the correct portions that you account for.

[deathandtaxes]

Slow and steady, OP. It has to be part of your life. I gained a bit of weight in college and after graduating. The highest I ever recorded my weight, before I decided I needed to change my lifestyle, was 264. Today I hover in the high 160's. I did it over a long time, in fits and spurts. I lost around 70 pounds in a year and a half. It took another six to seven years to go from the high 190's to the high 160's.

 

 

How? I did some research into what my resting metabolic rate should be and tried to eat less than that. And then I threw some exercise into it. Nothing crazy. Weights. Cardio. I learned to keep track of what I ate. I kept a food diary for a long time. I haven't kept one for about three years. I generally eat ok most days. I indulge some days. And then moderate for a few days. I also weigh myself every day in the morning. That way I can see if my weight starts trending in either direction.

 

 

One key thing to remember, OP, is that you can't compensate for a bad diet. You can only burn so many calories a day doing things. But it is so easy to overeat and screw things up.

[BUBS]

Thanks for the advice! Congratulations on everyone's inspiring success stories so far. It's been one week since I started my lifestyle change. I've lost 6.2lbs. So 43-44 to go, but again I'm not really focusing as much on the number since I'm exercising and going to be focusing more on my measurements as I go along. The scale is more a reference to make sure I'm not going in the wrong direction with my choices and I'm taking the most effective and practical route possible, much like the rest of you guys suggested or incorporated into your life.

 

I've eaten pretty consistently the same thing every day. The only thing I've eaten out of the norm was a bagel on Sunday, and I had a half of a buffalo chicken salad last night that was a little off the radar as well. But I'm allowing myself to give into cravings when need be so I don't get worn out, I just do it in moderation. An example would be the other day when I went to my grandmothers after work, they were making meatballs that smelled fabulous, so I made myself a salad and had one meatball without the pasta and all that junk on the side, just to feel like I had the option if I wanted it, without over indulging.

 

My work outs are a little more difficult to follow. P90x is hard, and its always burnt me out and discouraged me quickly that I have trouble keeping up. I've only been able to do about 20-30 minutes of the 40-60 minute work outs since my rest day on Sunday. But I'm hoping that I'll build my stamina up soon and it'll come easier to me.

[thefooloftheyear]

Thanks for the advice! Congratulations on everyone's inspiring success stories so far. It's been one week since I started my lifestyle change. I've lost 6.2lbs. So 43-44 to go, but again I'm not really focusing as much on the number since I'm exercising and going to be focusing more on my measurements as I go along. The scale is more a reference to make sure I'm not going in the wrong direction with my choices and I'm taking the most effective and practical route possible, much like the rest of you guys suggested or incorporated into your life.

 

I've eaten pretty consistently the same thing every day. The only thing I've eaten out of the norm was a bagel on Sunday, and I had a half of a buffalo chicken salad last night that was a little off the radar as well. But I'm allowing myself to give into cravings when need be so I don't get worn out, I just do it in moderation. An example would be the other day when I went to my grandmothers after work, they were making meatballs that smelled fabulous, so I made myself a salad and had one meatball without the pasta and all that junk on the side, just to feel like I had the option if I wanted it, without over indulging.

 

My work outs are a little more difficult to follow. P90x is hard, and its always burnt me out and discouraged me quickly that I have trouble keeping up. I've only been able to do about 20-30 minutes of the 40-60 minute work outs since my rest day on Sunday. But I'm hoping that I'll build my stamina up soon and it'll come easier to me.

 

Congrats...You are doing great...

 

The only thing I might mention is dont be so strict on eliminating complex carbs..I find my workouts suffer dramatically if I dont have enough complex carbs in me, so I feel its an even tradeoff...That might be killing your workouots/stamina,...just a thought..

 

TFY

[BUBS]

I'm kind of discouraged, but I'm not going to stop. I haven't lost even .1lb, I actually gained a pound in the past few days. Not since Sunday actually have I showed any progress. My measurements are the same, and though I've been working out hard, I find it hard to believe with the amount of weight I have to lose that I'm plateauing or this is "muscle gain" in such a short time frame with so much to lose.

 

I've kept up with the same routine, I've been working out everyday of my work week, all of my meals have been exactly the same, no real cheat meals whatsoever. I know it takes time, but I've NEVER dieted or exercised without seeing consistent without loss in my life, normally even if its .1 - .2 lbs a day.

 

I'm wondering if maybe its the ensure that I have for breakfast? I'm following a low carb diet, and the last time I did atkins with p90x the weight steadily came off, the only difference was for breakfast I had eggs and bacon or something of the like, and the ensure has a lot of carbs and sugar. I don't have time in the morning before work and I'm not usually hungry that early so the ensure has been a godsend to get my nurtients and fill up in the AM, but I don't know if its hindering me, since its the only thing I've done differently since my last successful weightloss years ago.

 

I assumed that because its the first meal of the day that it would provide energy and steadily burn off the carbs and sugar quickly, but I just want to make sure I'm not wasting too much time on something that is going to slow my progression. How long should I wait before I consider switching up my daily food routine?

[deathandtaxes]

Don't be discourage Bubs!! It's just time to change things up. Change up your workouts. Maybe take a day off or two during the week. Change up your eating. Eat a lot more one day and balance it out over two other days, a zig zag approach. Your body will get used to what you eat and how much you work out. You have to change it up. Eat some delicious bad stuff every now and then.

[BUBS]

Thanks for the advice! I've been avoiding bad stuff because I don't wanna spiral out of control since its so early on, but I def will try to switch it up. I follow p90x so it works with muscle confusion and switches up the work outs, but im also gonna try to incoperate other things aside from the standard stuff to make it more interesting. I am discouraged but I'm gonna keep going. Seeing the weight go back on made me want to go eat a stuffed crust pizza so bad haha. But Ill keep pushing forward. Thanks!

[jba10582]

Keep it up BUBS! Fitness goals will take time and patience and it won't happen overnight. There will slight day to day fluctuations. Just keep your eye on the trend of what is going on and the results will come in time. The good habits that you form now will make it easy to be consistent about your goals over the long haul. I think you're doing things right.

[Eggplant]

I recommend long-distance running. Train for a mini-marathon or a marathon. Aerobic exercise suppresses appetite.

[mrs rubble]

Swap your breakfast Ensure for something else. My ex-hubby was prescribed Ensure after his cancer in a bid to GAIN weight due to the high calorie count.