Getting rid of that stubborn 10-15 lbs

[major_merrick]

Normally, I’m fairly physically fit. But I have this stubborn 10-15 lbs that just won’t go away no matter what I do. And in the winter, I always gain an extra 5 lbs that usually disappears by spring. Ugh. Here’s what I’ve dealt with so far:

 

I can’t diet very well. If my food doesn’t taste good, then I prefer not to eat at all. I can’t stand eating leaves and carrots like a rabbit, and if I haven’t had a decent meal by the end of the day, I get in a cranky mood. I eat fresh garden vegetables, lean meat, rice, pasta, whatever. I almost always eat at home, and never buy prepackaged stuff. I usually eat once a day in the evening when all my work is done, and I rarely take lunch to work. I can’t eat breakfast at all because I feel ill at the sight of food in the morning. I’ve figured out that I eat between 1700 and 2000 calories a day, depending on the day.

 

Exercise is a problem. I have a job with a medium level of physical activity. I’m on my feet 8 or more hours a day, bending over, inspecting stuff, using tools, etc… But I don’t ever really get up and move quickly or increase my heart rate. The job seems to make no difference either positively or negatively from a previous more sedentary job. When I get home, I’m really tired. I take care of the yard, fix stuff, and do some more work, but beyond that the energy just isn’t there. I don’t have the energy to work out like my girlfriends do, and due to an injury I can’t run anymore like I did in high school.

 

I’ve tried taking some supplements to increase my health, with the idea that if my body got more nutrients and vitamins it would require less food. Didn’t really work. I’ve tried increasing my metabolism, but ephedra isn’t available and I found that caffeine even in small amounts makes me terribly sick. Most people’s body temperature is 98.6, but I run cold at barely 97.0. If I could just increase my internal temperature, it would be a big help.

 

Ultimately, my weight is pretty consistent. I haven’t really increased or decreased in weight for about 3-4 years. No matter how much I eat or how little I eat, it seems to have no effect. I’d love to get rid of the 10-15 pounds that settled onto me just after college. My GF’s say I look good, and I don’t really feel self-conscious about it. But smoothing out the softness around my waist would be kind of nice.

 

Any tips or tricks? Anything that can increase energy or warm me up? Is there anything that could make my brain more content with just a little bit less food (like 200-300 calories less each day)?

Edited August 22, 2016 by major_merrick

[No_Go]

What is your height/weight or BMI? I noticed at BMI 20-22 my body just get stuck and doesn't change weight that easily. I guess this is the optimal BMI health-wise and that's why there is such a resistance to change.

 

For increasing body temperature maybe you can try sauna? Obviously that's just for short periods of time, but I don't think you can change your homeostasis permanently. the sauna sessions will make you dehydrate a bit so you'll appear thinner afterwards and that will give you the motivation to continue losing weight.

 

And just decrease the amounts of what you normally eat. Don't change the foods, eat 3/4 of your normal portions. If you maintain weight at 1700-2000 kcal, you will lose weight at ~1500 kcal.

[Nowty V]

You would do your body a huge favour if you could break your meals down. Little and often.

 

If you eat a huge amount last thing then you won't really fancy breakfast.

 

Breakfast is super important, high protein not cereal. I have Rump steak on toast with an egg and beans.

 

Cereals and carbohydrates just get turned to fat by the body.

 

Reduce the carbohydrate and increase the Steak and Chicken Breast

 

You need some carb to digest the Protein but not a lot, 65g of whole wheat Pasta with a Chicken breast.

 

40g of whole wheat pasta with 100g of tinned tuna makes a good lunch for work and easy to prepare the night before. I have steamed beetroot diced in mine.

[Gaeta]

Your body needs protein. You want to lose fat not muscle mass so keep eating at least 9 once of meat per day. Get a scale and weigh your food. You'll see what you need daily is much less than you think.

 

So protein is a must, on top of feeding your muscles it will cut your appetite down.

 

Remember this:

A fruit takes 15 minutes to digest

A vegetable takes 30 minutes to digest

A protein takes 8 hours to digest.

 

Which one will efficiently cut your appetite and keep you warm? Yes the protein.

 

Also fruits are over rated. Yes yes yes it's full of vitamins but on a plan to lose weight it's just extra sugar in your system. And what does sugar do to your system? It opens your appetite. Yes. noticed how you are hungry after you had an orange? So keep fruits to no more than 2 a day.

 

Veggies: eat as much as you want and don't even bother to count those calories. You can shower in them if you wish.

 

I lost 127-lbs. The last 15-lbs I had to battle it for months!! It's normal. It's also normal to have a harder time losing weight as we aged.

 

Good luck with everything.

 

Here is a tool that is fun and keeps track of your progress.

 

myfitnesspal.

[xxoo]

Work out to build muscle. Your energy will improve, your metabolism will increase, and you'll be able to keep eating what you want.

 

We lose muscle naturally as we age, and we have to build it to keep the muscle tone and mass we originally had.

 

You'll need to adjust when you eat to have the energy to work out. Can't get a great work out on zero food, and can't get a great work out right after eating a huge meal. You'll have to eat something with protein and carbs late morning or early afternoon to fuel a work out. Your eating patterns may be contributing to your low energy.

[major_merrick]

Unfortunately, my eating patterns have developed mostly out of necessity. I can try to change some, but eating before noon is an absolute impossibility. Most mornings I am so nauseated that if a coworker brings coffee or a muffin along with them I bend over the trash can retching my guts out. It doesn't clear up until lunchtime, and even then I have no appetite. I've been this way since I was a teenager.

 

I could try taking lunch to work, but that's kind of a bother because I usually work through my break to get stuff done, and packing lunch for the next day would be an added chore. Small frequent meals take time and make dishes, both of which are a sin in my world.

 

Gaeta, that's an interesting thought about digestion times. I really don't eat a LOT of meat, just a bit now and then and usually mixed in with something else. That stuff's expensive, after all. Does eating protein actually heat your body more than other food? Would it help to just eat something like plain jerky as a snack earlier in the day? (ie - no prep, no dishes, eating while working).

[xxoo]

I could try taking lunch to work, but that's kind of a bother because I usually work through my break to get stuff done, and packing lunch for the next day would be an added chore. Small frequent meals take time and make dishes, both of which are a sin in my world.

 

Cheese and crackers, greek yogurt, nuts, cottage cheese, fruit.

 

I eat just to eat at midday. Nothing special: a cheese sandwich, a yogurt almost every day. Boring, but fuel. Dinners are more enjoyable.

[sorano]

well, your wondering why you are not loosing the weight, meanwhile, you just answered your own question on why you are not lol. You know what faults you have. In order to loose that extra weight, you must fix what you know you are doing wrong.

 

skipping breakfast

working out is a problem

cant diet that well.

 

so you know what you have to fix.

[Romantic Gentleman]

well, your wondering why you are not loosing the weight, meanwhile, you just answered your own question on why you are not lol. You know what faults you have. In order to loose that extra weight, you must fix what you know you are doing wrong.

 

skipping breakfast

working out is a problem

cant diet that well.

 

so you know what you have to fix.

 

 

Exactly what I was going to say!

[ShineOn]

Can you drink in the mornings rather than eat? Like a smoothie or a shake? If not, just have your meals start later in the day. If you really do want to lose those extra pounds, you need to be willing to do the work and make some changes...eat right and workout. It's just a matter of how bad you want it.

 

Lifting weights will help you lose weight and tone up. Mix in a little cardio too. You don't have to workout for an hour a day. But if you add in 30 minutes a day 6 days a week, you will get the results you want. But the most important thing you have to do is focus on your nutrition. 80% of results come from what you eat.

 

There are other ways to get protein in your body besides "meat". Eggs, protein shakes, cottage cheese, yogurt (but I would limit the dairy as much as possible). There's a lot that goes into it, but the first things I see is that lumping all your food into one meal is a problem. It doesn't help your body function properly at all. So, just start with spacing your meals out a bit more, even if you don't eat in the morning. Just start with a small meal at noon and add some snacks to your day. There are a lot of quick, easy ways to meal prep and take your food to work without it being a huge chore.

 

And read the ingredients. The more sugar you are putting in your body the harder it will be to lose those last few pounds. Sometimes we think we are eating healthy until we actually look at the label and see that what we are actually doing is dumping sugar into our bodies all day.

[BluEyeL]

The breakfast skipping thing is not as set in stone as being bad. There are currents out there that talk about intermittent fasting and to be honest, I never knew about them but every time I lost weight in my life I did so by eating two moderate in size meals (6-700 calories each): early lunch (11) and early dinner (5 ish).

[BluEyeL]

As to how can you lose the weight on the one meal a day plan, there is no way around being hungry by the time you go to bed. So I don't think there is a way you can lose the extra 10-15 lb and be satisfied with 2-300 calories less per day. You have to cut those calories and stay hungry.

 

Yes, more protein can help with hunger. So you could make that one meal a day high protein and low carb. Put meat and/or eggs (but can't do it without meat) on top of vegetables cooked or raw. Then, eat strawberries for desert. That worked for my fiancee, I put him on a diet where he ate one meal a day, a huge salad with meat on top (chicken, taco type meat etc), or grilled meat with salad and a bowl of strawberries. He lost about 10 lb in 2 weeks that way.

[Methodical]

Would it help to just eat something like plain jerky as a snack earlier in the day? (ie - no prep, no dishes, eating while working).

 

Most jerky is loaded with sodium, which is essential to preserve the meat (and add flavor) so that it doesn't spoil. Sodium causes your body to retain fluid. So no, jerky isn't a good protein source.

[major_merrick]

Well, I've tried doing some different stuff for about a month. Absolutely no progress whatsoever. I haven't gained, I haven't lost, I'm right where I'm at. Here's what I've done so far:

 

1. Lunch and snacks. Can't manage breakfast at all, but I've tried eating more at noon and less at dinner. Didn't work - I'm just hungrier at dinner because dinner is smaller. In fact, it just makes me hungry all the time because my digestive system has been primed. On one meal a day, I'm never hungry because I just don't THINK about food until about 8pm. Now I'm ravenous in the afternoon. I'm lucky that eating more doesn't make me gain weight, because I'm pretty sure I ate more rather than less.

 

2. More lean protein, less carbs and fat. I eat less potatoes, rice, noodles, that sort of thing. I eliminated bacon. I've used some 99% ground turkey and found that I loathe it. Same with chicken that isn't fried. I guess I could live with it for a while if I knew it would work, but my use of hot sauce would certainly increase. I did take my body temperature after eating protein and hoping that it would change my metabolism - no joy. I'm still the same 1.5-2 degrees colder than human "normal." Bleh.

 

3. Reducing sugar. Unexpectedly, this is the hardest one. I don't drink soda, but I like the occasional dessert and I like wine. I didn't think I had a sugar habit, but apparently I do. GF declared sugar reduction a no-go because my mood is TERRIBLE. Apparently my mean streak comes out, and I have no idea I'm acting like a rabid animal....

 

All in all, an unsatisfying and unproductive month. A friend said, "Oh, well you just have to change your relationship with food." Yeah, right. I guess my mood and my meals are very much tied together, and I have no idea how to break that link without causing suffering to those around me. Still looking for a way to increase my metabolism....

 

And.... how does a person switch from sugar to something else to make the brain happy?

[Buddhist]

Try eating medjool date instead of sugary food. It's got fibre, and nutrients in it and is incredibly sweet. You won't be able to eat many of them but still get your sweet hit. You're hungrier eating earlier because it is ramping up your metabolism! Hunger is a sign of it. Eat more steamed vegetables, if you want to fill your stomach without the calories. Don't go low fat either, it will make you eat more to feel satisfied because you are lacking the fat.

 

I eat a moderate fat diet, with steamed vegetables as the basis of all my meals. It works well for me. 15yrs and no weight gain despite being middle aged. I don't habitually eat grain though, which does put the weight on for me like nothing else. I will bloat and retain water if I eat grain regularly.

Edited October 3, 2016 by Buddhist

[katielee]

see my post below on this forum regarding IF...

[DrReplyInRhymes]

Look up a ketogenic diet.

 

You want to get rid of the last 10-15 lbs of fat?

 

Reduce your body fat %, increase reps during workout. Not weight. Reps. It sounds like you've plateau'ed.

 

It's that simple.

[SammySammy]

Writing things down helps me a lot. I record what and when I eat. Record my workouts and how long it takes to do them. It helps to be able to look back and see where I can improve. Then I have to be willing to make those changes.

 

Eating more than one meal a day will help boost your metabolism. More exercise may help too, particularly resistance training.

 

My problem area is my waist also. One thing I've found to be true is abs are built in the kitchen. My diet is pretty simple and clean, but writing things down helps me tweak it when necessary.

 

Intermittent fasting helps me to keep things under control also.

[truthtripper]

I was recently watching a documentary with Michael Mosley, about achieving longevity. Scientific studies and human clinical trials indicate the most effective method of losing weight and keeping it off is by regular fasting. There is a diet called the alternate day fasting diet-

 

How Alternate-Day Fasting Helps Manage Your Weight

 

Mosley experimented with fasting for 2 days/week for 5 weeks and lost a physically noticeable amount of weight within this time.

 

There is also a link between alzheimers prevention and fasting. Mice studies show that fasting stimulates brain nerve growth. It is a protective mechanism to help the animal maintain alertness during periods of starvation/low energy.

 

Our bodies are built to survive short periods of starvation(up to 20 days of even longer) and can actually make us stronger and more resilient to illness. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors(early humans) would have been regularly subjected to periods of fasting. They were able to live well into their 80s if not longer.

[mrs rubble]

Well, I've tried doing some different stuff for about a month. Absolutely no progress whatsoever. I haven't gained, I haven't lost, I'm right where I'm at. Here's what I've done so far:

 

1. Lunch and snacks. Can't manage breakfast at all, but I've tried eating more at noon and less at dinner. Didn't work - I'm just hungrier at dinner because dinner is smaller. In fact, it just makes me hungry all the time because my digestive system has been primed. On one meal a day, I'm never hungry because I just don't THINK about food until about 8pm. Now I'm ravenous in the afternoon. I'm lucky that eating more doesn't make me gain weight, because I'm pretty sure I ate more rather than less.

 

2. More lean protein, less carbs and fat. I eat less potatoes, rice, noodles, that sort of thing. I eliminated bacon. I've used some 99% ground turkey and found that I loathe it. Same with chicken that isn't fried. I guess I could live with it for a while if I knew it would work, but my use of hot sauce would certainly increase. I did take my body temperature after eating protein and hoping that it would change my metabolism - no joy. I'm still the same 1.5-2 degrees colder than human "normal." Bleh.

 

3. Reducing sugar. Unexpectedly, this is the hardest one. I don't drink soda, but I like the occasional dessert and I like wine. I didn't think I had a sugar habit, but apparently I do. GF declared sugar reduction a no-go because my mood is TERRIBLE. Apparently my mean streak comes out, and I have no idea I'm acting like a rabid animal....

 

All in all, an unsatisfying and unproductive month. A friend said, "Oh, well you just have to change your relationship with food." Yeah, right. I guess my mood and my meals are very much tied together, and I have no idea how to break that link without causing suffering to those around me. Still looking for a way to increase my metabolism....

 

And.... how does a person switch from sugar to something else to make the brain happy?

 

When I stopped drinking alcohol I noticed that I craved sugar big time, I substituted with grapes (still full of sugar, but I figured they were natural sugars, therefore not as bad as refined sugar)

I also found that I could now stomach food in the morning. When I was regularly drinking alcohol in the evenings, I couldn't face eating anything in the morning and would often vommit when confronted with smells.

The other thing I noticed was my energy increased significantly.

I have no idea how much you drink, but it might be worth giving it up for a while and seeing if it makes any difference to your energy levels and sick feeling in the mornings.

It takes roughly 3 months of giving up wine to notice any weight loss associated with it, assuming you still eat (and exercise) the same.

[kmack513]

Although you don't have a lot of time or energy for it, you probably need to workout. If you can't run you can still walk do cardio. Even working out with weights and machines elevates the hear rate. Gyms have all of that, treadmills, bikes etc. Also frequent a hot sauna. Especially in the winter, sweat like crazy, it is good for you. Exercise is really important.

[major_merrick]

I doubt that giving up wine is going to happen. I like a couple of glasses before bed.

 

And I can't stand working out. So boring, and I don't get how my GF's can do it. Is there a way to turn sex into a workout? I have to warm my body up when I have sex, so there's sweating involved... now if I could just burn calories that way, maybe my problems would be solved!

[No_Go]

Of course you can - just go more acrobatic. I'm not sure that you'd lose much weight that way but hey, it's more than nothing, it's fun... why not.

 

I doubt that giving up wine is going to happen. I like a couple of glasses before bed.

 

And I can't stand working out. So boring, and I don't get how my GF's can do it. Is there a way to turn sex into a workout? I have to warm my body up when I have sex, so there's sweating involved... now if I could just burn calories that way, maybe my problems would be solved!

[Buddhist]

Bottom Line - if you're not willing to give up any of your existing habits, habits which put the weight on there in the first place, then your body won't change. It's a very simple equation really, what you habitually do leads to your body looking the way it does. If you want it to be different then your habits need to change. I personally adore bread, it's like the best tasting thing in the world, but the bottom line for me is that bread causes me to be larger than I like. If I want to keep my present shape then the bread had to go. It was a choice I made.

 

Reading this thread you keep looking for ways to do what you presently do and look different, not going to happen.

[GorillaTheater]

Take up chewing tobacco. It not only suppresses your appetite, but also the appetites of everyone around you.