First questions here, getting started with weight loss

[vigilante1]

Hi all, it's getting late and I didn't want to search forever on the forums to see if these types of questions have already been addressed. But feel free to answer, or just point me to other threads you know about.


First off, I'm 25 and with 3 brothers, I've always been the bigger one
Always carried that extra bulk. Like most bigger young people, I thought I was big boned. Well I am, to a degree, I have a pretty wide chest and strait, shoulders, which makes me look wide.

Regardless, I've only been watching my weight go up since buying a house and living on my own. 4 years ago I was 190lbs, now I'm 240. Even at 190 I was chubby looking, or just big-looking. But I've done some weight lifting and stuff, I think I have a few muscles now if I could just drop the weight back to 190 or less. Let's say my goal is 190 strong, no flabby


Here is my first problem which I'd like to discuss. My diet, or lack thereof. Living on my own, I either don't eat enough, or I just eat crap. Say I buy some bananas, good for me, yes, but they go bad before I can eat them. Same with most things, I can't get through a loaf of bread, or some fruit, before it goes bad. So I find myself mostly buying frozen stuff or other stuff that lasts. And I don't get much "fresh" foods. I mean, if I buy some stuff, I could eat it like mad for 3 days before it goes bad, but I can't stand eating it that much. I wish I could buy fresh foods that lasted a couple weeks. Like salad for example. I'll buy a bad of salad but I can't eat it every day, I'll have it a few times, then the rest goes bad cause I don't eat it.

I get to much fast food And to many snacks.
Well, I'm really not that bad in this regard, I do eat out 4 or 5 times a week. But to my benefit, I am NOT a drinker. My chosen drink is ice tea or juices. So I get nearly NO soda or sugar drinks. I'm not into deserts or shakes or lots of cady or donuts. I have enough sense to at least avoid that kind of stuff. For the most part, and I mean MOST part. When I do have bread at home, it's wheat-based, but not a whole-grain bread.

That being said,, the first place I need help is breakfast. I am not a breakfast person, it seems no matter WHAT I eat, it upsets my stomach. Whether cereal or a drink or whatever. In the past I've tried meal replacements like plain old Slimfast shakes, making my own shakes, protein bars. Nothing works, my stomach gets upset, and/or gassy.
This leads me to skip a LOT on breakfast, and wait until later in the day when I won't have problems any more.

A couple days ago I decided to buy shakes again, they were on sale, not Slimfast, but something similar, just a chocolate sort of protein/nutrient shake. I drank it this morning as I left for work, and even now tonight I still feel a bit "weird" in my stomach, and yes, it was upset all day.

So to start my new weight loss strategy, I have to work breakfast in, to give me energy and get my digestion and metabolism started. But because of my breakfast blues, this is really hard.

So let's start there, what can I do about breakfast and my queasy stomach? What do you think about meal replacement and protein shakes for breakfast? What would be a good breakfast I could have EVERY morning I work, that maybe my body would just get used to over time? And help with weight loss?

P.S. My job is sedentary, unfortunately, but like most desk jobs and "brain" jobs, I am usually drained when I get home, having no motivation or energy to try and work out. But that's another issue! Right now I want to fix my breakfast.

Thanks, I hope you all can help!

 

[Iwan naloseit]

I know how you feel with the bad morning stomach, I have the same thing. I've been doing the meal replacement with a shake thing too and the morning shake is always the hardest to choke down and then once its down it doesn't necessarily want to stay there. I've had this problem since I was a child, about seven years old and if anybody has any suggestions I would appreciate hearing them also. In the past my mom tried making me wake up two hours earlier then everyone else to make my body wake up so it could eat, she also tired only chicken broth in the morning, chamomile tea. I was a guinea pig for her, she's an herbalist so she tried alot of weird stuff on me.
As far as keeping fresh items stocked in the house, I am a single parent and me and my son can never finish things before they go bad either. I started breaking up loaves of bread and freezing half and taking it out when the first half was gone. That goes over pretty well. I do the same with cheese and milk (milk will keep in the freezer for up to three months also). But with fruit I just buy enough for two or three days and go back to the store every few days. I like it that way, keeps my diet diverse. I also dislike food ruts, but my son gets in them and won't or doesn't want to get out of them. Hope I helped some.

 

[vigilante1]

Ya, I could always just buy new fruit every few days, but I hate shopping. lol
Plus I get tired of the same food so often. That is, I can only eat a banana every day for so long!
I really like grapes, and they are great when washed in water and stuck in the freezer right after!

As far as dieting is concerned, breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, so if it comes to it, I'll just have to live with stomach problems.

Funny, though, on my days off when I'm home, I can get up and make any old breakfast I want and I have no problems! But on work days, it always bothers me.

 

[brat_who_me?]

vigilante
first of all welcome to the forum
now for bannas you can freeze them i take and make small squares and also watermellon i make them into balls and it is fabulous
they says breakfast is the most important meal but i cant face breakfast at 5 am

 

[dariqueen]

I'm not a breakfast person when I work either...doesn't make me sick, I'm just not hungry in the morning. Usually when I worked I would just wait and eat a granola bar at work about an hour or two after I woke up

You could try making your own frozen meals; spend one day doing nothing but cooking. You could load up your freezer with cooked portions of chicken, beef, etc. all ready to be pulled out and thrown in something.

 

[vigilante1]

Thanks.

I really do want the nutrients in the morning. You aren't hungry because your body has "shut down" those functions during the night. But digesting food and absorbing those morning nutrients is where you can burn a lot of cals and get some energy for the day.
Even just some Gatorade will give you a start.

I do alright with just a bowl of Raisin Bran maybe. But just wondering if this morning breakfast thing it seems a lot of people have, is, in any way, a medical/dietary problem. Or just normal?