Hi Everyone

[mysdyva]

I'm new to the forums and hoping to find advice and support.

I'm 39 years old, 5'4" tall, and weigh 220 pounds. I want to lose a lot of weight, but I don't want to give up my soda. I have given up every other sugary and fattening food (no baked goods, no cheesecake, no ice cream, no cookies, etc), but I would like to be able to keep two things that I enjoy! I drink about 1 liter of Pepsi per day, which is 400 calories. I also have 12 ounces of whole milk every night (a comforting bedtime ritual) which is 204 calories. These are two items that I do not wish to give up.

I am not adverse to increasing my activity level significantly; in fact, I welcome it. Currently, I am fairly sedentary, but I have been trying to change that. What kind of exercises should I do? How much do I need to compensate if I want to keep enjoying my soda and milk?

My first goal is to reduce my weight to under 200 pounds. I'd like to rediscover my waistline again.

 

[JustineEssie]

Hi there! I'm new here and also trying to lose weight, but I hope it's ok if I try to give you an at least somewhat helpful response?

I think ideally you would only want to have soda in moderation. Maybe once a week? It would be a treat and not part of your normal diet. The thing about weight loss is it's not just about counting calories. 400 calories per 1 litre may not seem like such a big deal because you're getting so much to drink, but soda also contains ton and tons of sugar. That is the most basic reason it is not good for you in my opinion. Even with diet soda, there are supposedly chemicals in it that slow down your metabolism, and that means slow/no weight loss and a possible weight gain.

I think milk is essentially good for you if you drink it in the right amount! 1 glass a day is what you should aim for. It will give you all the vitamins without the excess fat and sugar. If you could switch to 2%-skim milk that would be ideal, but I understand the yumminess that is whole milk!

I believe in eating anything you want...in moderation! Right now, try weening yourself off the AMOUNT of soda and milk you're drinking. You don't have to get rid of them!

I always hear that we need to do a mixture of cardio and strength training to lose weight the most efficiently, but a brisk walk for 30 minutes a day is a good start to me. We all gotta start somewhere!

I think this bit will help a little bit with compensating for calories, but this won't fully compensate for the intake of sugar and fat content. Today I learned that if I briskly walk on an elliptical at an incline of 5-7 I burn about 480 calories in 30 minutes. I know everyone is different, but I hope that gives you somewhere to start and work around to fit your own needs.

I hope that helps, and good luck ^_^. And anyone can correct me if I'm wrong. My feelings won't be hurt, promise!

 

[icychic]

I totally understand not wanting to give up everything you enjoy and first would like to say GOOD FOR YOU! Giving up all of that yummy stuff. As for the soda and whole milk, try to cut down. For the milk try an 8oz glass instead of 12oz and perhaps slowly cut down from there. The soda in my opinion is worse because of the sugar. I love coke, but have tried to cut down. I don't drink it everyday and when I do I try to keep it to 1 can. Cutting from 1L to 1 can is huge, but baby steps will help.

Exercising more to get rid of the extra calories is good but the sugar and fat is still going to hinder your progress.

 

[mysdyva]

I totally understand not wanting to give up everything you enjoy and first would like to say GOOD FOR YOU! Giving up all of that yummy stuff. As for the soda and whole milk, try to cut down. For the milk try an 8oz glass instead of 12oz and perhaps slowly cut down from there. The soda in my opinion is worse because of the sugar. I love coke, but have tried to cut down. I don't drink it everyday and when I do I try to keep it to 1 can. Cutting from 1L to 1 can is huge, but baby steps will help.

Exercising more to get rid of the extra calories is good but the sugar and fat is still going to hinder your progress.

But.....but.....

Goodness, this is so frustrating! Thank you for your advice. I have such a difficult time resisting sugary things, and soda is one of my weaknesses. I did give it up for a while, but I wanted something to keep my bored taste buds busy. I also have a weakness for anything with cream filling, so, unable to moderate myself, I gave it up. Why do fattening foods have to taste so good???

Does anyone else have really sensitive taste buds? I have a difficult time eating foods that are bitter. If I have tea, I need at least 5 teaspoons of sugar in it.

 

[Omega]

Well done for giving up all those sugary things...

Taking up exercise is a very good idea - and I strongly recommend it.

If we were all angels we would indeed give up soda...

We are human - not perfect.

I certainly did not drink full calorie soda or full fat milk during my big weight loss project when I halved my weight - but I did drink diet soda and had skimmed milk. Certainly nothing in those slowed down my metabolism so that I could hardly lose weight - from 2007 to 2008 I lost 147 pounds in 13 months.

I did cut down on having these things... But didnt cut it out...
I drank some diet coke virtually every day
I had skimmed milk on my weetabix most days too...
You can see it on lots of pages of my diary back then... for example
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/threads/15690-Omega-s-journey/page3

There is little difference between having milk in a glass or poured over cereal... Milk is a food. It costs calorie - but gives you benefits - protein and calcium.

As long as you are aware of the calorie cost - I see no reason to deprive yourself of something that you enjoy.

Calcium from dairy actually helps you to lose weight - in addition to helping your bones.

I cut down on my diet cola by deciding that I would only allow myself to have some as a reward if I had drank a set quantity of water... maybe 2 litres or maybe more... I didnt care how much I had as long as I had earned it by drinking my water... obviously I would have cared if it hadnt been diet soda and therefore had meant that there were a lot of calories involved...

To be a successful project - it really has to be a change of lifestyle that lasts for the rest of your life... Feeling deprived from day 1 does not help you do that.

I have had some diet cola today.
We are all only human - if we expected ourselves to be perfect before getting our weight control happening - it might never happen...

 

[icychic]

But.....but.....Name: crying-022.gif Views: 2 Size: 3.7 KB

Goodness, this is so frustrating! Thank you for your advice. I have such a difficult time resisting sugary things, and soda is one of my weaknesses. I did give it up for a while, but I wanted something to keep my bored taste buds busy. I also have a weakness for anything with cream filling, so, unable to moderate myself, I gave it up. Why do fattening foods have to taste so good???

Does anyone else have really sensitive taste buds? I have a difficult time eating foods that are bitter. If I have tea, I need at least 5 teaspoons of sugar in it.

I could seriously write the exact same thing!!! I love candies, like skittles and sour patch kids. I drink tea, and used to put tons of sugar (like 2 heaping tablespoons in 1 regular mug). Now I put about 3 packets, which I think is 1 teaspoon each? And I've come to get used to it. Hopefully I will cut down fully eventually, but maybe not. Perhaps try honey? It gives it a different taste that I don't care for, but seems to work for some people.

We are human - not perfect.

To be a successful project - it really has to be a change of lifestyle that lasts for the rest of your life... Feeling deprived from day 1 does not help you do that.

So true Omega! Lifestyle change is the key, because otherwise you will gain everything back when you go back to your old eating habits.

If you can cut out the soda fully, great! BUT if you can't, don't beat yourself up over it. Even if you slowly cut it down little by little as much as you can that is a start. Maybe once a week try to have 1 glass less or something. If you can't, just remember all of the things you HAVE cut that are bad for you and feel good about that. Or I like Omega's idea of using it as a reward. If you do X amount of exercise, or drink X amount of water, or some other measurable thing, then you treat yourself.

As for the food taste, there are lots of healthy foods that can still taste good. You need to learn to use spices instead of oil and salt and fat to add flavor to your food. Find the healthy foods that you like, and don't always force yourself to eat the rest. Example: Pizza CAN be good for you, if you make it at home, don't use tons of oil, and load it with veggies. If you can, make your own pasta sauce and put some good spices in it to give it more flavor.

 

[mysdyva]

OK, so I am gathering that soda is a big, bad evil for people trying to lose weight. I can't have artificial sweeteners because they are really bad for people with certain neurological conditions.

I have cut down to 12 ounces of milk a night. I try to limit myself on soda, but it is so difficult. My taste buds get really bored, sometimes. How does one go about keeping track of the amount of suger one takes in? Approximately how much sugar should one limit one's self to per day?

 

[Omega]

OK, so I am gathering that soda is a big, bad evil for people trying to lose weight. I can't have artificial sweeteners because they are really bad for people with certain neurological conditions.

I have cut down to 12 ounces of milk a night. I try to limit myself on soda, but it is so difficult. My taste buds get really bored, sometimes. How does one go about keeping track of the amount of suger one takes in? Approximately how much sugar should one limit one's self to per day?

I believe that myfitnesspal shows sugars in its nutritional breakdown of foods...

You might find this link interesting:


sugar intake
The American Heart Association recommends no more than half of your daily discretionary calorie allowance come from added sugars. (Your daily discretionary calorie allowance consists of calories available after meeting nutrient needs.) This is no more than 100 calories per day for most American women and no more than 150 per day for men (or about 6 teaspoons a day for women and 9 teaspoons a day for men).

So according to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are:

Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons).
Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).

That means that basically if you really want to get this done right you would log all your food in myfitnesspal and make sure that the total sugars in your food for the day do not go above 25g...

I must admit that I do not do this at all... If my calories come in right and my protein, fibre, calcium, sodium and water come right then I am happy even when I am checking up on things which is certainly not all the time - more an occasional spot check...

I will add that I have seen people post on the internet that their doctor has recommended that they try to keep their sugars under 28g...

If you can keep your sugar under 28g I would feel pretty good about it...

I will add that I have artificial sweeteners all the time... Diet sodas, granulated sweetener on cereal... I have never believed that I have had any bad effects from them and they have saved me a heap of calories... I have had bad effects from sugar - there is no doubt that the calories from sugar contributed to my weight problem which meant that I lived for decades at an unhealthily high weight...

 

[david_reynolds]

Hey...joined forum today and happy to first stumble to your post.

Initially you will have to compromise on your soda and milk intake. At lest a month completely stop these stuff and start a light to moderate weight regime. This will help you at least start losing your weight. Gradually as you increase you daily dose of exercise and diet you can have you fav soda and milk but no 1 lt or 12 ounce. A lil compromise on your early months. As you body starts getting used to exercise and weight loss the consumed calories will affect less to your body and you will no more gain weight.

Hope you will have fun exercising and dieting!!!

 

[Omega]

At lest a month completely stop these stuff

Why?
Why should anyone go through the pain of completely stopping having them as long as they hit their nutritional targets and stay within their calorie allowance?
Too many people abandon diets gloriously because they try to be too strict from the start.

 

[icychic]

I agree. Sometimes baby steps are easy and work better. Cut down as much as you can. Remember it's not a diet but a lifestyle change. To be successful all changes must be sustainable long term.

 

[david_reynolds]

Yes. Weight loss is never easy needs loads of mental strength, a plan, a promise to oneself that yes i will achieve my target, the fight against your will to eat everything you love. Go slow and go steady....will have to give up to those food you love and with time you will realize that you are no more addicted to things or food you were addicted to sometimes back.

 

[San2]

Yes. Weight loss is never easy needs loads of mental strength, a plan, a promise to oneself that yes i will achieve my target, the fight against your will to eat everything you love. Go slow and go steady....will have to give up to those food you love and with time you will realize that you are no more addicted to things or food you were addicted to sometimes back.

I think you didn't understand what people are trying to tell you. You are wrong. To lose weight, you do not have to give up what you love. Not at all. On the contrary, cutting something out of your diet completely is more often than not the worst thing you can do. Doing that is probably the number one reason why people give up.

Instead of doing that, you have to learn moderation. Work those things you like in with those things that you need, and try to find a good balance, then take it from there. Much easier, and much more sustainable.

And just as a side note - enjoying certain things, and being addicted to them are two entirely different things. Real food addictions, in the medical sense, are very rare.

 

[Omega]

will have to give up to those food you love

there is a big difference in cutting down on and giving up entirely...

cutting down on food you love is ok if you bring in your total calories at an acceptable level and maybe keep high calorie treats for special occasions