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williamlbell

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As an athlete in high school I never thought I would make it very near 400 lbs. Before finally deciding to do something about it I capped out at 385 lbs. In the last year and a half I have made it to 270. I have worked really hard, but I have recently started to struggle. I am still working out quite often, lifting 3-4 times a week and cardio 3-4 times a week. My eating has spiralled out of control. I have developed a wicked addiction to cheating on my diet. Everything is a justification. I havent gained any of my weight back yet, but for the last 3 weeks I havent lost a pound. I am really upset...and unsure what to do at this point. The holidays and all the food really isnt helping. Every day I wakeup and say " Today is going to be a perfect eating day" and I havent succeeded in almost a month. I really need some help, I am hoping someone here can relate and tell me what they did to get past it!
 
Hi William,

I have been through ups and downs and plateaus with my own weight control.

What's worked in the past doesn't always continue to work as our body becomes used to the same sets of exercises.

A couple of suggestions, mix up your weight lifting to use different muscle groups. When I go to the gym I actually use a schedule and different sets of exercises. When the challenge starts to fade, increase weight or find a different set of exercise to do.

Food wise I have been using protein shakes to supplement my diet. But I was reading an alternative to the standard 3 daily meals and that was increasing it to 6 smaller meals.

You have probably heard this before but it does make sense when you think about it. Giving the body 6 meals throughout the day keeps those energy levels up and cravings down.

Lastly, tweak and tweak until its right for you.



Aaron Riddell
 
williamlbell said:
Every day I wakeup and say "Today is going to be a perfect eating day" and I haven't succeeded in almost a month.
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This is the quote that stands out in my mind. Ditch this mentality. If you have your exercise on track than you can afford to take things slow with getting your diet back in check.

Start with simple things: increase your water intake if you're drinking too many sugary beverages, when you're hungry or feel the urge to snack ... force yourself to eat an apple or some vegetables before giving into your true craving. Convince yourself that for just one meal a day, you're going to have a really healthy meal. Prepare your food in advance so you have a better excuse to fight against last minute temptations. Most importantly, don't beat yourself up for giving your body what it wants some of the time. Concentrate on getting your portions in check and reward yourself with something yummy and maybe not completely healthy for you every once in a while. There is no "bad" food, you just have to try to maintain a balance with what you're putting in vs. what you're burning off.

If you don't log your food, now might be a good time to start. I knew I was eating poorly but never realized the extent of it until I started logging my food on fitday.com. It's such a helpful weight loss tool, it really is.


Best of luck to you :) You can do this!
 
Just to add to what Addie said about logging food, I have been keeping a food journal for five weeks now and have seen eye opening results because of it. I typically write down what I eat after I eat it and then make adjustments to my next meals based off of what I have eaten so far in the day. I track total calories, and calories from carbs, protein and fat.
Here is an example of how this helps me maintain a healthy diet and stay on track when I slip: The other day I was making a meal I wanted to consist of about 50% carbs 25% protein and 25% fat (I was heading to the gym and wanted the energy from carbs) so I made myself a small chicken breast fillet a small salmon fillet and then was going to make some pasta with cheese, similar to mac and cheese but with real cheese. When all was said and done I not only used velveeta cheese instead of my planned shredded mozzarella. I also finished off the rest of about 1 1/2 inches of the brick I had left over. After this meal I started logging down the calories and realized that 510 calories of that meal had come from just velveeta! I have pretty lofty weight loss goals and that did not fit into my normal caloric breakdown, but at least I knew that and did not panic. Knowing the exact extent of my set back, I could then plan the rest of my day around this meal and still stay close to my original goal of 1900 calories for the day.

I hope this story helps in some way, and good luck to you!

MNpineapple210
 
Big DITTO on the logging of food! I have been learning how easy it is to eat too many calories, to eat too large of portions. Calories add up fast in today's world. Use fitday.com and log what you eat, what you expend. If you keep in a negative caloric balance seems you can't help but lose fat. If appropriate, cut back on sugars and starches, eat more veggies, meat, seafood (unbreaded), fruit for a snack or dessert; less bread, pasta, rice; no sweets.
 
Cheese evil, evil cheese, LOL. I have come to the conclusion that cheese and chips are evil! LOL. So calorie dense. I used to break off a chunk of a cheese brick, sit and slice it with a knife and eat it on the sofa. The other day I bought some packaged cheese SLICES and am amazed that a thin single slice of cheese, just a few bites, is 100 cals. I could enjoy a couple of small grapefruit for that 100 cals, or a tin of kippered herring, or half a veggie sandwich! And chips, they taste so damn good, but are loaded with starchy carbs and fat, and also have toxic acrylamide.
 
Randall said:
Cheese evil, evil cheese, LOL. I have come to the conclusion that cheese and chips are evil! LOL. So calorie dense.
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I love cheese. I buy a 75% Fat Free Sharp Cheddar block cheese and only eat a single serving at a time. I usually have it in the mornings with my breakfast with apples or eggs/egg whites. I find it to be a nice way to add protein.

And seriously, I can hardly tell a difference between it and it's full-fat cousin cheese. So yummy :)
 
Yes, I remember those days, when I would mix up about a half cup of sour cream dip and sit down with a bag of potato chips, or eat a couple of bowls of ice cream at a time. Can't even think of doing something like that any more.
 
A cheese trick I am trying is instead of chowing down on the oh so easy to eat lots of bricks of colby or chedder is I bought some Blue Cheese; Blue Cheese smells and tastes like a gym sock that has seen several weeks of sweat and foot odor bacteria-- way too stinky to eat more than a small piece with any given meal!

I checked, the fat free chedder looks to be about 30 cals a slice, fat free swiss about 25 cals a slice; both far better than the 100 cals a slice for regular cheese.
 
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