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OK, here I go. I've never been one for journaling, let alone in a setting where others can read and comment! But I'm frustrated with my lack of weight loss so figure it's time I put it out there and seek advise from others.
I've been working hard to lose weight for several months now and am within about 10 pounds of my personal goal. But I haven't lost anything for the last 2 months! Or more accurately, I'll lose 2 lbs one day only to gain it back the next because I actually eat a real meal. I'm a large, big-boned person by nature so will never get to where I look skinny. For my 5'10" frame, I should be around 165 lbs. I'm currently at 184 lbs and would be ecstatic if I could get myself to around 175 lbs.
I have been using the Jawbone Up24 for the last few months, which has been great motivation. Apparently I'm in the upper 30% of UP users, averaging 7,000+ steps a day (typically have over 10K steps a day, but there's always that one or two days that are too busy to step). For exercise, I mainly use the eliptical and treadmill and occassionally WII Fit. I have just started walking up a very steep hill near my house for an additonal challenge.
As for eating, my work week consists of a granola bar for breakfast; applesauce, cheese stick, and protein bar for lunch; and a variety for dinner, but always while being conscious of calories and fat. Weekends are a little more difficult, but again I stay watchful of my calorie and fat intake.
So time to reach out to others for suggestions. I've been told I need to focus more on carbs, but my goodness that's hard! What doesn't have carbs in it?! I eat applesauce and a protein bar and I think I'm doing great, but come to find out the carbs from those 2 items put me over the daily suggested goal. Crazy!!
My BFF (Kiki) swears by FatSecret and her group of buddies. So, here I go ...
Diet Calendar Entry for 06 June 2014:
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390 kcal
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Fat: 8.50g | Prot: 9.00g | Carb: 76.00g.
Breakfast: Quaker Chewy 90 Calorie Lowfat Granola Bars - Chocolate Chunk. Lunch: Fiber One Chewy Bars - Oats & Chocolate, Mott's Original Applesauce, Sargento Light Mozzarella String Cheese. more...
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 Comments
Hello, my BFF! I hoping my buddies will comment here and give you some suggestions. I'm thinking you actually may not be eating enough or need to change around the types or combination of food you're eating. Reach out to people here and ask people to be your buddy (otherwise they don't always see your journal in the feed it's the day goes by). If you're buddies, you (and they) will see your posts and others replies in your notifications. So, come on my buddies and help my BFF out with some suggestions!!
06 Jun 14 by member: Kiki8123
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Yes sometimes eating more is the key to losing weight, your body needs a certain amount of calories every day just to exist, not counting exercise.
When you deprive your body of real food and full meals, it takes the food that you do eat and throws it in fat stores, going into a type of 'survival' mode that will actually burn off your muscles before it even gets to the fat, which is bad.
Increase your food intake by making healthier choices with salads, fruits/veg's, nuts, etc. But definitely increase the amount and frequency of food.. Food=fuel! No food = no fuel, less effective workouts and little to no weight loss.
Keep it up though! Feel free to add me
06 Jun 14 by member: jdchr88
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First of all, way to go on the weight loss!
I agree with Kiki8123. Change up your eating pattern a bit. Most vegetables are 0 carb. Protein sources from meat are 0 carb. Try some mixed salads at lunch, but watch out for the salad dressings!
Also, if you've been losing weight for a while this may be your body's way of telling you it needs a break. It may have kicked into "starvation mode" and be trying to conserve everything rather than burn it off. Perhaps try to maintain your current weight for a few more months then resume the downward path to your goal.
Too, consider your quality of life. I am NOT telling you to give up! However, are you happy now? Did your Doctor or other health professional set this goal for you? If so, speak with them now that you are so close and ask them to re-evaluate. If it is a personal goal then ask yourself if it is realistic for your body-type and family genetics.
Best of luck :-)
06 Jun 14 by member: LALOVELL
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Hi Baldwin5, perhaps you could temporarily cut the granola bar out and see if that helps. I understand they can have as much sugar as a candy bar even if it is natural and good for you it may be sabotaging things. One day I read or seen somewhere that even SOME healthy whole grain muffins you eat for breakfast is nothing more than a cupcake without the frosting. There are time when you plateau and I found that I have to lessen the high carbs in exchange for the leafy ones and uppen the protein slightly then when you get close to your goal start adding the carbs back slowly and adjust the protein back down. Think of it as using different grade of fuel for what you want you body to do.
06 Jun 14 by member: SuniGirl73
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Well done for getting so close to your goal! I sympathise with the feeling of so-near-and-yet-so-far; I'm sort of there myself. Still, I'd recommend eating a bit more, while upping your protein intake and keeping the processed carbs and sugars down. Your body needs a certain amount of carbs to process protein efficiently but try going for simpler options, like large, lean, skinless chicken breast and mixed salad greens or veg, rather than protein bars. Also, try getting some HIT into your exercise; I add a few 30-sec high-speed sprints into my jogs. Try mixing up your exercise routine too and getting in some strength-training; when your body gets used to a form of exercise, it doesn't have to work as hard. Don't always turn to cardio either; building lean muscle is the goal, as that's what burns the fat and keeps it off longer. Lots of advice, much of which I'm trying to do myself just now, but hope it helps! Get in touch if you'd like to talk more.
06 Jun 14 by member: *Starshine*
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Agree with others, mixing up the food intake and/or your exercise routine might jumpstart things.
06 Jun 14 by member: LuC2
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Hi, Baldwin. I'd love to be able to walk you through a few things and get you on track. I know you're trying and I know how frustrating it can be. I'm a former 230 pounder who made it to 165. I've gained back 10 on purpose to support my exercise goals and I am OCD about understand as much of this stuff as possible. It's difficult because I believe everyone has a right diet that will be best for them. I'd love to go through calculating proper projected calories given your level of activity, but I simply have no time this weekend. I'll send you a buddy request. Could you perhaps PM me on Monday and we'll start figuring out some techniques for you? There are a couple of things I'd do right up front, and I should say that ingested fat is not the enemy. Body fat is. If your granola bar is close to 100 calories, swap it for an ounce of cheese. If it's closer to 200 calories... 2 ounces of cheese. This may sound very wrong to you. When we were lean nations (Canada and the US) we had eggs and bacon for breakfast. Now we are told to load up on carbs. We can see the results. For lunch... ditch the applesauce and have the apple, and instead of the protein bar, have a piece of cold chicken or other cold meat from the night before. Plan the leftover. Salads and veggies are a good idea, but stay away from the dressings and don't ever, ever put anything in your mouth that has been puffed or juiced. I hope to hear from you on Monday. Now back to the reports on digestions, waste elimination and sensory organs. Augh... I left it too late.
06 Jun 14 by member: northernmusician
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The scale is one of the worst things to use when you want to be healthy... It lies! I has me on my knees first thing every morning and pray to it like a moslim, before i get on it and even then it shows me his wrath most of the time. What do you do for sports? Did you ever get you BodyFat% measured? Did you ever visit the IIFYM.com site? It can calculate for you how much macro's is probably good for you... there you go, million kiki-friends giving you advice ;) ... In the end, do what you know is right!
07 Jun 14 by member: puhpine
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Hey Baldwin5! First and foremost congrats on your loss to date, you should be feeling very proud!! I know you are not where you want to be, but you're also not where you started :-). Everybody hits road blocks in their weight loss journey, know that you're not alone. I agree with the geniuses above, ease up on the carbs and make sure that you are getting enough protein. I have toast with my eggs in the morning, and bread with my sandwiches so I'm not a low carb person by far, but you will find that lots of those pre packaged, processed foods will be crazy heavy in sugar and carbohydrates. Our bodies are funny, I'm constantly changing up my diet and exercise routines just because A) I get bored, and B) Why not! I've got nothing but time lol. One thing I did notice from your journal as well as your bio is that you are quick to state that you are large framed and will never look skinny. Negative self talk will kill even the best of intentions. I may have taken that entirely the wrong way, and I apologize if I have. Part of the journey is learning how to love ourselves. Right now my struggle is some loose skin that I think looks just dreadful, but I'm working on that. :-) Best of luck to you Baldwin, I know you can do this!
07 Jun 14 by member: Annabelle3117
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Thank you for the response! I'm not one for "putting it out there" for others to see, so this is definitely a new experience for me. But I'm blown away with all the positive feedback and great suggestions. I'm going to be 47 soon, and this is the first time I've taken weight loss seriously. Therefore, it's frustrating when the weight loss stops. Regardless, I'm sticking with it and am determined to get myself healthier.
And to clarify, I wasn't being negative by saying I'm large framed and will never look skinny. I know that's just how I'm built and there's nothing I can do about it. But for the longest time I used that as my excuse for not continuing with diets and exercising. But no more! My goal is no longer to look skinny ... my goal is to get to a healthy weight, be healthy, and maintain.
Now just have to figure out how to get there!
07 Jun 14 by member: Baldwin5
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Yay!! Look at all these fabulous comments from the FS community and my buddies!!! You guys are amazing! This is exactly why I'm here! It takes a village... Ps everyone - although Baldwin's bio doesn't show it, she has been on a mission to get healthy and lose weight since approx October last year and has lost quite a bit of weight on her own (I won't share numbers in case she doesn't want to disclose the amount - but know, since she's my BFF, that she won't mind me telling you at least this). I simply say this to demonstrate that she's very committed and has done an excellent job relying on her own self and learning to love her body. She is, in fact, one of my inspirations and has helped me maintain my progress in addition to the people on this site. To my BFF - talk to these members and see what feedback fits in with your lifestyle. Make some new friends along the way (as long as I remain the BFF....). 😊
07 Jun 14 by member: Kiki8123
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Thank you for the response! I'm not one for "putting it out there" for others to see, so this is definitely a new experience for me. But I'm blown away with all the positive feedback and great suggestions. I'm going to be 47 soon, and this is the first time I've taken weight loss seriously. Therefore, it's frustrating when the weight loss stops. Regardless, I'm sticking with it and am determined to get myself healthier.
And to clarify, I wasn't being negative by saying I'm large framed and will never look skinny. I know that's just how I'm built and there's nothing I can do about it. But for the longest time I used that as my excuse for not continuing with diets and exercising. But no more! My goal is no longer to look skinny ... my goal is to get to a healthy weight, be healthy, and maintain.
Now just have to figure out how to get there!
07 Jun 14 by member: Baldwin5
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