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So I cut back on my food like 4 months ago, cut out soda 2 months ago and have been doing water aerobics for a couple months and you know what? I GAINED 5 lbs.
I cant exercise hard because I have back/neck problems. Thats why I have really been watching what I eat. I don't know what else to do though besides just starve myself.
It's so discouraging. Esp. since I have been giving up the food and drinks I love.
I am not sure if just walking can help? (I have a dvd that I can do in my livingroom) I just dont know what to do
@misskarianne: Tell us what your plan is. Have you really been cutting back? or are you just eating healthier foods with the same or increased consumption. Weight loss really is like starving yourself because it is causing the body to expend more than it intakes. It's a sad, frustrating, and often slow process that the body will fight. Walking will help you burn calories and could help with your physical problems (as will weight loss). Can you go to a pool. Low-impact pool exercises shouldn't be a problem.
Join weightwatchers (I lost 20 lbs really doing nothing but tracking) or another program that forces you to write down everything you put into your mouth. You may be surprised.
Do not give up. Your health and your mirror will thank you!
@misskarianne: My DH struggles with his weight and walking DEFINITELY helps him. He walks everyday on a long route outside so it's not boring. He's also had really good results with Atkins. Are you drinking lots of water?
Weight is not as important as inches. Have you tried measuring your waist? There's a good chance that what has been happening is you've been losing fat but building muscle with the aerobics. Since muscle weighs more than fat, you can gain weight while still looking better and losing inches.
Don't get discouraged!
Maybe you can go swimming or use an elliptical. Those are both pretty low impact and the swimming can help strengthen the back/neck. Otherwise walking can definately work, you just need to make sure you walk long enough and fast enough. You should have a hard time holding a conversation while you are walking for it to be most effective.
I agree with everything the PP's said! I would also add ( in my experience) it was just as much what I ate and how I ate it that made the difference. I originally cut back, counted calories and exercised, cut out diet cokes and didnt see THAT much of a change until I broke down my meals into 5 small meals a day with the calories front loaded... meaning I consume the most calories the first 1/3 to 1/2 of the day and decrease as the day wears on.
It wasn't a super fast process... but I lost about 10 pounds by doing that AND I also tried to not deprive myself or get on any fad diet... I just eat healthy, but if I want a little ice cream I get a little ice cream. It was all about tweaking the eating habits, not completely trying to overhaul my entire system! Good luck and don't give up!!
It also depends on *what* you cut out of your diet.
I have ceased the things I love in life. Basically anything sweet.
I, like you, I have also stopped my Sprite indulgence.
And breads and carbs, healthy or non, are almost a big never.
I will have one small diet bagel (basically they are like normal bagels but are a MM thick! LOL) for breakfast or with my lunch and thats IT for heavy carbs. On the weekends I will have one tiny potato one of the days.
I find this is really helping.
Oh and I don't have a car, so I am forced to walk everywhere, carry groceries home, etc, etc... so daily chores are a work out. Added, I have a dog that I walk too. Then I do weight training for 20 mins 6 x a week. But only for 20 mins b/c I hate it. And I do bicycle crunches for the tummy. Thats it.
I've lost 15 lbs in a couple of months of doing this (on my frame that is quite a lot) and I also will admit to breaking this diet quite a few times and still getting results.
@heather25: I am eating healthier while cutting back. I didnt increase. I have looked into things like weight watchers and jenny craig, but I just can't afford it. I have been doing water aerobics because it is the only thing that doesn't kill me to do.
@jjmomma: I basically only drink water now. Maybe it is not enough though. I can probably up it.
@Lemma: I have not measured my waist at all. Part of me feels like the water aerobics helps my flexibility more than burns anything else. I will measure later. Nothing seems to like fit better, so I didnt really feel like I was losing the inches.
@mrskesslertobe: I do like eliptical machines, but I don't feel that great after I get off them. I do try and stay in the pool after my water aerobics class to keep my body moving. The DVD I have for walking is pretty fast paced. and she even does this "boost" at the end that I can normally keep up with. You can choose 1-5 miles too, so that is nice. I just.. kind of gave up on it because it made me SO tired. Not like heavy breathing tired, but just going about my normal day makes me tired.
I agree with @amanda_rae - switching to 5 small meals a day rather than 3 large meals helped me a lot... and drinking 3+ liters of water daily! Try the Body for Life books by Bill Phillips for some guidance.
@Amanda_Rae: Gotta say, I totally agree with you! I'm trying to get my DH to do this, b/c Atkins will work like gangbusters in the beginning but as soon as he strays a bit (and we all do) from the plan, he gains it back. Smart post.
Don't get discouraged! Any kind of exercise is good, walking is perfectly fine. You also have to make sure you're eating enough. If your body isn't getting what it needs, it goes into starvation mode and just packs on everything as fat. Also when you eat is a big thing, eating heavier dinners doesn't help. I was overweight all my life but when I went to college my mom, sister and I decided to do Weight Watchers and I lost 80lbs. I have packed some of it back on but I am nowhere near where I was. The biggest think it taught me was how much I should be eating, alot of times I wasn't eating enough. Writing things down also helps because it shows you what you've eaten and how much you eat at a given time. I found that eating a good deal of calories in the morning and less at dinner is what is good for me. There were some weeks where I gained weight but in actuality my size never changed. Also another thing is you never have to give up what you love. I lost all that weight still eating pizza, which I love! And I don't mean a dinky small slice but those awesome boardwalk sizes, just have to stay active. You can do it!!!!
@misskarianne: I feel your pain!
I just started tracking on www.myfitnesspal.com and it's been a real eye opener. It's a free site and it tracks calories, fat, and carbs. You can also add in calories burned for exercise. It might help you to track for a little while and see where you can make adjustments. Good luck!
@misskarianne: Try fitday.com It's free, and it gives you all sorts of reports, a calorie tracker, an exercise tracker, and an online journal. It will tell you, based on your weight and activities, how many calories you can have a day without gaining weight. You can either then decrease your number of calories or increase your activities (or better yet, both!) to lose weight.
You'll be surprised at how many calories you should be eating. Sometimes when you eat too few calories, your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism slows down. Believe it or not, you have to eat enough to start losing again.
@Amanda_Rae: I do eat 5 times a day. not big meals. When I went to Jenny Craig to see about their program, I felt like I would be eating WAYYYY too much. Thats how little I eat. I think I am around 1200 calories a day? Some days it will be less and some days it will be more. I also dont eat after 7.
@Oneeleven: I think carbs may be my problem. But I have tried to look into this and everything is so confusing. I have no idea what I should or shouldn't eat anymore. Half of the things I see say you need some carbs the other half say no carbs at all. I just dont know what I should cut out, what I should eat, what will help and what wont. And after a while it doesnt just confuse me it starts to irritate me as well. I also cant really weight train because of my stupid neck. At this point I wish I could weight train, or do cruches or sit ups.
First, please dont give up what you are doing. Even if you have not lost the weight you expected you are healthier. Eating better and moving will never hurt you, only help.
Can you give an example of what you have been eating? "better and healthier" are really subjective and doesnt describe a diet.
Also, have you had your thyroid tested?
Knowledge is key. Teach yourself nutrition.
I would go to the library and read Dr. Oz's You on a Diet.
Here are some good quick guides to start
http://liamrosen.com/fitness.html
http://alwyncosgrove.com/2010/01/hierarchy-of-fat-loss/
And since you are having trouble, it may be time to count calories. Livestrong's www.thedailyplate.com is a good place to start with that.
I feel like if I eat more, I will lose my will power. Like opening flood gates. lol. if that makes sense.
I do keep track of what I eat already. Well I dont write it down anymore, but its basically the same every day because I buy things I already know the calories on.
I think I read somewhere once I am suppose to be around 1900 cals for my height/weight but that just seems like way too much tome
I normally have oatmeal for breakfast, some sort of 100 cal snack mid morning, I have been eating lean cuisine for lunch, another 100 cal snack mid afternoon, and then a small portion of chicken or fish with a veg for dinner.
If I dont have oatmeal for breakfast then I eat fruit instead
@Oneeleven: I agree whole-heartedly that it's *what* you cut out more then cutting down. I admit that I need to start exercising more then I do, but in the last couple of months I've lost 28 pounds by cutting my sugar intake WAY down and eating foods with good carbs rather then processed carbs. I've noticed too that with this weightloss, unlike other times that I've lost weight, the weight is coming off from all of me rather then just one spot. I like that! :D
are the 100 cal snacks the 100 cal pack things? I would ditch them and substitute a veggie or a fruit with a low fat protein instead.
@misskarianne: You are eating too little.
And yes eating too little can cause your body to hold on to dear life the fat it does have and to hoard the calories you are getting. Especially after a long period of time of your body becoming used to a surplus of calories. You are scaring your bodily systems into thinking its preparing for a time of starvation.
Have you thought about doing some yoga that is designed for bad backs/necks. My husband does one and it has improved his back a ton and while he does it he gets a bit of body weight resistance training.
low fat protein being...
I swear I am nutrionally retarded
@misskarianne: Starvation mode is a real thing. I PROMISE YOU. Seriously. Try the fitday thing to find out how many calories you can have a day. Enter in every minute's worth of exercise, walking, etc. and see what it tells you. For a relatively active person, you should have 13 calories per pound per day to maintain your weight. To lose weight, you subtract 500 calories per day to lose 1 lb. per week.
Eating is not losing control. If your body feels like it's starving, you won't lose the weight. (((hug))) I know this is hard, please don't give up.
@lefeymw: I don't feel like hungry though? Wouldn't I feel hungry if my body was going into crazy store all this fat mode?
@misskarianne: beans, chicken or turkey breast (real not deli), greek yogurt, peanut butter (get the real or natural stuff), other nut butters, low fat cheeses or other dairy. I would say in that order. Some vegan/veggie foods are high protein but I can't think of them right now (maybe seitan (sp?)). Quinoa is I think,
@heather25: yeah THESE are tricky! I used to eat them all the time thinking I was being "good" by only have 100 cal snacks but they wouldnt fill me up and I would end up eating more than expected... so switching to fruit ( a few apple slices with peanut butter always helps) or something that actually has nutritional value did the trick.
okay so cut out the 100 cal packs. eat fruit instead. or cheese. I dont like yogurt so thats out.
drink more water and walk more
@misskarianne: I agree that you are eating too little. But what you are eating isn't necessarily "healthy" just because it is low calorie. Switch out the 100 calorie snack packs for fruits and vegetables. I lost 20 lbs on WW and the most important thing WW teaches you is to eat real foods!! Fruits and vegetables are always going to be better than processed carbs (which is what those 100 calorie snack packs are)
Here is an example of what you maybe should be eating instead:
breakfast: Oatmeal with a piece of fruit (banana, apple, orange, melons, etc)
mid-morning snack: handful of nuts (literally just a handful), or some more fruit and vegetables
lunch: something with protein, i.e. salad with grilled chicken and basic dressing of olive oil and vinegar, turkey sandwich on wheat bread, tuna salad with light mayo, etc.
mid-afternoon snack: yogurt with fresh fruit, 94% ff popcorn,
dinner: protein (1/4 plate) with vegetables (veggies should be 1/2 of your plate) and carbs (1/4 plate)
Eating something along this lines gives you so much more real food than what you were eating before. You need more calories than what you were consuming otherwise you will never lose weight, at least not in a healthy way.
@misskarianne: Nope not necessarily.
Also fat is important to weight loss. I know it sounds odd, but its true and your diet is lacking that!
It looks like at first glance that your diet is as low as 1,000 calories if not lower. This is too low. If you are not hungry, drizzle some healthy olive oil on your dinner and add a piece of avocado with some veggies to an afternoon snack.
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-full-story/index.html#obesity
@misskarianne: Lol. I would eat veggies (cukes, peppers, raw broccoli) as snacks before loading up on too too much fruit, and eat both of those in conjunction with a small piece of cheese (1-2 oz)
Another link to read regarding eating too little and the potential damage it could do to your metabolism long term
This is a good blog, lots of good stuff here.
The scale lies: http://www.skwigg.com/id12.html
I did the fit day thing, and this is what it told me to get to my goal weight.
@misskarianne: Then that's what you should be eating. Look above--you've got some really great advice here. Try it for a few weeks and see what happens.
Figure out how many calories are in a sandwich that you like and make that your "wildcard" food to bring it up... whole grain bread with low cal peanut butter and Polaner all-fruit, hummus and pita... anything to bring your good nutrients and calories up. Another good wildcard food is chili. You control the meat, veg, and sodium that goes into it, and it's easy to portion out.
I know it seems counter-intuitive to eat more to lose weight, but it really works... promise.
@misskarianne: great! Go for it. Make sure those calories are made up of (in order) veggies, lean proteins, fruit, 100% whole grain, and healthy fat.
If you are not into cooking there are lots of great recipes out there that are easy and super tasty. Eating healthy does not mean you can't enjoy your food.
Is that really true? I will admit, my normal food intake is a thousand calories a day but once in a while I will have next to nothing for a few days here and there and I will lose even more weight. And it stays off too.
cant I just bring coke back into my life?! That would up the calorie intake! ;)
Can you please link me to where you found that counter?
You've gotten great advice, but I just want to throw in some encouragement! I'm also feeling a bit stuck, and I know how frustrating it is. I hope you keep us updated!
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