Dieting, Exercise and Weight Loss Rant

[mrs.wes straker]

First of all, I feel like garbage because I haven't exercised for almost if not 2 whole weeks. I had the flu or something similar last week.
Secondly, when I exercise in the a.m., I ended up feeling really hungry all day and eat like a horse. Even when I don't exercise, I eat out of boredom. When I get home at night, I'm exhausted and want to make a beeline for the bed.
Can anyone tell me how get more disciplined on my exercise and diet habits? I'm sick of being 20 lbs overweight. Last year, I lost the 20 lbs and then got pregnant.

I just want to fit into my clothes again, and not feel chubby.

Waaaaa! OK, now that I'm done whining, please give me some good advice!

[Godslayer Jillian]

Haha, I feel you, but the other way around. I got back to the gym after five days, but I hate that the process is so slow.
I'm not saying there's no progress at all (my tight shirts are finally tight on my arms ^^) but it's still not quick enough.
I have gained like 6 pounds, which makes me about 115 pounds. ┬_┬
Yet, I don't dare eat before going to the gym or I feel nauseous and after that, it doesn't seem to be enough but I can't eat any more.
The best advice I can think for us both is: regime.
There's always diet regimes we can follow; nutriologists are t3h R0xz0rz.
And we must realize that slowly or quickly, exercise does work.

[mrs.wes straker]

Crap! I wish I had your problem Jillian. Let's forget about the diet and exercise thing and switch places.

I've been working out since December now and haven't really lost much weight. But I am quite muscular. Makes me feel like a football player.

[MollyMac]

Wow. Something I know something about!

What has always worked for me is not a diet per se or one set time for exercise because eating slows you down and overdoing exercise in one fell swoop wears you out.

I eat 5 to 6 small meals a day- no more than 2400 calories (BUT- I am extremely active, so I can get away with eating more. Average female should consume between 1800-2000 calories a day). This regulates blood sugar and keeps off superfluous hungers.

For exercise, to burn fat, what you want is to eat no sooner than one hour before you exercise, and then do at least 30 minutes of low to moderate exercise to begin burning fat. Phosphorous burns "quick and dirty" for sprint, sugar/glucose burns intermediately (medium distance running), but fat burns at a slower level, like walking, for instance. It seems counterintuitive, but it's true.

You may do like a 30 minute morning walk after a piece of fruit and then have a cereal and fruit breakfast, and then do weights in the evening to work on tone and muscle mass. You won't gain bulk unless you overkill protein and lift for strength not reps (you want 3 sets of 10-12 reps, where the 8th rep is hard and the last is almost impossible)- adding muscle increases fat-burning potential.

BUT all that being said, I would recommend that you keep a food journal to log when you eat, what you eat and *why* you eat... It helps you to be more conscious. Also, don't *waste* calories on so-so food. If you are going to eat a piece of cake, DON'T SETTLE, make it worth it. Treat yourself to something sinful, not something quick and easy.

Also, talk to a nutritionist about your current habits and what you would liekto change. And check with your MD before changing your exercise routine overmuch.

[KontanKarite]

OK.

First of all, it's normal to feel very very hungry after working out in the morning.

Here's some quick tips. Work out in the AM. BUT!! Workout BEFORE you eat breakfast. Ensure your breakfast has the most carbs of the day in it.

Also, try to eat 6 times a day. This isn't about eating 6 full meals a day, this is about eating something small to hold you over throughout the day. Ensure that the majority of your protiens are consumed after workouts and before you go to bed. This ensures that your muscles are getting its nutrients when your body is repairing itself. This way it doesn't repair itself with fat tissues from carbs.

Also, coffee and tea are great ways to boost metabolism.

[Drake Dun]

Originally Posted by mrs.wes straker

First of all, I feel like garbage because I haven't exercised for almost if not 2 whole weeks. I had the flu or something similar last week.
Secondly, when I exercise in the a.m., I ended up feeling really hungry all day and eat like a horse. Even when I don't exercise, I eat out of boredom. When I get home at night, I'm exhausted and want to make a beeline for the bed.
Can anyone tell me how get more disciplined on my exercise and diet habits? I'm sick of being 20 lbs overweight. Last year, I lost the 20 lbs and then got pregnant.

I just want to fit into my clothes again, and not feel chubby.

Waaaaa! OK, now that I'm done whining, please give me some good advice!

I think I can contribute some information, here. Now, I'm an ectomorph and my body sort of prefers to be thinnish anyway (I just have to exercise to keep off that layer of baby fat), so I don't know if this doesn't go for other types of people... BUT, if you want to eat, EAT. The trick is not so much to eat less as to eat healthier. Hungry? Have a smoothie or vegetable curry. If you fight your hunger you will just end up gorging on chocolate and beer and shit a few hours later, which is much much worse than just eating some healthy food as soon as you get hungry.

It helps to understand the way your body works with food. For example, you will get this phenomenon where you say "I'm hungry" and you go eat a chicken salad. Then you are all pleased with yourself because you made a smart choice about what to eat, but you don't feel the kick you need, so you go heap a chocolate bar on top of the salad. The problem here is that stuff like chocolate gives you an almost instant chemical jolt, and you get used to that. With normal food you have to wait a couple of hours for your hormones to catch up and let you know that you're not hungry anymore. If you're aware of that beforehand, it's easier to hold off those couple of hours. Also, drink a lot of water. The way your brain works with hunger and the way it works with thirst are connected, so sometimes when you are hungry, actually what you are is more like thirsty. Drink a lot of water (this is one I am still bad on).

Likewise, if you want to sleep, SLEEP. Granted, you burn less calories asleep than when walking around, but not sleeping enough is known to result in bad munchies (I have a LOT of personal experience with that phenomenon) and it also screws up your mood, which makes you less able to make smart decisions about things. So if you are sleepy, just go to sleep. You will be much better off.

Man, I cannot stress the sleep thing enough. That turned out to be the lynch-pin for me. Actually, booze was the lynch-pin, by way of sleep. It was making me unable to sleep well (in addition to adding calories) and so I was always miserable... so I never had energy to exercise and I always needed chocolate. Get lots of sleep.

Avoid weight-loss culture. It is sick and unhealthy. I live in a country where you can walk around on crowded streets all day without seeing any fat people (unless you happen upon some Americans), and there is almost NO weight loss culture or industry here. I have seen weight loss ads less than ten times in three years of living here.

The simple fact is that weight loss is not always easy (though it can be), but it is always simple. Leave the caloric bean counting, protein purism, and other whacked out postmodern American bullshit behind. Eat, sleep, and exercise well, and you will be healthy - and get thinner.

Remember that you live in a consumer culture. There is money in diets, drugs, and so forth. There is no money in good old fashioned taking care of yourself. Therefore you will be bombarded with advertisements, infomercials, magazine articles, and so on that are filled with bullshit, and hear almost nothing about what you need to hear. You need to have faith in yourself and your own ability to make the right choices without listening to "experts". Getting fit is connected with getting in your head straight and learning how to be yourself and not just another cog in a machine that really doesn't give a shit about you.

On a final note, because this is one that I only learned very recently... there appears to be a lag time between when you start a solid program of exercise and healthy eating, and when you notice a difference in the numbers. Check it out.. the date is on the left and the measurements before and after exercising, in kilograms, on the right. The numbers might seem high, but it's because I'm 185 cm (6'1 plus change). I am in tolerably good shape and I look thin.



Drake

3/02 B:85.15, A:84.10
3/03 B:84.75, A:83.80
3/05 B:84.95, A:84.00
3/09 B:84.25, A:83.70
3/10 B:86.05, A:85.30
3/?? B:84.00, A:?
3/16 B:84.25, A:84.00
3/19 B:84.85, A:84.20
3/23 B:85.05, A:84.50
3/24 B:85.50, A:84.35
3/25 B:84.85, A:84.15
3/26 B:??.??, A:84.05
3/27 B:84.90, A:?
3/31 B:85.15, A:84.15
4/01 B:83.55, A:82.80

I have learned a lot from tracking these numbers. I started exercising fairly regularly and eating relatively well back at the beginning of march, but if you look at the numbers it is not obvious at all that I have been losing any weight until the last entry (I never could have hit under 83 before). Why is that? Well... I have my theories. For one, I think I have been putting on muscle, which surprised me since I have only been running and not lifting. I look a tad buffer and someone else commented on it, too... so that is adding weight. Also you will notice that the numbers fluctuate a lot, so I think it depends on how recently you have eaten and other variables like that.

I started feeling better in the mood sense after only a couple of days of exercise. I started looking and feeling thinner only after a couple of weeks. And I didn't notice a quantifiable difference in my weight measurements until almost a full month later - and it's still a small difference, but when I look in the mirror the difference is more obvious. The point of all this - weight loss takes too much time for you to rely on Pavlov to keep you eager. You have to understand the process and have faith.

Drake

[Drake Dun]

By the way, the "caloric bean counting" and "protein puranism" were not in reference to the comments of previous posters. I typed my response before reading theirs, in which I find nothing with which I feel compelled to disagree. I myself keep a rough notion of how many calories I have had in a day in my head, and by "protein puritanism" I meant that Atkins diet or whatever the hell it is, in which you only eat high protein food.

Drake

[mrs.wes straker]

Wow, thanks everybody this is all really helpful. I'm going to start the food journal today.

[Minyaliel]

One thing that's helped me (I didn't want to loose much weight, though, only some 5 kg) is the fatfree vegan/ vegetarian diet. You can find info about it on www.fatfree.com, if you're interested. No more starving or uncomfortable dieting... and no real need to count calories.

[KontanKarite]

I find two good bowls of Cesar salad was always very filling for me. I include tomatoes and boiled eggs in them though.

[MollyMac]

Make small, slow changes that you can maintain consistently, don't crash diet.

[mrs.wes straker]

The food journal is helping so much. I think I'm on the road to killing my boredom snacking. But I haven't exercized in almost 3 weeks. :-(

[Drake Dun]

Originally Posted by mrs.wes straker

The food journal is helping so much. I think I'm on the road to killing my boredom snacking. But I haven't exercized in almost 3 weeks. :-(

For me the hard part is always just going to the gym. Once I'm there, it's easy to exercise. Maybe you could look at it this way... if you walk at a leisurely pace for ten minutes, it's not much in the way of exercise, right? But clearly it's better than doing nothing at all. So just focus your energies on doing something. Then when you get going, you might find that you are more eager than you thought, and do more.

Drake

[Lucretia_my_Reflection]

i dropped from a size 24ish to a 20-16 from good eating and exercise

[Drake Dun]

Kick ass!

Drake

[mrs.wes straker]

Originally Posted by Drake Dun

For me the hard part is always just going to the gym. Once I'm there, it's easy to exercise. Maybe you could look at it this way... if you walk at a leisurely pace for ten minutes, it's not much in the way of exercise, right? But clearly it's better than doing nothing at all. So just focus your energies on doing something. Then when you get going, you might find that you are more eager than you thought, and do more.

Drake

I did it, I did it! 9 minute straight of crunches, and 25 mins of stretching & cardio. Thx for the motivation! Congrats Lucretia!

[Drake Dun]

Kick further ass!

Drake

[whispertwist]

Originally Posted by mrs.wes straker

I did it, I did it! 9 minute straight of crunches, and 25 mins of stretching & cardio. Thx for the motivation! Congrats Lucretia!

Woot!! Excellent.


I'm going to add my whine. My diet is good (organic, low fat, high fiber, high fruit and vegetable).

I bought an elliptical trainer. I keep a training log and have been fairly faithful for a year now; I do an average of 30-40 minutes about five days a week. I do some light pilates. I use handweights for a half hour about three days a week.

I can tell I am somewhat stronger than I was a year ago, but, dammitalltohellandback, I can't seem to lose any weight.

whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine

[mrs.wes straker]

Originally Posted by whispertwist

Woot!! Excellent.


I'm going to add my whine. My diet is good (organic, low fat, high fiber, high fruit and vegetable).

I bought an elliptical trainer. I keep a training log and have been fairly faithful for a year now; I do an average of 30-40 minutes about five days a week. I do some light pilates. I use handweights for a half hour about three days a week.

I can tell I am somewhat stronger than I was a year ago, but, dammitalltohellandback, I can't seem to lose any weight.

whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine

Wow, have you seen a doctor?

[whispertwist]

Originally Posted by mrs.wes straker

Wow, have you seen a doctor?

*looks carefully at the section of the board, just to make sure it's ok to whine more*

mmmmmm yeah.
I see 5 specialists on a regular basis, and finally finished with 2 others. I just fired my family physician, and need to find another *holds head and whines more*

The concensus is that i am getting old. dammit.

[mrs.wes straker]

Originally Posted by whispertwist

*looks carefully at the section of the board, just to make sure it's ok to whine more*

mmmmmm yeah.
I see 5 specialists on a regular basis, and finally finished with 2 others. I just fired my family physician, and need to find another *holds head and whines more*

The concensus is that i am getting old. dammit.

Awww, man, I hate it when that happens. (Getting old)
It's perfectly OK to whine here. I posted this thread here because I plan to start dieting like those people on the documentaries about obesity. Then I will park my mattress (or someone will do it for me) right in front of my computer and stuff my face whilst I whine to strangers that I don't have enough bacon. :-)

One positive thing about your predicament must be the consistent good health. I imagine you must be nicely toned, even if there is a bit of chubbines over it. That's usually how I end up looking after working out for a few months. You must also be pretty energetic.

[Valerius]

I just consumed 2 steaks and half a bowl of mashed potatoes! Woe is me, I will gain an extra pound tomorrow. What ever shall I do? :P

[KontanKarite]

Dance with rivetheads. That can REALLY help you burn some calories. I am not even being funny about this.

[Saddiction]

Originally Posted by KontanKarite

Dance with rivetheads. That can REALLY help you burn some calories. I am not even being funny about this.

That's pretty much the extent of my excersize.

[MollyMac]

If you are looking to burn phosphorus- do sprints. If you are looking to burn sugar, lift. If yo uare looking to burn fat, walk.

The optimum fat burning exercise is a moderate to brick walk of at least half an hour. It is also good to add high intensity intervals (walk 4 minutes, jumping jacks for 1 minute, for example).

ALSO- as to the elliptical trainer- it's good, but your body gets accustomed to the speed, time, and movement. Make your body adjust. Use the trainer in different times, differnt ways.