Health & Support

Today I want to cry.

The other day, while at the gym I realized how HARD losing weight is going to be. After walking for an HOUR (one mile) on the treadmill the available burned calories would only have been at like 100. I can gain triple that eating one double cheeseburger from McDonalds!!!!!!! And I LIKE double cheeseburgers; AND fries. I have to cut out eating all the foods I like eating AND have to work out for 4 hours every day JUST to lose TWO pounds a week. That's only 8lbs (-10lbs) per month and I don’t really have the time to work out that long or that often at the gym.

My body is sore from the workout I did get and I'm miserable because I can’t eat what I like and I have to always think about the calories of EVERYTHING. And then just imagine what I would have to do to work off the calories from the things I actually WANT to eat. I admit I haven’t been sticking strictly to my diet; I don't actually have the self restraint. But at some point I had actually lost 3 pounds and that made it worthwhile.

Then TODAY, I get to work and I weigh myself on the scale. I had originally started out on this site on June 19 at 217lbs. That was 2 weeks ago and I should honestly be 4lbs lighter. Even still I was happy with my 3lbs lost. When I got on the scale today, though, it said I actually weigh 223lbs. 223LBS!!!! How did I end up being 223LBS??? That's more than I weighed when I STARTED the diet!! I did the dieting, I've been doing the exercising-which is more than I've ever done on ANY of my attempts to lose weight AND I've also stopped eating the MAJORITY of the foods I LOVE. I even stopped going to my favorite restaurant entirely because they lack a diet menu!!! I don’t eat when I’m not hungry and I try to avoid eating til I’m completely full but rather until I’m not longer hungry.

Losing weight is hard enough without gaining weight for all my efforts. I loved it when I saw that I'd lost 3lbs and saw that everything was really working. Even my girlfriend noticed that I'm losing weight when I was putting my clothes on for work. So why does the scale say 223LBS??

Between that, and everything that’s going on in my love life and this love-hate relationship with my girlfriend I don’t think I can really do this dieting/ weightloss thing. It all feels very hopeless. How can I get past this??

 

 

 

dont give up!!
first of all, the weight u gained may have just been water weight, which can change all  the time, especially as the day progresses (so if you weighed urself in the morning, ud be a good several pounds less than at night).  also, after 3 weeks of working out, you must have gained some muscle and muscle weighs more than fat.  so while it might look on the scale like ur weight increased, u actually may have lost fat.
second of all, the beginning of a diet is ALWAYS the hardest part.  u keep talking about the foods u love- ill tell u that before i started eating all natural, i loved all kinds of terrible processed foods.  after less than a month of giving all that stuff up, i had NO desire to eat it anymore.  not just that- before, i would have snacked on cookies/chips/pretzels... and probably would have had a fruit at some point just because i knew i should- i would eat it quickly and hardly enjoy it at all.  now that i eat cookies, chips, and pretzels MUCH more rarely and selectively, i LOOOOVE fruit! its heavenly! i sit there and eat it slowly, savoring every bite the way i used to eat an ice cream cone!  my point is, stop thinking about how hard it will be! the best thing to do is to force urself for a few weeks to eat ONLY foods in ur diet plan, none of that "bad stuff you love."  after a few weeks, you'll find you love healthier foods! and then, u can start having a little bit of the old food you loved on special occasions b/c you wont crave it so much that you'll overeat.
also, if the scale depresses u so much, stop getting on it! stop dieting for the sole purpose of losing weight- if u keep thinking you'll never lose weight, just diet for the purpose of becoming healthy!  and if you stick to ur diet... well, inevitably, u WILL lose weight. 
stick to it... even if it takes longer than u wanted it to, you have to start somewhere! if you dont start now, in a year you'll be beating urself up that if you'd have only started a year ago you'd already be at your goal weight... dont think about how long it will take, or how hard it will be. just take every day in stride.  do this for your health and happiness! and good lucckk

If you can, bump up the treadmill speed a little bit. I don't know if you have another condition (my mom has a bad back that makes some exercise out of the question), but if I'm reading your post correctly you're going at 1.0 mph? (You said it took you an hour to do one mile.) Can you bump that up to 2.0 or 2.5?

As the poster above me said, try to stop psyching yourself out. Make sure that when you weigh yourself, it's at the same time everyday and in clothes that weigh about the same (or naked! hahaha). Body weight can flunctuate throughout the day. Weigh yourself once a week or less instead of every day. Take it one day at a time--create some sort of deficit every day and slowly but surely you'll see results. Make sure you've had blood work done and your thyroid tested to make sure that you don't have any other biological factors that would hinder your weight loss.

Good luck!

much of losing weight is related to diet rather than exercise.  as you mentioned, you'd have to do a lot of exercise to compensate for bad eating.

rather than focusing on how much you can't eat or how miserable the exercise is try to focus on positive things.

exercise- find something you enjoy and don't worry about how much you are "burning".  focus on feeling your muscles being used and getting your circulation and breathing going.  focus on feeling stronger, more mobile and dexterous.  don't worry about pushing yourself over your limit so that exercise is torture.  you won't stick to that type of routine.  i like to take long walks outside or ride the stationary bike while i'm watching my favorite tv programs.  i don't push myself too much or else i know i can't motivate myself to do it regularly.  try something different until you find something enjoyable.  reward yourself with something like a long bubble bath to relax afterwards.

diet-  don't think about what you can eat in calories alone.  think about giving your body nutrients.  junk food never satisfies me.  it leaves me feeling sluggish, my mouth feels parched and cut up, and often i get sick bowels.  heathly foods, however , give me energy and nourishment without weighing me down.  i can sleep better at night and perform better during the day.  don't eat healthy foods just for the sake of calories.  keep experimenting with them until you find ones that you genuinely enjoy.  don't feel like you need to give up all your favorite foods cold turkey at once.  give your tastebuds sometime to re-adjust.  very slowly eat your comfort foods and really focus on what you like about them.  then pick out some of the ones you don't think you'd miss as much and ween those out of your life.  of the foods you like, try to eat half the portion you'd normally have and replace the other half with something more healthful.  take the time and focus to savor.

good, sustainable weightloss is slow...sometimes very slow.  don't be discouraged by this.  the slower it comes off, the more likely that it will be permenant.  you don't want to yo-yo.  it's bad for your health and self esteem.  deprevation and beating yourself up in a miserable routine will lead to depression and possibly disordered eating.  work on small changes day by day for the sake of your health and your body feeling better.

don't think of the scale as the only measure of success.

Are you saying you've been eating fast food?  If so, it's loaded with salt and you are probably retaining water.

I've found that the only way I lost weight was to completely change the way I eat.  No more fast food!  Plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit, lean protein, whole grains and low fat dairy.  I'm unable to exercise, so all the weight I lost was from changing my diet for good, not just for now.

Have a look at the Advice section.  You'll find so many great ideas and information to help you transform your life.

Good Luck!

Stick with it! You've already made it past the one week mark and the two week mark and you're doing great things for your mind and body with the changes that you've made! I truely believe that it gets a little easier after the first month - maybe the whole 30 days makes a habit thing?

Reasons to keep going? The more you work out and if you can add some light weight conditioning, the more muscle you'll have and the more calories you'll burn even when you are sedatary. I just went thru a slump after I lost the first 7 pounds - seemed like I was stuck for a good 2 weeks - but sure enough when I about gave up on the "weight" but was going to keep going for lowering my cholestorol, another 5 pounds came off, it seems out of no-where.

Most importantly, remember the weight didn't come on over night or in a month or two and it probably isn't going to come off that way either! Make lifestyle changes that you can stick with instead of diving completely in. You should be more successful in the long run!

Good luck and don't quit. Everyday is a new day to take charge of your life and weight.

 

 

Stick with it!  You've already made the most important step/decision~to try and lose the weight.

Fluctuation on the scale is normal.  I admit, it makes me crazy too!  Remember, water weight will cause you to fluctuate by a few pounds.  Also, I'm always 4-5 lbs. heavier before/during my monthly cycle.    Drink your water and watch your sodium intake to help regulate your water weight.

Good luck!  It's possible to lose the weight, but you have to remember that it's a slow process and be patient. 

Congratulations on taking the first step towards better health! 

 

 

I think the temporary weight-gain is getting in the way a little.  Leave that to one side for a second.....  You're currently looking at all the things you'd love to eat but you can't have; your favourite restaurant that you've ditched; the amount of exercise you need to do but don't have the time for.... all the negatives in other words.  A healthy lifestyle should be a pleasure.

Food, for example. Instead of the dozen or so things you're choosing not to eat, how about getting stuck into the thousands of foods that are great to eat and will help you lose weight....?  Go to your nearest big supermarket or street market, seek out the fresh produce section and be inspired!!  Buy an exotic fruit you've never tried before.  Find a healthy recipe (there are lots on CC) that appeals to you and then go hunt down the ingredients.  It can become so much fun to do this that you find your forget what it was you used to eat!  But do remember that even with healthy food portion-control is the difference between losing and gaining.... :-)

And the exercise.  If you burn up 100 cals while you're exercising that's not the end of the story.  You're also going to burn up energy just a little quicker for the rest of the day as well. So if you try to be more active in practical ways and as often as you can the effect can be impressive.  Park your car at the far side of the carpark, for example.  Take the stairs rather than using the lift.  Go for a walk at lunchtime and enjoy your lunch in the fresh air..... A really good technique is to invest in a pedometer and try to get up to 10,000 steps a day.  Every little thing you do all helps... elliptical trainers aren't the only route to getting slimmer and healthier..

So don't be discouraged.  A healthy lifestyle doesn't come overnight but if you keep making small improvements and try to enjoy the process, you'll get there.  Best of luck.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I read every bit of every post and am now inspeired anew. I am definitely going to try out some new recipies and looking around my local supermarket for things that arent only healthy, but are good as well. I know I love apples, grapes and watermelon so that CANT be the end of the good foods line. There has to be more out there. So thanks, gi-jane, for that idea. Also for the idea of getting a pedometer as well. I can get one of those anywher.

 Thanks, justkeeprunning1 for the info on water weight, I had no idea. Now that I know I can pretty much guess why I weigh so much.

Thanks to everyone else, your words were very much helpful. I did get off track and binge on everything I could get my hands on (pretty much) for the last 24-48hrs but I actually liked the idea of losing weight and everything I did, I'll undo now that I have more things I can do to keep losing the weight.