I need to lose weight. Am having such a hard time sticking with anything!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Any advice you have for me is welcome.

I am 175 pounds, need to lose minimum of 20 pounds to feel good. I am 50 years old.

I run 3-4 miles two or three times a week, and lift 2X week for 50-60 minutes.

My resting metabolic rate is 1600.

I have a couple problems - I eat for fun and comfort. Love carbs and wine. Have a DH who is 40 pounds overweight and two athletic teen boys to cook for. If it were just me, I'd eat regular breakfasts and lunches and make a light dinner, but my family is all big dinner eaters - think meat or beans, a starch and a veggie.

I'm one of the PPs who has mostly eating advice, but something about your workout caught my eye, which is that 50-60 min is a long time to be lifting. Can I ask what you're doing and whether you still get any muscle soreness after a lifting day? I have a quick workout that basically cripples me but only takes about 20 minutes to do. I would encourage you to make sure you're still working hard at the weights. You should have no more than 1-2 minutes between sets and should be pushing yourself a little on weight or, if you're worried about bulk, on # of reps. And try to change it up a little bit to make sure your body doesn't get too used to the same old thing. That's true on the runs too. You can try to vary distance, or run at an uneven pace, sprinting one block followed by a slower jog and then sprint again, and so on.

50-60 minutes is about right for a heavy lifting program, which I hope OP is doing.

20 minutes of heavy weightlifting shouldn't cripple you - perhaps you're doing metabolic workouts with some weights, instead of heavy compound movements?

PP, yes, I'm not doing heavy lifting at all. As a mid-30s woman, I was definitely assuming that a 50 yo woman probably wasn't either, which may be off base. I played a sport at a quite mediocre D1 college and did more serious weightlifting then. Now I stick to dumbbells or even weight-free exercises like squats and lunges.

The 50 year old poster here..yes, I'm doing what for me is heavy lifting, eg 115 pounds for deadlifts.

Good for you. How much protein are you doing? I found that I started adding muscle and shedding fat when I really made an effort to eat more protein. If you track your food, see what % is protein and try to play around with that number. 30% is a good goal for most people. I shoot for 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat. If you don't drack, maybe just track for a week or so and see where you are and gradually make adjustments. I love carbs and wine too, you can still be healthy

I think for me, focusing on what I need to put in - rather than what I keep out - is pretty key. Making sure I am getting enough veggies, protein, good carbs, etc. I find that if I have a plan to eat healthy and I plan my meals I don't want to snarf down all the things.

My plan for dinner is to eat the same thing as the rest of the family but in different portions. So let's say it's pasta, chicken, and veggies - I will load up on veggies and chicken and have a smaller portion of pasta. (Though now I am loading up on carbs at night to fuel AM workouts, but that's a different program altogether!)

[Anonymous]

Jog everyday!

It takes no planning or practice.

Put on your earbuds, running shoes and go.

In two weeks you'll be stronger and leaner. You'll be ready for weight training. Consume protein shakes. They'll fill you up so you'll eat fewer fatty calories and they'll build muscle.

Good luck - you can do this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Intermittent fasting was the only thing that helped me lose weight and I have kept it off for over a year. Start with not eating for at least 2-3 hours before you go to bed and then skip breakfast, then eat a late lunch at 1:00. The link below has some good tips for getting started. I was skeptical in and didn't think that like other diets it would be very sustainable, but my body has adjusted great and I really just don't feel like food in the morning anymore. It is also a great way to improve your blood work. My mother started intermittent fasting and has lost 15-20 and was able to stop taking her cholesterol medication. http://www.nowloss.com/intermittent-fasting-diet-plan.htm

is

This has helped me, too. I read the book The Fast Diet and tried it out. I like doing the 5:2 program (eat regularly for 5 days a week, fast for 2 days). The fast isn't really a *fast* -- you just eat about 1/3 of your normal calories, either spread out during the day or all in one meal. Yes, you do feel a bit hungry, but it's tolerable, especially when you know you can eat normally the next day. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I thought research showed intermittent fasting was bad for women.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought research showed intermittent fasting was bad for women.

Link please. I did extensive research before trying it and everything I found was positive. Many doctors are starting to recommend it.

[Anonymous]

www.foodaddicts.org

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Me too! Please please help. I started walking five miles a day but today I ate 1.5 twin bars, 2 Oreos and 4 small powdered donuts.

I just can't stop....

v

Sorry. I understand. I am like you. I could stand to lose 20 lbs but look slim... I have no self control around food, and I always talk myself into it. Lucikly. I am happy. I will make some of the changes people here suggest. I. Will. Try. To. Stick. To. Them, but the minute someone offers me pound cakeor anything really, i can hear myself saying, yes please and then sneaking seconds. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

OP, your post , and the subsequent posts, spurred me to try intermittent fasting. I'm doing the 16/8 method (fasting from 8pm - 12 pm the next day, and eating from 12pm - 8pm) and I love it. I feel energized and calm and I'm doing better at work and with my family. I did read on Mark's Daily Apple that there is some evidence that IF does not work as well for women as it does for men, but I think as with all research, your individual experience varies greatly. In any case, thank you OP for starting this thread because it really motivated me to try something new, after a year of feeling frustrated by weight gain.

[Anonymous]

Working with a nutritionist to fuel my marathon training and this is what I've done: no refined sugar, ditched the diet soda, sticking to a reasonable calorie allowance with the ability to add back in exercise calories. I am feeling and sleeping better than I have in years and have lost 8 pounds this month! (For frame of reference, I only have about 15 to lose total)

[Anonymous]

Jogging and running sucks for loosing weight, it also sucks for building/maintaining muscle. I have a friend who runs marathons and is pudgy and overweight. He runs daily. Look at the shapes of people who jog, they are either overweight/fat or are rail thin with poor muscle tone.

I recommend moving to a different cardio exercise if your goal is to burn off some calories in a short period of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jogging and running sucks for loosing weight, it also sucks for building/maintaining muscle. I have a friend who runs marathons and is pudgy and overweight. He runs daily. Look at the shapes of people who jog, they are either overweight/fat or are rail thin with poor muscle tone.

I recommend moving to a different cardio exercise if your goal is to burn off some calories in a short period of time.

This is the stupidest thing I have read in quite a while.

[Anonymous]

I struggled with weight loss for most of my life...finally after college I lost 60 pounds doing nothing but cardio. I held it off for a couple of years but never made any long term changes to my lifestyle, so when the daily cardio stopped so did the weight loss. After I got married I put on about 30 pounds. Thankfully I finally have a long term, sustainable system, that is letting me lose weight without following any of those annoying diets (I've tried most of them, so I can tell you that most of them are not sustainable)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jogging and running sucks for loosing weight, it also sucks for building/maintaining muscle. I have a friend who runs marathons and is pudgy and overweight. He runs daily. Look at the shapes of people who jog, they are either overweight/fat or are rail thin with poor muscle tone.

I recommend moving to a different cardio exercise if your goal is to burn off some calories in a short period of time.

Honestly you sound like you have no idea what you are talking about, people that jog and are overweight are not usually the same people that can finish a marathon. The average marathon finisher is much more fit than other people. Also, most people that you see jogging are doing it BECAUSE they are overweight...no idea how you failed to put that one together in your head... If you run without doing weight training you will be rail thin. If you combine weight training with cardio though, you will have a near perfect physique.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Intermittent fasting was the only thing that helped me lose weight and I have kept it off for over a year. Start with not eating for at least 2-3 hours before you go to bed and then skip breakfast, then eat a late lunch at 1:00. The link below has some good tips for getting started. I was skeptical in and didn't think that like other diets it would be very sustainable, but my body has adjusted great and I really just don't feel like food in the morning anymore. It is also a great way to improve your blood work. My mother started intermittent fasting and has lost 15-20 and was able to stop taking her cholesterol medication. http://www.nowloss.com/intermittent-fasting-diet-plan.htm

is

This has helped me, too. I read the book The Fast Diet and tried it out. I like doing the 5:2 program (eat regularly for 5 days a week, fast for 2 days). The fast isn't really a *fast* -- you just eat about 1/3 of your normal calories, either spread out during the day or all in one meal. Yes, you do feel a bit hungry, but it's tolerable, especially when you know you can eat normally the next day. Good luck!

I've been doing Intermittent fasting for about a month now. I only eat between the hours of 11am and 8 pm, so I have a 15 hour period of no eating but that includes sleeping time. I've lost 8 pounds so far and kept all my other exercise routines the same as before. I think late night snacking was a huge culprit for me, so once I cut that out the pounds finally started dropping. It took a couple of weeks for the cravings to go away but after that it was easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Any advice you have for me is welcome.

I am 175 pounds, need to lose minimum of 20 pounds to feel good. I am 50 years old.

I run 3-4 miles two or three times a week, and lift 2X week for 50-60 minutes.

My resting metabolic rate is 1600.

I have a couple problems - I eat for fun and comfort. Love carbs and wine. Have a DH who is 40 pounds overweight and two athletic teen boys to cook for. If it were just me, I'd eat regular breakfasts and lunches and make a light dinner, but my family is all big dinner eaters - think meat or beans, a starch and a veggie.

I'm one of the PPs who has mostly eating advice, but something about your workout caught my eye, which is that 50-60 min is a long time to be lifting. Can I ask what you're doing and whether you still get any muscle soreness after a lifting day? I have a quick workout that basically cripples me but only takes about 20 minutes to do. I would encourage you to make sure you're still working hard at the weights. You should have no more than 1-2 minutes between sets and should be pushing yourself a little on weight or, if you're worried about bulk, on # of reps. And try to change it up a little bit to make sure your body doesn't get too used to the same old thing. That's true on the runs too. You can try to vary distance, or run at an uneven pace, sprinting one block followed by a slower jog and then sprint again, and so on.

50-60 minutes is about right for a heavy lifting program, which I hope OP is doing.

20 minutes of heavy weightlifting shouldn't cripple you - perhaps you're doing metabolic workouts with some weights, instead of heavy compound movements?

PP, yes, I'm not doing heavy lifting at all. As a mid-30s woman, I was definitely assuming that a 50 yo woman probably wasn't either, which may be off base. I played a sport at a quite mediocre D1 college and did more serious weightlifting then. Now I stick to dumbbells or even weight-free exercises like squats and lunges.

The 50 year old poster here..yes, I'm doing what for me is heavy lifting, eg 115 pounds for deadlifts.

Good for you. How much protein are you doing? I found that I started adding muscle and shedding fat when I really made an effort to eat more protein. If you track your food, see what % is protein and try to play around with that number. 30% is a good goal for most people. I shoot for 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat. If you don't drack, maybe just track for a week or so and see where you are and gradually make adjustments. I love carbs and wine too, you can still be healthy

I think for me, focusing on what I need to put in - rather than what I keep out - is pretty key. Making sure I am getting enough veggies, protein, good carbs, etc. I find that if I have a plan to eat healthy and I plan my meals I don't want to snarf down all the things.

My plan for dinner is to eat the same thing as the rest of the family but in different portions. So let's say it's pasta, chicken, and veggies - I will load up on veggies and chicken and have a smaller portion of pasta. (Though now I am loading up on carbs at night to fuel AM workouts, but that's a different program altogether!)

Thank you very much for your comments.