Sick of being fat but man- I have no willpower

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
For me, it was the pre-diabetes notation on my bloodwork that did it. I got serious in a hurry.

I had that. I did WW, which helped some, and got seriously into biking, which helped a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but in the same boat. I keep going "Keto? Really"? But the poster that said 98 days until New Years made a compelling point. Maybe I should just give it a whirl. I'm not super-overweight, but sure would like to lose the 20lbs of "babyweight" that I've had for 6 years. The problem is, I'm pretty busy and social and don't like to be disruptive or draw attention to myself when it comes to diets or food choices. Is there a streamlined way of doing this? Do you just eat the same thing every day and avoid dining out or parties for awhile? If you forget and eat some corn or something, does it all go to hell?

I'm the 98 days poster ... and yeah, unfortunately it's super important to be really strict the first 6 weeks or so while you get fat adapted. It's not going to kill you or anything, but makes it way harder. We go out to eat/entertain/socialize a ton and I've never really had a problem. When we go out to eat: bunless burger/veggie side, salmon and broccoli, steak and veggies, caesar salad with protein, wings (not fried or sauced - plain buffalo or dry rubs are okay), omelettes with veg, cheese and meat .. it's pretty easy. When we entertain, we make stuff we can eat (helpful that my husband is along for the ride) and add carby/starchy sides or deserts and just don't eat them (we have 2 kids who eat lower sugar and less treats since we started but def are still kids and eat pasta, etc). When other people entertain, it CAN be tricky. I've told people that I'm closest with that I'm avoiding sugar/white flour (keto gets a response sometimes that I don't want to deal with), otherwise I just say that I've already eaten or pick around what I CAN eat. The beauty of keto is that wine can fit into your macros and a vodka/soda with lime is zero carbs! For me, the first few months having easy stuff was key. Some things that were easy to make: shredded chicken or pork in the instant/crock pot with g hughes sugar free bbq sauce, already prepped zucchini noodles from the grocery store with rao's marinara and frozen meatballs (look for ones with less than 4 net carbs per serving), hard boiled eggs (to snack on or make deviled eggs/egg salad), nuts, cheese, etc. I do intermittent fast now just because it's easier for me and I'm not hungry, but I didn't count anything but net carbs for the first few months (aka, don't worry about calories, eat until you are full) and still lost a ton.

Here's what my day looks like now if that helps:

Breakfast: 2 cups regular coffee with heavy whipping cream (2tbsp)
Lunch: 2 skin on boneless chicken thighs, roasted with broccoli, olive oil and fresh garlic
Snack: (before soccer practice) whisp cheese snacks (can buy at giant/amazon) plus a handful of almonds
Dinner: Ground beef over riced cauliflower with taco fixins- lettuce, cheese, a bit of onion, sour cream, avocado

I generally don't drink during the week as it slows down my progress and I don't snack unless we won't be eating until late. You can totally do this.

[Anonymous]

I don't have all the answers but for me the big thing is planning what I eat. If I've planned out every meal (or nearly every meal), then I'm more likely not to go off plan. Ideally on the weekend, I'll plan out my meals for the whole week. Also, I may plan a splurge day/meal. If I know I can splurge on Sat. night, then I'm less likely to go off plan during the week.

This going off plan (splurging) one day a week won't really work with keto, paleo, or whole...but planning your meals will likely still be crucial to success.

[Anonymous]

Keto people - do you have young kids? Kids that you make dinner for? I tried keto for a while but found it completely unmanageable since I essentially had to make myself a separate dinner every night. It's not a matter of just skipping the bread. It's beans, yummy sauces, certain vegetables, fruits, quinoa, etc.

I've found it much more manageable to just reduce my portions and count calories. I'm down four pounds in three weeks and the hunger went away after a week. Moreover, it's something that I feel I can stick with long term, since I'm not depriving myself of anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keto people - do you have young kids? Kids that you make dinner for? I tried keto for a while but found it completely unmanageable since I essentially had to make myself a separate dinner every night. It's not a matter of just skipping the bread. It's beans, yummy sauces, certain vegetables, fruits, quinoa, etc.

I've found it much more manageable to just reduce my portions and count calories. I'm down four pounds in three weeks and the hunger went away after a week. Moreover, it's something that I feel I can stick with long term, since I'm not depriving myself of anything.

Main keto poster here. Yeah, I've got 4 and 6 year old boys. And I thought it would be tough to have stuff in the house that they eat (oreos... nom) and we don't. BUT .. it hasn't been. And yeah, it's sometimes a pain making more meal, but as a rule we just don't. Sometimes I supplement their breakfast for dinner with frozen pancakes while we have bacon and eggs, or I'll boil some pasta for their sauce/meatballs when we use zucchini for our meatballs. They like steak and broccoli and it takes no time for me to heat up a brown rice serving or some tater tots if they want them.

The biggest change is that it's been so good for ALL of us. I'm not going to deprive a prek/first grader, but instead of ice cream cones every night, they now really enjoy strawberries with whipped cream. We aren't eating sodium laden takeout twice a week, and gone are the mcd's days before tball/soccer .. sorry, boys. We do NOT regulate their intake at parties, grandma's house, etc ... and basically when we started we said that sugar was making Mama sick (true - horrible migraines) and that I was going to not eat as much. One of their favorite places is still panera for cinnamon crunch bagels every once and a while .. and I eat a power breakfast sandwich made into a bowl and everyone's happy. It's really not that hard, especially once you start feeling so good a week or two into the way of eating. There have been oreos and ice cream and all sorts of stuff in my house for the past 6 months and honestly, it's not a matter of will power anymore. I just don't WANT them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but in the same boat. I keep going "Keto? Really"? But the poster that said 98 days until New Years made a compelling point. Maybe I should just give it a whirl. I'm not super-overweight, but sure would like to lose the 20lbs of "babyweight" that I've had for 6 years. The problem is, I'm pretty busy and social and don't like to be disruptive or draw attention to myself when it comes to diets or food choices. Is there a streamlined way of doing this? Do you just eat the same thing every day and avoid dining out or parties for awhile? If you forget and eat some corn or something, does it all go to hell?

I'm the 98 days poster ... and yeah, unfortunately it's super important to be really strict the first 6 weeks or so while you get fat adapted. It's not going to kill you or anything, but makes it way harder. We go out to eat/entertain/socialize a ton and I've never really had a problem. When we go out to eat: bunless burger/veggie side, salmon and broccoli, steak and veggies, caesar salad with protein, wings (not fried or sauced - plain buffalo or dry rubs are okay), omelettes with veg, cheese and meat .. it's pretty easy. When we entertain, we make stuff we can eat (helpful that my husband is along for the ride) and add carby/starchy sides or deserts and just don't eat them (we have 2 kids who eat lower sugar and less treats since we started but def are still kids and eat pasta, etc). When other people entertain, it CAN be tricky. I've told people that I'm closest with that I'm avoiding sugar/white flour (keto gets a response sometimes that I don't want to deal with), otherwise I just say that I've already eaten or pick around what I CAN eat. The beauty of keto is that wine can fit into your macros and a vodka/soda with lime is zero carbs! For me, the first few months having easy stuff was key. Some things that were easy to make: shredded chicken or pork in the instant/crock pot with g hughes sugar free bbq sauce, already prepped zucchini noodles from the grocery store with rao's marinara and frozen meatballs (look for ones with less than 4 net carbs per serving), hard boiled eggs (to snack on or make deviled eggs/egg salad), nuts, cheese, etc. I do intermittent fast now just because it's easier for me and I'm not hungry, but I didn't count anything but net carbs for the first few months (aka, don't worry about calories, eat until you are full) and still lost a ton.

Here's what my day looks like now if that helps:

Breakfast: 2 cups regular coffee with heavy whipping cream (2tbsp)
Lunch: 2 skin on boneless chicken thighs, roasted with broccoli, olive oil and fresh garlic
Snack: (before soccer practice) whisp cheese snacks (can buy at giant/amazon) plus a handful of almonds
Dinner: Ground beef over riced cauliflower with taco fixins- lettuce, cheese, a bit of onion, sour cream, avocado

I generally don't drink during the week as it slows down my progress and I don't snack unless we won't be eating until late. You can totally do this.

I second keto and PP's examples of food choices. I would steer clear of all the fake keto recipes (pancakes and such) until maybe later in the process, if it all. Also stay away from "fat bombs." You don't need to eat all that fat, just enough so that you are satiated. Make sure you get enough protein (PP's day is a good example), especially if you lift weights.

[Anonymous]

For the Keto people, how much and what kind of fats are you taking in? Specifically, how are your cholesterol levels?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the Keto people, how much and what kind of fats are you taking in? Specifically, how are your cholesterol levels?

A lot - I don't keep track of my fat macros - but olive oil, coconut oil, eggs, non lean meat, salad dressings, etc.

Cholesterol was borderline when I started 6 months ago. At 3 months, my bad cholesterol was somewhat elevated (150), even though I'd lost 30 pounds. Doc said that happens as you lose weight. Had it rechecked 8 weeks later at 50lbs lost, and everything looks great... LDL dropped to 95, HDL 120, triglycerides 65. BP is low (always has been).

[Anonymous]

Love yourself the way you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love yourself the way you are.

I do love myself, so I want to curb the emotional eating and get healthier. I know my weight is not healthy. I need to remind myself to love myself and care for my body and not treat it poorly.

[Anonymous]

Something that helps me immensely is to avoid all sugar before 10/11am. If I eat meat or eggs with veggies for breakfast, I avoid snacking and docwell all day. If I have even a homemade low sugar muffin or plain Greek yogurt with fruit or steel cut oats with fruit, I have a lot of trouble not snacking.

I can only lose weight by being meticulous about counting calories. I’m 17lb down with 30 to go. I have been trying to “go hard” and lose 1lb a week until I hit 10lbs (8-12weeks) and then maintain that weight for 6-8 weeks. I don’t record my food when I am in maintenance mode, but I do weigh myself every morning and I give myself a +/- 1.5 lb range. If I go over, back to dieting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s rough but if I can cut sugar, white carbs, dairy and alcohol for a week....I can stick with it.

I can't imagine being full without carbs. I will eat more than half a box of crackers while waiting for my ravioli to finish cooking, and then eat like ... a slice of pizza or jellybeans or something.

The ONLY good thing about my way of eating is no alcohol and no soda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love yourself the way you are.

I do love myself, so I want to curb the emotional eating and get healthier. I know my weight is not healthy. I need to remind myself to love myself and care for my body and not treat it poorly.

Good. PM me now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so sick of being fat but obviously not enough to actually follow through on a diet. Every morning I am motivated only to fall off the wagon midday. Some days, I am good in the beginning of the weeknbut fail over the weekend.

What are your tips for getting your diet jumpstarted and sticking to it? I want to, no need to lose 40 pounds at least!

For me, it was the pre-diabetes notation on my bloodwork that did it. I got serious in a hurry.

So what did you do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just a note re: 9:22, it wasn't me, the Keto poster, but it's true... and I feel like I was pretty clear that it's not sustainable for everyone. Just like there are plenty of people who lose weight and are lifetime members of Weight Watchers, and it didn't work for me. Honestly, I was addicted to sugar and had to break the cycle. It's been relatively painless (I have had a few days where I really wanted to order Chinese food but resisted). I was very wary after reading some articles, but honestly, MDs have been pushing low fat, lots of whole grain diets for 50 years now and ... we are literally dying from diabetes and obesity. Fat doesn't make you fat. I'm eating much closer to what my grandparents did (cooking with oil, butter, etc, lots of veg) than the WW diet I was following with processed EVERYTHING.

Main Keto PP - I am happy you have found something that works for you, and are losing weight. But, the bolded is ridiculous, especially the implication of a causal relationship. We as a country are not "dying from diabetes and obesity" because MDs suggest low fat, whole grain diets. We are dying from diabetes and obesity because, as you put it, people are eating entire sleeves of oreos in one sitting.