Sick of being overweight - diet alone is not cutting it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I tried everything I could regarding to diet. None of it worked. I was eating 1250 calories per day and couldn't lose a pound. I wasn't doing much consistent exercise, though. I started going to OrangeTheory 3 days/week and although I haven't lost any weight, I've lost inches and my clothes fit a lot better. It's only been about a month but I'm seeing results where I wasn't seeing any before even when my diet was virtually perfect. I think the weightlifting part of OT is really helping.

Thanks for this! My husband does Olympic weightlifting and is always begging me to do it with him. Maybe I should give it a try.

Meh. Olympic weight lifting has a steep learning curve, and most people do not have the mobility to do the lifts. Power lifting is fine, if your goal is weight loss. Later on as you get stronger and work on your mobility, you might consider Oly lifting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you still nursing (if you did)? I couldn't for the life of me lose the baby weight until I stopped-and that was with a healthy diet and daily exercise.

Otherwise, get a physical to check things like thyroid function, and get a solid exercise program, including weights, going. You'll almost certainly feel better if nothing else, and that's not nothing. Good luck.

Didn't lose weight nursing, nor after nursing.

Thyroid issues run in my family, so that's a good idea. Thanks for the reminder!

You're welcome, that could absolutely be a factor. The weight and nursing thing was so damn frustrating, I wanted to slap everyone who told me to "just nurse," like I hadn't been doing that.

I would also totally look into the Olympic lifting, though it will be important for you to get expert training in how to do the lifts, particularly if you're not an experienced lifter. SO many people do them wrong, and that's begging for injury. But lifting heavy can feel really, really good if you do it right. Good luck--I'll be pulling for you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Get rid of the granola (loaded with calories), steel cut oats and brown rice. Too much starch and carbs. You need more protein. How about a green smoothie with unsweetened almond milk and an egg for breakfast? And no processed sugar, no candy bars. Just cut them completely out. Have a piece of dark chocolate instead, a small piece.

Steel cut oats and brown rice are fine...you just need to avoid the "white" carbs. You need some level of carbs especially if you are building muscle. Obviously don't make them your primary calorie source, but a serving of brown rice to go with your chicken is perfectly fine. Keep protein intake to about double your carb intake and you should be fine.

I disagree. Once her system is hormonally balanced and not insulin resistant, she can add a sensible amount of rice a day and it doesn't even need to be brown. For now she's looking to make the weight loss happen, and would welcome diminished cravings and no hunger, I assume. She can get plenty plenty of carbs from really healthy vegetables. Rice every other day with one meal should be fine but at this stage rice twice a day not good.

It doesn't have to be twice a day, but daily is fine...and brown carbs are better than white processed carbs because they have a lower glycemic index so it takes your body longer to convert them into sugar. I don't think OP is diabetic...or did she mention that earlier?

[Anonymous]

If you are barely active now, please don't start olympic weightlifting as your first foray into getting fit. That is a fast track to injury, and even experienced weightlifters have trouble doing it with proper form. Bad form = 100% chance of getting injured sometimes permanently. Start small, if you find you enjoy lifting work your way there gradually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are barely active now, please don't start olympic weightlifting as your first foray into getting fit. That is a fast track to injury, and even experienced weightlifters have trouble doing it with proper form. Bad form = 100% chance of getting injured sometimes permanently. Start small, if you find you enjoy lifting work your way there gradually.

+1 You will not fool anyone by going into the gym and hefting around weights with poor form - dropping them loudly on the ground, loud moans, etc.

Start slowly. Build up. You will see results!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's in your diet? Do you measure things or estimate calories?

I quit alcohol two months ago. Quit coffee a month ago. Generally do not eat bread/pasta (once or twice a week). Minimal intake of processed foods. Drink only water, sparkling water, green tea, and herbal tea (no added sugar or honey).

My diet is about 75% plant based. I eat granola or steel cut oats with fruit and almond milk in the morning. Sweet potato, beans, greens, squash, brown rice, root vegetables, etc - some combination thereof - for lunch. Salad for dinner, maybe with some cooked vegetables or brown rice. I DO have a sweet tooth, though, and since quitting booze eat a candy bar or some kind of sweet most days of the week. Is this enough to kill the (mostly) good stuff I eat?

I was very diligent about measuring and tracking calories from about May through August. It didn't make a difference. Since December of last year I've walked several miles several times a week (though this has fallen off in the past month and a half). Yoga. Running. CrossFit. The issue, though, is that - outside of walking - I have not been at all consistent with exercise. This is why I think I have to exercise consistently.

Get rid of the granola (loaded with calories), steel cut oats and brown rice. Too much starch and carbs. You need more protein. How about a green smoothie with unsweetened almond milk and an egg for breakfast? And no processed sugar, no candy bars. Just cut them completely out. Have a piece of dark chocolate instead, a small piece.

agreed. this is a diet full of carbs with little to no protein.

[Anonymous]

I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. I thought that is a good thing? Or are all carbs bad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Get rid of the granola (loaded with calories), steel cut oats and brown rice. Too much starch and carbs. You need more protein. How about a green smoothie with unsweetened almond milk and an egg for breakfast? And no processed sugar, no candy bars. Just cut them completely out. Have a piece of dark chocolate instead, a small piece.

Steel cut oats and brown rice are fine...you just need to avoid the "white" carbs. You need some level of carbs especially if you are building muscle. Obviously don't make them your primary calorie source, but a serving of brown rice to go with your chicken is perfectly fine. Keep protein intake to about double your carb intake and you should be fine.

I disagree. Once her system is hormonally balanced and not insulin resistant, she can add a sensible amount of rice a day and it doesn't even need to be brown. For now she's looking to make the weight loss happen, and would welcome diminished cravings and no hunger, I assume. She can get plenty plenty of carbs from really healthy vegetables. Rice every other day with one meal should be fine but at this stage rice twice a day not good.

It doesn't have to be twice a day, but daily is fine...and brown carbs are better than white processed carbs because they have a lower glycemic index so it takes your body longer to convert them into sugar. I don't think OP is diabetic...or did she mention that earlier?

She's not diabetic (or at least she didn't say she was) but if she's like almost all other Americans with a weight issue, her hormones are out of wack. It's why a heavy friend can eat fewer calories than a trim one can and still not lose weight or even gain weight.

The goal in eating high quality plant carbs (so very little grains, white potatoes, corn, etc) and a higher amount of protein is to turn on her body's natural hormonal balance again so that eating food charges her metabolism, causes fat burning instead of fat storing (which is one problem with sugar and white carbs), releases the hormones that cause feeling full instead of the horomone signals of "eat, eat, eat". The truth about rice is that white rice and brown rice aren't too different in this regard if you only have a 3/4 cup with a meal several times a week. That's a much better "cheat" for her now than bread or all of the other white/brown carbs she's eating.

With a working metabolism and a high quality diet, you can have rice daily without returning to a hormonal imbalance. Some people can have a sandwich with bread once a day instead of rice but not everyone, and not me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Get rid of the granola (loaded with calories), steel cut oats and brown rice. Too much starch and carbs. You need more protein. How about a green smoothie with unsweetened almond milk and an egg for breakfast? And no processed sugar, no candy bars. Just cut them completely out. Have a piece of dark chocolate instead, a small piece.

Steel cut oats and brown rice are fine...you just need to avoid the "white" carbs. You need some level of carbs especially if you are building muscle. Obviously don't make them your primary calorie source, but a serving of brown rice to go with your chicken is perfectly fine. Keep protein intake to about double your carb intake and you should be fine.

I disagree. Once her system is hormonally balanced and not insulin resistant, she can add a sensible amount of rice a day and it doesn't even need to be brown. For now she's looking to make the weight loss happen, and would welcome diminished cravings and no hunger, I assume. She can get plenty plenty of carbs from really healthy vegetables. Rice every other day with one meal should be fine but at this stage rice twice a day not good.

It doesn't have to be twice a day, but daily is fine...and brown carbs are better than white processed carbs because they have a lower glycemic index so it takes your body longer to convert them into sugar. I don't think OP is diabetic...or did she mention that earlier?

She's not diabetic (or at least she didn't say she was) but if she's like almost all other Americans with a weight issue, her hormones are out of wack. It's why a heavy friend can eat fewer calories than a trim one can and still not lose weight or even gain weight.

The goal in eating high quality plant carbs (so very little grains, white potatoes, corn, etc) and a higher amount of protein is to turn on her body's natural hormonal balance again so that eating food charges her metabolism, causes fat burning instead of fat storing (which is one problem with sugar and white carbs), releases the hormones that cause feeling full instead of the horomone signals of "eat, eat, eat". The truth about rice is that white rice and brown rice aren't too different in this regard if you only have a 3/4 cup with a meal several times a week. That's a much better "cheat" for her now than bread or all of the other white/brown carbs she's eating.

With a working metabolism and a high quality diet, you can have rice daily without returning to a hormonal imbalance. Some people can have a sandwich with bread once a day instead of rice but not everyone, and not me.

So cut out all grains, even the good ones? ("Good")? I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I recently went from being vegetarian to being vegan, so here's what I'm thinking an improved menu would look like:

Breakfast: Green smoothie (leafy vegetables, celery, fruit, almond milk, add ground flaxseed)

Lunch: Salad with almonds and evoo-based dressing. Or roasted root vegetables, a green vegetable, and beans.

Dinner: Vegetables and lentils. Fruit for dessert.

Still only drink herbal and green tea, sparkling and still water. (I don't drink coffee or alcohol.) Based on your responses, I'm giving up the processed carbs completely! Cutting out any (processed) sweets seems important. But is not easy!

I've just started an eight week beginner's running program. And will head to the gym to learn some lifting moves from DH.

I think I'm especially bummed because pre-pregnancy I was never, ever overweight and ate and drank what I liked. I was active, but not much more than I am now. I've never had to lose weight before, and it is harder than I ever thought it would be!

Thanks for all your responses and support!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. I thought that is a good thing? Or are all carbs bad?

I think you just have to balance what you are eating a bit better. There is nothing wrong with a sweet potato. But if you think of it in terms of calories - brown rice, oats, sweet potatoes, black beans, potatoes, bananas etc are going to have a more carbs and calories than leafy greens (kale/broccoli/spinach), berries and lean protein fish/chicken breast/eggs.

I LOVE black bean burgers and I love cous cous which are both lower on the glycemic index than white rice or white potatoes are. But black bean burgers and cous cous still have a fair amount of calories/carbs in them than tilapia and a garden salad would - darn it! You can stay (and get) mighty fight eating healthy. You have got to watch the carbs. No way around it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Then get your stomach stapled. I've had two relatives do it recently. I think they paid 20-30k and each lost upwards of 50lbs. They love it and recommend it to everyone. Much less invasive than bariatric surgery used to be.

Like it's no big deal to radically mutilate your gut?!?! Are you aware of the long-term cumulative effects of vitamin malabsorption, weight regain, bone loss, muscle loss, gastrointestinal distress, and rupture associated with this procedure? It's not something to choose to lose a little baby weight. Jesus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. I thought that is a good thing? Or are all carbs bad?

Broccoli and a banana are not the same thing. Eat a lot of fruit that isn't berries and you get a lot of sugar. Eat a lot of corn and white potatoes and your body gets a similar surge of blood sugar.

Do you eat a lot of lettuce of different kinds, plus other green, red, orange, and yellow vegetables, plus cauliflower? All good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Get rid of the granola (loaded with calories), steel cut oats and brown rice. Too much starch and carbs. You need more protein. How about a green smoothie with unsweetened almond milk and an egg for breakfast? And no processed sugar, no candy bars. Just cut them completely out. Have a piece of dark chocolate instead, a small piece.

Steel cut oats and brown rice are fine...you just need to avoid the "white" carbs. You need some level of carbs especially if you are building muscle. Obviously don't make them your primary calorie source, but a serving of brown rice to go with your chicken is perfectly fine. Keep protein intake to about double your carb intake and you should be fine.

I disagree. Once her system is hormonally balanced and not insulin resistant, she can add a sensible amount of rice a day and it doesn't even need to be brown. For now she's looking to make the weight loss happen, and would welcome diminished cravings and no hunger, I assume. She can get plenty plenty of carbs from really healthy vegetables. Rice every other day with one meal should be fine but at this stage rice twice a day not good.

It doesn't have to be twice a day, but daily is fine...and brown carbs are better than white processed carbs because they have a lower glycemic index so it takes your body longer to convert them into sugar. I don't think OP is diabetic...or did she mention that earlier?

She's not diabetic (or at least she didn't say she was) but if she's like almost all other Americans with a weight issue, her hormones are out of wack. It's why a heavy friend can eat fewer calories than a trim one can and still not lose weight or even gain weight.

The goal in eating high quality plant carbs (so very little grains, white potatoes, corn, etc) and a higher amount of protein is to turn on her body's natural hormonal balance again so that eating food charges her metabolism, causes fat burning instead of fat storing (which is one problem with sugar and white carbs), releases the hormones that cause feeling full instead of the horomone signals of "eat, eat, eat". The truth about rice is that white rice and brown rice aren't too different in this regard if you only have a 3/4 cup with a meal several times a week. That's a much better "cheat" for her now than bread or all of the other white/brown carbs she's eating.

With a working metabolism and a high quality diet, you can have rice daily without returning to a hormonal imbalance. Some people can have a sandwich with bread once a day instead of rice but not everyone, and not me.

So cut out all grains, even the good ones? ("Good")? I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I recently went from being vegetarian to being vegan, so here's what I'm thinking an improved menu would look like:

Breakfast: Green smoothie (leafy vegetables, celery, fruit, almond milk, add ground flaxseed)

Lunch: Salad with almonds and evoo-based dressing. Or roasted root vegetables, a green vegetable, and beans.

Dinner: Vegetables and lentils. Fruit for dessert.

Still only drink herbal and green tea, sparkling and still water. (I don't drink coffee or alcohol.) Based on your responses, I'm giving up the processed carbs completely! Cutting out any (processed) sweets seems important. But is not easy!

I've just started an eight week beginner's running program. And will head to the gym to learn some lifting moves from DH.

I think I'm especially bummed because pre-pregnancy I was never, ever overweight and ate and drank what I liked. I was active, but not much more than I am now. I've never had to lose weight before, and it is harder than I ever thought it would be!

Thanks for all your responses and support!

I would make the following changes:

Breakfast: green smoothie without the cereal and careful with the fruit. Go with berries or citrus. Add half a banana or apple if you must but not a whole banana, plus mango, plus apple, etc. everyday. That much too much sugar. Spinach is great with strawberries. I like a big orange or several smaller oranges with romaine. I'm concerned you aren't getting enough calories but it's hard for me to give great advice on how to increase them without using eggs or meat. You'll need A LOT of smoothie and fat in the smoothie to get enough calories for breakfast alone.

Lunch: Are you getting enough calories? Maybe add a whole avocado each day to the salad. Can you add more plants with protein? You aren't getting enough protein. How about falafel?

Dinner: Sounds good but keep an eye on protein and make sure you are getting a lot of healthy fats. It's harder to lose weight if your diet is too low in either protein or healthy fat.

You sound committed!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Get rid of the granola (loaded with calories), steel cut oats and brown rice. Too much starch and carbs. You need more protein. How about a green smoothie with unsweetened almond milk and an egg for breakfast? And no processed sugar, no candy bars. Just cut them completely out. Have a piece of dark chocolate instead, a small piece.

Steel cut oats and brown rice are fine...you just need to avoid the "white" carbs. You need some level of carbs especially if you are building muscle. Obviously don't make them your primary calorie source, but a serving of brown rice to go with your chicken is perfectly fine. Keep protein intake to about double your carb intake and you should be fine.

I disagree. Once her system is hormonally balanced and not insulin resistant, she can add a sensible amount of rice a day and it doesn't even need to be brown. For now she's looking to make the weight loss happen, and would welcome diminished cravings and no hunger, I assume. She can get plenty plenty of carbs from really healthy vegetables. Rice every other day with one meal should be fine but at this stage rice twice a day not good.

It doesn't have to be twice a day, but daily is fine...and brown carbs are better than white processed carbs because they have a lower glycemic index so it takes your body longer to convert them into sugar. I don't think OP is diabetic...or did she mention that earlier?

She's not diabetic (or at least she didn't say she was) but if she's like almost all other Americans with a weight issue, her hormones are out of wack. It's why a heavy friend can eat fewer calories than a trim one can and still not lose weight or even gain weight.

The goal in eating high quality plant carbs (so very little grains, white potatoes, corn, etc) and a higher amount of protein is to turn on her body's natural hormonal balance again so that eating food charges her metabolism, causes fat burning instead of fat storing (which is one problem with sugar and white carbs), releases the hormones that cause feeling full instead of the horomone signals of "eat, eat, eat". The truth about rice is that white rice and brown rice aren't too different in this regard if you only have a 3/4 cup with a meal several times a week. That's a much better "cheat" for her now than bread or all of the other white/brown carbs she's eating.

With a working metabolism and a high quality diet, you can have rice daily without returning to a hormonal imbalance. Some people can have a sandwich with bread once a day instead of rice but not everyone, and not me.

So cut out all grains, even the good ones? ("Good")? I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I recently went from being vegetarian to being vegan, so here's what I'm thinking an improved menu would look like:

Breakfast: Green smoothie (leafy vegetables, celery, fruit, almond milk, add ground flaxseed)

Lunch: Salad with almonds and evoo-based dressing. Or roasted root vegetables, a green vegetable, and beans.

Dinner: Vegetables and lentils. Fruit for dessert.

Still only drink herbal and green tea, sparkling and still water. (I don't drink coffee or alcohol.) Based on your responses, I'm giving up the processed carbs completely! Cutting out any (processed) sweets seems important. But is not easy!

I've just started an eight week beginner's running program. And will head to the gym to learn some lifting moves from DH.

I think I'm especially bummed because pre-pregnancy I was never, ever overweight and ate and drank what I liked. I was active, but not much more than I am now. I've never had to lose weight before, and it is harder than I ever thought it would be!

Thanks for all your responses and support!

Add some protein powder to your morning smoothie, and some kind of protein (garbanzos, another kind of bean) to your lunch salad. Nuts don't have *that* much protein, even though they have that reputation. You definitely need more protein.

I'm the PP recommending you lift: how qualified is your husband to teach you? Just because he lifts doesn't mean he can teach it, and you really don't want to jump into Olympic lifting. Most people can't even squat correctly, let alone do a clean.

[Anonymous]

1000 calories seems way too low. You are going to be hungry all the time. Try crossfit. I have lost lbs on the scale but things def fit better and I have a more proportioned shape. I have a young kid and full time job and I go three times a week, thats all I have time for. But its super intense so I feel like its definiely worth carving out the time to make it happen. Agree with previous posters about lifting. You def want to do that only with a trainer and build up over time. A good crossfit place will def hold you back from doing too much too soon.