Been stuck for a yr now

[tarzansmom]

I started losing weight nearly two and a half years ago and lost 80 lbs in a little over a year with watching what I ate and exercise. Been working on losing the rest for a year now with no success. I have tried changing my diet and switching up the exercise but my body is stubbornly holding onto those last 50lbs. Figured I would come here for support.

 

[ohMom]

 

[pjlla]

Just wanted to offer a hug , say "good job not giving up" and offer a few suggestions that might help. That being said, I don't know ANYTHING about what you've done/not done, so this may not be helpful.

First of all.... drop the carbs down to nearly NOTHING for at least two weeks. It is TOUGH, but I can almost PROMISE you, if you are still careful about calories, you WILL lose weight (unless you are doing CRAZY workouts and gaining lots of muscle). No grainy carbs ( no breads, cereals, etc), very little fruit carbs (just mostly berries), and no starchy vegetable carbs ( no potatoes, parsnips, corn, peas). Lots of lean protein and greens.... plus some nut butters/nuts for a treat. Think in terms of your plate being broken into quarters.... 3/4 for vegetable, 1/4 for lean protein. I usually try to have at least TWO different vegetables with a meal to change things up a bit and add more color to my meal. Roasted green beans with mushrooms and mashed cauliflower with a lean boneless grilled porkchop. Steamed broccoli and roasted grape tomatoes with rotisserie chicken. A HUGE spring mix green salad topped with lots of veggies (red bell pepper, onions, carrots [sparingly], mushrooms, avocado, cucumber) and grilled salmon or tuna.

Water.... at least 1.5 liters per day.... just to be sure you aren't hanging onto fluid from sodium overload.

Change up the exercise and add something that you are NOT doing... if you do lots of weights, throw in cardio and vice versa. And be REALISTIC about the exertion level. If you aren't sweating and breathing hard for at least PART of your workout, you probably aren't working hard enough. Stop and check your heartrate periodically. Consider working with a trainer a few times if you think it might help.

When the weight starts to move down, slowly add back in HEALTHY carbs and try to have most of them eaten before 1pm (which means no carbs with dinner). Add back in some lower sugar fruit to start (melon is a good choice)... and some low carb wraps or pita. (Become a label reader if you aren't already!!)

TRACK EVERY BITE! If you aren't doing it already, it is a NO-BRAINER! If you don't keep track of what you are eating, it can EASILY get out of hand!

Best of luck to you..................P

 

[tarzansmom]

I have always just watched calories (1200 day max- though usually I am closer to 1000) and exercised daily. My exercise is about an hour each day and I alternate cardio and strength. I do still eat lots of carbs. I eat cereal for breakfast, usually a slim fast for lunch and dinner is whatever I am feeding my family. I will try losing the carbs and see what happens. Thanks.

 

[pjlla]

Personally, I would ditch the Slimfast. I believe that most of them are 200 calories. Would you enjoy EATING something "real" for those same 200 calories? Scrambled egg whites and cheese? A nonfat yogurt? A big bowl of vegetable soup?

I understand if your schedule is crazy and it is just an easy thing to grab, but personally I would far rather have a "real" meal than a quick drink.

Breakfast could be egg whites (scrambled, omelet, sandwich... whatever ), a turkey wrap (on low carb tortilla), peanut butter on a low carb pita, plain nonfat greek yogurt with a splash of vanilla and stevia and a handful of berries, or even dinner leftovers.

Dinner.... not sure how you feed your family, so hard to comment there. I try HARD to make one dinner for my entire family, but between food preferences and food allergies, it is TOUGH! DH mostly follows an Atkins style eating plan.... so I am sure to make the protein portions large for him, plus lots of non-starchy veggies. I have been on WW for 5 years now, but I also really watch my carbs, so I eat about the same as DH, but usually a smaller protein portion and no butter/oil on my veggies. DS has food allergies, so he gets fish when we have chicken, and DD (future marine biologist) refuses to eat anything that comes from the ocean, so she has a grilled chicken breast when we have fish. Some nights I make a starch to go with dinner for the kids, but sometimes I don't. I nearly always make TWO vegetables, usually in contrasting colors for some visual interest.

Tonight is a crockpot stewed chicken. Usually I throw potatoes in with the onions and carrots in the crockpot, but I didn't have any last night, so tonight I will make a small serving of mashed potatoes for the kiddos. DH and I will eat the chicken, carrots and onions, and I will make roasted green beans as well. DS will have a salmon burger, roasted green beans, and the aforementioned potatoes.

Dinner sometimes is CRAZY complicated at my house, but I can usually make it work for most of us without too much additional work!

Best of luck. Come back and let us know how you are doing. And feel free to join our WISH challenge group if you would like!
Here is a link so you can find us!....................P

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3037309

 

[Desiree]

No words of advice here but wow.. great job for not quitting. I must commend you for that. I think I would have thrown in the towel a long time ago.

 

[brergnat]

I have always just watched calories (1200 day max- though usually I am closer to 1000) and exercised daily. My exercise is about an hour each day and I alternate cardio and strength.

You are not eating enough calories. Your body is in starvation mode and that's why you aren't losing weight. MINIMUM for a woman is 1200 NET calories per day. Net means total calories eaten minus calories burned during exercise. You are probably burning about 400-600 Cal in an hour workout depending on exertion level. You need to be eating 1600-1800 Cal per day if you want to keep losing weight. It seems counter intuitive but its true.

Carbs have nothing to do with not losing weight. However, I would quit the Slim Fast shakes. They are horrible for you. Replace that with a Greek yogurt. You need more protein during the day.

Carbs are necessary for proper brain function (your brain cells need glucose). Just don't go overboard. Keep it under 100g of carbs per day. Sugar should be limited as much as possible. 25g per day or less.

Most importantly, though...eat MORE!

 

[WaDiWo]

Hi!

I'm not a weight loss expert, nor am I a nutritionist, but some simple not-so-secret tips have helped in the past:

1. Don't starve yourself.
2. Eat breakfast
3. Drink a lot of water
4. Serve yourself small amounts and stop not when you are full, but stop eating when you are not hungry. There's a difference.
5. "small steps" exercise ... instead of a whole workout, where you can burnout and become discouraged, try walking (up stairs instead of elevator, park your car far, etc.)
6. don't deprive yourself. No food is off limits, just smaller portions.

I personally stated with the couch to 5k program. just a lot of walking, interpersed with a little bit of running, and you can hold yourself back if it becomes too advanced. It's the "small victories" that keep you going.

and, I've posted this before, but this guy Roger Wright is a weight loss inspiration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLfj1VkGq4o

enjoy!

 

[Radiorox]

Ignore the scale. Seriously, go by your clothing. I got really sick about 14 years ago and dropped a very serious amount of weight.

At 5'3" I was weighing around 150 lbs and fit into size 6 clothing. Right now I am around 190-200 and am size 14 clothing and most "fitness experts" say I look to be around 170.

Water retention, muscle and other things can make it seem like you weigh more. Also, your body goes into a plateau... There might be something you need to switch up. Cardio/Weights, etc.

Jackie