Help me lose (or gain) weight

[lokisnow]

ztem, two books for you to check out that will help you understand why you're so addicted. Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. It's rigorously technical and exhaustive and at times repetitive, but explains the biochemical elements of what's going on wonderfully. The caveat is the repetition, Taubes writes defensively, because the vast majority of people's and doctor's and scientist's approach to overeating is that it is sin (and then they stop thinking about it) and therefore there's nothing more at play than law of conservation of energy and fatties' weak wills. Taubes clearly shows over and over why this is not the simple case it is made out to me. we get fat by overeating (most of the time), yes, just as people get AIDS (most of the time) from sex, but that doesn't mean that the cure for being fat is simply a 'stop your sinful overeating, dummy' any more than no longer having sex is a cure for AIDS. You're already recognizing the complexity and addiction elements to being fat, which is good, this book help explains why it is that carbs in particular, will have that affect on susceptible individuals.

The second book is: Mindless Eating: Why we eat more than we think, by Brian Wansink. This book is tremendously entertaining, an easy enjoyable, short read, one you'll want to read passages outloud to others because it's so fun and fascinating. What this book does is examines how people eat, what cues they use to stop eating, and how they perceive a meal, it focuses much more on the mental side of things.

Neither of these books is a diet book, they don't really have any recommendations or maxims for anyone to follow, but they are informative, science based, and absolutely fascinating for anyone who has struggled with food addiction or being overweight. They ask you to think.

--

My story, I've been a fatty since third grade or so, which is when I got glasses as well. At third grade I would come home from school every day and eat a packet of ramen noodles for my afternoon snack. My family didn't eat tremendously healthy, My mom packed a lunch for me every day. it was a piece of fruit, a little debbie, a can of soda, and a whitebread sandwich with the cheapest processed meat the store sold. breakfast was usually cereal, and I'd add two-four tablespoons of sugar to it if it wasn't sugared already. supper was usually meat and potatos or casserole or pasta. cleaning your plate was a given. salad was nonexistent, vegetables were green beans or corn (heh). There was usually something for dessert, we'd go through five two liters of soda a week, if not more. Still I mainly attribute the getting fat to eating the whole packet of ramen everyday and becoming sedentary as I started reading three-five hours in the evenings.

In fourth grade I tried my first hand at fitness, giving up my second recess to work on the fitness equipment in the corner of the playground usually used for gym stuff. I'd been furious that I'd come in pretty much dead last at the end of year physical evaluation in PE the year before. so I started doing pushups and situps and other stuff there in second recess. I met my goal of being able to do a pull up, we had the fall evaluation and I was in the middle of the class, near the top in some things like pushups and situps, then it got cold and I pretty much gave up on physical fitness for years and just got fatter. I did some weightlifting classes in middle school and high school but nothing changed. I remained fat, I thought myself as much fatter than I really was, actually. I was miserable and alone throughout all of high school certain I'd get nothing but laughter and scorn if I asked a girl out. Even though I was 6'1" and only about 215-225 throughout high school (not that fat, overweight, but not obese). In college, I finally learned about healthy eating from my first girlfriend. she forced me to eat salad for the first time, despite my lengthy protestations and faces I quickly grew to love it, and I began eating a whole lot more fruit and a whole lot less candy and crap (like little debbies). And when she made ramen she added onions, carrots, celery, garlic, napa cabbage and you split one packet between two people, the noodles were maybe 1/3 the volume compared to the veggies. :D because of that, my freshman fifteen was a loss, from 225 to 210 or so. My sophmore year I started researching working out, and got as far as the pics I posted in the other thread. but I never stuck with it, and our relationship had soured and my attempts to lose weight were mocked by the same girl.

It's been more of a roller coaster since then, with how much I weigh and how healthily I eat pretty much varying with however depressed I was. Less depressed, lose weight, more depressed, eat ice cream chocolate chip cookies and pasta (my biggest comfort foods of childhood) and gain weight. cycle and repeat.

Cooking's been one of my passions since I was five, and one of the things I love about eating healthily is that it has me cooking something every night and often something to take to work for lunch the next day. Unfortunately I've often let that be a psychological obstacle as well, because counting calories is geared towards eating all processed food or whole foods like fruit, actually figuring the calories accurately for a meal you've prepared yourself is much more onerous. the solution, I've found is to put away the leftovers before I eat my supper, and to not worry about being accurate but be happy with being approximate or equivalent. :D I do somewhat regret that I don't make fresh bread once a week anymore, or pies, or cookies (all of which I was making once a week in my college dorm), but I don't regret the fact that I'd often eat half of whatever it was that I cooked, even if I was sharing it with the entire floor. I concentrate instead on enjoying cooking new things, healthier things. :)

[lokisnow]

I'm not going to go the rest of my life without eating a quarter pounder with cheese, I imagine. But I need to change my habits completely before I let myself slip even a little bit. It's a slippery slope, and one danish is going to lead to 2 danishes. There's no stopping it with an addict. You can't just have the occasional hit.

QFT. Some asshole brought Krispy Kreme to the office last friday. I was fine until I saw it. I have a 'must try everything' impulse, if the food is there, I want to try it. I don't even like Krispy Kreme I haven't had one in probably four or five years.

I grabbed a creme filled one and bit into it. It was disgusting, I was repulsed at how sweet it was. it literally tasted nasty to me, and the textures were apalling as well. I was longing for a real cream filling for one, rather that the faux kreme sugar fililng they used. and the donut part tasted awful. as I was chewing the first bite I almost spit it out and threw the rest of the donut into the trash can. almost. Then I finished the donut in three bites.

And I picked up a regular glazed and ate that too. It was even worse than the first, I literally was feeling sick to my stomach. I was reaching for a third when I forced myself to pretty much run away from the kitchen area. ugh.

I almost fell off the wagon there, usually when I do something stupid like that, I won't let myself count it in tracking calories because I want to avoid admitting how much it was I just ate. Then I gritted my teeth and added it to the day's food. All 800+ calories of the two little fuckers.

Goddamn danishes.

[Stego]

I quit smoking today. I REALLY hope that doesn't slow down my fat loss.

Either way, it's just slowing it down. I'm done failing.

[Stego]

does any1 have any quick recommendations how to put on weight (muscle) without becoming too bulky and losing speed? I'm really fast but slightly above-average strength and I was looking to not lose speed but get stronger. any help?

First of all, muscle does not make you bulky, nor does it EVER slow you down. Have you ever seen a world class sprinter? Yes, they do get caught for steriods, HGH, and everything else. Because muscle makes you faster.

I don't know what above average strength or very fast means, but if you want explosive speed, research how to do squats correctly. And deadlifts. And I'd also recommend some weighted jumping for explosiveness. Lunges, maybe? Either way, here's something you need to remember:

You do not ever gain muscle 'by accident.' I can assure you that you will not gain 10lbs of muscle in your legs in a couple of weeks. (or months.)

[Stego]

Dude - First of all, congrats. Best off luck. If you stay of the smokes, I have a question. Does the simple cessation really result in dramatic changes in metabolism or is it more that people who quit smoking need to do something to keep up and thus turn to food?

Neither sounds absurd to me, which is it?

ETA: A better way of asking my questions is whether smoking cessation necessarily results in a lesser metabolism or does it just tends to lead to worse other lifestyle habits?

Well, it's both of those things and a third thing, really. Nicotine acts as an appetite suppressant. when You smoke, fat and sugar is released into the bloodstream convincing your body that you have just snacked. Losing this suppressant is probably the biggest change.

The oral habit thing is powerful, however.

The metabolic change is real, but it's not dramatic.

[Liffguard]

For the last two months I've been on the anabolic diet. I really recommend people give it a try. Basically, I've put on weight, but it's all muscle. My lifts have improved, my speed has improved, my general fitness has improved. I recently posted a 12.3 bleep test score, a new personal best. Furthermore, my bodyfat has gone back down into the single figures.

Don't be put off by the superficial resemblance to the atkins diet, it's just that, superficial. Don't be put off by the ammount of fat you'll be eating, your body will just burn through it. I won't bother explaining what it is or why it works int this post, the website explains it better than I could. I'll just say that in addition to measurable fitness increases I also just feel much better; more energetic for longer, less sluggish and tired.

So yeah, give it a try.

[Lucky Pierre]

I quit smoking today. I REALLY hope that doesn't slow down my fat loss.

Either way, it's just slowing it down. I'm done failing.

Thats awesome! Once I had decided I really wanted to quit I wore the 21mg patch for 2 weeks then said fuck it, went thru 4 days of hell and then I was done.

ETA: A better way of asking my question is whether smoking cessation necessarily results in a lesser metabolism or does it just tend to lead to worse other lifestyle habits?

Over the course of 6 months I gained 35lbs without any change in my eating or drinking habits. I think the impact on your metabolism is greater the older you are. I was 41 when I quit. It is this weight that I've been struggling with ever since. I'm thru it all now but it wasn't easy. When you quit you need to watch your weight very closely and be prepared to start cutting back. I wish I had been tracking my food and daily caloric intake when I quit because I never would have let it get as bad as it did.

eta: Banana Bread Oatmeal with Banana in it today! Yummy!

[Lucky Pierre]

For the last two months I've been on the anabolic diet. I really recommend people give it a try. Basically, I've put on weight, but it's all muscle. My lifts have improved, my speed has improved, my general fitness has improved. I recently posted a 12.3 bleep test score, a new personal best. Furthermore, my bodyfat has gone back down into the single figures.

Don't be put off by the superficial resemblance to the atkins diet, it's just that, superficial. Don't be put off by the ammount of fat you'll be eating, your body will just burn through it. I won't bother explaining what it is or why it works int this post, the website explains it better than I could. I'll just say that in addition to measurable fitness increases I also just feel much better; more energetic for longer, less sluggish and tired.

So yeah, give it a try.

I can't do it. It states the protein of choice is fatty red meat. Red meat=gout for me.

[LugaJetboyGirl]

I quit smoking today. I REALLY hope that doesn't slow down my fat loss.

Either way, it's just slowing it down. I'm done failing.

Hell yeah, Stego. That's totally awesome. I was wondering if you were still smoking, what with your interest in being healthy. I quit myself on Feb. 24th, so I am nearing my two month anniversary. It seems like much longer, though.

I am using Chantix. My doctor prescribed it to me back in August, but I never got around to really quitting until Feb. It's actually working very well for me. In fact, I had completely missed all the news about it making people psycho, until 2 minutes ago when I found an article about it on the New York Times, which is extremely disturbing but in no way applicable to me, thankfully. The dreams are extremely vivid, but there was only a one-week period where I had nightmares (e.g., involving an ex boyfriend turning into an ax-murder) which made me afraid to go back to sleep. Otherwise, it's made quitting smoking incredibly easy, given that I have been trying since 2001 and have tried Zaiban and the patch, among other methods. I feel so much better and can't even contemplate going back to my smoker days. Let's hope this easy non-smoking confidence doesn't disappear as soon as I run out of drugs.

Best of luck to you. Addiction sucks.

[The White Wolf]

First of all, muscle does not make you bulky, nor does it EVER slow you down. Have you ever seen a world class sprinter? Yes, they do get caught for steriods, HGH, and everything else. Because muscle makes you faster.

It depends dramatically over distance. Yes the 100 m guys are built, but even at 400 meters there is a dramatic difference in body type.

Not unfit by any stretch of the imagination, but not incredibly bulky either.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Stego,

I quit smoking today. I REALLY hope that doesn't slow down my fat loss.

Either way, it's just slowing it down. I'm done failing.

Good luck man.

So far I'm down between 8-10 lbs. I want to lose another 15-20 lbs. I'm keeping up the exercise and cutting down on the snaking.

[Greywolf2375]

Dalla (y'all remember Dalla with Child) started eating ice cream often after she met her fitness goals at the "Y". She was working out every day, looked fantastic, and started eating a scoop of ice cream a few times a week. Because she could.

And there's nothing wrong with that. It's like having a few glasses of wine every so often for a person who isn't an alcoholic.

This. When a person wants to change their physical make up, that person needs to make choices to include certain things they may not have had/done before and exclude certain things they currently do. As Stego said as well, at some point he is going to have a 1/4 pounder with cheese, but because of the changes he has been able to make and boost his metabolism, his body will be able to react to the food differently than it had before. Another thing about that 1/4er...it's not "cheating"...it's living, as long as that person understands that it is a treat and isn't the norm.

One thing people tend to forget about is before making these life changes is to cleanse their system, usually there is so much crud stuck in peoples intestines and colons that even changing around what you eat doesn't help because the walls are so clogged with, well, shit that the nutrients can't get absorbed correctly.

Wish I could scoop ya'll up and take you into our lifestyle management course - ours is definitely not the only way to do it, but we've seen some amazing changes in peoples weight, body fat, skin/complexion and, well, attitudes :)

[Minaku]

I quit smoking today. I REALLY hope that doesn't slow down my fat loss.

Either way, it's just slowing it down. I'm done failing.

You can do it, Stego. This is a long and tough road but considering what you've done in the last two months I think it'll be a huge, huge step for you. Even if you pooh-pooh cardiovascular fitness, it's nice to breathe easy during a run.

I identify with Seastarr's story. My mother, who was for the majority of my life a single parental figure, is naturally thin. Her metabolism is ridiculously high and did not manage to come down until she hit 50. At any rate, I grew up eating poor Taiwanese food. There was a lot of rice, chicken, eggs, tofu, cabbage, fatty pork, which all in all isn't too bad until you add the American fast food diet in. When I was a kid I hit up McDonald's ALL the time until my pediatrician warned my mother that my cholesterol was well over 200 and that I'd need to lay off the McDonald's. (As it turns out, I have naturally high cholesterol, so fast food on a whole is an absolute no-no for me.)

Other than that, we ate decently healthily. There were greens at the table, not just lettuce; there were lean cuts of meat; there was a lot of juice drinking and limited soda drinking. I had and have a huge sweet tooth and until I got to college was never really able to curb the sugar habit. At any rate, as a kid I was skinny as hell. I got to 10 years old and only weighed some 45 pounds. I had a frame much like my mother's until I hit puberty early, and my body shape completely and totally changed. How completely? At 12 years old I tried to wear one of my mother's dresses from her post-college years. It did not fit. At all. I could not close past the bust and nearly tore seams through the hips.

This led to a rift in what I wanted my self-image to be and what my actual image was. I'm pretty sure no one in school ever thought I was fat. I've been told by other people that I'm small pretty much all my life (yeah, I'm small compared to a good deal of people). But I didn't look like my mom, and I didn't even look like what I did when I was dancing ballet. I realized later that there was no way I was going to look like a teenager anymore after becoming a woman. I didn't have that crazy hard body and no fat between the skin on my calves and the muscle. I was never going to wear a size 0 again.

Still, that demon kept at me, so that's what started the working out in the first place. Progress was slow, as I didn't change my diet to go with my working out. It's been a while, a good six or seven years since I first started working out, and I've finally managed to change myself and my thinking enough to do this for good. Exercise is well and good but diet is ultimately the most important thing. I'm a person of extremes. I have to find out what my body's limited to before I can create limits for myself. So the first thing I did was get rid of white anything. White sugar, white flour. Nothing. I detoxed from those for a good week. That grew to two weeks. Then it grew to a month. When I finally tried eating something with refined sugar in it again, it was like pouring a sugar bowl into my mouth. Absolutely disgusting.

Everyone who talks about diet and lifestyle change as a change of mind is correct. It is a change in the outlook of your life. There are short term goals and long term goals. Short term, we want to lose weight, we want to get better numbers at the physical. Long term, we want to live longer, happier, and with less health concerns, because what is left to us if we don't have health? I have step-grandparents who are miserable people because they cannot bring themselves to take a walk every day. That turned into being overweight, which turned into respiratory problems, which turned into chronic joint pain, and then eventually death (one of them, at least).

Something about diet that people don't understand is this tenet: everything in moderation. People see the harsh reality of starting a regime but not what could happen a few years down the road. If they do, they're not willing to sacrifice for it. They're not willing to put themselves through the hardest parts - and the beginning is absolutely the hardest part - to get to the easier parts. I'm not putting ice cream down. Things like fatty meats, ice cream, sugar, those should have a part in your life. Just not a huge part. It's worked for me that I had to get rid of them entirely for some time before I could re-introduce them again, and then only in small quantities. It takes determination, though. I've fallen off the wagon enough times to know that it is hard.

Someone like Eponine can eat a bowl of ice cream every day because her fitness level is high enough to where her metabolism can withstand it. Someone like me cannot eat a bowl of ice cream every day because my metabolism would not withstand it. A bowl of ice cream once a week, sure. Thirty pounds ago, I would have said a bowl of ice cream never. Ep has reached a point of fitness where anything that goes into her mouth will be turned into efficient energy and then used by her body. The rest of us are not at that goal yet, and therefore have to look at her bowl of ice cream longingly and say, "One day, I'll be able to eat ice cream again."

I guess the point of this wall of text is that you shouldn't let other people get you down. Am I envious of Ep? Sure. But she busts her ass and I do NOT want to do that. So I really shouldn't be, because that's my own damn fault for not getting out there and pounding the pavement. Stick to what your goals are, what you think your body can do, and draw a very hard line when it comes to diet. Diet is roughly 85% of the diet/exercise plan (according to my trainer). Even if you don't hit the gym, you still have to be strict with yourself when it comes to food. Eventually, you can loosen up. Eventually.

Edit: I forgot to mention this. When starting to eat clean and eat healthy, absolutely NO ALCOHOL! (I'm looking at you ztem!)

[seastarr]

Congratulations Stego, for quitting smoking!

I am so pleased you are taking that step. I have never smoked--it triggers a migraine, bigtime--but my friends say the two most important things about quitting are to find something to do with your mouth, and find something to do with your hands. It's all about substitution of behaviors, at first.

So gum, toothpicks, cat's cradle, stress balls, play dough and doodling are your new best friends.

[Lucky Pierre]

For those of us trying to loose weight-would you mind sharing what it is you are eating? I tend to get stuck in a rut eating the same things and seeing what you guys are eating will help give me more ideas to change it up.

For me today:

Weight control Banana Bread Oatmeal with a banana

Fat free turkey, sun dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), dehydrated onions in an egg white omelet.

That's about 400 calories, 9g fat, 11g fiber, 65g carb and 30g protein.

[Nichole]

God Chataya, I know what that was like. I hear all the time about how "thin is in" or some stupid shit, but growing up really thin and hearing people constantly say, "God, you are so thin." with a sneer on their face does not make you feel good. You heard inward, I heard "you blend in with the walls." and "a cups are ugly." I just didn't gain weight, and I didn't grow boobs.

My parents fed us pretty healthily. We sat down to dinner every night, and salads were a part of most meals. My mom did consider corn a vegetable, but she did her best to make us eat nutrisiously. I always had a sweet tooth. I would fantasize about eating just candy and fast food. My biggest issue with food was that my mom fed me the same thing over and over again. She thought I was picky, I was just sick of having the same food all the time. As a teenager I discovered different foods and loved it. I started eating what ever I wanted, and could, I never gained weight.

After an abusive relationship, I started lifting weights to make me feel more powerful. I loved it, but unfortunately stopped after a couple of years. Then my metabolism changed. I started gaining weight slowly. I would think that I just needed to work out a little bit more, but was able to come up with excuses. I finally started being honest with myself and cut out the execuses. I lost some weight and felt good.

School has made progress hard. Time is an issue, I don't always have to time to get in a good work out. Same with food, I often need something quickly, and healthy food is hard to find in a rush. I know, excuses again. The last couple of weeks have been hell. Finishing up my senior year in college and buying a house at the same time is not something I recommend. Plus, I have had to deal with some pretty serious stalker issues recently. It is almost all over, though. Thank god, my treadmill will not be buried underneath boxes anymore. I have been trying to eat smaller portions to make up for not working out at much as I should. Also, no more potatoes. :cry:

I'm considering doing a cleanse once we get moved into our house. I'm at a transitional part of my life and think this might help me symbolically. I could cleanse the stress of the last year out of my system.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

I think it's good that we are able to share our stories.

Mine is rather simple. All my life I've generally had the "beanpole" physique. You may not think this is a big deal if you've struggled with "fat", but it can be just as devastating - it's very depressing to be mistaken for a man at times. The first time I was mistaken for a boy, I was 12 years old. An old man told me to "quit running, young man!", as I was running through the mall. I was also told "thank you, sir" by some Salvation Army people after dropping coins in the kettle. That's pretty devastating for a teenage girl to hear. I was also called "inward" and teased tremendously in high school for my lack of breasts. One day, I ran down one of those bullies with a knife, and I would have killed him if I would have caught him. A group of guys from my high school ran across me at the mall when I was in college and yelled out as a group, "Inward!" Those fuckers should rot in hell. My hands still shake with anger when I type this just now.

The last time I was mistaken for a man was when I was 23, and it was from the back...a man accidentally pushed his cart into me in line at Wal-Mart, and said, "I'm sorry, sir...uh, ma'am" (as I turned around).

I haven't been mistaken for a man since I bought boobs.

Anyways, my metabolism was fantastic, and I could eat anything I wanted until I was 30-ish...then I gained 15 pounds working at a very stressful job which required weeks of travel at a time. I lost those pounds diligently watching what I ate, and cutting out candy and excessive alcohol, and adding exercise to my routine. I've lost most of those pounds, and kept them off for a year. I have 2 pounds left to go (I seesawed up 6 pounds a few weeks ago after a bout of business travel and the resumption of the bad habits that business travel brings, but lost them quickly again). I think I can do the 2 pounds within the next week.

Maintaining is very important to me. I don't want to be my mom, who relied on her good genetics until she was 50...she was always a size 2...but she recently ballooned to a size 8 because she had never exercised at all or really watched what she ate. My aunt, on the other hand, is about the same age, and still a size 2, because she has always worked out.

I can relate, at least as far as high school goes. I started 12th grade at 105 pounds, 5'8" and wearing a size 8 pants because of how wide my hips were. Most people guessed I wore a size 2-4 as all my bones stuck out. My ribs stuck out almost as far as my barely B boobs. I looked like I had two sets of them and always has something stuffed in my pants pockets (where the hip bones tuck out). I was frequently teased, especailly about the rib bones. "Are your ribs bigger than your boobs?" "Do you have 4 boobs?" Boys can be so dumb. :rolleyes:

The army added 25 pounds, mostly muscle and I finally filled in by 19. It is one of the reasons I have such a hard time accepting how heavy I am, and why a lot of time, don't even see it: It was never there before.

Getting old sucks in so many ways. While I would never want to look like I did in HS, I can't allow myself to continue the way I am.

[Lucky Pierre]

Lunch:

Quinoa (that I made a couple days ago), frozen mixed veggies, sun dried tomatoes, chicken breast, sauteed in chicken broth then a little low sodium soy added at the end.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

Lunch:

Quinoa (that I made a couple days ago), frozen mixed veggies, sun dried tomatoes, chicken breast, sauteed in chicken broth then a little low sodium soy added at the end.

[Iskaral Pust]

I was a fat kid. I ballooned up to 180 lbs by age 12, typical poster child for obese America. I remember in the eighth grade cafeteria they had these big Texas chocolate chip cookies I would buy for $.35 each, and I'd sit there eating cookie after cookie at lunch. My little brother used to make fun of me because he knew I was too fat to catch up to him and kick his ass. I first learned about diet and exercise soon after, but the point I'm aiming for is that for this, as well as some other types of addiction, if you get your start in adolescence, it roots itself deep down in the pleasure center of the brain and becomes so intertwined with who you are that it never really leaves you. I was talking to an old friend recently who is a recovering alcoholic who told me, "Yeah that's got to be a tough one. It's not like you can ever go cold turkey."