Determined to make a change!

[lelggren]

I need to lose weight and I need some help with my diet. I have started exercising again lately, and it is going really great :) I can feel that I have more energy and that I feel better. But, I am worried because at my dr. appt, I was up 10 lbs.....:eek: He suggested the possible increasing of muscle mass was maybe to blame, but since my clothes are not getting looser, I know that I'm not burning as much fat necessarily. (I have that stubborn "belly" that I'm working on....) He told me to take a look at my diet, and be honest with myself and such, and see what I am doing. Well, I've been thinking a lot about it. And, so I was wondering what kinds of things that are in your diet, combined with your exercise, that have made a difference in your weight loss or weight maintaining. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Cinnabon]

This is common once the blood sugars become more stable.

[valc3]

Laura, I feel your frustration.I weigh all portions, eliminated almost all fat and do at least 1 1/2 hour of cardio every day. For me the cardio really made the difference. Hang in there, it's hard, but it can be done.

[duck]

Laura,

You need to keep an exhaustive food diary for at least a month. When I say exhaustive I mean it needs to be as detailed as possible, and it needs to record everything that goes past your lips <--EVERYTHING, even gum. You need to note how much (get a measuring cup and digital food scale), what time, how you felt, were you sad/happy/mad/joyous, etc, and anything else you feel is important at the time.

Initial analysis probably will not be revealing, but after at least two weeks you may see some trends (you eat when you are by yourself, or you eat when you get on the PC, etc.) that you can address. You may also realize that you put a lot of mayo on your sandwiches or you still are using a lot of sugar--we won't know until you start recording it all.

I make this kind of post a lot, because serious athletes keep such diaries when training for events, and they swear by them. You have to approach this like it's your job...and actually, it's a little more serious, it's about your health.

Secondly, I'd advise you to stay away from the scale. Get a digital camera and take pics of yourself, and compare the pics as you go (take weekly pics in the same lighting and clothing conditions). Scales can be misleading--Would you want to weight 100 pounds and be 50% fat or would you want to weigh 140 pounds and be 10% fat? Remarkably, most people feel they have to weight less, when in fact being 140 pounds at 10% fat is probably healthier all around. So keep it all in perspective, and good luck!

[jen_slc]

You need to keep an exhaustive food diary for at least a month. When I say exhaustive I mean it needs to be as detailed as possible, and it needs to record everything that goes past your lips <--EVERYTHING

Secondly, I'd advise you to stay away from the scale. Get a digital camera and take pics of yourself, and compare the pics as you go (take weekly pics in the same lighting and clothing conditions). Scales can be misleading--Would you want to weight 100 pounds and be 50% fat or would you want to weigh 140 pounds and be 10% fat? Remarkably, most people feel they have to weight less, when in fact being 140 pounds at 10% fat is probably healthier all around.:dito: :dito: :dito: I honestly had no idea the amount of food I was taking in until I wrote every little thing down and started weighing portions again. It was very surprising and it's helped me to make adjustments! I don't do it exhaustively anymore, but if I feel something isn't right, I'll do it for a week and see what's going on. And about the scales, duck is so right: stay away from those numbers! It can be very difficult and it may take some time to come to the realization that a higher weight but lower fat percentage is much more desirable and healthier than vice versa - I know it took me a long while. Go by how your clothes feel and you will slowly come to see a difference in how your weight shifts around your body. :smile:

[sydneya]

Short and sweet--:dito: :dito: :dito: The food diary is a must. A pain but a must.

[am1977]

Well...I agree with Duck about most things, but I think you do actually have to weigh yourself along the way to keep track of your progress. I think there was actually an article somewhere that said that those who weigh themselves often tend to lose more weight. I think as long as you don't get too obsessive about the numbers (which I tend to do :rolleyes: )...it's ok to weigh yourself.

I agree- keeping a food journal is a great idea :idea: and also make sure you fit exercise into your schedule too :)

Good luck and keep us posted on how things go.

[duck]

Well...I agree with Duck about most things, but I think you do actually have to weigh yourself along the way to keep track of your progress. I think there was actually an article somewhere that said that those who weigh themselves often tend to lose more weight. I think as long as you don't get too obsessive about the numbers (which I tend to do :rolleyes: )...it's ok to weigh yourself.

I agree- keeping a food journal is a great idea :idea: and also make sure you fit exercise into your schedule too :)

Good luck and keep us posted on how things go.

Yeah, I may have over-stated my case on not using a scale--it is a useful tool, but one that can be abused...You can suffer from "not being able to see the forest because of the trees"-syndrome with a scale.

I'm sort of sensitive on this topic. In college I was a nutrition major and I worked in the campus gym. Keep in mind that the college-age female is naturally beautiful, yet they feel compelled to work out and lose weight. If I had a dime for the number of women I saw who would come in to the gym, make real progress working out, and then quit after they decided they were either gaining too much weight (lean muscle mass) or not losing enough weight (losing fat and building muscle will make you weight MORE), I'd be a millionaire now. It was infuriating. So I preach not to use a scale, hoping to knock the scale off its holy pedestal and back into the realm of useful tools.

/preaching

[lelggren]

Thank you all so very much for your suggestions :) I'm going to try the food diary. I have had dr.'s tell me to do those before, but then they didn't even ask to see them at the next appt or anything, and so I stopped doing them. But, I think I need to just do one for my own analysis.

As for the scale, I am one of those people that gets overly into the numbers....I was so bad at one time that I was actually weighing myself every single time that I worked out. Let's just say that I think I would do better without a scale in my home, and just let the nurse at the dr. weigh me every time I go.

Thanks for your support! Please keep the comments and ideas coming :) I need them!:wavey:

[Cinnabon]

I was actually weighing myself every single time that I worked out.

Yea.. thats not good for the mind, but its good to maybe do it once a week and of course at the docs....