ARGH!!

[KaraBoo]

Okay - I know it's about better health. I know it's about a better lifestyle. I know I put this weight on slowly and it will take time for it to come off.

But gosh darn it!! When am I going to lose any weight??

I've been to the gym for over 2 weeks now (total of 10 days, minimum of an hour a day) and I've GAINED 2 pounds from when The Trainer weighed me. I'm actually noticing some of my cloths fitting tighter than they did the last time I wore them.

Please, please tell me it's muscle weight! I have had a couple of people tell me that it looks like I've lost weight that didn't know I was working out, so....maybe the weight is just shifting?

I've not changed my diet too much at this point - it's okay healthy, but not totally (like, we did have chicken fried steak for dinner last night, but I had less than I normally do - between 3-4oz steak, if that (it was smaller than the palm of my hand) - and I ate more veggies). I know I'm not eating more food than I did before. I still drink my Dr Peppers for the caffine, but I've cut back on the amount and I am drinking more water than I use to.

Encouragement? Suggestions? Ideas?

[pig]

A lot of people will simply eat more negating any weight loss from going to the gym. It's what your body normally wants to do. You need to analyze your diet. Write down everything you eat for a week and post it.

[cael]

Don't give up! This has happened to me before when I've tried to lose weight, it's very discouraging. Look at what you can change about your diet, that will probably help. I've been "dieting" (eating really well) for 2 or 3 weeks now, and I'm happy I've dropped 4lbs so far. Sadly it doesn't happen overnight! Keep it up

[chiver78]

I'm probably going to get yelled at for this, but I find 3-4 days' worth of Atkins induction-like eating kick starts my metabolism and kills whatever junk food cravings I might have. this means no bread, rice, pasta, sugar or beans. Atkins induction limits you to 20g of carbohydrate intake per day, and that's intended to come from veggies. after that, I've shrunk my stomach enough to be "full" after meals with less volume, and I've stopped craving breads and pastas so I eat less of them while trying to lose weight.

[Genuine GA Peach]

hang in there NQTY. Did your PT take body measurements? That's where I could tell the biggest difference. I haven't lost that much as far as the scale goes, but checking the measurements every 3 months or so lets me see some results.

actually what seems to have made the biggest change for me diet-wise is adding even more whole grains. It happened by accident. I always eat a good bit of whole grains (Kashi is one of my go to brands). I've fallen in love with tabbouleh. It's expensive, so I decided to make my own. I ended up with more bulgur than I needed, so I just added it to my morning hot cereal or brown rice whenever I had that with a meal. Usually a good week will see me drop 1 lb. The last few weeks, that's picked up a little

I'm happy to say that chicken fried steak just sounds disgusting to me. Glad I never tried it, so I don't have to fight that craving. When I do want 'fried' foods, I will bake breaded chicken tenders or fish fillets on a pizza stone. Comes out nice and crisp and the stone pulls a good bit of the fat out of the food. I do the same with fries & sweet potato fries. I still limit that kind of stuff because of the sodium.

[pig]

I am drinking more water than I use to.

That could be your answer right there. If you drink soda and junk like that you might have been dehydrated. Re hydrating would cause you to gain weight and very fast. Is that diet soda you're drinking? If not it....take caffeine pills if you really need the stimulant.

[azphx1972]

Don't get discouraged. I wouldn't focus so much on the weight as on waist size. And it's only been a couple of weeks, so don't give up!

Losing weight is probably 80% diet, and 20% exercise, so look at what you're eating as well. Try to avoid eating processed and artificial foods, and anything fried.

[Deleted]

I think you need to change your diet from "okay healthy" to a mostly healthy if you want to see more of a difference, but don't give up!

[KaraBoo]

<<sigh>> Yeah...y'all are right....I need a better diet as well. It's not horrible, but it's not healthy either. I was just hoping I would see more of a change with adding in activity when there was little to none before.

I don't drink diet soda - can't stand the taste, but I have cut down on the amount I do drink drastically (at least half of what I was drinking before).

I will work on this part better....

[pig]

Stop guessing and write down what you eat. That's really the only way to know. We're all just guessing, just like you without that info. Is it worth it to you? Post your weeks diet everything you eat and I'll gladly analyze it for you and make suggestions as other would I'm sure.

[KaraBoo]

Post your weeks diet everything you eat and I'll gladly analyze it for you and make suggestions as other would I'm sure.


Umm....maybe...

I'm sure this will come out all wrong, but please don't look for this any time soon. Not because I don't want to change or post the actual numbers, just that I'm not good at tracking stuff like this. I did get really good at tracking the numbers many years ago for about a month and then the log went bye-bye.

I'll try to get back on track on logging the information, but if I don't post about it, it's not because it's not a good idea - I'm just not good at that type of thing. I will definitely work on it though.

[RoadToRiches]

You need to know what you are eating. Without knowing that, you can just spin your wheels and pretty much waste the time you go to the gym

Track your food.

It's just like with money. To know how you are doing financially, you need to track where your money is going.

To know if you are eating right, you need to track what you eat.

[Formerly SK]

I agree with the pp - weight loss is 90% diet. I lost 45lbs in 2009 just with dietary changes (and another 15lbs in 2010 with diet/exercise). I highly recommend Weight Watchers or something similar. You need to get a solid idea of exactly how many calories you are eating (and how few you really need). The first week or so of WW is hell (at least for me) because I felt like I was dying until my stomach shrank. But knowing that I was still eating more than necessary (a 200lb person gets to eat more than a 145lb person) helped me realize I just needed to retrain my body. WW taught me how expensive (in calories) a lot of foods are. Olives are a luxury, and I'll never eat a pine nut again. LOL Are your sodas more important than dinner? Once you realize that you have to sacrifice a meal because you drank all those calories, the sodas become too expensive to eat.

I also recommend reading a bunch of books on food. "The End of Overeating" or "Fast Food Nation" or anything by Michael Pollan, etc. Once you realize how much crap is in food you'll lose your desire for it.

Good luck!

[Artemis Windsong]

Eating healthy and exercise are a process and lifestyle. Switch from chicken fried steak to broiled and seasoned. Same with chicken. Eat the vegetables without butter first. Eat the whole fruit rather than juice. All changes are baby steps to a fit way of life. All of this takes time, effort and paying attention to the details of doing those reps at the gym and making the healthy choice with food.

Another thread recommended a website for tracking workouts and food. Sorry, I don't recall the name of it.

[RoadToRiches]

probably fitday.com

[Deleted]

That website might be SparkPeople.com

[gooddecisions]

As others have said, diet will go a lot further than exercise. I stay reasonably active and play sports a few night a week, but I really have to watch how much I eat to stay thin. It can take 5 minutes at a drive thru to wipe out 2 hour at the gym.

Read this article, "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin": www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html

[Miss Tequila]

Low-carb is the only thing that works for me. I've tried Weight Watchers, counting calories, etc and I don't see many results (and I'm always freaking starving!). Just two weeks ago I tried a different diet (one that required me to give up alcohol!)...one week later I was up two F'n pounds! I'm back on Atkins and I've continued to lose...

Don't get discouraged. You just need to figure out what diet plan works for you. As for soda, honesty I would completely stop drinking it. I don't even drink diet. I do drink coffee (and I'm not giving that up!) but other than that I drink mainly water (and wine!!!LOL)

[pig]

and I'm always freaking starving!

That's probably why it didn't work. This is one instance where eating every few hours can help.

[shandi76]

That's probably why it didn't work. This is one instance where eating every few hours can help.

Agreed. I prefer to graze throughout the day rather than having a huge lunch at work. It prevents sleepiness and sugar crashes.

My co-workers joke that they know what time of day it is by how much of my lunch is still in the fridge.

[The J]

Apr 12, 2011 11:29:38 GMT -5 KaraBoo said:

<<sigh>> Yeah...y'all are right....I need a better diet as well. It's not horrible, but it's not healthy either. I was just hoping I would see more of a change with adding in activity when there was little to none before.

I don't drink diet soda - can't stand the taste, but I have cut down on the amount I do drink drastically (at least half of what I was drinking before).

I will work on this part better....

Switch to green tea for the caffeine. Republic of Tea has a lot of varied flavored ones, which are excellent. Can't remember the name of it, but one of the things in green tea helps stimulate metabolism.

[dividend]

Apr 14, 2011 21:52:44 GMT -5 gooddecisions said:

As others have said, diet will go a lot further than exercise. I stay reasonably active and play sports a few night a week, but I really have to watch how much I eat to stay thin. It can take 5 minutes at a drive thru to wipe out 2 hour at the gym.

Read this article, "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin": www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html

That article is pretty dumb. Of course you won't lose weight if you eat so much more food after exercising that you negate the calories burned. That doesn't mean that exercise doesn't work. Some of us embrace it. I would much rather run a couple miles and get my weekly mocha treat, than drink the mocha without running first. I just really don't like the attitude that says, it's really hard to have self control and not pig out after exercising, so obviously you can't lose weight this way.