What am I doing wrong?

[Sherita]

Ok fellow ARCers, I need some help here. Because something ain't right

I'm trying desperately to lose weight, some of you know this, some of you don't (well, you do now). I've altered my diet, 1250 calories a day max intake. Eliminated 99% of refined sugars from my diet. No sweets, no snacks. Lots of raw veggies (which I love), fish (broiled/baked), skinless chicken (broiled/baked). Very little in the way of processed/canned foods. I work in construction and own a small homestead, so I'm always on the move doing something physical. Medically, there is nothing wrong with me other than the fact that I'm carrying around 60+ pounds more than I should be.

Stats: I'm 5'8", 196.2lbs. Target weight is 135. Weight loss to date is less than 6 pounds. At my activity level, and caloric intake, I should be losing a minimum of 1.5lb a week. Not happening, not even close.

Before anyone says anything, yes, I am working with a doctor. Her answer is:exercise more, eat less. I'm frustrated and aggravated. So, if any of you folks have any suggestions, please throw them down on the table.

And, I'm not thinned skinned, so don't be afraid that you will offend. You won't. I'm not looking for excuses, I'm looking for answers. Ideas anyone?

[jestep]

What sort of exercising do you do outside of your very active daily lifestyle? There's obviously nothing wrong with your diet especially having cut out processed foods. I think the calorie deficit equations are very idealistic as much as they should seem scientific. Just based on my experience with sports and exercising, it sounds like you're at one of those plateau stages, where you have to do something different or significantly more intense for anything to change.

[FarmerTy]

Was going to say the same thing. Activity level has plateaued. Shock the system and do other physical activities. If you jog, then go swimming.

You can never beat cardio mixed with a good dietary intake level to lose weight. Good luck with your goal.

[esacjack]

Also, how much water do you drink per day? Agreed shocking the system is the way to go...

[Timfish]

Maybe Micheal Mosely's "Fast Diet" Pretty interesting look at the medical research showing occasional fasting can drop weight without radically altering diet or callories the rest of the time. I don't know if it's in his book but he had a PBS special and one researcher tested his body type and said his body type would not respond the typical excersize regime often recommended.

[Sherita]

Good ideas here!

Running isn't an option for me unfortunately. I've got a frozen left ankle, and I just too darn fat to run. Do you guys think adding incline walking on a treadmill would help? My rural situation isn't helping at all, no pool access anywhere within 60 miles of here.

And I do appreciate the ideas. I hate being fat. I hate not being able to do the things I used to do. I want to be un-fat. And I'm willing to do what it takes to get there.

As far as diet, here's an average day. If you see something that appears "off" please point it out.

Breakfast

coffee, black, brewed

coffeemate lite, 1-2tsp

sugar 2 tsp (this is the only real sugar I consume, because coffee with sweetener is just..............no)

cheerios, 1 cup, with 1/4c whole milk, no sugar

Lunch

tuna salad, home made (tuna in water, 2 sweet gherkin pickles chopped, 1 tbsp miracle whip, 1 piece rye bread (70 calories), spinach salad with mushrooms, 2 tbsp italian lite dressing, brewed tea with sweetnlow)

Dinner

3oz flounder filet, broiled with 1 tsp italian seasoning on top

green salad with mushrooms and spinach, 1tbsp italian lite dressing or vinaigrette

vegetable-normally steamed asparagus 1/2cup, fresh corn off the cob 1/2 cup, or green peas steamed 1/2 cup

tea, brewed, with sweetnlow

If, during the day, I want a snack, my go to is raw spinach or raw portobello shrooms. If I crave sweets, my go to is grapes (1/2cup), small banana, small peach, or some other small fruit.

I realize I didn't get this fat overnight, and I"m not going to get un-fat overnight. But I am mighty sick of not being able to do what I want to do. I've quit smoking (6 weeks this coming monday!!) and I'm already seeing the benefits from that. Now, if I can kick the fat cells to the curb I'll be happy.

[Sherita]

Also, how much water do you drink per day? Agreed shocking the system is the way to go...

I try to drink at least 5-6 glasses of water a day. This has proven to be the hardest thing about dieting, I hate the taste of water. Yeah, I'm weird.

[Sherita]

Was going to say the same thing. Activity level has plateaued. Shock the system and do other physical activities. If you jog, then go swimming.

You can never beat cardio mixed with a good dietary intake level to lose weight. Good luck with your goal.

What sort of cardio would you recommend? Please bear in mind, I'm in a rural farming community, so my options are somewhat limited, LOL. Mainly, I'm kinda stuck with whatever I can do here at the house. Treadmill, stationary bike, weights......these things I can definitely make happen. Gym membership, not so much.

I think what's getting me is the fact that I am physically active for at least 12-14 hours a day........climbing ladders, lifting heavy stuff (cabinets, sheetrock, paint buckets, etc), walking miles each day. Yet the fat not only snuck up on me, it flat out refuses to leave. Infuriating. I realize some of it has to do with my age. I'm at "that time" in a womans life when things go haywire and it becomes harder to control weight (among other things). But this situation is seriously getting on my nerves.

[Planeden]

Hey sherita, I'm kinda the same with water. My girlfriend makes flavored waters like cucumber water which gives it a Little more flavor and I drink more of it. I don't know anything about dieting, but it is just a matter of cutting up a thing and letting it sit in water in the fridge. No added sugars or anything that doesn't come from the fruit/veg.

[JCAB]

Sherita, we haven't met, but I've long admired your pictures of zoas, etc (maybe when I can keep them from disappearing, I'll buy some) and now I'm admiring your resolve in losing weight. I struggled most of my life trying to gain weight, until I reached my late 30s. Now I'm a bit overweight and it's not coming off as easily as I thought - so definitely think age may be an issue. I've also found an elliptical to be a good low impact source of cardio. Finally, make sure you're getting lots of fiber - it helps with numerous things, including weight loss. ;-). Hope this helps, but more than anything, I wanted to cheer you on!

[ckyuv]

Have low calorie snacks often, munching on healthy foods will help lower your metabolism. The incline will help burn fat as will doing weight training. Of course don't eat right before going to bed, midnight snacks never help anyone loose weight!

As far as construction goes I don't blame you, after climbing up and down ladders all day you become exhausted and your body is weak but I've found an elliptical and swimming exercises are efficient ( and the lake is always fun! )

Oh and light beer might not taste as good as a shiner but it sure does have a lot less calories when you drink the whole 12 pack!!

[esacjack]

another route you can take is to eat more than 3 meals a day, i try and eat about 7 or 8 very small meals per day. I.e. some pretzels here, a banana, etc, etc.. and for your 'supper' something sensible that only stops the 'hunger' rather than going for the full feeling. Take some time to observe how the things you eat, make you feel. If bread makes you feel sluggish and bloated, cut back on the bread, etc etc... just try and avoid the marketing hype of organic fruits/vegetables, diet drinks, pills, etc... you dont have to be a runner, but you do have to get into a rapid motion. Your heart rate has to go way up in order to begin the type perspiration you need. If you cant run, try and 'fly'. This is literally taking a 1lb weight in either hand, and flapping your arms up and down slowly (like a jumping jack) and slowly increase your speed, then decrease your speed to end your exercise. Don't stop outright, but slow down and keep working out at a slow pace, then stop... Remember to cool off. After each work out, shake your arms/legs to keep your blood flowing, take deep breaths, and try and avoid the urge to hunch over to catch your breath. Carbs arent necessarily your enemy either, but carbs and protein provide bulk, something you aren't looking to stock up on. Fish is high in mercury, so try and keep that to a minimum! Chicken, especially boiled with a baked potato and carrots are a sure win every time. Lastly, and this is also important. Ensure your last meal is significantly earlier than your bed time. If I recall correctly, you also just quit smoking. Inherently you're going to gain weight as soon as you quit smoking, so this might be hiding your actual weight loss. I would kick the water in take up a bit. You aren't looking to stay hydrated, you're looking to hypersaturate your soluble fats, and pass them as liquid waste. But as crucial as this is, you'll also need to pair it with a high heart rate. Being an ex smoker, your body is already used to a rapid heart rate, so it's going to take more than you can fathom for quite some time.

[jestep]

Biking would be my recommendation for cardio if you can't run, but I would seriously recommend getting a cheap road bike and start riding that around instead of riding inside. Rollerblading is even better if you can do that because it's a great middle ground between running and biking. Far more bang for your buck than biking, but much less impact than running. Yeah, it's cheesy up until you try to go 5 or 6 miles. Stationary biking and treadmilling are difficult to stick with, completely impossibly for me. I think the most important thing I could recommend is to try and find something you enjoy doing.

[ct67stang]

one thing that hasn't been suggested (I think) is a multivitamin to help you use your exess fat. look up a vitamin B super complex. it helps your body use the fat into energy better. im no expert so do a little research on that but it should help prevent your body from storing fat and instead using it in your daily routine. hope this helps and hope you reach all your goals:)

[Sherita]

@Planeden, I'll give that flavored water thing a try. Cherry flavored water........mmmmmmmmmmmmm

@JCAB - I too used to have trouble keeping weight on. To look at me now, you would never know that I used to weigh 105 pounds. Heartbreaking.

@ckyuv - I'll give the little meals often thing try. I do think that might help, because hunger won't be able to sabotage my diet. I'm not much of a drinker, so the beer issue isn't too much of a concern for me, but energy drinks, I'm having a hell of a time kicking that habit.

@esacjack- observing how food makes me feel, that's a new thought. I'll sure give it a try. And I'm going to try the smaller meals more often thing. I don't buy into the organic hype so no worries there, and I know better than to take pills to lose weight. That just substitutes one problem for another one. Not good. Your memory is correct. I did just quit smoking, 5 1/2 weeks ago (after 30 years of a 2 pack a day habit). I am already feeling the benefits from that, no more coughing, I can take deep breaths now, I actually have some stamina again. But, you are correct, my body is so used to being oxygen deprived from the smoking that I'm going to have to work harder to achieve the same thing that a non-smoker can. I'm good with that. Smoking was an addiction that was a beast to quit, but I think I've got it whipped now. The cravings and desires are getting better every day, it's manageable now except for extreme stress situations, then I want to run for the nearest ciggie. That too shall pass, I hope. I'll give the flying thing a try, sounds interesting. I knew I would be in trouble with this ankle when it didn't heal right last year. It has made it physically impossible to take a running step with my left leg, and any impact is incredibly painful. I'll try very hard to up the water intake, I'm going to try the flavored water idea, maybe that will help. Otherwise, water tastes like dust to me. No, I am not kidding.

[FarmerTy]

I think everyone pretty much covered everything that I would try. Mainly, spreading the meals out, eating several small meals per day instead of three big ones. Aim to have your biggest portions earlier in the day with a smaller dinner at night. If I had to critique your current dietary list, I would aim to cut out the sweetened tea over time. I was hooked on soft drinks and gave them up over time by drinking lemonade and slowly diluting it so it was less sugary each time. Until I was basically drinking lemon flavored water. Perhaps do what ct67stang mentioned and flavor your water. That would at least cut out the processed sugars out of your diet and keep you from tasting dust when drinking water.

Ellipticals are expensive but just might be what you need with the bum ankle and no pool in your area. Have you tried those zumba and aerobic type workout videos? I tried one of my wives and almost died doing it... much more cardio than I thought and definitely different than the 4-5hrs of basketball I play a week. It definitely had me sweating.

[Sherita]

Zumba.......hmm. Once I get on track I might try that. Right now, it would probably kill my fat self.

I am slowly eliminating "sweet" things. If you could have seen my sugar intake before this all started, it was outrageous. I went from sweetened everything to sugar in my coffee only. Drastic step. I simply cannot stand black coffee, eww. I have a somewhat short list of inedible things.....black coffee, yogurt, bell peppers, raw onions, eggplant, Brussels sprouts, and avocado. Those things are *not food*, LOL. Otherwise, I'm pretty easy to feed, how do you think I got to this size Of course, believing that chocolate is a food group did not help my situation at all.

Enough folks have suggested an elliptical that I'm going to try that route. They aren't cheap, but neither is heart disease. And if I don't lose weight that's where I'm headed.

And, for those of you who work out, I'm confused by all the information out there. Can someone answer a simple question for me please...........my resting heart rate is 62bpm. What should be my target heart rate during exercise, and for how long? Remember, there is nothing wrong with me except that there is too much of me. But, lets not kill Sherita either, I understand that I need to probably start out slow. My frustration is coming from people like my doctor, who is not at all supportive and will not listen to me when I try to talk about losing weight (she's quite heavy, so I think I might be hitting a nerve), and the folks on the opposite extreme that run miles and miles a week and think that I should immediately be able to keep up with their workout schedule.

I truly wish there was a trainer available out here in boonieland. But, there isn't. So I have to do the best I can.

[(Bio)³]

Sounds odd but I had luck dropping from 250 to 200-205 by going into early stages of ketosis. If I start exercising I'd drop more but I'm really lazy.

[ckyuv]

If your a big fan of energy drinks they have the packets you mix in your water at the grocery store of crystal light. I used to drink several monsters a day and my fiancé would drink a lot of red bulls. The crystal light may not taste like rocket fuel but it works better, a lot less unhealthy and a heck of a lot cheaper

[Sascha D.]

www.myfitnesspal.com

My wife used this site to drop 35 pounds. It works like weight watchers where you input your goals, log your food and exercise and it tells you everything you need to know.

[Sascha D.]

If your a big fan of energy drinks they have the packets you mix in your water at the grocery store of crystal light. I used to drink several monsters a day and my fiancé would drink a lot of red bulls. The crystal light may not taste like rocket fuel but it works better, a lot less unhealthy and a heck of a lot cheaper

Crystal Light Energy. It comes in three flavors; grape, wild strawberry and citris. They actually taste pretty good and they work just as well as Monsters. I pay $1 per box of 10 packets at Dollar General. I didn't like the grape but the rest are good. I also dilute them to 32oz because they're sweet.

10 calories per packet

0 fat

0 sodium

0 carbs

0 sugar

0 protein

120mg of caffeine per packet

[(Bio)³]

Those crystal light energies are great. On a day I'm dragging I switch from my bottles of fruit2o to plain water with a crystal light packet

[Robb in Austin]

Did someone ask a heart question?!

Your theoretical max heart rate is 220-your age. For sustained exercise, try to shoot for 50-70% of that number.

So, 220-44(me)=172 x 0.7= 123. Which is 70%.

Get your heart rate to whatever number is yours, keep it there for 30mins and be cardioprotected.

We shoot for 85% of max during stress tests to have a valid test.

Regarding the other questions; your age will have some bearing on your ability to lose weight. The older we get, the harder it is. Plus, your starting weight will also play into it. The changes our bodies undergo when obese(and at my BMI I qualify as obese so I can use that word) really jacks everything up and it's hard to undo it.

Keep plugging along Sherita!

[Sherita]

Did someone ask a heart question?!

Your theoretical max heart rate is 220-your age. For sustained exercise, try to shoot for 50-70% of that number.

So, 220-44(me)=172 x 0.7= 123. Which is 70%.

Get your heart rate to whatever number is yours, keep it there for 30mins and be cardioprotected.

We shoot for 85% of max during stress tests to have a valid test.

Regarding the other questions; your age will have some bearing on your ability to lose weight. The older we get, the harder it is. Plus, your starting weight will also play into it. The changes our bodies undergo when obese(and at my BMI I qualify as obese so I can use that word) really jacks everything up and it's hard to undo it.

Keep plugging along Sherita!

I'm not bashful

I'm 46. Starting weight is 196.2. I'm 5'8", of medium/robust build (no dainty body type here, even when not fat). And I'm fat, no doubt about it.

Using your calculation, I should be shooting for 122 sustained heart rate during exercise. That sounds do-able. I'm smack dab in the middle of menopause, so that's not helping the situation at all. But the worst thing is that I've gotten so heavy that sustained exercise is difficult, and painful. But, I refuse to give up. I know it's going to get easier as I lose the weight. I've altered my diet, now I need to alter my activity level. Then stick with it. I know it's a long road back, but I've got the time

[Benny]

I have dropped almost 70 pounds in the past 2 years just bicycling and eating healthy. I am at my plateau, and if I want to look really good I really need to hunker down and push harder.