Diets and Weight Loss

I wanted to start this thread for those of us who are on the weight loss journey to get some tips and advice...or just general support.

I've lost 40lbs so far...I have about 10-15 more to be at my perfect weight (in my eyes) and I seem to have hit a plateau.     What are some of the things that have helped people in the past to get over that "last 10lbs" syndrome?

My current "diet" (which is really more of a healthy way of eating that I can continue for the rest of my life...a lifestyle adjustment as opposed to a diet) is eating less than 20g of fat per day...lots of fresh fruits and veggies (mostly raw but cooked every now and then for a change)...chicken and fish rarely...and red meat only on very rare occasions (like once every 6 months or so).  I try to stay away from bread and pasta and potatoes are a rare treat.  I stopped drinking soda (even the diet ones) to cut down the sodium (which is really bad for me and my high blood pressure), plus makes you retain excess water weight.  I do occasionally have a Diet Root Beer or Sprite Zero as a treat.  I try to have a "cheat" meal once a week...but even then, I try to keep it healthy.  Tonight I had a cheat meal and it was tuna salad on texas toast...and one scoop of chocolate peanut butter ice cream

The thing I believe is inevitable is that I will have to start incorporating exercise into my lifestyle (which I currently have 0% of unless you consider walking 4 blocks in heels from work to the parking garage exercise).  And believe me when I say that I absolutely HATE exercise.  I will find every excuse in the book to avoid it.  And I know that I need to exercise because even though I'm now considered to be within my "healthy weight" range, I get winded just walking up one little hill, gasping for air and think I'm going to die.  I need motivation to get the ball rolling though.

Also (I can't believe I'm actually complaining about this), but has anyone come across resistance from their spouse/family when trying to lose weight.  My hubby keeps telling me that I look great (which is always nice).  But the other night he actually got mad at me when I told him I wanted to lose 10-15 more pounds...I mean like seriously pissed.  He is dead set against me losing anymore weight...so I'm having a hard time dealing with that.

Tim and I both feel that we need to lose weight - and we want to do it together....but that doesn't mean that Tim doesn't love me the way I am.  It just means he agrees with me that I should lose some weight.  Maybe your husband is telling you you don't need to lose any because he doesn't want you to think he thinks you're not good looking?

I lost 75 pounds last year. The key for me without a doubt is the exercise element. I am not an exercise fan at all..but I know when I exercise I have a double benefit. I burn calories naturally but I also don't crave food as much.

My tip for getting over the plataeu is to add ten minutes of exercise a day. I found if I told myself I only have to do 10 minutes I could make myself do it-- and now and then I would increase it to 20 or even 30 once I got started.

For me my excercise started with the wii fit -- i was great, I could do it in a very small space, in any weather. Walking the dog is also a good motivator.

A colleague of mine who is a fitness nut said that if you are hitting a plateau to split your exercise into two segments..morning and night. That way your metabolisim is affected at two different times of day (of course you need to be exercising first to split it ).

It sounds like you are doing well with the food end, so that is why I focussed on the exercise side.

As far as support, DH has been great but I have had some work colleagues be very negative about my weight loss. Just be sure you know you are staying healthy- he could be worried about your health.

Congrats on your weight loss!

I think the key is to find something that you really enjoy so that exercising isn't a chore. There are so many different classes and activities, so I would suggest maybe getting a trial membership at a gym, and seeing what you like. I started taking yoga classes about 5 years ago, and absolutely love it, and really look forward to it. And earlier this year I randomly took a kickboxing class and discovered I was actually pretty good at it, so I look forward to that once a week as well. If you dread the activity, chances are you won't stick with it.

Another motivator can be setting yourself a specific challenge. I was never a great runner, but earlier this year I signed up for a charity race with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law. I found the race atmosphere to be really fun (as well as for a good cause), and it has definitely inspired me to keep training for further races.

If you are not doing anything at the moment, just a 30 minute walk in the morning, at lunch or after dinner (my preferred time) would make a huge difference. You can take your husband and children with you and make it a family activity as well.

I think for those last 10 pounds, the most important thing is doing some weight/resistance training. This will increase your metabolism, and increase bone strength. It doesn't have to take a long time, and it doesn't have to come from pumping iron (I get most of my resistance trainging from yoga, for instance), but I would definitely recommend having some supervision in setting up a weight training program to make sure you are using proper form.

Could it be that you're actually not eating enough? I've read that when we deprive our bodies of enough calories to function they start hoarding them in case we're starving. You mention raw veg and "rarely" chicken or fish. Maybe you're just not getting enough protein.

I hate exercise too, but I completely agree with HG - it kills my appetite and makes me less likely to come home and cook too much of the wrong things - I often get home from the gym and don't want to lose the virtuous feeling so I bake chicken breasts and steam veg. rather than do something more fattening.

ETA: forgot two other things.

Even though white carbs don't do your blood sugar any favours, could you try adding in little bits of good carbs (Low GI carbs) like brown rice, etc?

And is there any possibility that you actually don't need to lose anymore and you've plateaued because you're at a healthy weight? In my late 20s/early 30s I lost 100 pounds but that was about 10 to 15 pounds too much for my body. I thought people were being haters when they kept telling me to stop, but actually they were right and I was just blinded by the weight loss high. I look at pictures of myself then and I can see they were right - I didn't look healthy at all.

I was going to suggest changing up your exercise routine, but seeing as you don't exercise at all then pretty much anything you do will help!  You may find that you are more hungry once you start exercising, but I agree with Anne. You already could not be eating enough and it definitely sounds like you need to eat more protein, so don't be surprised if you do end up eating more. It doesn't mean you're going to gain weight. Also, raw vegetables are very difficult to digest, so even steaming them for a few minutes so they're slight soft (but not fully cooked) will help you digest them more easily. 

When I come home from the gym I need to eat something fairly quickly. I may broil a piece of salmon to have with some veg or I have scrambled eggs - one whole egg and two egg whites scrambled together.

There are so many different types of exercise out there, it's not all about running and aerobics anymore. If you like to dance they have samba classes that are really popular, belly dancing, even pole dancing. You could try pilates or yoga. If you're unsure about joining a gym, look online for independent trainers who run classes at a community center or school. That's how I found the boot camp class I'm in now. Most yoga/pilates centers will have some pay-as-you-go classes in addition to the courses. Also, once you get to England the leisure centers offer pay-as-you-go exercise classes, and if your town is big enough they'll probably have a pool too. There's also the YMCA.

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Also (I can't believe I'm actually complaining about this), but has anyone come across resistance from their spouse/family when trying to lose weight.  My hubby keeps telling me that I look great (which is always nice).

My mother was overweight throughout my childhood and the early years of my adulthood.Finally, after a doctor told her that she was obese, she decided that she was going to lose weight once and for all, and was successful.  She never gained her weight back and has remained thin since.

I remember when she was trying to lose weight, my father often tried to get her to eat cake and other treats.  I was proud of her and concerned about her health and this really irritated me.

Maybe men do this because they are insecure and think that if you lose weight other men will find you more attractive.

Just to echo what Anne and Bmore are saying, you might want to look at your nutritional intake again. I just had a look at the Spark People page (set it up ages ago, but hardly use it), and my fat range is between 40-70 grams a day. Granted, my personal profile includes the fact that I exercise about 5 days a week, but still--less than 20 sounds really low to me. Make sure you are getting enough healthy fats in your diet: nuts, monosaturated oils, avocado, etc. And you should definitely have a look at the amount of protein you are eating.

Even though white carbs don't do your blood sugar any favours, could you try adding in little bits of good carbs (Low GI carbs) like brown rice, etc?

Also, new potatoes are fairly low GI as compared to baked potatoes etc.

Also, new potatoes are fairly low GI as compared to baked potatoes etc.

That's really interesting. I had no idea. 

I agree with what the others have said regarding diet and exercise. Adding even just a little exercise will definitely help you lose the last bit of weight and I find that exercising makes me exercise, if you know what I mean.  Once you work it into your daily 'chores' you just start to do it, like making your bed or brushing your teeth.

The other thing, like some have mentioned is that you could be eating too few calories. One thing you can try is alternating eating your regular lower calorie diet one day and bump up your calorie intake the next day. Alternating your intake like that can help your metabolism. I think it's called zig zagging, actually, try searching it online. 

Also, new potatoes are fairly low GI as compared to baked potatoes etc.

My Dietitian told me that sweet potato is better for you than a regular baked potato on the LO GI diet. I'm pretty sure the baked potato with nothing on it was like 89 on the LO GI scale an the sweet potato with nothing on it was a 53 on the LO GI scale that she showed me. I was shocked myself cause when I was going to WW & Slimming World they really pushed a baked potato with baked beans on it. I went to both meetings but at separate times though I think there was a year difference in between them.

I hadn't tried a sweet potato {yam} before hand an I found out I absolutely love them now & thanks to a couple tips from a few fellow UK Yankee members I learned how to bake them & not to eat the skins.   

I also agree that the Wii Fit is a great way to help you lose some weight you can do it whenever you want & you don't need alot of room to use it either.   

I have to say I'm not a gym lover but I don't hate it either I'm in the middle. I do know that when I have been to the gym afterwards I'm absolutely knackered but feel better for going an I have no trouble sleeping at night. I have also noticed that if I have an apple after my workout I'm content till dinner time an a couple hours after dinner I'm not looking for something to snack on like I used to do before starting my gym routine.   

Good Luck with your last bit of weight loss.   

Maybe your husband is telling you you don't need to lose any because he doesn't want you to think he thinks you're not good looking?

The thing about this is that he's not just telling me "you don't need to lose weight", he is genuinely mad at me for wanting to lose more weight.  As in, hung up on me on the phone and refused to talk to me for the rest of the night.

Just be sure you know you are staying healthy- he could be worried about your health.

This might have something to do with it because he mentioned to me that some woman in the UK had died from not eating enough calories when she was trying to lose weight before her wedding.  The thing is though, I eat around 1800 calories a day.  I literally eat all day long (especially while I'm at work).  Yes the things I'm eating are healthy and relatively low in calories, but I do eat A LOT.  And fruits and veggies aren't the only thing I eat, that's just the majority of what I eat.  I also eat crackers, pretzels, eggs, wraps and drink a lot of skim milk. 

Maybe men do this because they are insecure and think that if you lose weight other men will find you more attractive.

I'm wondering if that has something to do with it.  My hubby is a little insecure anyway. 

I know I need more protein in my diet but I'm not a big fan of meat, full stop...and I hate beans.  Not many high protein foods (aside from eggs) that I really enjoy.  Any suggestions on protein shakes?  If that would be a good idea and which ones taste decent?

Thanks a lot for all the exercise tips...I will definitely try to incorporate those into my immediate future and see if I can get some motivation.  I'm just lazy.   

What is your BMI?  That might help in your argument with your boyfriend if you have a higher BMI...if you are on the lower end, then he might have a valid point? You're certainly having enough calories though for a sensible diet. 

I can emphathise though as I too want to lose another 10 lbs and have been battling for a long time now...other than starvation, I can't seem to crack it. I know i'm not overweight; I just want to do it for me. I aim for 1200 a day but that's a heck of a challenge.

My BMI is 25.something...so it's .something over the highest suggesting.  I'm 5'4", 145lbs, a little of 30% body fat and my BMI is 25.something.  So technically, my weight is the high end of "normal", my body fat % is considered obese, and my BMI is overweight.  So yeah, it's not like I'm a starving Ethiopian with a warped body view or anything of that nature. 

I got some protein shakes at the grocery store this weekend so I've had my first one of the day.  I'll see if this and my 2-mile jog this morning have any effect.

I've lost 15 pounds this year with Spark People. It's a free site - you log your calories, track exercise, you can calculate what's in your recipes, there is a social networking aspect to it, and lots of interesting articles and healthy recipes. It's great! It sounds like a lot of work, but it isn't too hard, really. I just spend about 15 minutes a day logging my calories in (I try to plan ahead to avoid overeating) and it all works out fine. (Granted, I have spent a bit more time on there logging in my recipes, but as I cook the same meals fairly often, I can just then find the information and just select it for my dinner, etc.) I am 5 feet tall, currently weigh 123 pounds, and they have my calorie range listed as 1200-1500 calories per day, and then value ranges for carbs, protein, and fat so you are getting a balanced diet. They recommend in my diet to have 32-56 grams of fat per day. There are some articles on there about why you should'nt go low fat (you need fat for your hair and nails, etc.) and they feel like you lose more weight when you eat a bit more fat in your diet. Obviously natural sources like nuts and avocados are best, but I like to enjoy a bit of mayo or butter, too. OK, maybe a lot.  Anyway, it's worked for me, I still lost weight without cutting down the fat too much and felt I was eating normally, it didn't feel too much like a diet, more of a lifestyle change like you said, where I learned to control portions and balance things out a bit better.

As for exercise, I don't like it either. In fact, I probably dislike it as much as you! But, I've found a few exercise dvds I can live with - try something low impact like belly dancing where you don't get all sweaty. It doesn't feel like you are doing much, but you definitely notice the next day when you are a bit sore all over. It's great for toning up a bit without feeling like it's overkill. Or pilates or yoga are nice, too, and can be relaxing while still toning up your body. I just did an exercise dvd for 30 minutes two or three times a week and it helped me get into better shape, so there's no need to feel you have to do it every day or anything to see results.