Like everyone else, I'm trying to lose weight... - Weight Loss Message Board

NashvilleChick · 04-30-2006, 11:49 PM

Hello. I'm 21, 5'11, and I'm 290 pounds. I'm a pretty hefty girl, but I've always been told that I carry my weight well and I pretty much agree with that. It hasn't been a problem for me my entire life. I have no problem walking, taking the stairs, or anything else overweight people seem to struggle with.

The truth is, it's beginning to affect me now that I'm older and not so active. I'm not a kid, so I don't go outside and play and get the exercise that I pretty much got every single day when I was younger. I could eat what I wanted, and yes I was heavy, but I was not overweight. Now I am. I sometimes have labored breathing and have back pain, especially late in the day. I can no longer wear XL t-shirts and my blue jeans are pretty much beyond the "normal" plus sizes. I do not suffer from diabetes or anything, so that's why I'm trying to lose weight. I'm trying to control myself now before it's too late.

I work all day at a sit down job and occassionally get up to run errands, etc. My job definitely does not help me in any way, but in the past few months I've been trying to do things differently to help myself. I park further away to force myself to get some walking in. I offer to run extra errands so I can walk long distances in the building through the day. In addition to trying to do things physically, I've also cut out soda completely. I first began to drink diet soda so I wouldn't torture myself by going cold turkey. I drank diet soda for about a month or so and have completely restricted myself to lots and lots of water (about 4 20 oz. bottles a day) and natural juices. I've tried my best to cut back fried foods, but that's difficult for me. I'm so used to it.

I, of course, am not an expert in weight loss and would like further ideas on how I can lose weight. Are some fried foods okay? Small portions of potato chips? Hamburgers? French fries? I want to lose weight, but I don't want to make myself feel like I'm eating wallpaper. I want to have the satisfaction of eating, but I want that feeling with healthier foods that will make a difference. I also want to be able to eat foods that I've always loved. I know it's all about portion control.

Below are examples of an entire day's worth of food for me. I wrote them down in a weight loss journal I'm keeping for motivation and so I can keep up with results. With a week of cutting back and choosing better foods the scale has me at losing five pounds already.

My "diet" plan is based on breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner.

Saturday, 4/29/06:

breakfast - one box of Sunmaid raisins, one 20 oz. bottle of Gatorade

snack - half of a small bag of trail mix (raisins, almonds, cashews)

lunch - turkey sandwich (a few slices of turkey on white bread, lettuce, ranch dressing), small bag of Lay's potato chips, one chocolate chip cookie, water

snack - granola bar, water

dinner - one can of soup, one piece of grilled chicken, water

Sunday, 4/30/06:

breakfast - one box of Sunmaid raisins, water

snack - one stick of beef jerky (I was told this was very healthy...???), water

lunch - chicken sandwich (toasted white bread, lettuce -- a McChicken from McDonald's... I know... NO mayo, though!)

snack - granola bar, water

dinner - one can of soup, small corn on the cob, small salad, water

I'd love any opinions on this entry and any advice. I really need to lose weight and I'd love to hear from those who have been successful. Thank you for reading this.

Edit:

The obsession with trying to lose weight has caused me to lose control. After a very successful week, I gave in to a big bowl of sugary, unhealthy cereal. I know I'll hate myself later, but I feel like losing weight is impossible. I always feel like I want to eat 24/7 when I'm "dieting" and foods literally haunt me.

luv2sing · 05-01-2006, 05:34 AM

Based on your food journal-you are not eating enough...that could be part of it. Also-little things like the chips,etc. add up. You can have those things but have Baked Lay's chips instead, South Beach makes really good cookies,etc. Buy Healthy Life or Weight Watchers bread and skip the ranch dressing...have mustard or a bit of fat free mayo.For breakfast-try Egg Beaters and some fruit with 2 slices of toast (with one of the breads I mentioned). Have more fruit and veggies throughout the day too.

Have you tried Weight Watchers? I lost 30lbs with them (although I am stuck now) but I found that it really IS the best program out there. I am a picky eater but found so many low-fat, no-fat,etc foods that I really like. And as far as fast food have it if you want but limit yourself. I used to eat it every day and now maybe once or twice a month-if that-I get a taste for it. Kepp up the water...you are doing great with that! You obviously really want this so you have to realize that it's a lifestyle change...you can't change your eating habits overnight but little by little change over. If you have any questions, ask!

StenoLady1 · 05-01-2006, 07:00 AM

Hi, NashvilleChick

Fantastic decision you've made to drop some pounds and get active & healthy. You are doing it the right way, by analyzing your eating habits, moving at small increments during the day and slowly weaning yourself off soda. All of these small changes will become habit and routine in no time at all.

Once you're comfortable with the changes you've made and they feel "routine," the only things I can see that could be "tweaked" with your current diet/routine are the following:

Dedicate 30 minutes per day, three days a week to start, to either a brisk walk or some weight training. I use a body ball and a workout video for the weight training in my home. I wake up an hour earlier several days a week for a nice walk outside.

I think you need more of a substantial breakfast. Try and aim for a carb, a fat, a protein and a fruit/veggie. Like the previous poster, Egg Beaters or egg whites are great. A low-fat cottage cheese is also good, and you can add a fruit to it (I like pear). A nice, hearty piece of whole-grain toast or cup of oatmeal is also good. I make a big pot of steel-cut oats on the weekend, and if you don't add any milk to it when you're cooking it, it will last a week in the fridge. Nuke a small bowl in the mornings, and you can put a teaspoon of brown sugar on it and/or a few walnuts.

Overall, try and watch the processed foods. I'm talking about the salad dressing on your salads, the chips, the cookies, the granola bars and the soups. These can all really add on unneccesary calories, bad oils/fats (trans fat specifically) and leave you feeling hungry and not very satisfied. Take one at a time and see where you can improve. For salad dressings, you can make your own and bring a small cup to the office and keep it in the fridge, or simply ask for oil and vinegar at whatever restaurant you go to. Soup, make your own on a weekend, put the things you like in it and keep the things out that will not help your health (like thousands of grams of sodium). Soup freezes beautifully, too, and makes the house smell just incredible!

Remember that every food group is important and plays a really big role in good health. Good fats & fiber make you feel full. Carbs will give you energy. Protein will help your muscles. Fruits and veggies are full of vitamins and antioxidants. You also want to keep a very careful eye on calories in and out. Figure out what the calories are on the Gatorade, the store-bought cookie and the chips (I'm just looking at one day), and I'm willing to be you have an awful lot of "wiggle room," to make better, more satisfying and healthier choices.

Good luck. You're doing awesome and keep up the fantastic work!

chevyman · 05-01-2006, 09:56 PM

NashvilleChick,
I agree with the above posters, your diet seems to be ok the only thing that you need to watch out for is the hydrogenated fats or partially hydrogenated, that mostly means that there all trans-fats.

the raisins should be ok but try not to eat a box even if its just those little 1.5 oz boxs...because of the sugar in them, also try to eat whole 100%wheat bread not white bread.

just about everything we eat now days have lots of calories and carbs , trans-fats= hydrogenated crap in them, try to eat more fruits and not the granola bars(hydrogenated fats) saturated fats is the same thing, some people will disagree on that but ask any heart surgeon.
learn to read food labels...and read them good take your time at the grocery store..so what if it hair-lips the govenor...read girl....lol

just watch out on portion size and maybe try to count calories to a lower version than your doing now,and after you lose a few lbs try to get yourself in an exercise routine, go buy you a heavyduty treadmill, thats what I did and it was probably the best investment I ever made as far as my health and weight! I use it twice day earily am and late pm before bedtime.

I try to not go over 1700 calories a day including all snacks...thats hard to do for a male but maybe it won't be so hard for you?..all you can do is try and what you been doing seems ok to me..it just takes time and don't get down if you think you been good all week and you gained..just keep on trying and once you start to lose ..it will be a lot eazer for you..just hang in there you can do it...hell if I can anybody can...

also if your back pain don't seem to get any better after you lose a few lbs say 10 or 15 lbs..if your still having back pain especially if that pain is around the bra strap area?, I recommend you go see a cardioiolgist, (stress testing) because you may have other problems? other than just being over weight, don't under estmate your body girl.
good luck to ya

squeakyy · 05-08-2006, 04:51 PM

Hey there NashvilleChick,

I, too, am overweight.. i'm 5'8", and 287 pounds. My all time high was 317.
I lost my weight by eating low fat or non fat foods...but i'm starting to plateau. My scale hasn't dropped in a month.
I'm looking into starting the SB diet, but am indecided yet and I'm going to incorporate water aerobics into my lifestyle as well. (I have learned that all fat free or low fat foods really aren't good for you because of all the extra sugar that is put in them, and, that may be a problem for you with the granola bars, raisins, trail mix, etc.)
I have now found that I can eat a turkey sub on wheat without mayo or cheese.. only lettuce, onion, and tomato on it is wonderful. and at certain places its only 300 calories and 4 grams of fat...a great lunch with a bottled water and small piece of fruit.
One thing that will help you in your goal is positive thinking and willpower. If you can put in your mind that you CAN DO IT and KNOW YOU CAN DO IT, that will help you sooo much!!! And where there's a will, there's a way!

Good Luck!