Food n Fitness Thread #9837483

[GypsySorcerer]

Originally Posted by markolas

Tonight was the first time I exercised since Sunday. I've also been eating McDonald's every day this week for lunch, except for today. So I probably have undone all the working out and eating semi-decently (there were still McDonald's excursions about three days last week, but I was exercising) that I did last week. But oh, well. I kinda wish they'd let me do that gastric bypass surgery, but I'm technically only about 35 lbs overweight.

Gastric bypass surgery scares me. My friend's cousin had it done, and she throws up constantly, and then goes and eats more. All she can keep down is candy and junk food, which is probably worse than what she was eating pre-surgery, health-wise. Someone else I know of had the same experience -- all he eats are candy bars.

[skcin]

Originally Posted by markolas

Tonight was the first time I exercised since Sunday. I've also been eating McDonald's every day this week for lunch, except for today. So I probably have undone all the working out and eating semi-decently (there were still McDonald's excursions about three days last week, but I was exercising) that I did last week. But oh, well. I kinda wish they'd let me do that gastric bypass surgery, but I'm technically only about 35 lbs overweight.

Nobody ever said it was easy. You just started/

Originally Posted by GypsySorcerer

Gastric bypass surgery scares me. My friend's cousin had it done, and she throws up constantly, and then goes and eats more. All she can keep down is candy and junk food, which is probaby worse than what she was eating pre-surgery, health-wise. Someone else I know of had the same experiece -- all he eats are candy bars.

I know 2 people who've had it done. A friend of mine was probably about 350 -400 pounds at her heaviest. The surgery was a success, she was eating healthy & exercising several times a week & she lost close to 100 pounds within 6 months. Then she had the surgery to remove her excess abdominal skin, and it all went to pot. The biggest problem is that it was major abdominal surgery, and her activity was severely restricted for 6 - 8 weeks. Even after that, you can't exercise really effectively for a long time. So while she's not as big as she once was, but she's definitely put some of the weight back on.

The other is my neighbor. She's lazy & claims she has no time, so all they eat is takeout. In the summers when she's busy decorating her patio, gardening, etc. sometimes her family (including her 2 young morbidly obese kids) doesn't eat dinner until 9 or 10 pm. Anyway, she was probably about 60 or 70 pounds overweight - not enough for the surgery. So she GAINED more weight on purpose to make herself eligible. She kept whining "I don't knw why they're making me to to nutrition classes is I'm having the surgery anyway." The week before I was talking to her about recovery time & she didn't realize that she would be intubated & put under general anesthesia for the operation. WTF. Anyway, she had it done & lost most of the weight. She looks pretty good, but seems to be literally living on coffee & donuts alone (she works @ DD.) She still rarely cooks, they still get takeout 4 or 5 times every week & her kids are still obese. Yeah, a real success story.


Sorry about the tangent, it's just that people think the surgery is an easy fix & it's really not. You still have to work out, watch your diet, etc.

As for me, I'm down another 1/2 pound, so a total of 12. Going to buy that bike tomorrow.

[strandinthewind]

The surgery can only help you if you have discipline. I know people who had it - stuck with it for a few months - and then began eating again. In the end, there is no quick fix.

I find if I take my lunch to work, I will not buy lunch as I do not want to waste it. I also take no money to work as you can't buy it if you can't pay for it

[skcin]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

The surgery can only help you if you have discipline. I know people who had it - stuck with it for a few months - and then began eating again. In the end, there is no quick fix.

I find if I take my lunch to work, I will not buy lunch as I do not want to waste it. I also take no money to work as you can't buy it if you can't pay for it

Exactly. And I do the same thing for lunch.

I also find myself comparing different foods - for example, if I have 3 points left for a snack (you can obviously do this with calories too) I can either have tricuits w/cheese & some pepperoni ~or~ a bag of light microwave popcorn ~or~ 1 Cadbury Creme Egg. I do love those little eggs, but I rarely choose it because it has no nutritional value and it won't fill me up compared to the other snacks. Sure, once in a while I'll treat myself. But I'd rather be satisfied longer.

[DrummerDeanna]

Originally Posted by skcin

Exactly. And I do the same thing for lunch.

I also find myself comparing different foods - for example, if I have 3 points left for a snack (you can obviously do this with calories too) I can either have tricuits w/cheese & some pepperoni ~or~ a bag of light microwave popcorn ~or~ 1 Cadbury Creme Egg. I do love those little eggs, but I rarely choose it because it has no nutritional value and it won't fill me up compared to the other snacks. Sure, once in a while I'll treat myself. But I'd rather be satisfied longer.

I'm finally to a point where my I listen to what my body is telling me too - after eating candy I almost always feel like crap - yet in the past I'd eat it anyway...or cookies, or brownies. I still have those things, just not as often. I'm much more satisfied with a handful of almonds (also had to learn to portion and not just pop the container open and eat them all), or a little bag of light popcorn and carrots. My snacking has really changed...though still not as much as it needs to - but at least I'm aware of it.

I got a big boost this week when those pants fit and today I'm wearing jeans I wasn't able to wear before too - and I did an experiment last night...

Remember last year when I was upset because NONE of my summer clothes fit...well they all still fit this year....and the pants are a bit big now... I'm so very happy...more proud actually that I'm back on the work out train and sticking with it. Woowoo! <<--cheesy train noise for emphasis.

[diamondsnake]

I am so discouraged. I have been eating healthy and cut down on all the junk food, and I have excersised daily for almost two weeks now. Some times I would exersise twice a day. Guess how much weight I have lost? Not one damn pound! How is that possible?

I've been doing at least an hour of cardio a day, like power walking on the treadmill or roller blading. And, I have drastically reduced my calories by at least half. I am getting 8 hours of sleep, and drinking tons of water. I am doing everything right. So, shouldn't I have lost a little weight by now?

I haven't dieted in a while. But normally, I lose weight pretty fast and I notice a difference in the way my clothes fit, the way I look, etc. But this time, I am getting no results. Does anyone have any hot tips? Why would I not be losing weight?

[skcin]

Originally Posted by diamondsnake

I am so discouraged. I have been eating healthy and cut down on all the junk food, and I have excersised daily for almost two weeks now. Some times I would exersise twice a day. Guess how much weight I have lost? Not one damn pound! How is that possible?

I've been doing at least an hour of cardio a day, like power walking on the treadmill or roller blading. And, I have drastically reduced my calories by at least half. I am getting 8 hours of sleep, and drinking tons of water. I am doing everything right. So, shouldn't I have lost a little weight by now?

I haven't dieted in a while. But normally, I lose weight pretty fast and I notice a difference in the way my clothes fit, the way I look, etc. But this time, I am getting no results. Does anyone have any hot tips? Why would I not be losing weight?

Cut your calories by half? That sounds like way too much. If you were eating 2000 calories before, that means you're only eating about 1000 now? Not enough, IMO. Starvation diets are not good, and you can't sustain eating that way forever without making yourself sick.


A few thoughts. Are you eating a balanced diet with foods from each of the food groups? Cutting calories won't help if all you're eating is carbs or if you're not eating any veggies. Have you cut all fat out of your diet? You need to eat some fat, it's not healthy to eliminate it completely. Have you increased your fiber intake? This will help you feel full longer as well as promote elimination - just be sure to increase your fluid intake so it doesn't have the opposite effect. Are you keeping your heart rate elevated for the entire cardio workout? You need to have it above a certain rate (depends on you age, size, etc.) to gain heart benefits as well as increase metabolism & burn more calories. Are you varying your workouts - altering your routes while blading, changing you incline or speed on the treadmill? Your body can get pretty bored doing the same thing over & over again. Are you doing resistance exercises (like squats, lunges, pushups, etc.) and/or using weights in addition to your cardio? Some studies have shown that these types of exercises will build more muslce & speed up your metabolism, helping you lose weight. Are you eating 5 or 6 small meals a day as opposed to 3 big ones? Spreading out your food intake every 3 or 4 hours helps keep your blood sugar a bit steadier so you're not starving by the time your next meal is due.

I found a website that seemed to have some really good guides. Check it out!
http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/heal...-losing-weight

Don't give up Jimmy! I know it's frustrating, I've been there. It's taken me several months to drop 13 pounds. And that's OK. You've just started, so do some research & try to figure out what you can improve & keep at it.

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by diamondsnake

I am so discouraged. I have been eating healthy and cut down on all the junk food, and I have excersised daily for almost two weeks now. Some times I would exersise twice a day. Guess how much weight I have lost? Not one damn pound! How is that possible?

I've been doing at least an hour of cardio a day, like power walking on the treadmill or roller blading. And, I have drastically reduced my calories by at least half. I am getting 8 hours of sleep, and drinking tons of water. I am doing everything right. So, shouldn't I have lost a little weight by now?

I haven't dieted in a while. But normally, I lose weight pretty fast and I notice a difference in the way my clothes fit, the way I look, etc. But this time, I am getting no results. Does anyone have any hot tips? Why would I not be losing weight?

I reiterate what Paula said. and believe me, I know how you feel. give us an idea of what you are eating and when. sometimes it takes at least a month to see any results. if you're really out of shape, your body needs time to wake and say "oh ****, he's serious" - cutting calories is good, but like Paula said, be sure you're eating enough so that your body doesn't actually start storing fat because it's in "starvation mode"

[markolas]

Originally Posted by GypsySorcerer

Gastric bypass surgery scares me. My friend's cousin had it done, and she throws up constantly, and then goes and eats more. All she can keep down is candy and junk food, which is probably worse than what she was eating pre-surgery, health-wise. Someone else I know of had the same experience -- all he eats are candy bars.

Originally Posted by skcin

Sorry about the tangent, it's just that people think the surgery is an easy fix & it's really not. You still have to work out, watch your diet, etc.

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

The surgery can only help you if you have discipline. I know people who had it - stuck with it for a few months - and then began eating again. In the end, there is no quick fix.

I was joking about having the surgery. My mother had it about 15 years ago; she was probably closing in on 300 lbs (and she's all of 5'7"). She was really thin for a while, and yes, there was a lot of vomiting at first. She didn't really change her diet much or do any exercise, so she did gain some of it back, but she's not nearly as big as she was before the surgery. Of course, I haven't seen her in two years and don't really care to, so who knows where she's at now.

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I find if I take my lunch to work, I will not buy lunch as I do not want to waste it. I also take no money to work as you can't buy it if you can't pay for it

Even if I take my lunch, I will still go out and buy fast food instead. I did cut up my debit card several months ago because I didn't want to give myself the means of buying it; and that has helped me cut down, but if I have any cash whatsoever, I will spend it on a burger and fries.

I don't really eat candy. A lot of sugar makes me sick to my stomach, which mostly rules out donuts and certainly those disgusting Cadbury creme eggs. I seriously don't see how anyone eats those. And candy corn. That will make me vomit on sight.

[markolas]

I've completely fallen off the wagon. I haven't exercised at all since a week ago last Thursday, and I've eaten fast food every day. Yesterday I gorged on two chicken sandwiches from Chik-fil-A, a large waffle fry, and one of their mint cookies & creme shakes. I was in some major physical pain for several hours after that, and didn't eat for the rest of the day, needless to say.

Today, I've decided not to eat anything, but just drink herbal tea and water.

Even after all this eating, I'm still between 174-175, which is where I was after a week of eating right and exercising every day. I'm starting to wonder what the point is.

[skcin]

^Better heart health? Feeling better mentally & physically? Having more energy? That's the point of all this work for me. But if you're not going to seriously commit to making changes, then you're right - there is no point.


And I love Cadbury Creme Eggs. I only had 2 this year though - those little f*ckers are 3 points each!

[DrummerDeanna]

Originally Posted by skcin

^Better heart health? Feeling better mentally & physically? Having more energy? That's the point of all this work for me. But if you're not going to seriously commit to making changes, then you're right - there is no point.


And I love Cadbury Creme Eggs. I only had 2 this year though - those little f*ckers are 3 points each!

Not to mention avoiding the beetus! That's a bit motivator for me not to gorge myself on fast food and various other crap!

I only had one Cadbury Cream Egg this year, and one Reeses Egg...I love Easter candy, but I limited myself this year

Oh and I'm doing well - gym gym gym and eating better....and fitting into clothes.....

[carrie721]

^^ gotta be careful of the beetus!

i love the quote in your sig.

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by markolas

I've completely fallen off the wagon. I haven't exercised at all since a week ago last Thursday, and I've eaten fast food every day. Yesterday I gorged on two chicken sandwiches from Chik-fil-A, a large waffle fry, and one of their mint cookies & creme shakes. I was in some major physical pain for several hours after that, and didn't eat for the rest of the day, needless to say.

Today, I've decided not to eat anything, but just drink herbal tea and water.

Even after all this eating, I'm still between 174-175, which is where I was after a week of eating right and exercising every day. I'm starting to wonder what the point is.

It sounds to me like emotional eating and if you get to the reasons behind it you can get control over it. You can start too by doing other things that make you feel good besides eating.

Also, one week is not nearly enough time to judge your progress! If you put the focus on how you feel and not how you look you will be more successful. Easy does it too, the tortoise wins the race remember? It took me a year to lose 14 lbs but I did it and look and feel great. It also looks like I lost about 20due to getting fit and toned. It is great for your confidence and self-esteem to get in shape. Good luck with it!

[skcin]

^ Just read an article that said it takes at least 6 - 9 months to really make a permanent change in your life, esp. as far as diet & exercise go. Thinking that you'll be successful right away & be able to maintain it without any problem is just setting yourself up to fail. It was a really good article, I'll try to transcribe some of it this weekend if I have time.

I lost about 1/2 pound since last week - not to shabby, considering my Toronto trip & Easter were within days of eachother.