New diet plan I'm trying, lost confidence

[josephz2va]

I lost confidence in myself, so I'm trying a new way of dieting. Any thoughts?

(All credit cards are locked in my safe at home. No cash either.)

Startup - Pre-Workout supplement 32 ounce mix and Intra-Workout supplement 32 ounce mix

Breakfast - Whey Isolate Protein only

Lunch - Whey Isolate Protein and microwavable soup bowl

Dinner - Any foods cooked up the family purchases.

I don't know what to cook for breakfast and lunch anymore to lose weight. I gained 120 pounds and can't shake it off with foods no more. 

[MissMaggie]

Please, Do NOT lose confidence.. That is the mind giving up...Hush the negative within.

The mind will give up a thousand times before the body gives up once. Let's work together 🙂

I was pushing 325lbs in 2014, I am now 178lbs. I had massive issues trying to beat the bulge.

No extra money that one has to pay out for fads, belts, sucking, tucking, and anything else I might have missed. One thing that I learned that it costs the same between eating clean and eating whatever hits the grocery cart.

If you would like to know more just mail me.

~Namaste~

[Esya]

Are you tracking calories?

[Mukluk4]

If all you are doing is casually walking and fitstar (as your profile says),  The protein shakes are a bit much and will be hard to maintain for any length of time.

Try

Breakfast - 1 cup oatmeal (on very active days, I tend to add some lightly buttered whole wheat toast)

Lunch - Salad, fruit, or a natural protein like Tuna.

Dinner - whatever is on the table at home within reason

Snacks - Fruit, protein bars, protein shake at night.

When you've tracked calories in your profile, you are eating way too much based on your activity level. 

Find ways to increase your "Fairly" and "Very" activity levels.  You really need to focus on quality over quantity unless you want to eat like a bird

[josephz2va]

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@Esya wrote:

Are you tracking calories?

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Not as well as I should be. But when I have recorded, in the zone mostly or just a hare under. Most of my foods have been $10 weighted food from the cafeteria like a cobb salad mix or a pound of scrambled eggs along with ham or sausage.

But at this point, I put away all my cards as it feels like I screwed up for months.

[Esya]

@josephz2va

The past is behind you and you cannot change that, so try to let go of that. Any day you can decide to start again. Even when you make mistakes you can learn from them. Don't give up because what you have tried so far did not work for you. You can still pick it up again and you can implement the lessons you have learned so far during your experience.

To me the foods you listed sounded like a lot of calories. And is it something you can maintain? Is it something you see yourself doing for the rest of your life? Maybe for you it is better to make smaller changes at a time until they stick and then apply the next change. Create a healthy lifestyle in that way. Your FitBit might be overestimating the calories you burned and underestimating the calories you ate (specially if you don't log that precise). Maybe you should create different goals, like logging every bite and sip of your food every day (this can work for what you eat currently). Do this for a while until it becomes a habit. Then the next goal could be to decrease the amount of calories eaten slowly over time. No need to spend money on salads and all that, just decrease the amount of calories you eat by eating smaller portions or leave out a snack. It gives you time to get used to it. After some time you could look at increasing your activity levels.

It takes about 90 days to build a habit, so take the time you need. Don't be too harsh and judge yourself for times you make a small mistake, just learn from it and move on. You sound overwhelmed, so break it down and look for small changes you can implement and stick to. In the end weight loss is obtained by eating less calories than you burn. So don't worry about macro nutrients and salads. It does not have to be expensive. My suggestion is to just start logging your calories, it will give you the information you need to come up with the next steps and goals.

[josephz2va]

It could be overcalculating my burn. Monday I ate 2782 calories and Tuesday I ate 932 calories. Both days the burn estimated 4200 calories as I use the blaze to record all walks like a 10 minute walk to the metro and fitstar.

[MagsOnTheBeach]

I don't know a lot about nutrition and working out, but when I chose my diet, I looked for something that I could do on my own, that used a variety of foods and was something I can easily see myself doing forever.  Looking at your menu, is that something you can do forever?

I'm doing a workout class and the  coach said to plan for a snack after the workout that includes protein.  So after I workout, I have nuts and whatever I planned on eating that day but didn't get around to eating.  I usually have 2 fruits a day but only had one so I added a fresh fruit with the nuts.

But I'm not a body builder so I don't need the same calories and protein that my friend who does body building needs to maintain or gain her muscle mass.

[DavidSchneier]

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@josephz2va wrote:

It could be overcalculating my burn. Monday I ate 2782 calories and Tuesday I ate 932 calories. Both days the burn estimated 4200 calories as I use the blaze to record all walks like a 10 minute walk to the metro and fitstar.

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4,200 calories is a lot unless you are working out where you're getting your heart rate elevated. Your BMR is roughly 1,800 and in order to get the remaining 2,400 you'd need to run the equivalent of four hours; that's quite a bit.

Also, while some may be successful doing so, I think varying your intake from day-to-day is a recipe for failure. Set a number (I'd recommend 1,800 to start), track your calories honestly and vigilantly, and track your results. If you keep your approach simple, don't introduce any (or many) complications and give it a meaningful period of time, the results will come. And I also recommend avoiding supplements as many people misuse them and add unnecessary calories to an already overloaded diet. 

[Oldrangerdude]

I'm a Weight Watcher.  Weight Watchers is a healthy lifestyle and eating plan, not a diet.  Although I have fallen off the plan from time to time, Weight Watchers works because you don't have to eliminate any foods or eat or drink only diet foods/drinks.  It is a high protein, low fat, low sugar, low carb way to eat.  No special foods or drinks are required, and the whole family can eat the same food.  If I were you, I'd check Weight Watchers out and see if it might be for you.  There is a ton of science behind the plan, and it really is a healthy way to eat.  Best of luck.

[josephz2va]

I changed things around as of Monday.

Breakfast

- Quaker Meal Medleys Supergrains plus when I have free time to grab some eggs or a meat product

Lunch

- Planters Nutrition

- Cup of Noodles

Dinner

- What is culminated together, but must include Salmon, Steak and/or Eggs

Plus admitted on Facebook what I'm doing. One thing I never admitted was I've been an alcoholic for several months and quitting cold turkey as of today. I'm not good at attending AA meetings or any admission. So just quitting cold turkey and plastering it on Facebook for the family to see.

[PatinNC]

Good for you on your recognition and admission of your addiction.  May you keep on your road to recovery.  Plus that is a lot of empty calories you will no longer be consuming. Keep on checking-in I look forward to reading your progress reports.

[DavidSchneier]

I'm a little reluctant to marry your weight-loss goals to your addiction, that would unintentionally marginalize your alcohol dependency.

So, first let me offer you my support in any way possible as you enter this new chapter of sobriety; this is a very supportive and understanding community and will no doubt step up to support you with words of encouragement and understanding.

Second, there's no doubt that you need to focus on reigning in your addiction before tackling your weight. That by itself is an enormous undertaking and clearly (at least to me) the far more important and impactful obstacle to clear.

Good luck and please check in often, whether or not you're succeeding (and particularly if you're not).

[Esya]

I was not an alcoholic, but I did give up alcohol a few months ago. I found out that the moments I craved alcohol, I was actually hungry and a small snack helped me. It might not work for you and you have to be careful not to create a new bad habit/addiction, but it might get you through some rough spots.

Making two major changes in your life at once is very stressful and I would strongly suggest to focus on one at a time as each is a challenge in their own. But by giving up alcohol you kill two birds with one stone (stopping the addiction and getting rid of a lot of calories). I think it is more important to break with that addiction and when you need, give it priority over other changes you are trying to implement at the time. When you are doing a lot better and are a lot stronger again, take on the next challenge.

Also, for me, it did get a lot easier with time.

[josephz2va]

My sister is worried I could die from not detoxing from boozing. I have done it before though without aides.

[SunsetRunner]

MFP shows me I've been on diet for 55 days so far. Well, so here's some advice coming from my experience. Maybe it's going to be some help for you.

Make your own food. No cafeteria, no takeaways, no ready made cups. Make your own food. This way you will know exactly what's in, how much and believe me - you will also enjoy flavours. If you're not good at cooking - that's good, you have something to learn and improve! I love cooking. Not always have time so I prepare servings and freeze them. Each serving is labeled with how much calories it provides, carbs, fats and proteins ( it's very easy to count it on your own meals ).

I use MFP when building my meals ( scanning barcodes of ingredients is quick and easy ) and a must - kitchen weighing scale. In the beginning, it looks like lots of work, but when you get your head around it and make it your habit - it's quicker than waiting in queue to pay for your ready-made salad.

Do not starve! This is important. Starving will bring many negative effects including simply giving up. Make sure you provide necessary nutrients for your body.

Read labels. Really - always read because such simple thing like a tablespoon of an olive oil is a load of calories and guess what - you'll find more than just a tablespoon in any salad dressing. In here I'm not saying "olive oil will kill you, don't even look at it" because olive oil does also lots of good for your health. I'm saying know what you eat and how it may affect you. Also, this is simple rule, but if you read ingredients on a product, if you see a sugar in first three - abandon that ship. This is something one might argue, but works for me so far. Reading labels is a must. 

As long as you treat diet like some sort of punishment it's going to be very hard. Think of it more like permanent change in the lifestyle. Add more proper exercise ( something that really makes you sweat ). You may consider doing burpees - you'll find tutorials on YT. Burpee is an extreme calories burning exercise ( and mind it is not easy, but it's more than worth doing from time to time ). Let an exercise make you sweat!

Shortly - you have to know what you eat! It's hard to drop habit of eating ready made food ( cooked by somebody else also falls in this category ) but if you want to make your diet working, you need to put little more effort and brain in it 🙂

What I wrote above allowed me to lose 5.5kg since May 16 ( this is data from Fitbit ), however, my diet is longer and I lost in total 11.2kg ( 24.69lbs ). Maybe it will give you some ideas 🙂

Good luck, don't give up!

[EmjayH]

I've followed pretty much the same rules as @SunsetRunner for 8 months and lost 39 kg. Being in charge of ur food preperation is a huge must. I work in the restaurant industry and trust me even the healthy meals are loaded with extra fats that you wouldn't realise. Not to mention all the salt. Don't go to extreme and always have healthy snacks available. Never eat anything straight from the package. Measure a portion then put it away. 

[waffle1]

It sounds like you're trying a few healthy changes, and you should feel proud of getting started. But from your original post, it doesn't seem like you have a well-specified plan yet. Weight loss is about burning more calories than you eat. How much are you eating? Even if you've fallen of the calorie counting, how about trying to log everything you eat for just one week? (including quantities, condiments, and cooking oil/butter)

This will help you understand exactly what's going on. If you thought you were eating only X calories, but actually eating Y, you'll know, and you can work off that. Right now, the problem is that you aren't seeing results, and it sounds like you're frustrated because you're not sure what to change. But you can't change what you don't measure! It's easy to lose confidence if you're trying some random changes, and don't see immediate results. But if you know you're supposed to maintain a -400 calorie deficit per day, and you know that will result in a gradual weight loss rate, AND you continually measure your weight loss trend -- even if you don't see changes day-to-day, you can know if you're on the right track. This is the difference I feel between stumbling around in the dark, and having a structured approach to losing weight. You can do this!

[Oldrangerdude]

I'm a recovering alcoholic, so I've been through some of what you are experiencing.  I don't know whether you consider yourself to be an alcoholic, but if you feel powerless to stop drinking altogether, then I'm going to say that you probably are an alcoholic.  I suggest you talk to your doctor about getting help quitting drinking.  There are many options to help including learning self-hypnosis, group or individual exercise, group therapy, religious groups, Alcoholics Anonymous, etc.  Get that under control first.

I've been a member of Weight Watchers for a long time.  I used to try to figure out a way that I could continue to drink alcohol by counting the points for the alcohol I drank and deducting them from my daily allotment of points.  By doing so I was taking in empty calories instead of healthy ones.  I have lost and gained a lot of weight by following Weight Watchers, but always, the reason I gain is that I stop following the plan.  I'm still working at it every day.

My old army buddy told me that his doctor told him to stop eating junk food, stop eating anything out of a package, box, or can.  This makes good sense because you're talking about pre-prepared foods.  What I try to do is eat high protein, low carb meals including as many fresh fruits and vegetables as possible.  I still eat out occasionally but I choose low fat, low sugar, low carb options when I can.  An example is getting a grilled chicken wrap without the tortilla and sauce.

Finally, I have had both knees replaced so I walk daily.  I try to walk between 2 and 4 miles per day.  I've discovered that I am a slow walker, averaging about 24 minutes per mile.  I'd like to get to 20 minutes per mile (3 mph) but getting there is a slow process for me.  I think it is just as important that I walk between one hour and an hour and a half each time.  Summers here in the Dallas, Texas area mean 100 degree or hotter days, so getting the miles in each day is hard to do during our summers, but I do the best I can and don't beat myself up if I don't quite get there.  I like to joke that at my age, 70 years old, everything hurts, but NOT my new knees!!!