Diet?

[Bront]

Over a year ago, I started the South Beach Diet, and it was great. I lost 65 pounds over 6+ months, felt great, looked much better, and got down to around 260 or so (I'm 6'4", and my goal was 250 or so, so this wasn't too bad).

However, I lost my job, and my GF did too, so I went unemployed for a long time, and fell of the diet (Being it was a bit more expensive, and her kids refused to even think about trying it.) Since then I've gained a lot of the weight back (I'm honestly not sure if I've gained all of it), and have reciently felt a bit odd about how my weight has been settling around my stomach (Occasional stomach area pain, feeling like I'm about to burst, breathing is occasionaly harder, and my girth has gotten noticable by me again).

Now, I'm pondering getting back on the diet, but am finding it hard to get motivated (Dispite the obvious problems). I work 3rd shift, so my eating habits haven't been very regular in general, and it's sometimes hard to find something that fits in well with the diet that's available at that time. I'm also a very picky eater, so the diet limits my already limited choices on what I can and will eat.

It doesn't help that I feel I'm fighting a bit of depression (Something I know I'll always have to deal with due to a chemical imbalance, but sometimes it's better than others, and I've been good for years) and having trouble getting motivated. Excersize is hard, particularly when 4 days a week, I basicly work, sleep, and have maybe 2-3 hours to do something other than that (10 hour shifts, with a manditory 1 hour lunch, and a 1+ hour comute each way). My GF's been dieting a bit lately, and but she doesn't like going full South Beach, so she's sort of stepping into step 2 without step 1, and since she's less picky than I am, she's got more choices for things she can eat. Money is also a bit of a problem, though hopefully it should be less so by the end of the year.

So, basicly I'm overwhelmed and looking for help/advice. Thanks in advance

 

[fusangite]

Consider Atkins. I stayed on it for years after I lost weight because it controlled/treated my depression as well.

 

[Psionicist]

Whatever you do and however you do it, don't do it alone. It'll be easier that way. That, and walk alot. Preferably before breakfast. If you notice you breath with your mouth and not your nose, you walk to fast, slow down. Then your body will burn fast like crazy, and you will probably feel much better than just eating right.

 

[EricNoah]

I have been counting calories and exercising more over the past couple of months, and it's working. I walk at least 30 min a day, sometimes I do that twice, I add occasional light weightlifting in between and sometimes bike riding or hiking.

The key to the food part of it was for me to become hyperconscious of what I was eating and how many calories it was. I started by just journaling a typical day's worth of food. I discovered it was around 2500 calories. I then used the web to figure out my target weight (for my height) and the number of calories per day that would get me there.

I use the following websites:

Find out your "ideal" weight range and how many calories you need per day (1500 was my target -- I had to cut 1000 or more calories out of my diet each day!): http://www.calorieking.com/freeprofile/

Nutritional Info: http://www.nutritiondata.com/index.html -- type in a food in the search field to find calories

Exercise Minutes --> Calories Burned: http://www.calorieking.com/tools/exercise_calories.php

Calories to Burn --> Minutes of Exercise:
http://www.calorieking.com/tools/exercise_time.php

I started out as "overweight". It took me only about a week to start "seeing" results, though the weight loss plateaued a couple of weeks into it but then it continued after that. Dropped the 15 lbs I needed to drop. I'm now out of the "overweight" zone and on the high side of the "ideal" zone.

How did I cut 1000 calories out of my diet? Well, I did some low-carb type things (it was easy to cut out 200 calories per meal just by avoiding typical bread). I reduced portion sizes on almost everything. (An "ounce" of food is a lot smaller than you might realize). I did research before going to restaurants so I would know what to order and what to avoid. I found sweet treats that had a high pay-off compared to calories (this differs by person; for me, a 300 calorie McDonald's hot fudge sundae gave me almost as much pleasure as a 900 calorie Culver's custard shake). I ate more veggies when I was hungry. I discovered that a lot of times I wanted to eat when I wasn't hungry -- noting that, and then making sure I fed only my craving (and nothing else) helped. I stopped snacking at games, I stopped snacking in front of the TV. And I recorded my food/calories religiously -- I've done it every day for the past two-and-a-half months. It really keeps me honest, helps me see patterns, and I can look back over it for ideas.

Ultimately, I decided there was no point in lying to myself -- I also decided that I wanted the weight loss more than I wanted the food. I've had days when I broke the calorie limit, but the next day I just carried on as usual and didn't beat myself up over it.

Good luck to you!

 

[Nifft]

Atkins! I quit working out a while back and got chubby. Atkins made me skinny again, and I never count anything but carbs -- and even then, it's more of a "nope, can't eat any of that" vs. "yup, can eat as much of that as I want".

Hunger is gone.

One tip I can give you: look for something zero-calorie (and thus zero-fat & zero-carb) to occupy yourself with during "bored snacking" times. Herb tea, diet soda, sugar free gum, whatever. It's eating when you're bored that kills some people.

-- N

 

[EricNoah]

Atkins! I quit working out a while back and got chubby. Atkins made me skinny again, and I never count anything but carbs -- and even then, it's more of a "nope, can't eat any of that" vs. "yup, can eat as much of that as I want".

Hunger is gone.

One tip I can give you: look for something zero-calorie (and thus zero-fat & zero-carb) to occupy yourself with during "bored snacking" times. Herb tea, diet soda, sugar free gum, whatever. It's eating when you're bored that kills some people.

-- N

Atkins worked for me ... twice. Which was the problem, I guess, because once it "did its thing" I slowly started working carbs back into my diet. Ultimately, it wasn't sustainable because it wasn't "hunger" that was driving my eating patterns. Upping the exercise level was an important part of my success (the 1500 calories per day recommendation included 45 min of walking each day as well).

I agree with that last statement -- coffee was the thing for me -- a big cup of coffee with some Splenda and a splash of creamer and my appetite is dead for a while.

 

[Mystery Man]

Coffee/caffiene does the exact opposite for me unfortunately. :\

 

[megamania]

I'm diebetic and over weight. I work a minium of 65 hours a week and as of late I've been pushing 90 hour weeks. It is hard to keep a balanced diet in those conditions.

Watch the carbs which is what the Atkins thing is (I think?). So go easy on bread and pastas mainly. (gawd- there are days I could kill for a pizza!)

Exercise doesn't need to be a workout in the gym. It can be walk to the post office or store. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk for the sheer fun of it. My wife and I were taking family walks in the spring. This is good and as suggested already- by doing with a partner / buddy you gain support and the will (peer pressure) to continue it.

I was over 270 pounds at the height of 5'11. Now I'm about 235 and still hoping for 210.

Keep it up and stay on task.....

 

[Justin]

Forget South Beach. Forget Atkins. Don't diet! Make it a lifestyle change. Learn how to
eat healthy, watch calories and exercise, both weights and cardio. Talk with a Registered
Dietitian. That helped me immensely!

Use http://www.fitday.com. It's free.

This is precisely what I did three and a half years ago. I lost about 50 pounds in 6 months,
dropped my cholesterol from 292 to 180 (it's under 160 now with a ratio of just under 2) and
I've never looked back. Now, eating healthy is easier for me than eating junk and I can't
fathom filling my body with the kind of garbage I used to, living on Burger King and Wendy's.
Makes me ill just thinking about it.

Just seeing the changes in my body at the time got me even more motivated, a self-reinforcing cycle.

So, let me reiterate my main point: DON'T DIET, MAKE IT A LIFESTYLE CHANGE!

Oh yeah, check out http://www.johnstonefitness.com. If that can't get you motivated, I
don't know what will.

 

[Justin]

Btw, no offense to anyone here, but ignore all the low carb nonsense. Your body must have
carbs, they are its primary source of energy. Just avoid (or at least minimize) refine carbs:
white bread, sugars (cut out the soda, but some fruit each day is VERY GOOD) and all the
other junk most food manufacturers stick in to make up for a lack of taste and shelf life.