A Weightloss and diet forum. WeightLossBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » WeightLossBanter forum » alt.support.diet newsgroups » General Discussion
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Very discouraged; please help



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old December 1st, 2006, 09:18 PM posted to alt.support.diet
Edna Pearl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 88
Default Very discouraged; please help

Can you help?

My progress just feels too slow, and I am discouraged.

Number one, I don't weigh myself, and I'm not going to. I don't count
calories, and I'm not going to. I'm 49yo, and I've been through that ****,
and it wasn't productive when I was younger, and it's not going to be
productive now that I'm older, perimenopausal, with all sorts of orthopedic
problems. I don't count things in any aspect of my life.

I'm 5'4", American , I have weighed in the 130s most of my life, size 8-10.
I topped out around 230, size 22, while I was ill and my mother was dying
last year. I weigh around 200 right now and am a size 16-18. I went
through a couple of kinds of hell last year. When my mother finally died in
March and I quit drinking my way through my pain in May, the first 30 pounds
dropped off immediately. (I know this because I was going to the doctor and
hospital frequently and was weighed there. Again, I don't weigh myself.)

I write for a living and have an sedentary, academic, artistic lifestyle,
except for the fact that I ride my bike to do my errands a couple of times a
week, and I have large gardens (flower and vegetable) that my SO maintains
and that I help in and walk around in every day. Add to that, I try to lift
a couple of times a week (heavy, complex). I kayak, bicycle, hike, and swim
when weather and my energy levels permit -- so I do one of these about once
a week. I start my days with stretching, including yoga postures.

I sleep 10-12 hours per day. Weird, I know, but I've always needed a lot of
sleep to function at my best. I believe I have a metabolism that is toward
the slow end of the spectrum.

I also have some physical injuries (atrophied right rhomboid, chronic
plantar fasciitis (sp?) in left foot, chronic subluxation of left hip, and,
at the moment, tendonitis in my left shoulder and elbow that has been there
for MONTHS and just WON'T get better). I am in fairly constant pain, which
interrupts my sleep.

Okay, so I quit drinking in May and started my current way of eating in
mid-October. I keep a checklist of food portions on my fridge and check off
what I eat, as follows:

2-3 dairy
3-4 fruit
4 veggies
6 meat/protein
8 whole grains/carbs

The portions are as follows:

Dairy: a cup of milk or yogurt, or 1-1/2 ounces of nonfat or lowfat cheese
Fruit: a medium apple, banana, or orange; 1/2 cup of chopped cooked or
canned fruit; or 3/4 cup of fruit juice
Vegetables: a cup of raw, leafy vegetables; 1/2 cup of other vegetables
(cooked or chopped raw); or 3/4 cup of vegetable juice
Meat/protein: one ounce cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish; one egg; 1/2 cup
of cooked legumes; three ounces of tofu; or two tablespoons of peanut butter
Grains/carbs: one-half bagel, one slice of bread, 3/4 cup of ready-to-eat
cereal, 1/2 cup of cooked cereal or pasta, or 3 cups of popcorn

I add flax seed oil to my diet and take calcium and a good multivitamin
daily. I take extra iron when I have a big blood loss, which occasionally
happens during this phase of the Joys Of Middle-Aged Womanhood.

I have adhered to this WOE pretty closely since mid-October. My butt shrank
a little, immediately. My waist has not budged. Not BUDGED. My next goal
is to get into a pair of size 14 technical pants I have hanging in my
closet, and I am NO CLOSER than I was at the end of October.

Before I quit drinking, started watching my diet, and developed a better
exercise routine, I was bedridden for months at a time, slept even more than
I do now, drank heavily, ate whatever the hell I wanted (including fast
food, restaurant portions four times a decent portion size and swimming in
butter, cookie binges, whatever). It seems to me that I should be seeing
more results than I am. I'm still tired and fat, and I still have low
energy.

Are my expectations unrealistic? Is my thinking wrong? How can I see
results?

ep


  #2  
Old December 1st, 2006, 10:30 PM posted to alt.support.diet
determined
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 652
Default Very discouraged; please help


"Edna Pearl" wrote in message
...
Can you help?

My progress just feels too slow, and I am discouraged.

Number one, I don't weigh myself, and I'm not going to. I don't count
calories, and I'm not going to. I'm 49yo, and I've been through that
****,
and it wasn't productive when I was younger, and it's not going to be
productive now that I'm older, perimenopausal, with all sorts of
orthopedic
problems. I don't count things in any aspect of my life.

I'm 5'4", American , I have weighed in the 130s most of my life, size
8-10.
I topped out around 230, size 22, while I was ill and my mother was dying
last year. I weigh around 200 right now and am a size 16-18. I went
through a couple of kinds of hell last year. When my mother finally died
in
March and I quit drinking my way through my pain in May, the first 30
pounds
dropped off immediately. (I know this because I was going to the doctor
and
hospital frequently and was weighed there. Again, I don't weigh myself.)

I write for a living and have an sedentary, academic, artistic lifestyle,
except for the fact that I ride my bike to do my errands a couple of times
a
week, and I have large gardens (flower and vegetable) that my SO maintains
and that I help in and walk around in every day. Add to that, I try to
lift
a couple of times a week (heavy, complex). I kayak, bicycle, hike, and
swim
when weather and my energy levels permit -- so I do one of these about
once
a week. I start my days with stretching, including yoga postures.

I sleep 10-12 hours per day. Weird, I know, but I've always needed a lot
of
sleep to function at my best. I believe I have a metabolism that is
toward
the slow end of the spectrum.

I also have some physical injuries (atrophied right rhomboid, chronic
plantar fasciitis (sp?) in left foot, chronic subluxation of left hip,
and,
at the moment, tendonitis in my left shoulder and elbow that has been
there
for MONTHS and just WON'T get better). I am in fairly constant pain,
which interrupts my sleep.

Okay, so I quit drinking in May and started my current way of eating in
mid-October. I keep a checklist of food portions on my fridge and check
off
what I eat, as follows:

2-3 dairy
3-4 fruit
4 veggies
6 meat/protein
8 whole grains/carbs

The portions are as follows:

Dairy: a cup of milk or yogurt, or 1-1/2 ounces of nonfat or lowfat cheese
Fruit: a medium apple, banana, or orange; 1/2 cup of chopped cooked or
canned fruit; or 3/4 cup of fruit juice
Vegetables: a cup of raw, leafy vegetables; 1/2 cup of other vegetables
(cooked or chopped raw); or 3/4 cup of vegetable juice
Meat/protein: one ounce cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish; one egg; 1/2
cup
of cooked legumes; three ounces of tofu; or two tablespoons of peanut
butter
Grains/carbs: one-half bagel, one slice of bread, 3/4 cup of ready-to-eat
cereal, 1/2 cup of cooked cereal or pasta, or 3 cups of popcorn

I add flax seed oil to my diet and take calcium and a good multivitamin
daily. I take extra iron when I have a big blood loss, which occasionally
happens during this phase of the Joys Of Middle-Aged Womanhood.

I have adhered to this WOE pretty closely since mid-October. My butt
shrank a little, immediately. My waist has not budged. Not BUDGED. My
next goal is to get into a pair of size 14 technical pants I have hanging
in my closet, and I am NO CLOSER than I was at the end of October.

Before I quit drinking, started watching my diet, and developed a better
exercise routine, I was bedridden for months at a time, slept even more
than I do now, drank heavily, ate whatever the hell I wanted (including
fast food, restaurant portions four times a decent portion size and
swimming in butter, cookie binges, whatever). It seems to me that I
should be seeing more results than I am. I'm still tired and fat, and I
still have low energy.

Are my expectations unrealistic? Is my thinking wrong? How can I see
results?

ep


Are your expectations unrealistic? Maybe. You want something that for most
of us requires sacrifice, hard work, and diligence. You don't seem willing
to do what it will take to reach the goal you want.

Is your thinking wrong? That is very subjective, but imo, yes. You have a
very close minded attitude towards counting calories. You seem to be
unwilling to change, and ****ed off that you can't lose weight with your
current WOL. Change happens when we become willing to take the necessary
steps to make it happen. The question is, how bad do you want it?

How can you see results? Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get with the
program! You need to figure out where you stand with your current caloric
intake to find out what you "maintain" on. You need to get your heart rate
up and burn some extra calories to create a better deficit. Yoga stretches
don't count. Doing exercise "when weather and energy permit" is a copout
attitude. You need to make more of an effort if you want to see results.
Walking for 30 minutes per day would be a good start.

Sleeping for 10-12 hrs per day sounds to me like serious depression or some
other medical problem that needs addressing. Have you had all your levels
checked? Had a recent panel done? Ruled out any hormone issues?

You're either going to have to accept your body the way it is now, or become
willing to pay the price to reach your goals. You might not like hearing
that, but that's the way it is. Losing weight doesn't occur through osmosis
;-)


  #3  
Old December 1st, 2006, 10:54 PM posted to alt.support.diet
Edna Pearl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 88
Default Very discouraged; please help

Well Jesus Christ, that's real encouraging. I don't think I've ever
received a message that unpleasant and discouraging in a support group from
anybody -- except of course trolls.

Fortunately, the message is so totally loaded with fallacies I can't take it
very seriously. It focusses entirely on calorie-counting while failing to
point out a single solitary thing I might change except suggesting I count
calories. Plenty of people, in fact, MOST people lose weight without
counting calories. Including people you purport to admire, like Krista, who
knows considerably more about fitness and nutrition than you do. Trying to
find a "baseline" and then work around it is voodoo dieting that fails to
take account of how much a person's bodily processes and metabolism
changes -- it's a waste of time unless the person takes some motivation from
the counting process itself, and I don't. Furthermore, my reference to
"weather permitting" simply means, for example, that I don't swim outdoors
in winter (we just had an entire thread here about people who don't bicycle
in cold weather, which, in fact, I DO) -- and your assumption that it means
something else says a lot more about you than it does me. Oh, and thanks
for telling me I need to stop feeling sorry for myself about my mom dying.
Aren't you a special person.

I could go on and on, but **** that, I have a life. If nobody in this ng
can come up with anything better than that, I guess I know all I need to
know about this "support group."

Oh, and Betsy, **** you. "You might not like hearing that," but it's
considerably nicer than and just as productive as what you've said to me.
How's this for advice: You need learn at least learn some manners, if you
can't manage to grow any compassion.

ep

"determined" wrote in message
...

"Edna Pearl" wrote in message
...
Can you help?

My progress just feels too slow, and I am discouraged.

Number one, I don't weigh myself, and I'm not going to. I don't count
calories, and I'm not going to. I'm 49yo, and I've been through that
****,
and it wasn't productive when I was younger, and it's not going to be
productive now that I'm older, perimenopausal, with all sorts of
orthopedic
problems. I don't count things in any aspect of my life.

I'm 5'4", American , I have weighed in the 130s most of my life, size
8-10.
I topped out around 230, size 22, while I was ill and my mother was dying
last year. I weigh around 200 right now and am a size 16-18. I went
through a couple of kinds of hell last year. When my mother finally died
in
March and I quit drinking my way through my pain in May, the first 30
pounds
dropped off immediately. (I know this because I was going to the doctor
and
hospital frequently and was weighed there. Again, I don't weigh myself.)

I write for a living and have an sedentary, academic, artistic lifestyle,
except for the fact that I ride my bike to do my errands a couple of
times a
week, and I have large gardens (flower and vegetable) that my SO
maintains
and that I help in and walk around in every day. Add to that, I try to
lift
a couple of times a week (heavy, complex). I kayak, bicycle, hike, and
swim
when weather and my energy levels permit -- so I do one of these about
once
a week. I start my days with stretching, including yoga postures.

I sleep 10-12 hours per day. Weird, I know, but I've always needed a lot
of
sleep to function at my best. I believe I have a metabolism that is
toward
the slow end of the spectrum.

I also have some physical injuries (atrophied right rhomboid, chronic
plantar fasciitis (sp?) in left foot, chronic subluxation of left hip,
and,
at the moment, tendonitis in my left shoulder and elbow that has been
there
for MONTHS and just WON'T get better). I am in fairly constant pain,
which interrupts my sleep.

Okay, so I quit drinking in May and started my current way of eating in
mid-October. I keep a checklist of food portions on my fridge and check
off
what I eat, as follows:

2-3 dairy
3-4 fruit
4 veggies
6 meat/protein
8 whole grains/carbs

The portions are as follows:

Dairy: a cup of milk or yogurt, or 1-1/2 ounces of nonfat or lowfat
cheese
Fruit: a medium apple, banana, or orange; 1/2 cup of chopped cooked or
canned fruit; or 3/4 cup of fruit juice
Vegetables: a cup of raw, leafy vegetables; 1/2 cup of other vegetables
(cooked or chopped raw); or 3/4 cup of vegetable juice
Meat/protein: one ounce cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish; one egg; 1/2
cup
of cooked legumes; three ounces of tofu; or two tablespoons of peanut
butter
Grains/carbs: one-half bagel, one slice of bread, 3/4 cup of ready-to-eat
cereal, 1/2 cup of cooked cereal or pasta, or 3 cups of popcorn

I add flax seed oil to my diet and take calcium and a good multivitamin
daily. I take extra iron when I have a big blood loss, which
occasionally happens during this phase of the Joys Of Middle-Aged
Womanhood.

I have adhered to this WOE pretty closely since mid-October. My butt
shrank a little, immediately. My waist has not budged. Not BUDGED. My
next goal is to get into a pair of size 14 technical pants I have hanging
in my closet, and I am NO CLOSER than I was at the end of October.

Before I quit drinking, started watching my diet, and developed a better
exercise routine, I was bedridden for months at a time, slept even more
than I do now, drank heavily, ate whatever the hell I wanted (including
fast food, restaurant portions four times a decent portion size and
swimming in butter, cookie binges, whatever). It seems to me that I
should be seeing more results than I am. I'm still tired and fat, and I
still have low energy.

Are my expectations unrealistic? Is my thinking wrong? How can I see
results?

ep


Are your expectations unrealistic? Maybe. You want something that for
most of us requires sacrifice, hard work, and diligence. You don't seem
willing to do what it will take to reach the goal you want.

Is your thinking wrong? That is very subjective, but imo, yes. You have
a very close minded attitude towards counting calories. You seem to be
unwilling to change, and ****ed off that you can't lose weight with your
current WOL. Change happens when we become willing to take the necessary
steps to make it happen. The question is, how bad do you want it?

How can you see results? Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get with the
program! You need to figure out where you stand with your current caloric
intake to find out what you "maintain" on. You need to get your heart
rate up and burn some extra calories to create a better deficit. Yoga
stretches don't count. Doing exercise "when weather and energy permit" is
a copout attitude. You need to make more of an effort if you want to see
results. Walking for 30 minutes per day would be a good start.

Sleeping for 10-12 hrs per day sounds to me like serious depression or
some other medical problem that needs addressing. Have you had all your
levels checked? Had a recent panel done? Ruled out any hormone issues?

You're either going to have to accept your body the way it is now, or
become willing to pay the price to reach your goals. You might not like
hearing that, but that's the way it is. Losing weight doesn't occur
through osmosis ;-)



  #4  
Old December 1st, 2006, 10:58 PM posted to alt.support.diet
Edna Pearl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 88
Default Very discouraged; please help

p.s. As an additional point, it's obvious you didn't pay any attention to
what I actually said in my post, given that you failed to notice the fact
that I said I was "going to the doctor frequently" and "hospitalized." Yes,
I've had all the bloodwork in the world done. And of course I've been
depressed: references to having been through hell might have been a clue to
that.

ep

"determined" wrote in message
...

"Edna Pearl" wrote in message
...
Can you help?

My progress just feels too slow, and I am discouraged.

Number one, I don't weigh myself, and I'm not going to. I don't count
calories, and I'm not going to. I'm 49yo, and I've been through that
****,
and it wasn't productive when I was younger, and it's not going to be
productive now that I'm older, perimenopausal, with all sorts of
orthopedic
problems. I don't count things in any aspect of my life.

I'm 5'4", American , I have weighed in the 130s most of my life, size
8-10.
I topped out around 230, size 22, while I was ill and my mother was dying
last year. I weigh around 200 right now and am a size 16-18. I went
through a couple of kinds of hell last year. When my mother finally died
in
March and I quit drinking my way through my pain in May, the first 30
pounds
dropped off immediately. (I know this because I was going to the doctor
and
hospital frequently and was weighed there. Again, I don't weigh myself.)

I write for a living and have an sedentary, academic, artistic lifestyle,
except for the fact that I ride my bike to do my errands a couple of
times a
week, and I have large gardens (flower and vegetable) that my SO
maintains
and that I help in and walk around in every day. Add to that, I try to
lift
a couple of times a week (heavy, complex). I kayak, bicycle, hike, and
swim
when weather and my energy levels permit -- so I do one of these about
once
a week. I start my days with stretching, including yoga postures.

I sleep 10-12 hours per day. Weird, I know, but I've always needed a lot
of
sleep to function at my best. I believe I have a metabolism that is
toward
the slow end of the spectrum.

I also have some physical injuries (atrophied right rhomboid, chronic
plantar fasciitis (sp?) in left foot, chronic subluxation of left hip,
and,
at the moment, tendonitis in my left shoulder and elbow that has been
there
for MONTHS and just WON'T get better). I am in fairly constant pain,
which interrupts my sleep.

Okay, so I quit drinking in May and started my current way of eating in
mid-October. I keep a checklist of food portions on my fridge and check
off
what I eat, as follows:

2-3 dairy
3-4 fruit
4 veggies
6 meat/protein
8 whole grains/carbs

The portions are as follows:

Dairy: a cup of milk or yogurt, or 1-1/2 ounces of nonfat or lowfat
cheese
Fruit: a medium apple, banana, or orange; 1/2 cup of chopped cooked or
canned fruit; or 3/4 cup of fruit juice
Vegetables: a cup of raw, leafy vegetables; 1/2 cup of other vegetables
(cooked or chopped raw); or 3/4 cup of vegetable juice
Meat/protein: one ounce cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish; one egg; 1/2
cup
of cooked legumes; three ounces of tofu; or two tablespoons of peanut
butter
Grains/carbs: one-half bagel, one slice of bread, 3/4 cup of ready-to-eat
cereal, 1/2 cup of cooked cereal or pasta, or 3 cups of popcorn

I add flax seed oil to my diet and take calcium and a good multivitamin
daily. I take extra iron when I have a big blood loss, which
occasionally happens during this phase of the Joys Of Middle-Aged
Womanhood.

I have adhered to this WOE pretty closely since mid-October. My butt
shrank a little, immediately. My waist has not budged. Not BUDGED. My
next goal is to get into a pair of size 14 technical pants I have hanging
in my closet, and I am NO CLOSER than I was at the end of October.

Before I quit drinking, started watching my diet, and developed a better
exercise routine, I was bedridden for months at a time, slept even more
than I do now, drank heavily, ate whatever the hell I wanted (including
fast food, restaurant portions four times a decent portion size and
swimming in butter, cookie binges, whatever). It seems to me that I
should be seeing more results than I am. I'm still tired and fat, and I
still have low energy.

Are my expectations unrealistic? Is my thinking wrong? How can I see
results?

ep


Are your expectations unrealistic? Maybe. You want something that for
most of us requires sacrifice, hard work, and diligence. You don't seem
willing to do what it will take to reach the goal you want.

Is your thinking wrong? That is very subjective, but imo, yes. You have
a very close minded attitude towards counting calories. You seem to be
unwilling to change, and ****ed off that you can't lose weight with your
current WOL. Change happens when we become willing to take the necessary
steps to make it happen. The question is, how bad do you want it?

How can you see results? Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get with the
program! You need to figure out where you stand with your current caloric
intake to find out what you "maintain" on. You need to get your heart
rate up and burn some extra calories to create a better deficit. Yoga
stretches don't count. Doing exercise "when weather and energy permit" is
a copout attitude. You need to make more of an effort if you want to see
results. Walking for 30 minutes per day would be a good start.

Sleeping for 10-12 hrs per day sounds to me like serious depression or
some other medical problem that needs addressing. Have you had all your
levels checked? Had a recent panel done? Ruled out any hormone issues?

You're either going to have to accept your body the way it is now, or
become willing to pay the price to reach your goals. You might not like
hearing that, but that's the way it is. Losing weight doesn't occur
through osmosis ;-)



  #5  
Old December 1st, 2006, 11:09 PM posted to alt.support.diet
Chris Braun
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 512
Default Very discouraged; please help

On Fri, 1 Dec 2006 15:54:50 -0600, "Edna Pearl"
wrote:

Well Jesus Christ, that's real encouraging. I don't think I've ever
received a message that unpleasant and discouraging in a support group from
anybody -- except of course trolls.

Fortunately, the message is so totally loaded with fallacies I can't take it
very seriously. It focusses entirely on calorie-counting while failing to
point out a single solitary thing I might change except suggesting I count
calories. Plenty of people, in fact, MOST people lose weight without
counting calories. Including people you purport to admire, like Krista, who
knows considerably more about fitness and nutrition than you do. Trying to
find a "baseline" and then work around it is voodoo dieting that fails to
take account of how much a person's bodily processes and metabolism
changes -- it's a waste of time unless the person takes some motivation from
the counting process itself, and I don't. Furthermore, my reference to
"weather permitting" simply means, for example, that I don't swim outdoors
in winter (we just had an entire thread here about people who don't bicycle
in cold weather, which, in fact, I DO) -- and your assumption that it means
something else says a lot more about you than it does me. Oh, and thanks
for telling me I need to stop feeling sorry for myself about my mom dying.
Aren't you a special person.

I could go on and on, but **** that, I have a life. If nobody in this ng
can come up with anything better than that, I guess I know all I need to
know about this "support group."

Oh, and Betsy, **** you. "You might not like hearing that," but it's
considerably nicer than and just as productive as what you've said to me.
How's this for advice: You need learn at least learn some manners, if you
can't manage to grow any compassion.


You know, I was just about to try to write a constructive response to
your message, Edna. But after reading all this hostility and
profanity, I don't think I'll bother. Determined's message was far
more polite than yours.

Chris
262/130s/130s
started dieting July 2002, maintaining since June 2004
  #6  
Old December 1st, 2006, 11:43 PM posted to alt.support.diet
Edna Pearl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 88
Default Very discouraged; please help

If you honestly cannot understand why I was honestly upset by that post,
then I don't know what to say. Maybe we're from different planets or
something. If you don't like profanity, I apologize, I'm used to seeing and
using a lot of it here on Usenet and thought I had seen it used here at asd.
Yes, I lost my temper, but I continue to believe her post was out of line
and unsupportive. If you call that kind of behavior "polite," then, well, I
don't know what to say.

ep

"Chris Braun" wrote in message
...
You know, I was just about to try to write a constructive response to
your message, Edna. But after reading all this hostility and
profanity, I don't think I'll bother. Determined's message was far
more polite than yours.



  #7  
Old December 2nd, 2006, 12:11 AM posted to alt.support.diet
sueb
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 15
Default Very discouraged; please help


Edna Pearl wrote:
Can you help?

My progress just feels too slow, and I am discouraged.

Number one, I don't weigh myself, and I'm not going to. I don't count
calories, and I'm not going to. I'm 49yo, and I've been through that ****,
and it wasn't productive when I was younger, and it's not going to be
productive now that I'm older, perimenopausal, with all sorts of orthopedic
problems. I don't count things in any aspect of my life.

I'm 5'4", American , I have weighed in the 130s most of my life, size 8-10.
I topped out around 230, size 22, while I was ill and my mother was dying
last year. I weigh around 200 right now and am a size 16-18. I went
through a couple of kinds of hell last year. When my mother finally died in
March and I quit drinking my way through my pain in May, the first 30 pounds
dropped off immediately. (I know this because I was going to the doctor and
hospital frequently and was weighed there. Again, I don't weigh myself.)

I write for a living and have an sedentary, academic, artistic lifestyle,
except for the fact that I ride my bike to do my errands a couple of times a
week, and I have large gardens (flower and vegetable) that my SO maintains
and that I help in and walk around in every day. Add to that, I try to lift
a couple of times a week (heavy, complex). I kayak, bicycle, hike, and swim
when weather and my energy levels permit -- so I do one of these about once
a week. I start my days with stretching, including yoga postures.

I sleep 10-12 hours per day. Weird, I know, but I've always needed a lot of
sleep to function at my best. I believe I have a metabolism that is toward
the slow end of the spectrum.

I also have some physical injuries (atrophied right rhomboid, chronic
plantar fasciitis (sp?) in left foot, chronic subluxation of left hip, and,
at the moment, tendonitis in my left shoulder and elbow that has been there
for MONTHS and just WON'T get better). I am in fairly constant pain, which
interrupts my sleep.

Okay, so I quit drinking in May and started my current way of eating in
mid-October. I keep a checklist of food portions on my fridge and check off
what I eat, as follows:

2-3 dairy
3-4 fruit
4 veggies
6 meat/protein
8 whole grains/carbs

The portions are as follows:

Dairy: a cup of milk or yogurt, or 1-1/2 ounces of nonfat or lowfat cheese
Fruit: a medium apple, banana, or orange; 1/2 cup of chopped cooked or
canned fruit; or 3/4 cup of fruit juice
Vegetables: a cup of raw, leafy vegetables; 1/2 cup of other vegetables
(cooked or chopped raw); or 3/4 cup of vegetable juice
Meat/protein: one ounce cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish; one egg; 1/2 cup
of cooked legumes; three ounces of tofu; or two tablespoons of peanut butter
Grains/carbs: one-half bagel, one slice of bread, 3/4 cup of ready-to-eat
cereal, 1/2 cup of cooked cereal or pasta, or 3 cups of popcorn

I add flax seed oil to my diet and take calcium and a good multivitamin
daily. I take extra iron when I have a big blood loss, which occasionally
happens during this phase of the Joys Of Middle-Aged Womanhood.

I have adhered to this WOE pretty closely since mid-October. My butt shrank
a little, immediately. My waist has not budged. Not BUDGED. My next goal
is to get into a pair of size 14 technical pants I have hanging in my
closet, and I am NO CLOSER than I was at the end of October.

Before I quit drinking, started watching my diet, and developed a better
exercise routine, I was bedridden for months at a time, slept even more than
I do now, drank heavily, ate whatever the hell I wanted (including fast
food, restaurant portions four times a decent portion size and swimming in
butter, cookie binges, whatever). It seems to me that I should be seeing
more results than I am. I'm still tired and fat, and I still have low
energy.

Are my expectations unrealistic? Is my thinking wrong? How can I see
results?



I don't know if your expectations are unrealistic or your thinking
wrong. I only know what has happened with me.

I'm 50 and 5'3". I've been trying to lose weight for years. My
numbers are below my name.

I've been lifting weights, and walking on treadmills, and riding
exercycles, and eating good foods. Nothing happened for two years,
except that I became freakishly strong and able to take my exercise
bras off easily.

Recently I put myself on a formal diet and started running again. I've
lost 15 pounds. Haven't changed any clothing sizes, but things are
starting to feel looser.

My suggestion to you, and feel free to blow it off, is that you do
something to provide a short sharp shock to your system. Adopt a
formal diet (there are ones that don't involve calorie counting). Or
join weight watchers. Or start some form of formal exercise that
really burns calories. But do something that you can point to as a
constructive step.

My other suggestion is that you do actually weigh yourself
occasionally. Otherwise you don't have any reference points and you
can't tell when you are actually making progress. Once a month might
be a good schedule. I struggle with this also, along with my inability
to actually read the numbers on the stupid thing. But this morning it
was definitely below the 180 line and that's achievement to me.

Good luck,
Susan B.
195/180/140

  #8  
Old December 2nd, 2006, 01:53 AM posted to alt.support.diet
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 227
Default Very discouraged; please help


Edna Pearl wrote:
Can you help?

My progress just feels too slow, and I am discouraged.

Number one, I don't weigh myself, and I'm not going to. I don't count
calories, and I'm not going to. I'm 49yo, and I've been through that ****,
and it wasn't productive when I was younger, and it's not going to be
productive now that I'm older, perimenopausal, with all sorts of orthopedic
problems. I don't count things in any aspect of my life.

I'm 5'4", American , I have weighed in the 130s most of my life, size 8-10.
I topped out around 230, size 22, while I was ill and my mother was dying
last year. I weigh around 200 right now and am a size 16-18. I went
through a couple of kinds of hell last year. When my mother finally died in
March and I quit drinking my way through my pain in May, the first 30 pounds
dropped off immediately. (I know this because I was going to the doctor and
hospital frequently and was weighed there. Again, I don't weigh myself.)

I write for a living and have an sedentary, academic, artistic lifestyle,
except for the fact that I ride my bike to do my errands a couple of times a
week, and I have large gardens (flower and vegetable) that my SO maintains
and that I help in and walk around in every day. Add to that, I try to lift
a couple of times a week (heavy, complex). I kayak, bicycle, hike, and swim
when weather and my energy levels permit -- so I do one of these about once
a week. I start my days with stretching, including yoga postures.

I sleep 10-12 hours per day. Weird, I know, but I've always needed a lot of
sleep to function at my best. I believe I have a metabolism that is toward
the slow end of the spectrum.

I also have some physical injuries (atrophied right rhomboid, chronic
plantar fasciitis (sp?) in left foot, chronic subluxation of left hip, and,
at the moment, tendonitis in my left shoulder and elbow that has been there
for MONTHS and just WON'T get better). I am in fairly constant pain, which
interrupts my sleep.

Okay, so I quit drinking in May and started my current way of eating in
mid-October. I keep a checklist of food portions on my fridge and check off
what I eat, as follows:

2-3 dairy
3-4 fruit
4 veggies
6 meat/protein
8 whole grains/carbs

The portions are as follows:

Dairy: a cup of milk or yogurt, or 1-1/2 ounces of nonfat or lowfat cheese
Fruit: a medium apple, banana, or orange; 1/2 cup of chopped cooked or
canned fruit; or 3/4 cup of fruit juice
Vegetables: a cup of raw, leafy vegetables; 1/2 cup of other vegetables
(cooked or chopped raw); or 3/4 cup of vegetable juice
Meat/protein: one ounce cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish; one egg; 1/2 cup
of cooked legumes; three ounces of tofu; or two tablespoons of peanut butter
Grains/carbs: one-half bagel, one slice of bread, 3/4 cup of ready-to-eat
cereal, 1/2 cup of cooked cereal or pasta, or 3 cups of popcorn

I add flax seed oil to my diet and take calcium and a good multivitamin
daily. I take extra iron when I have a big blood loss, which occasionally
happens during this phase of the Joys Of Middle-Aged Womanhood.

I have adhered to this WOE pretty closely since mid-October. My butt shrank
a little, immediately. My waist has not budged. Not BUDGED. My next goal
is to get into a pair of size 14 technical pants I have hanging in my
closet, and I am NO CLOSER than I was at the end of October.

Before I quit drinking, started watching my diet, and developed a better
exercise routine, I was bedridden for months at a time, slept even more than
I do now, drank heavily, ate whatever the hell I wanted (including fast
food, restaurant portions four times a decent portion size and swimming in
butter, cookie binges, whatever). It seems to me that I should be seeing
more results than I am. I'm still tired and fat, and I still have low
energy.

Are my expectations unrealistic? Is my thinking wrong? How can I see
results?

ep


I know some people don't count calories and manage to lose weight, but
since weight loss and gain is a mathematical equation, it is best to
keep track of calories consumed and your dietary needs. Knowing
calories in foods also helps you make good choices. As far as exercise,
you simply must get some to stay healthy and it helps with losing
weight a little too. Walking is great exercise.

Many people weigh once a week or so, but you have to weigh yourself to
check your progress. Not weighing yourself otherwise becomes denial.
People who are serious dieters are fanatical at keeping track of their
weight usually. In fact, once someone with a weight problem stops
weighing themselves, it is almost always because deep down, they know
they are gaining weight and don't want to face it. Oh, they face it
eventually when they are 100 pounds overweight.

I wish there were an easy way to lose weight, but there isn't. It's
calories, calories, calories. After that comes a moderate amount of
exercise. The mix of carbs, fat, protein might effect your health, but
it doesn't make any difference as far as your weight goes, IMO. dkw

  #9  
Old December 2nd, 2006, 01:54 AM posted to alt.support.diet
Edna Pearl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 88
Default Very discouraged; please help

"sueb" wrote in message
ups.com...
I've been lifting weights, and walking on treadmills, and riding
exercycles, and eating good foods. Nothing happened for two years,
except that I became freakishly strong and able to take my exercise
bras off easily.


LOL -- We are on the same page. (Except I still have to struggle with my
exercise my bras, because it hurts my tendonitis like the DICKENS to tug
those things on and off.) And there's nothing wrong with being strong, by
gosh!

I really have gotten a LOT stronger. I was really weak, having been ill for
so long. Now I'm benching 80 lbs.,, deadlifting 120, no problem. It really
helps when I'm racking my kayaks and bicycles! And as I said, my butt did
change shape rapidly. My thighs have improved too, so it's not like I'm not
seeing any progress at all. I'm just really discouraged. It's been a tough
couple of years for me, and I feel like I "deserve" more progress, I guess.

I know building muscles is a good thing, because the muscles I'm building
burn calories/fat. A lot of people who choose to get on track with their
health the way we did find that it takes weeks or months to see a change on
the scales. And it's really only been about six weeks since I've been
systematically working on getting my health and figure back.

But "two years" and "nothing happened" for you? Please tell me you're
exaggerating. At least you became freakishly strong, right? :-D

And did you do anything to *limit* your calories, in addition to eating
healthy?

Recently I put myself on a formal diet and started running again. I've
lost 15 pounds. Haven't changed any clothing sizes, but things are
starting to feel looser.


That is awesome. May I ask what "formal diet" you're using? Running is out
for me because of my joints, but I have other options of course. (See
below.)

My suggestion to you, and feel free to blow it off, is that you do
something to provide a short sharp shock to your system.


I have heard of this really working for some people, and it rings true to me
in the situation I'm in.

Adopt a
formal diet (there are ones that don't involve calorie counting). Or
join weight watchers.


I do regard what I'm doing as a formal diet and it is very similar to what
WW used to do back in the day: controlled portions, balanced diet. I don't
know how much they've changed, but from what I've heard they've just changed
some terminology. If you mean eating WW pre-packaged meals, I don't see
that happening. Those things are full of chemicals.

I would be interested in doing some regimented program if I knew it was
going to be healthy. It's hard to buck up and confront the necessity of
learning yet another self-improvement skill :-) but I'd be willing to learn
something new if I have some confidence that it's not just another waste of
time or unhealthy like Slim Fast or Atkins or whatever.

Like, what I've heard about the "Mediterranean diet" and the "South Beach
diet" and "Volumetrics" looks pretty healthy. I'll research them further.
Does anybody here have any experiences to share on these? Like, do these
diets incorporate EFAs, nearly-vegetarian, non-ketogenic, etc.? I just
dread spending hours of precious time finding the info, absorbing it, and
discovering I've stumbled into yet another of the jillions of dumb diets
that are the subject of so many expensive advertising campaigns.

Or start some form of formal exercise that
really burns calories.


I *do* stuff that really burns calories. I mean, kayaking for two hours or
hiking for four hours burns a lot of calories. I am frustrated with the
idea that I would actually have to *give up* all these outdoor type things I
do regularly and replace them with an artificial routine of some sort.

Like, somebody in this thread says "walk thirty minutes a day" and I think,
"What? Am I supposed to do this *instead of* kayaking? That would be sad.
Or *in addition to* climbing mountains, swimming, bicycling? That makes no
sense."

I think I'm just having trouble thinking this through. But the radical
change/shock to the routine does seem to be called for. And it seems to me
that something more structured could be productive. An idea: I wrecked a
racing bike a while back. If I bought a new one I be motivated to "play
with it," i.e., ride it every day for a few weeks in addition to whatever
else I do. Sure, I might not hike as much, but that's fine. How does a
forty-five minute bike sprint five days a week sound? (How many days a week
do you run, Sue? Distances?)

But do something that you can point to as a
constructive step.


I hear you.

My other suggestion is that you do actually weigh yourself
occasionally. Otherwise you don't have any reference points and you
can't tell when you are actually making progress. Once a month might
be a good schedule. I struggle with this also, along with my inability
to actually read the numbers on the stupid thing. But this morning it
was definitely below the 180 line and that's achievement to me.


Congratulations!!!!!! I'm thinking that, at least for now, getting weighed
when I go to the doctor's office is plenty. That's every few months
currently.

Good luck,


Thank a million.

Susan B.
195/180/140


Excellent!

ep


  #10  
Old December 2nd, 2006, 02:38 AM posted to alt.support.diet
Edna Pearl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 88
Default Very discouraged; please help

wrote in message
ups.com...
I know some people don't count calories and manage to lose weight, but
since weight loss and gain is a mathematical equation, it is best to
keep track of calories consumed and your dietary needs.


I don't actually agree with that, but I'm not trying to argue, here. I'm
responding to see if maybe we can communicate constructively. If neither
you nor I get anything useful out of it because we're just on such different
pages, then maybe somebody reading this will.

Knowing
calories in foods also helps you make good choices.


I do, in fact, have a good idea of the calories in foods from having learned
to count them earlier in life, as I said. I can pretty much look at a plate
of food and count a hundred calories here, 65 there, etc., but I'm not going
to bother to add them up. The PORTIONS I describe in my post do that for
me. Counting portions (or checking them off a list, like I do) has the same
import and result as counting calories. There is no relevant difference IF
you know, as I do, that this vegetable or fruit has more calories than that
vegetable or fruit, where the empty calories are and how to avoid them, etc.

As far as exercise,
you simply must get some to stay healthy and it helps with losing
weight a little too. Walking is great exercise.


So are kayaking, bicycling, swimming, hiking, climbing, weight-lifting,
gardening -- all of which I do, as I said in my post. Walking is decent
exercise, sure, but it's not my favorite because the repetitive, identical
steps bother my bad foot if I repeat the same step/movement for any period
of time.

Many people weigh once a week or so, but you have to weigh yourself to
check your progress. Not weighing yourself otherwise becomes denial.


I don't agree with this. There are plenty of more meaningful ways to check
progress than the number on a scale, unless you only count the numbers on
the scale as progress, by definition, so to speak. Clothing size, the
amount of weight you can lift, the distance you can swim, etc., are
meaningful, functional measures of progress. A number on a scale is just an
annoying social construct, to me.

People who are serious dieters are fanatical at keeping track of their
weight usually.


I have no desire to be a serious dieter :-) I'm not trying to be snarky --
but do you see my point? I want to be healthy, I want to comfortable, I
want to look good. I do not want to be a serious "dieter."

In fact, once someone with a weight problem stops
weighing themselves, it is almost always because deep down, they know
they are gaining weight and don't want to face it. Oh, they face it
eventually when they are 100 pounds overweight.


That's sad. I feel pretty confident that I don't have much talent for
denial of this type. Sometimes I wish I did, in healthy doses. A little
denial is a good thing, believe it or not. :-)

I wish there were an easy way to lose weight, but there isn't. It's
calories, calories, calories. After that comes a moderate amount of
exercise.


Well, yeah, kind of, but this is really oversimplified. You burn more
calories if your metabolism is higher. Muscle burns more calories than fat.
Etc., etc.

The mix of carbs, fat, protein might effect your health, but
it doesn't make any difference as far as your weight goes, IMO.


Well, no research I've ever read supports your opinion. There are ways of
living, eating, and exercising that maximize fitness and fat-loss above
(while also minimizing hunger) beyond the simple counting of calories in
disregard of whether those calories are empty or nutritious or part of a
balanced diet. I really don't think there's any debate about that in the
scientific literature. You can take the simple attitude you describe and
make a certain amount of progress with it, but that doesn't make it the last
word on the subject. If you aren't interested in learning more about health
and nutrition, that's fine, great, live long and prosper. By the same
token, I'm not interested in counting up calorie estimates and pretending
like the counts are telling me something I want to know. Again, I'm not
trying to be snarky, I'm just saying what I have to say, and maybe somebody
else can get something out of what I'm saying, or maybe you'd like to
discuss it further, too. In any event, thanks for taking the time to
respond and good luck with your fitness goals.

I've somehow lost the part of your post that says that losing weight is not
easy, or something to that effect. I hope you're not assuming that I think
it's supposed to be; and I doubt anything in my post suggested that it
should be. In my experience, change is challenging. It sure beats the
alternative, though.

ep


 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Discouraged... magdelena72 Low Calorie 2 October 23rd, 2005 08:25 PM
Getting discouraged... BTM General Discussion 6 October 22nd, 2005 12:02 AM
A bit discouraged [email protected] General Discussion 25 October 16th, 2005 05:47 PM
Getting Discouraged...help? Deaana Low Carbohydrate Diets 23 November 30th, 2004 12:24 AM
Discouraged susanjoneslewis General Discussion 12 May 23rd, 2004 03:23 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:12 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 WeightLossBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.