Discussion Board

I have had a horrible week of eating ... fell off the wagon, ran over by it a couple of times, trying to get back behind the reigns.

I have been working at this and well, it is a struggle. This week, I have identified 2 main issues -- going to post them separately. I have read the books, watched the DVD's etc. I exercise regularly and with vigor. But, I wonder if my problem is eating too many starchy veg -- is this possible? I know the theory is you will lose and not gain if you eat below the 500 (I think) calorie density. But, I have done that and well, I am not losing (not gaining, though). Plus, I am close, but not quite there, to where I need to be, weight wise --.

So, here is the gist of what I have been eating (not this week):

Breakfast -- oatmeal, 9 frozen cherries, 1 TB chia

Lunch and Dinners: One of the following: soup with brown rice - tomatoes, corn, onion, the bean of the week, spinach, carrots and some frozen mixed veggies that are peas, carrots, lima beans, green beans; corn and bean enchiladas (Mary's recipe); roasted taters or w/w pasta and steamed broccoli or spring mix greens with carrots and quinoa.

Snacks: roasted sweet potatoes or raw broccoli or apple or just salad mix greens.

What do you think? Tweaks to suggest? Thanks.

Sharon

My advice to you (and it's a little heretical) is to log onto a program like the CRONometer, MyFitnessPal or FitDay and enter everything you eat in a day. This will mean measuring your food for one day, but it is worth the effort. Enter everything you eat and how much. Enter your exercise, duration and intensity. This will tell you your net calories for the day. From this you can tell whether you are eating too many calorie dense foods. If so, it's easy to adjust your diet by increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables relative to the amount of beans and starch. If you want to, read through my current Katydid journal as I have been going through a similar struggle myself of late as I try to get my weight down below my natural set-point.
Kate

Katydid has a point. Give that a try, to see if it works. Your food looks quite good, but see if you are eating too much. That's always a possibility, if you have "broken" your appestat, and it hasn't recovered yet!

I will tell you what I did. I don't know how close you are to your goal weight, and whether it's a goal weight close to the BMI that's acceptable (18.5–24.9), but I'm assuming it is. It is really hard to lose those last few pounds, and I had set a goal that was a BMI of 22 (124 for me). Back in the stone ages when I did Weight Watchers, they had set a goal of 132 for me.

Guess where my weight loss stopped? You guessed it, just under 132. Sat there and bobbed up and down for 5 months. So what I did was declare the trip over. I decided my goal weight was 132, and wrote my success story. Since that capitulation, I gradually started to lose weight, eating the same stuff, and have lost another 10 pounds or so since October. I can't explain it, and 10 pounds in 4 months isn't wildly exciting weight loss to someone with a lot to lose, but I am one of those folks who never joined challenges because they made me perversely sabotage myself! So having a goal to shoot for is dangerous for me. I am a process-oriented person, not goal-oriented.

So, I guess what I am saying is, rather than looking to lose weight, or even inches, or even anything, you may want to adopt this way of life wholeheartedly, eat the food until you're happy, do your exercise, and enjoy! This is the life!

Yes--tell us your current weight and height or your BMI. If you are trying to get to a low-normal BMI it is harder to do. That's just a fact. In order to reach and maintain a low-normal (18-19.5) BMI some degree of calorie restriction is necessary. I have found that to be true--I want to stay at a low-normal BMI for health reasons and find that if I overeat even on MWL foods I can gain a little weight. This just makes sense: There is a number of calories in/calories out per day that will maintain X person at X BMI. Exceed calories in or fail to use up enough calories and the person will gain weight--doesn't matter what kind of food it is.

This will be easier for people who are happy w/ high normal BMIs, as it takes more calories to maintain that BMI.

Thanks, everyone. I am doing much better this week. And, I am not and never will be at what BMI says is healthy -- I am just not built that way. I am very fit and active and have lots of muscle. My tummy has visible ribs and visible abs -- I find it hard to believe that is what overweight looks like. Last time I had my body fat tested at the gym, she couldn't find any fat on my arms or legs to caliper. But, the BMI chart says I am overweight and always will. BMI is simply a calculation to estimate body fat, but my actual body fat measure is low healthy and that is what really matters. But, I really want to drop just a few more pounds...sigh. So, I have decided to adopt the keep on and be patient approach - maybe this is the size my body wants to be. I have put my food into the CRON-ometer (which is really hard to do because how do you really measure how many beans are in the soup mix you threw together, but I digress) and my calories are on target. I also calculated weight watchers points and they are right on target, too. So, I think my body is just re-grouping ... patience is a virtue, or so they say... LOL

I appreciate all the help!

Sharon

In the "WooHoo!!!!" category -- I guess my body was just waiting for me to quit worrying about the weight because guess what happened this week? The scale moved -- 5 pounds, to be more precise, in the downward direction! Yippee! Thanks everyone for your support and help.

Sharon

Please don't fall into that "I can't get to a good BMI b/c of X, Y or Z" excuse. You CAN. You need to get on MWL and stay there--you WILL be able to get to a good, healthy BMI. Despite minor differences, human beings (ALL beings, in fact!) are all made the same--take in fewer calories and you will lose weight. So eat plenty of low-calorie density foods and exercise moderately--the weight will come off!

Congrats on the 5 lbs.

Thanks! I am so happy that the scale finally moved.

Sharon

I agree. A shift in calorie-density can work wonders. After losing 150 pounds my weight stabilized at 155 pounds and a BMI of 22.5 for 12 years. Last year I started to experiment with calorie-density after watching videos on the sunject by Jeff and Dr. Lisle. As soon as I increased my percentage of 'green and yellow' vegetables my weight began to drop naturally. I'm not exercising myself to death as I have in the past -I'm just walking a few miles every day. My BMI is currently 21 with a goal of 20 by summer. My dress size has dropped from a 12 to an 8. And best of all, I'm not hungry in spite of replacing part (but by no means all) of the beans and starch in my diet with raw and steamed vegetables.

Kate