Motivate me to lose 10 or 15 pounds!

In My Humble Opinion
1

So here I sit, 15 pounds into the 20 pounds I lost a few years ago. What happened? Dunno. Somewhere in between 9/11, moving from Colorado to Michigan, and dealing with a Michigan winter, the weight snuck up on me. I’m not obese, hell, I’m pretty fit if you ask me. I just don’t particularly like how I look, and I have a closetfull of clothes that don’t quite fit. I want to change that.

The problem? There are a few - one is motivation. Some days I feel motivated, others I go “Who cares? What’s 10 or 15 pounds? Hand me a beer!” I know if I really want to do this, I gotta get motivated and stay there.

Another problem - I’m not quite sure how to lose the weight. I don’t want to go back to e-diets (which is how I lost it before). It’s a LOT of work, and too much structure. However, I don’t do well with NO structure at all. It’s too easy, when just trying to “eat light”, to convince myself that 3 pieces of sausage pizza is “light.”

The other BIG problem - I work out. I really do. I try to either bike or run/walk an hour a day. When I run, I run between 30 & 40 minutes, then walk briskly another 20-30 to ensure I’m out for at least an hour. I’m working up to running longer. When I bike, I go at a good pace, and do some hills. I wear a heart rate monitor, and typically burn between 450-600 calories every workout. I don’t always work out every day, but at least get out at least 4 times/week, and strive for 6 or 7 days a week.

So what’s the problem? Figuring out how much food I need to eat to lose a bit of weight without feeling like I’m dying of starvation. If I eat normally, I feel strong and alert. I also don’t lose any weight. If I try to cut down on what I eat - even a little bit - I start feeling groggy. I’ll feel fine one day, then feel sleepy and almost as if I’m getting sick the next day. If I eat normally for a day or two, I’m fine. I’ve always been pretty sensitive to food - I’ve never been the type of person to just “forget to eat” all day - I skip lunch, I’m light headed, crabby, and sleepy by 2 or 3 in the afternoon.

The other problem - we have a 2 week trip planned, leaving on June 7 or so. Part of me really wants to start a new eating plan NOW, when I’m feeling motivated, the other part of me says “What’s the point? I really don’t want to set myself up for failure, and I don’t want to be ‘dieting’ during our first 2 week vacation in years. Eating reasonably and trying to keep up with my running whilst vacationing is work enough as it is.”

So what am I looking for? A swift kick in the ass would help. Eating plan advice would help. I’ve looked at Weight Watcher’s online plan, and am considering that - it seems like it would provide some structure without going overboard, and it also seems to take into account exercise by upping the calories on the days you work out. Anyone have experience with WW, or any other plan that might help?

2

ok, firstly: get away from the idea that you need to lose “weight”.
Sounds like you need to loose inches. You’re pretty fit, you say, so the bulk of your weight would be muscle tissue, anyway.
No point in trying to shed that.
Just do what i do: I occasionally (like you, when some of my clothes are starting to get a bit tight - i don’t have a set of scales, but I figure I weigh about 55 Kg, for a height of 1m58, or 120 pounds for 5ft 2 and a quarter inch) go on a no-junk diet: no sugar (or less, like ONLY in my coffee), no chocolate, no crisps (chips), no fast food (pizza’s, burgers, french fries), no inbetween snacks, or only healthy ones, like a carrot or an apple or something.

It really works, because you don’t cut out any valuable nutrients.
I eat cereal or toast in the morning, have a smoothie as an elevenses, usually have a sandwich (no butter or mayo, just veg end meat and or cheese, or tuna, as a filling), and then a dinner or a hot meal in the evening. I try to cut down on potatoes and un-toasted bread when I’m trying to tone up a little, it usually helps.
Stay away from red meat, but eat lots of chicken and/or fish (very healthy!).
That, and ofcourse plenty of green veg! Salads are gorgeous in the summer!

Alcohol: I rarely drink beer, i’m more of a wine person, but I don’t drink alcohol during the week. SO maybe you should try that? Have a glass of red wine everyday, the alcohol content would be as much as 2 to 3 glasses of beer, but the calories would be waaaaaay less.

And: plenty of water to clean out your system (detox)

a balanced diet is very easy to keep up, and shouldn’t be torture.

Plus: it’s easier to keep in shape than to get in shape.

The amount of excercise you’re doing seems quite enough, and it’s the right type, aswell (aerobic cardio vascular excercise is very good to keep fit.

3

Well, the problem is that I don’t often eat badly. I rarely if ever eat fast food. Pizza - maybe once a month, and I’ve been cutting even that out now. I don’t particularly like chips, so rarely eat them. If I get a sweets craving, I go for Nutri Grain bars or fruit. I honestly don’t think it’s the TYPE of food that I eat that’s the problem - it’s the quantity.

Alcohol - yes, this is probably an issue. I do like to have a drink or two at night, and I’ve had a really hard time cutting this out. Some nights, I don’t drink anything. On weekends, though, it’s pretty easy for the hubby and I to go through a couple bottles of wine over several hours, or 3-4 cocktails. We’ve tried saying “No drinking except on weekends” or “Only drink 2-3 nights a week” but invariably something comes up - someone invites us out to dinner, or hubby wants to watch the game on Tuesday night and have a beer or two. We’re not alcoholics by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s really difficult to give up my evening drink.

I

4

well then, if it’s the quantities, then you know what to do, don’t you…?

try drinking a big glass of water before you’re going to eat, and eat a LOT slower.
Chances are you’ll feel full quicker. And chewing your food more helps your digestive system, too.

and wine is ok, a few beers as well (if it’s the taste you like, try low cal beer, it tastes more or less the same and has less calories)m but please, cut out he calories!

And no cocal cola or lemonade, any kind of soda is poison!
25cl contains circa 15 lumps of sugar…

good luck!

5

Have you tried keeping track of what you’re eating and how many calories each item has? I was surprised to find out that many supposedly healthy items such as granola bars are somewhat high in calories.

How do you feel about baby carrots? I’ve been snacking on those a lot and it helps keep me from feeling too hungry.
I would start the exercise plan after you get back from the vacation. The first part of a diet is usually somewhat miserable, so why ruin the vacation.

6

If you lose 15 pounds I’ll have sex with you.
I’m told I’m pretty good at it.
Does that inspire you?

7

er… not really. Think that Mr. Athena might have a problem with that!

8

When I moved out to LA after 4 years in college of heavy dining hall gorging (imagine pancakes, pasta and pesto galore for three meals a day, seven days a week), I managed to drop about 15-20 pounds over a year or so, and keep it off, simply by modifying what I ate.

The first 6-9 months, I virtually eliminated all bread/flour products from my diet. Only meats, produce, and sugar-light or -free lowfat dairy. (And at the time, I never drank alcohol.) Moderate regular exercise, but not as hardcore as you’re doing – congratulations, btw! That’s some impressive dedication that I’d never be disciplined enough to follow through on!

Once I broke myself of cravings for carbs, I began allowing myself to indulge from time to time. I think overall dietary modification is the key.

9

I think the best and easiest thing you can do is add weight-lifting to your exercise regimen. Just because you are doing all that aerobic activity doesn’t mean you’re muscular, but you are probably toned, and low in fat. On the days when you run/walk, I’d do the run, walk much fewer minutes and lift weights instead.

More muscle will burn more calories just by existing.

Change your routine every 4 weeks and make sure that you are using correct form, lifting slowly and heavy enough weights. If you’re female, don’t worry about getting bulky, you’d have to lift VERY heavy weights that you can only do 2-3 reps with to get bulky. And even then, you would probably need to take supplements or drugs.

You should get a book that has several pre-packaged routines, that way you don’t have to make up your own.

And lastly, don’t pay so much attention to how many pounds you weigh. Pay more attention to how your clothes fit you and how fit you feel.

In regards to eating, if you are genuinely hungry, you need to eat more food, don’t ignore your hunger…it will get you into big trouble.

Good luck!

10

You might want to talk to a doctor about how the lack of food makes you feel. That sounds similar to people who have their blood sugar levels out of wack.

Also I would say to educate yourself on how many calories are in the food you’re eating. You know how many you are burning during exercise. Now figure out how many calories are in the food you’re eating. Check out pizza. Those 3 pieces of sausage pizza were probably about 1000 calories! In my opinion, people often overeat because they are unaware of how many calories are in food. If you learn more about that, you might be less likely to have a 3rd (or 2nd) slice of pizza.

If you want to lose weight but not change what you eat, work out more!

If you want to lose weight but not exert yourself, eat less!

If you want to lose weight quickly, eat less and work out more!