Okay, so dad I have been counting numbers for 2 full weeks: dad carbs and I, calories.
Dad's sugar levels were up & down throughout the holidays, so he has been much more careful and it really keeps his levels even.
I have stayed under 1,500 calories, no cheating, I promise, for 2 full weeks, and lost 1/2 lb.
And I am exercising.
What the pie am I doing wrong?
How many calories should an old lady like me have per day? Is 1,500 still too much?
I haven't even had any chocolate at all, or not a single cookie. I only weigh myself on Fridays, so I don't get discouraged.
Tadah! Today is Friday, and I am discouraged and ever so tempted to just go buy some m&ms.
Dad says I look thinner, but?
Any suggestions out there?
Why do all these new diets on all the popular TV shows say, "lose 5 lbs in a week"?
That must be when you are young and under 50.
I told dad I would do it for one month, as it is hard to count everything, especially when you cook from scratch like we do. We add it all together and actually use measuring cups to see how much we are eating.
Dad is doing great! And he weighs less than me, so sad.
6 comments:
Hang in there... it will get better and easier! I think 1,500 sounds about right, wait and see till the end of the month and if you are still getting shy results then go down to 1,200. Either way, keep going!!! It will take time to notice a change!So don't give up! Go find a picture that you hate of yourself and put it where you can see it... lol that always motivates me =)
or... exercise more (but I know that is difficult for you based on your knees and back)
Ok, I'm probably going to get yelled at for this by several different people but I'm going to give my real opinion anyway:
Stop stressing about it. Honestly, I think counting calories for more than a week is a REALLY bad idea. I will sometimes count for a week to understand where I am and what parts of my eating I need to adjust but I think doing it for longer than that is just (1) CONSTANTLY bringing food to your mind and (2) stressful, which makes it harder to lose weight as well.
Personally, I think that amount of calories is a bad plan. If you're trying to lose weight, eat at a level that is sustainable for the rest of your life - that's why pretty much any special "diet" doesn't work long-term. You have to change your overall habits in a sustainable way. In my opinion, that means having an occasional cookie! If you denying yourself a food you really love, you're going to always crave it and then completely overindulge when you do let yourself have it. But you do need to practice the self control so that when you do have a cookie, it is A cookie, not 5 over the course of a morning (see my life, two days ago. Okay, it was about 8 cookies. Lack of self control = bad).
Also, what are you doing for exercise? If you're not getting your heart rate up high enough for long enough, you're not going to be burning enough to actually lose. I don't know how fast you walk or for how long, but if you're not getting decently sweaty and at least a little out of breath, you're probably not pushing hard enough for the exercise to help with weight loss.
You reach plateaus with exercise pretty fast and if you don't (1) change it up AND (2) ramp it up, your body is going to go into "sustaining where I am" mode instead of "burn the fat" mode. So maybe try something different. Do you guys still have the gym pass? Do the stair steppers until you feel the burn or something. Try a cycling class - I don't know. If you really want to LOSE weight, you're going to have to push yourself.
Honestly, swimming would probably be a great exercise for you. It's no impact, you weigh less in the water and you've got resistance from all sides. So I'd suggest you get into a pool and tread water for 10 - 15 minutes or more at a time or start doing laps.
Last of all, don't expect so much so soon. Changing your habits and changing your body takes time. It's good to re-evaluate your program and make changes where you think it's necessary, but again, if you stress about it, it will be harder to lose weight. Don't put much stock in losing or gaining half a pound. Try weighing yourself and then drink a bottle of water and weigh your self again. Tada - you gained some weight! Or weight yourself and then go use the bathroom and weigh yourself again. Tada again - you lost some weight. What I would look for is an overall lower average of weight.
When people ask me how much I weigh, my answer is still about 140. The last two times I weighed myself, I weighed 139 and 139.5. I don't see that much difference between those and 140 - you can flucuate even 2 or 3 pounds in the course of one day. So I would look for an overall trend downward instead of stressing that you only lost 1/2 a pound one week or even gained a pound the next week. I think I've already said this 3 or 4 times, but once more for good measure: stress will make it harder to lose weight. So stop stressing it, kick up your exercise another couple of notches and make changes to your eating habits that are realistically sustainable for the rest of your life. And that's all I have to say about that.
Cari, perfectly said! The only thing I would add would be that for me, it sometimes takes about 2 months before I start seeing the results I WANT, and that is after i have been more AWARE of the things i am eating, and being very CONSISTENT with my exercise. I find for me, too, winter is the worst time for me to be motivated. I start getting motivated more around march, which just might be enough time to get "bikini" ready for our anniversary trip. Although, I know that having volleyball once or twice a week in the winter makes a big difference. Mostly I know my not losing weight is because I don't care enough yet to stop eating the sugar. I love sugar and know it is so bad, but I love it anyways.
You'll do fine if you follow Cari's advice and STOP Stressing about it, cuz stress also affects how fast you lose or gain weight.
(cari, did you write all this while we were sitting there discussing it? you are an amazing multi-tasker!)
Good advice guys!
I will keep at it.
I am not really stressing about it everyday; that is why I only weigh myself once a week.
It is true that counting calories makes you have to think about food all day long, and preplan my meals; but I figured I would do this for a few weeks to see if I am on the average eating too much.
Cari, I exercise once a day, but I mix it up. I never walk to a sweat, even at the gym. As soon as I start walking faster or using in incline or using the bikes, my knees swell up.
When I dance at home, I do sweat a little, so that is good.
Thanks for all the good tips!
I will keep going for 2 more weeks, then I may try another tactic.
it will take at least a month for your body to really change. keep it up. try weighing yourself daily except on the weekends. it can be a motivator. i agree you don't always have to count calories once you get a good idea how many calories are in food, then you can just watch portions. many times i actually will gain a few pounds before I go down. good luck!
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