Board 8 > I'm ****ing Sick of This (Weight Loss Topic)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Before entering grad school, I was 150 lbs. I assumed it was purely a sedentary lifestyle problem, but my weight began creeping up, and creeping up. I slowly noticed I was starting to eat with less strict priority, going out for any and all junk food or popping things on vending machines. The biggest culprit has to be drinking way too much water, mostly from caffeine drinks, soda, but even way big things of milk or smoothies. I have overindulged when I should be smarter, since I've lost weight once in my life. I still exercise the same as I always have: 4-5 days a week, varying from one hour of yoga, cardio, or free weights, plus walking outside whenever I need to or just for fun. This is definitely copious food and water intake.

But because I've been so stupid, I'm at 185 lbs, all within a year's time. Bigger gut, Insomnia, Cavities, tight clothes, bloat and potential acid reflux, higher blood pressure, you name it. Things have spiraled. 30 lbs in one year is unacceptable.

I have a word doc tracking my nightly weight. I will attempt to post those here whenever I can. If I can't keep myself accountable anymore, maybe this topic will. I ask people to monitor my new weight loss journey.

My starting goal is 180 lbs. If I can get anywhere close to my previous low (147.5 lbs), I'll be pleased with myself.

3/15/18: 185.5 lbs
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Strife2 posted...

drinking way too much water

wut?
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Isn't morning weight generally a better indication than night weight?

Also I think it's more likely the sugar intake in your drinking not the water.
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azuarc posted...

Strife2 posted...

drinking way too much water

wut?

Just today

2 Mountain Dew Kickstarts
Milk with my morning cereal (probably half a pound or so)
Mountain Dew at Jimmy Johns
Coke at 9:30 last night

Like I said, my willpower to stave off that stuff fell off a cliff at some point.
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Yeah, "water" is not your problem.

You need to be drinking a ton of, like, actual water and way less of everything else.
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2 mountain dew kick starts is like 160 calories for 16oz.
2 bottles of water is 0 calories for 16oz.
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5tarscream posted...

Isn't morning weight generally a better indication than night weight?

Also I think it's more likely the sugar intake in your drinking not the water.

1. Morning weight probably is, given a lot sweats or urinates out by morning (and I am not eating anything). However, I suffer from insomnia (caffeine or not). I may end up eating something if I don't fall asleep (skewing results). As long as I pick a consistent time of day, I will remain reliable. It's almost like reporting data for research purposes. As you said, I'll probably check morning weight anyway, just to be safe.

2. See above. However, take into account that "water weight" shows up on the scale just like all the sugar water does. Milk, tea, water. Anything I put in shows up.
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Strife2 posted...

2 Mountain Dew Kickstarts
Milk with my morning cereal (probably half a pound or so)
Mountain Dew at Jimmy Johns
Coke at 9:30 last night

is this like certain areas supposedly call all soda "coke"? all liquids are now "water"?

coke not pop i meant

185 is nowhere near bad unless you're like 5'5
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Aside from the milk, all of it is technically water.
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GranzonEx posted...

185 is nowhere near bad unless you're like 5'5

5'8". As I said, it's moreso how fast I gained it. Pretty much all fat.
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Strife2 posted...

Aside from the milk, all of it is technically water.

It's water with sugar or artificial sweeteners and other added flavor garbage, none of which is healthy. Just drink regular old water.
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He clearly means liquids.

Anyways, I will join you in your campaign, sir.

I was eating whatever I wanted up until november 1st to start dieting to go to Hawaii in February. An unfortunate incident occurred right before November so I no longer needed to diet for Hawaii and I just started snowballing with stress eating all the way up until about Feb10th where I was at an almost career high of 281 lbs.

As of today I am 261 lbs. My goal is 225. My absolute lowest goal is 205.

Basically I am using S Health from my Galaxy phone coupled with my fitness pal. I have not incorporated working out into my routine yet. Though I do get some activity at work.

I have mostly cut all liquids besides water. No soda, no beer, no juices, no milk, etc.

I am eating whatever I want while keeping my calories between 1200-2000 a day. Substituted oranges and yogurts for a lot of chips and other stuff.

The apps help keep me accountable mostly. I have slipped up a couple of days, but mostly I am adhering.
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I find what is so frustrating is I eat pretty well...most of the day

Low calorie organic cereals (the stuff that is 100-110 cals per serving, instead of double that)
Oatmeal (nuts, agave sweetener)
Peanut butter sandwiches
Smoothies (Frozen fruit, milk, and yogurt)
Protein Shakes (even more milk...whee)
Chicken wraps with hummus, spinach, and carrots

I eat 5-6 times a day (big -> small -> big -> small -> big -> small). Probably 3-4k calories. Worked great when I dropped weight 10 years ago. Never had a problem keeping said diet until now. Maybe like Corrik said, stress eating is a thing.

But instead of following the mantra "You eat what you buy," like more fruit or yogurt to pad things out, the vending machine in my building is close by...taunting me. Stupid sexy candy bars...
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Here's also the workout regimen.

2xdays of strength training (bodyweight or light weights) - 30 minutes
2-3xdays of yoga/pilates (DDPYoga, Kundalini, or Hatha) - 45 min-1 hour
1-2x days of jogging outside (20-30 minutes) - depends on the weather

I also do a physical therapy when I can, maybe 1-2 times a week. Foam rolls, lacrosse balls, Theracane, PT exercises for hands, knee, back, etc.
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Also, doesn't anyone know if chewing gum actually works as a mental trick to avoid overeating? I know it also does a SLIGHT calorie burn if done long enough. Weird how that works.
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Strife2 posted...

Also, doesn't anyone know if chewing gum actually works as a mental trick to avoid overeating? I know it also does a SLIGHT calorie burn if done long enough. Weird how that works.

Chewing gum helps people who have oral fixations. Instead of having to smoke or eat, you can chew gum.
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Strife2 posted...

I find what is so frustrating is I eat pretty well...most of the day

Low calorie organic cereals (the stuff that is 100-110 cals per serving, instead of double that)
Oatmeal (nuts, agave sweetener)
Peanut butter sandwiches
Smoothies (Frozen fruit, milk, and yogurt)
Protein Shakes (even more milk...whee)
Chicken wraps with hummus, spinach, and carrots

I eat 5-6 times a day (big -> small -> big -> small -> big -> small). Probably 3-4k calories. Worked great when I dropped weight 10 years ago. Never had a problem keeping said diet until now. Maybe like Corrik said, stress eating is a thing.

But instead of following the mantra "You eat what you buy," like more fruit or yogurt to pad things out, the vending machine in my building is close by...taunting me. Stupid sexy candy bars...

Unless you are trying to put on muscle, you shouldn't be drinking protein shakes unless not getting protein in your diet.

Wait hold on.

3-4k calories a day?

Then it all depends on how much you are working out. You can't lose weight without a lot of exercising at that calorie amount.
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It's usually 3k, but I've been anywhere around 4-5k with going out to eat more (another habit from grad school) and all those liquids. My habits and adherence are all out of wack now.
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Strife2 posted...

It's usually 3k, but I've been anywhere around 4-5k with going out to eat more (another habit from grad school) and all those liquids.

How much are you working out? If you are not burning like 2-3k calories a day depending on how much ur actually eating then ur not going to lose weight. And that's a ton of calories to burn.
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5-6 days of exercise per week. Almost an hour a day, as stated above.

True, the yoga is often lighter stretching, but the DDP and Kundalini styles can double as cardio since I practice long enough. I do know that the jogging still does the best job at burning calories though. It's just been too cold to be outside until recently. I started back up last week.
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Strife2 posted...

5-6 days of exercise per week. Almost an hour a day, as stated above.

True, the yoga is often lighter stretching, but the DDP and Kundalini styles can double as cardio since I practice long enough. I do know that the jogging still does the best job at burning calories though. It's just been too cold to be outside until recently. I started back up last week.

Yeah but an hour of day might only be a few hundred calories. You need to burn I dunno at least a thousand if not thousands.

Have you thought about cutting your diet?

That said, what is your height, weight, and age?

Maybe you do not even need to lose weight.
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I can probably cut the junk food or going out to eat as often (stick to yogurt or sushi if I do), and try to plan the meals more so I don't rely on an extra snack or two. At most, get me more around 2500-3000 calories instead.

Age: 32
Height: 5'8"

Sept. 16: 147.5 lbs (going on 31)
Jan. 17: 155 lbs (after Christmas)
Jun 17: 165-170 lbs (family visit)
Jan 18-Feb 18: 170-175 lbs (just last month)
Mar. 18: 185.5 lbs (halfway to 33)

It's only been a year and a half. I'm not convinced my metabolism just went "poof."
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Strife2 posted...

I can probably cut the junk food or going out to eat as often (stick to yogurt or sushi if I do), and try to plan the meals more so I don't rely on an extra snack or two. At most, get me more around 2500-3000 calories instead.

Age: 32
Height: 5'8"

Sept. 16: 147.5 lbs (going on 31)
Jan. 17: 155 lbs (after Christmas)
Jun 17: 165-170 lbs (family visit)
Jan 18-Feb 18: 170-175 lbs (just last month)
Mar. 18: 185.5 lbs (halfway to 33)

It's only been a year and a half. I'm not convinced my metabolism just went "poof."

Your metabolism hits kind of a wall around 30.
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I'm just gonna say this straight up

Your exercising is fine. There is no issue with it. You also aren't necessarily taking in too many liquids - liquids are fine. IMO, you need to start watching 3 main things:
- Your calories (If you're trying to lose weight, 3k is too much. If you were trying to bulk up and gain a ton of muscle mass, different story, but you need to get this way lower)
- Your sugar intake (tons of things have added sugar nowadays, and you just don't need it. Not to mention the less sugar you take in, the less sugar there is for your body to burn as energy, and the more fat you'll burn instead).
- Saturated fat intake (fat intake is okay. Too much saturated fat intake is definitely not okay. If something is rich in monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats, then you're doing alright. If it's got a pretty crazy amount of saturated fat, just don't eat it)

So keep up with your exercise, cut out all sodas and limit intake of everything except water to very small portions, and then watch how much and what you eat.

Here's what I suggest specifically for your diet based on losing fat/losing unhealthy weight:
- Limit carbs/sugar. Honestly, all it takes is knowing the food group and checking the labels for sugars. You don't need to completely avoid carbs, but you should limit it, and the less sugar the better. You'll get enough sugar without drinking sodas and stuff.
- Milk needs to become way less important in your diet. Replace it with water/unsweet tea. Again, you don't need to completely avoid milk, it's cool to have in limited amounts and not all the time. It's just kinda fatty and not the best choice for losing weight.
- What's up with the protein shake? No need to have a protein shake if you just eat some protein during the rest of the day. Protein shakes (along with some other stuff like Gatorade) should probably be left to athletes and bodybuilders.
- Calories should probably be around 2k for you max. I'm not sure exactly what kind of calorie burning your exercising will do and how many you'll need to keep up with your exercise regimen, but I assume that if you're around 1700-2000 you're gonna be losing weight and you'll still be fine.
- Maybe try intermittent fasting? For every 24 hours, have an 8 hour feeding period and a 16 hour fasting period (this means no eating and no drinking anything with more than 0 calories, so basically only water). Basically, have lunch and dinner, and then sleep for 8 hours and skip breakfast. You're gonna have to keep your calorie intake higher on your other meals without that 1st big meal every day but seeing what your diet is now, that shouldn't be an issue.
- And most importantly, GET RID OF SODA. Seriously. It's high on sugars and calories, and you seem to drink a lot of it everyday. Do not get rid of liquid. Get rid of soda specifically. Liquids are good, but you've gotta know which ones to drink, and soda is the one that you should not be drinking under any circumstance.
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It says you are 22lbs overweight, but that also is not exact due to muscle. It could be less.

Your bmr is 1870.78. This is what you burn just to be alive every day with breathing.

Your Harris Benedict Equation with estimating you at "moderate" has you at 2899.71.

This is the amount of calories you burn normally with every day life.

3500 calories = 1lb.

You need to have a 3500 calorie deficit to lose a lb. If you have a 3500 calorie surplus, you gain a pound.

You are estimating 3-5k calories a day.

Meaning you need to be burning probably 3.5-5.5k calories a day accordingly to be losing a lb a week. Or you need to cut your calorie intake lower.

Hope that helps.
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Low calorie organic cereals (the stuff that is 100-110 cals per serving, instead of double that)

-sugar

Oatmeal (nuts, agave sweetener)

-sugar

Peanut butter sandwiches

-sugar + protein

Smoothies (Frozen fruit, milk, and yogurt)

-sugar

Protein Shakes (even more milk...whee)

this isn't a given, but I'm going to take a wild guess: sugar

Chicken wraps with hummus, spinach, and carrots

ok this is fine

Your problem isn't even calories, you're eating nothing but sugar, which by its nature makes you hungry for more sugar.
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Also calorie counting has about as much scientific merit as astrology (except astrology sometimes can sync up with results) but no one ever listens when I say this so I suggest doing some independent nutrition study on your own, and for now just stop eating nothing but sugar
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As much as "no sugar" is great, I will also counter by saying plain oatmeal tastes like ass.

I will agree that the American diet is rife with "refined" sugars, but the brain needs glucose to run, even if only by fruits, vegetables, or grains. Avoiding sugar completely is just like avoiding sodium: almost impossible. Almost every restaurant item is gonna be high sodium, high fat, or high sugar in some form. I'm lucky I find the good choices I can.

Doable yes, but nigh impossible. The food industry is also catching on, trying to throw in "sugar alcohols" as if that means anything..."sugar free" my butt.

Anyway, to end with the earlier joke, plain oatmeal tastes like ass. If I eat that at all, I need something to choke it down. Either that or something as filling as oatmeal (one bowl can last me seven hours) that won't taste like old socks.
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Plain oatmeal is still refined sugar, chemically speaking.

Thats why I said eggs.

Please dont try to pretend like your brain is in danger of not having enough glucose if you cut out the obscene surplus you're intaking. Plants need nitrogen but they dont grow better if you take a dump on them everyday.
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If you need something more filling, I suggest mixing coconut oil and heavy cream in with morning coffee. You can even have a spoon of sugar in that coffee if you like.
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I don't mind eggs, but coffee...oof. Tea will be fine. I have half a shelf of green and white kinds already.

I'm just dumb. Or lazy...or both. I picked up the energy drink habit workibg at,GNC. Caffeine is just useless, as is the sugar.
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EmoCombeeDancin posted...

Also calorie counting has about as much scientific merit as astrology (except astrology sometimes can sync up with results) but no one ever listens when I say this so I suggest doing some independent nutrition study on your own, and for now just stop eating nothing but sugar

Love to hear this argument because I am gonna call bullshit on that one.
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You are overeating, and what you are drinking is bad for you. So stop fussing about your brain sugars and just replace most of your water with actual water and dont eat 5 meals a day.
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Be careful with subsituting fruits for snacks
There's a thing called fruitsugar for a reason.
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Cut your calories
Cut out liquids that aren't water or milk (don't drink an excess of milk)

That's quite literally all you have to do to see results. Work out as well, but you really need to cut calories. It's such a stupidly easy solution it blows my mind the amount of peoplw trying to find fad diets or workarounds.
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EmoCombeeDancin posted...

Also calorie counting has about as much scientific merit as astrology (except astrology sometimes can sync up with results) but no one ever listens when I say this

This is the dumbest thing I've ever read and you clearly have no idea what you are talking about or what constitutes scientific merit.
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Four hours of sleep, but I won't get that stupid soda.

Oh...I forgot to mention there's a friend's birthday party tonight. Talk about testing myself.
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Parties are the worst

Lets hope they have nuts
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I bought the gum in the hope it comes into play. Last week, the friend brought some Oreos for our group, and I had 8-10 within half an hour. Imagine this party.

Oh, and morning weight after breakfast was 184.8.
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Corrik posted...

It says you are 22lbs overweight, but that also is not exact due to muscle. It could be less.

Your bmr is 1870.78. This is what you burn just to be alive every day with breathing.

Your Harris Benedict Equation with estimating you at "moderate" has you at 2899.71.

This is the amount of calories you burn normally with every day life.

3500 calories = 1lb.

You need to have a 3500 calorie deficit to lose a lb. If you have a 3500 calorie surplus, you gain a pound.

You are estimating 3-5k calories a day.

Meaning you need to be burning probably 3.5-5.5k calories a day accordingly to be losing a lb a week. Or you need to cut your calorie intake lower.

Hope that helps.

38 lbs/1.5 years * 3500 Cal/lb /365 days/year is approximately 250 extra calories a day.

2900 Cal TDEE + 250 Cal extra = 3150 Cal/ day or just about what you think you have been eating. Nothing is wrong with your metabolism. You are eating too much.
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Re: water

You aren't drinking too much of it. All the water you drink gets eliminated through various mechanisms, minus retained water which amount is (in the long term) completely unrelated to the volume of water you are drinking.

It's the additives in your drinks that can cause weight gain.
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EmoCombeeDancin posted...

Also calorie counting has about as much scientific merit as astrology (except astrology sometimes can sync up with results) but no one ever listens when I say this so I suggest doing some independent nutrition study on your own, and for now just stop eating nothing but sugar

I initially deleted my response to this because it was incredibly mean but I do need to call out how insanely ludicrous of a statement this is. If you provide a source I would be happy to tell you everything wrong with the methodology, conclusions, etc while providing peer reviewed journal sources stating the actual science which is quite simple.
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Sure, Gary Taubes' Good Calories Bad Calories is the go to nutrition book everyone should be reading.

If you want an anecdotal source, you can look at board 8's weight loss topic lol
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OliviaTremor posted...

EmoCombeeDancin posted...

Also calorie counting has about as much scientific merit as astrology (except astrology sometimes can sync up with results) but no one ever listens when I say this so I suggest doing some independent nutrition study on your own, and for now just stop eating nothing but sugar

I initially deleted my response to this because it was incredibly mean but I do need to call out how insanely ludicrous of a statement this is. If you provide a source I would be happy to tell you everything wrong with the methodology, conclusions, etc while providing peer reviewed journal sources stating the actual science which is quite simple.

Calorie counting has more scientific merit than astrology, but it is severely overrated as the end-all be-all of weight loss and gain. You cannot just follow the law of conservation of energy and assume that the chemical bonds in your food has to match the chemical energy your body burns, because your body responds to the calorie intake. Someone who eats a steady 2500 per day will gain less weight than a yoyo dieter who alternates between 3000 and 2000. Cutting calories does not automatically lead to fat burn.
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The other factor is nutrition. If you fill the body with "empty" calories like refined sugar or whatever you will remain hungry even when you have met your calorie needs. The body will want more food so it can have the proper materials to stay healthy.

On the same principle, the most nutrient rich foods (such as fruits, vegetables, and lean meats) are also very satisfying(edit: reduce cravings) because they provide both energy (calories) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc.).
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KingButz posted...

The other factor is nutrition. If you fill the body with "empty" calories like refined sugar or whatever you will remain hungry even when you have met your calorie needs. The body will want more food so it can have the proper materials to stay healthy.

On the same principle, the most nutrient rich foods (such as fruits, vegetables, and lean meats) are also very satisfying because they provide both energy (calories) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc.).

We agree empty calories makes you hungry and want to eat more. But, if you eat just those empty calories and do not succumb to hunger, you will lose weight due to the calorie loss. It just makes it so much harder.
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You will lose weight, but it won't be healthy. You can be a normal weight and also vulnerable to similar health issues caused by obesity.

Athletes call that "skinny-fat."
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SantaRPidgey posted...

Sure, Gary Taubes' Good Calories Bad Calories is the go to nutrition book everyone should be reading.

If you want an anecdotal source, you can look at board 8's weight loss topic lol

I'm glad you provided a source that's actually primary literature. It's 640 pages so I'm not going to be able to read it all any time soon. That being said, I agree with the general principle that seems to be applied that 'not all calories are the same'. That's true. Here's an article from Science kind of elaborating on that in lay terms

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/02/have-we-been-miscounting-calories

The article ends, however, with the assertion that 'if you want to lose weight you have to cut back on the calories'. I see what you are saying, it can be inaccurate and I apologize for jumping on the 'what the fuck' response immediately, but cutting calories is absolutely crucial to losing weight. If you go from 4000 calories a day to 2500, you will absolutely see a decrease. If you are burning more calories than you intake, you'll lose weight. But you are right, not all calories are the same.
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KingButz posted...

You will lose weight, but it won't be healthy. You can be a normal weight and also vulnerable to similar health issues caused by obesity.

Athletes call that "skinny-fat."

His argument was you could eat anything as long as it is healthy you will lose weight and you eat barely anything but if it is bad you will gain weight. He said calorie counting and being an effect was a hoax basically. That's entirely bs.
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