ChunkyDunk78

haha, I had one of those kitten posters on my wall when I was like 12 or 13 LOL.

I just want to say that I have been checking out some of your blogs, and so many of you are so inspirational! A lot of times that I have been on forums about losing weight, many (most?) of the women are looking to only lose about 20 lbs... that doesn't give me much to hang onto... I want to know that someone who started out as big as me was able to do it...
In my personal life, the only people I have known who were able to lose a substantial amount of weight had weightloss surgery... (there is nothing wrong with that, btw, I am not saying that is a route that people shouldn't take)... its just not the route for me.

One of my bigger fears is all of the loose skin I will be left with What do you do with it? !!

ETA: Intake for today:

Calories: 2,168

Fat: 52.3

Carbs: 364.8

Protein: 107.4

This seems like a lot of carbs to me... The carbs that I ate include: fruit, yogurt, fiber one cereal (1 cup), whole wheat tortillas (2), and 3/4 cup brown rice. So they were all healthy choices... but... it still seems like a lot... however, if I cut out the carbs, my calories are going to be drastically reduced. I know from experience that a super-low calorie diet causes my body to freak out and refuse to lose weight, LOL. So I need to gradually sneak it down. (and the zig zag dieting is also something I know I need to do).

almeeker

ChunkyDunk, I totally hear you on the weight loss surgery. It's one option, but it's not the one for me. I'll bet you do know people that have lost 100 pounds or more, you just met them after they already did it and you would never guess by looking at them. I know a couple of people that have lost more than 100 pounds. Two of my neighbors, one about 10 years ago and the other in the last year, and both my FIL and his daughter my SIL. Although admittedly, my SIL got pregnant and then gained most of it back, so she's back on the wagon now and hopefully will be able to keep it off this time. My FIL lost his weight long before I met him, so I've always thought of him as thin, but according to my MIL he was like 500 pounds and now he's maybe 160-180. Do you ever watch the "Today Show", Al Roker lost like 225 or something, he used to be a big fat man. He had gastric bypass I think?

On the loose skin thing, they say that if you lose weight more slowly that the skin shrinks with it to some degree, I've also heard that it can continue to shrink once you are on a maintenance regimen for more than a year after you reach your goal, so you don't want to make any hasty decisions about plastic surgery. My own personal opinion on the extra skin is that I have the skin with or without the fat, so it might as well be without the fat.

NessaSonic

ChunkyDunk, along with Almeeker's suggestion about losing the weight gradually so your skin has time to adjust and shrink, find a great lotion and massage your problem areas daily. This will help with your stretch marks (if you have any, I know I do! Plus some people develop them during weight loss, so this will prevent that) but it will also help your circulation in your skin which will keep it healthy and help elasticity. So far, It's really been helping me. And it's extra fun if you can get your significant other to pitch in one in a while

ChunkyDunk78

yeah, I will have to remember to do the lotion thing.. just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to take time to massage myself LOL.
*(and im single right now, so...)

The areas I am the MOST worried about of course are my thighs (especially inner), stomache, breasts, and upper arms- i have bat wing arms, bleh).

I know lots of people are going to say this is bad, but I weigh myself every day... its probably not ideal, but I can't seem to walk by a scale without weighing myself!

GameGal

I can tell you, as a diabetic, that 380+ carbs IS a lot! According to my doctor ( and you need to check with your own for whats best for you) and several dieticians I have consulted with, the average woman, NOT on a diet should average about 130 grams of carbs a day. Those on a diet and/or diabetic should try to stay under 75 grams a day according to them.

Certainly, each individual is different and may need more or less according to your activity level, but 380 to me sounds way over the top.

Perhaps you could try to split the foods with the highest carb counts up over several days and replace them with lower carbed foods. Instead of eating the rice on the same day as you, for instance also have the tortillas ( this is just as example) you could have a salad in place of one or the other. Keeping the calories at what you have determined is a good place for you, does not necessarily mean it has to be that high in carbs.

Just my opinion

almeeker

I'm not a diabetic, and not a nutritionist, but I try and keep my carb intake 60-200grams/day, but my calorie budget is 1,600 calories max. When I stick to my budget for calories, and get the pie chart to 40-40-20, the carbs are usually low, but when I'm over budget calorie-wise it's all carbs baby! I think my worst day since joining fitday was hedging 500 grams of carbs . I usually concentrate more on the actual calories and on getting the pie chart where I want it than on the actual grams of anything. I like the idea of posting it though.

ChunkyDunk78

thanks for your reply.... I hear what you are saying...

I would think that the number of carbs you eat should be proportionate to your calories (I always thought that fat/protein/carbs were a certain recommended ration)... I guess I can check with my doctor to see what she says...

I guess the problem is also... a salad in no way would makes up those calories... (also I had a salad with both meals already LOL).

As for carbs/grains, I eat the number (and size) servings recommended by the food pyramid, so I just don't understand how to reduce the number and still feel full and not get weak and shaky (I have low blood sugar), etc.

For example, 2 servings of fruit (a small banana and 1 serving of grapes= 32 small red grapes) shows about 50 carbs in just those.

Also, I don't eat much meat (I'm actually trying to eliminate it completely), so I often eat beans as a source of protein, which also have carbs...

I would LOVE suggestions!


OH, maybe a suggestion as for dinner tonight. I have already had 184 carbs today with breakfast and lunch. So tonight I am having salmon and carrots for dinner... Was planning on having rice, but if I wasn't to eat rice, what could I eat instead that wouldn't be a lot of fat? I have about 1,000 calories left for the day...

almeeker

To boost your proteins you might try tuna, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, almonds, cheese, milk, soy nuts, protein bars and protein shakes.

If you need something to add to that dinner how about steamed cauliflower? It's sort of like rice in color and texture and it's only 25 calories per cup, low in carbs, low in fat and it's great with salmon. Well really any steamed veggie would be good with the salmon, green beans, broccoli, Brussell sprouts, spinach. The carb heavy veggies you might want to be careful with would be peas, corn, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, I try to limit them to 1-2 servings/day. Oh, and if you still want to have that rice, brown rice is way better for you than white.

ChunkyDunk78

Yea, I do eat brown rice. I do eat almonds every day as a snack

My pie chart is showing more than 50% carbs, so I guess I should try to balance that out...
thanks for the pointers

mstaff4564

Welcome ChunkyDunk78! I hope your back heals soon! And congrats on the quitting smoking. That is SO hard to do. My husband quit a little over a year ago, and I know it was tough for him too.

My take on the carbs is that it really depends on your energy level & what works for you. I would definitely work in a little more protein, but also keep in mind that small steps can make a huge difference. Sure, fruit is a little high in carbs, but choosing that over junk food is definitely a better choice. Maybe the first few weeks you just focus on making better food choices, then the next few weeks you move on to tweaking your ratios.

Also important, make sure you spread out the carbs through the day and have a good blend of fats, carbs, and proteins in your meals. If you have a good blend, it slows down the breakdown of the carbs you did eat, and they are less likely to cause a spike in blood sugar. Keeping them spread out will help keep your blood sugar from bouncing up and down.

Congrats on the 1.5lb loss WeightlossBoo. 1.5lbs is great, though I know it's frustrating after big drops. It looks like we've lost about the same amount of weight, so be comforted by the fact that I'm seeing a slowdown as well.

In fact, I'm kind of bummed today. The scale showed 239.5...a pound gained. I've been trying to pep talk myself all morning, trying to figure out what the heck is going on. I kept within my calorie range (1500-1800) except for 1 day (my swim day) and I had fairly typical carb/fat/protein ratios (maybe a little higher fat & less protein, but carbs were OK). I got on the treadmill 3 days (skipped 2 because of some back pain) & did my 2-hour swim on Saturday. I recorded an almost 1000-calorie deficit on Fitday every day.

So it doesn't make sense. It can't be fat. It's got to be water retention and muscle or something. There is no way I was off by 1500 calories every single day (which would be how I would be able to gain a pound of fat).

While I did have good calories & ratios, last week was very stressful with hubby's job issues. My carbs weren't high, but they weren't always good carbs either like they have been in previous weeks. Mashed potatoes are not my friend And I felt exhausted by Saturday. Finishing my laps was really hard. And yesterday my mood was down and I was just, blah. I I haven't felt that way in a month. The only thing I can think of is that it's exactly 14 days (halfway) into my cycle, and I usually have a small PMS episode around this time.

Don't worry, I'm sticking it out. This week I'm mixing in some old Tae-Bo tapes a few days & saving the treadmill for M,W,F to mix it up a bit. Better carb choices. I need to relax. I'm also going to try to weigh daily. Waiting a whole week is just nerve wracking and too much rides on that weigh in. If I do it daily & notice the fluctuations, hopefully I'll be able to handle them better (as long as the number is trending down).