Can't Keep Up...
 

Hey everyone! I am somewhat new to this site, but no newbie when it comes to dieting and trying to get in shape. I've been struggling to keep my weight down since 2002 when I started 9th grade. In fact, the summer before 10th grade I was probably in the best shape of my life because my parents had rejoined Weight Watchers and I was obsessed with following the program with them. If I remember correctly, I was around 165 (after the summer) and about 5' 8" - 5' 10". After that summer I was always struggling trying to get in better shape and feel good about myself.

Currently I weigh 199.6 (up from 194 just a month ago?!?!) and I am 5' 11.5" According to my body fat scale (which I read can have a +/- 5% reading) I am 19.8% body fat. Not horrible...but not amazing. This year I have attempted some interesting theories in dieting. One of which I really loved...RAW FOODS! I ate raw for about 2 weeks and I think I was feeling the best I have ever felt in my life...and I wasn't even exercising. I don't have any record showing I lost weight, but the way I felt inside was incredible and I regret falling back into Standard American Diet hell.

So my issue at the moment is just sticking with logging everything and getting to the gym on a frequent basis. I should mention, I joined a local Planet Fitness on the 10th and have since only gone twice...I also live in NY (Long Island) and the weather isn't so great and I hate leaving the warmth.
The other night before signing up on this site, I contemplated doing Weight Watchers online...but reconsidered since I have the knowledge and could most likely get by without it.

Ideally, I want to incorporate concepts from The Abs Diet and The Raw Food Detox Diet. I don't want to go completely raw or vegan because I like having a bit of poultry and fish in my diet. I am on the fence when it comes to dairy and I think I would benefit more from eliminating it altogether. I guess my real issue is logging everything on this site because it gets annoying when 75% of what I eat is not found in my searches. I need some help in terms of how to go about making sure I get everything logged. Also, should I even bother logging activities? I have read here that it doesn't help much and that it does help...everyone has different opinions.

Ok so bit of a rant and I don't know if it was clear as to what I wanted, but feel free to post your opinions, ideas, methods, etc.

Pictures from October 27th at 196.4 pounds and approx. 18.4% body fat (according to my Omron BF Scale)

welcome aboard! I've heard great things about a raw food diet.

I have 1 question... your bf scale cane be +/- 5% as in you could be anywhere from a 24.8% to a 14.8%?? If so that's crazy. Why have it?

A 6 pack good is a good quest, I've come close but that's about it.

lol yea I'm not sure I read a review of the scale somewhere (probably amazon) and someone said it isn't totally accurate. It's a handheld version. So really it's possible it's only measuring the upper portion of my body and not completing the read or whatever the case. I kind of like it because it helps me to see how I'm doing in terms of progress...but again I can't be sure it's accurate. I have used online measurement calculations with neck measurements and something else and it was close to what I was getting on the bf monitor.

Btw I've seen a couple of your videos and think you're very inspirational. Thanks for the welcome!

oh thanks. :D

Even if it's not accurate against another form of testing, it should be accurate against itself. So, that'll be a good way to see progress.

It's a pain in the arse at first, but, I suggest you create some custom foods. Remember to add your measurement to the food name, since custom foods are always "1 serving". Calorieking.com is a good site I use to find stuff FitDay doesn't have, and I've entered in a lot of labels from things I buy which apparently aren't "popular" enough to be in the database already. Using the "food browse" option is much easier when you're looking for a certain cut of meat, and I always add "raw" behind my fruit and veggie searches.

Hi there Alex! My only dieting tip for you is to eat as whole and natural as possible. In my experience raw isn't necessary, since cooking some foods increases the bioavailability of certain vitamins, but whole fresh carrots always beat preserved carrot sticks, not only in terms of quantity of vitamins and phytochemicals but also in terms of flavor. I eat a lot of chicken and fish regularly, free range and wild caught, respectively, and grass-fed beef or bison where I can find and afford it. And nuts. Lots of nuts. All in all, I attribute my fitness to the fact that 90% of my diet comes from whole foods, not plastic packages. I'm not saying it's a cure-all, but it's a simple strategy without fancy rules and it could help you too.

With regards to gyms, I highly recommend switching to a 24-hour fitness or Gold's gym because I hear you're not allowed to deadlift (or grunt while lifting) in Planet Fitnesses. IMO this atmosphere is highly detrimental to having a successful strength training experience if you're always under pressure to purposefully under-perform just so you won't get kicked out. Or, you could just not join a gym and go full bodyweight exercises without leaving your warm home. You can get a pretty killer workout incorporating only bodyweight movements.

Good luck on your journey!

Yes, the search feature can be frustrating. Sometimes "less is more" and less specific searches work better.

Also, try the "Browse Food" choice--that often works better than a search.

As mentioned above, make a "Custom Food" for things you can't easily find and/or that you eat a lot. It is a bit of a pain at first, but is a big time saver in the long run.

Keep up the good work!

Regards,
Michael

I find that I create a lot of custom foods because the brands i use tend to differ from the values listed in the more generic listings, and I want to be as accurate as possible. This was a pain in the beginning, but because I utilize many of those components over and over it has gotten quite easy. Since I'm working from ingredients rather than prepared foods, I simply sit down after a grocery shop and enter foods that are new to me. Then they're available when I need them. Also, and idea is to keep a written log and catch up entering foods when you have time.

One frustration is that most food labels don't list micro-nutrients (not sure if that's the right word), so you could appear to be in deficit of certain minerals only because you don't have an expanded nutrition label. I have chosen not to worry about that, and assume I'm getting enough of those things by maintaining a varied and clean diet.

I find logging activities helpful. It's just another way to keep me connected, like this forum, to what I want to consider a new lifestyle, and not a diet. I do find that the more I log, the better idea I have of what I'm doing and how my body is responding. So far, my numbers make a lot of sense against my performance.

Good luck to you.

Thanks everyone for the replies, suggestions, and support!

My responses:

I joined Planet Fitness because it's super cheap and I got the Black Card status so I can bring guests. I was also really desperate to get on a treadmill and do some walking and jogging...something I am not willing to do in the cold weather. I have yet to go downstairs in the gym where all the weight machines are, but apparently they have a load of free weights and equipment. Also, on the first floor with all the cardio equipment they have 4 bench press sets which is ridiculous considering the grunting rule...and it's a bit weird because it's separated from the rest of the weight machines. I am not worried about the grunting rule because I have never worked out to an extreme that I needed to grunt. Also, there was no way I was going to another gym because they all want $50 or more a month...simply too much money. After my cruise in January, I might go to this small gym down the block from me that offers 6 personal training sessions for $99...they also have some sort of group boot camp class for $20 a class. Might be what I need to get a boost in the fat loss journey.

Yes, the tracking gets annoying...especially when I just don't feel like doing it. One trick I have been using is to take a picture of the nutrition label so I can later come back and enter all the info into the site. I'm just a bit surprised that with all the technology we have that this site can't just grab all the nutrition info from other websites on its on during a search...and I bet there are sites that can do that. Guess we have to deal with it for now.

I'm not sure how much of an impact entering my info into the site will make, but I guess I have to stick with it for a while to see.

Thanks for the tips SisterJen!

I honestly had such a horrible day at work that when I finally got home and went to this site I was going to write a post about how I don't want to update my food and activity logs everyday, but you gave me the extra little push to go on and do it...even if its slightly inaccurate due to different food brands v. generic brands. So thank you for the comments and the extra push to just log it and get it over with. Totally could have done without that cupcake at work today...but I won't beat myself up over it. Also, I didn't realize how much the sushi was adding up to! I'll have to start making better choices.

I was happy this morning because I finally got to the gym and I did a bit of upper body work and I did a HIIT routine from the Abs Diet on the treadmill. The whole time I was doing the circuit I was just thinking how useless some of the work other people were putting in at the gym. One guy was jogging the whole time (probably around 4.5-5mph and a majority of the people were walking. One woman went on the elliptical for 5 minutes and got off to go on a treadmill. Meanwhile I was done with my cardio workout in 22 minutes and everyone else was still there. I'm happy to see people working out...but I can't help judging how they are working out. I think a couple of people were wondering why I was going from walking to running every other minute.

What are your opinions on HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)? Do you think about how other people workout in the gym?

I'm there with you Alex on watching people at the gym. I once went in and did an entire powerlifting routine with four exercises, about 5 sets per exercise, and I was done in the span of maybe 45 minutes. Meanwhile there was this older woman (with a really creepy smile/stare) who was on the elliptical when I got there, and still on the elliptical when I left, and came back for my forgotten water bottle. She's probably still on it for all I know.

I like HIIT, I especially like doing it with a jump rope. You can even toss in a super-hard interval in the middle with doubles (or triples if you can), just varying singles speed on the rest of the intervals. I suppose you could do this just jumping around in place at different paces, but at least with a rope you don't look like a tool. :p

When I see someone working out, at the gym, at the track, wherever, I really don't judge them. I generally think, "Oh, good for them."

It's hard to know what people are doing, so I don't pass judgment on folks. Here's an example from my personal experience: Each week, I usually do 2 days of HIIT, 2 days of weights, and one day of steady state cardio. Like the individuals you disdain, on some days I get on the treadmill and run at 5 or 5.5 for 30 - 40 minutes. I do that because I recently achieved a goal of running my first 5K. I want to build endurance and do some more of them, and sometime I just plain like the feeling of loosening my legs in a run without going up to max perceived exertion. Also, if I've really burned it out the previous day with the weights and am a little sore, then a gentle, steady run is what my body needs.

It's understandable that people may be doing a slower workout or keeping a steady pace due to injury or ability or in CJohnson's case taking a break/taking it easy. I don't really care what other people are doing in the gym as long as it isn't interfering with my workout in anyway. And again...everybody has different techniques and methods...or sometimes just don't have the knowledge of specialized workouts.


I'll admit...the first day I went to the gym I went on the treadmill for 40 minutes and that was it, but I challenged myself to a bit of intensity by kicking it up to 6.5mph and running for a few minutes. Two years ago when I had a gym membership I would go on the treadmill and get up to 9.5mph. Crazy! I couldn't believe I could even keep up...I built up some good endurance then.

Tandoori: I'm not sure how I feel about HIIT with a jumprope...sounds intense. I feel like jumping rope is intense enough for me just trying to get a good amount of jumps in a row lol

Also, I wanted to see what people thought about jumping on a rebounder (mini-trampoline). I've heard a lot about how it improves the lymphatic system. I have a rebounder and have used it a good amount of times. The suggestion for using it came from a guy named Dan the Man the Life Regenerator on YouTube (his channel is liferegenerator). He is a raw foodist and talks about some crazy things, but I think his advice is good.

I try really hard not to judge people who are at least getting some physical activity, especially if they are elderly or are otherwise disabled in some way, but I honestly cannot condone people who give you dirty looks for lifting heavy and sweating while they read Reader's Digest on the recliney bike. If you can read and you are an otherwise functional human being, you can push yourself harder. Most grating are the guys who look the same as they did last year, doing one-arm chest flies on the Nautilus machines while holding and reading Esquire with their other hand. I mean, really?

I don't look like there's anything "wrong" with me, and I don't think I'd call myself "disabled", but there are definitely things I simply cannot do. I put in as much effort as I can, because you are only cheating yourself if you don't, but it's not as much as the "average" woman my weight and age is doing.

That being said, yeah you have a point. It's hard to not say something when someone's on the elliptical, propping their body weight up on the hand rails to make it "easier". But it's not my place to judge, and when I'm at the gym, it's my time to be selfish and focus on myself.

A few weeks ago, there was a girl in fantastic shape, about my height, Irish features like I have, and pretty much the exact figure I'm hoping to achieve. I wanted to ask her what she weighed, but I thought it would be weird or rude, so I didn't. I'm still honestly not sure what my "ideal" weight should be :confused:

I don't think it matters really how much you weigh. I had a bit of a revelation a couple of nights ago thinking how I shouldn't get so caught up in the numbers because really what I want to do is improve my overall health...I want to have visible abs and muscles. I want to not have that little bit of fat under my chin and I certainly don't want man boobs. If I could achieve all of that and still weigh 190 something...I would be pretty satisfied. If I got down to somewhere in the normal weight range for me I would have to be like 150...I would probably have no muscle mass and look scrawny and unhealthy.

Right now I am focusing on being a happier and healthier person. During this process I will hopefully lose some unwanted fat. I'm trying to get it through my head that it is going to take time and dedication to see the results I want. So really I don't think your ideal weight should be set in stone...you might get to 140 and have great lean muscle and less fat...I guess it depends on how you approach everything.

well said.

In my opinion the number on the scale is just a guide. I feel it will keep you motivated seeing it go down. But all of a sudden your clothes start falling off and in my case the number on the scale is staying steady and I am still going down in waste size. in the begining the number is important for motivation but I think once you reach your goal number the scale becomes less important and the real fine tuning comes in. I started working out harder and eating more protien and a few more good calories and low and behold I am not gaining weight I am just getting better. I think until I got to the weight I thought I should be i was afraid to lift as much and eat enough to see the muscle gain fat loss I have been seeing since I cranked it up.
The psycological block I had and the fixation on the number on the scale was holding me back.
It is a process that everyone needs to work through in there own way.
Anyway sorry for the rant Just felt like sharing...:)

No no you're spot on with what you said. The number on the scale is a good motivator...not for everyone though. For me seeing that I was getting closer to 200 was motivating to get my ass to the gym and start caring. I will probably weigh myself less and less when I get down to the 170s...as long as I'm maintaining the weight. Sometimes a shift in focus is all we need to go the extra step in the process of getting healthy.

I don't weigh myself too often, about once a week these days. I try to not get caught up in the numbers but it's hard not to. I'm close to where I want to be, just need to get my discipline back.

Hey Lizzie, I bet you look just great! Keep at it, 2011 will be your year to shine even more. Merry Christmas... Noel

So I have decided to take it easy for a bit until after the cruise I'm going on. This does not mean I am going to let myself go and pig out and not go to the gym. I just rather not worry about the tracking part at the time being until the holidays and cruise are over. I already started calculating how many calories I will be shooting for and I have some personal challenges/goals that are in the works. In another post I listed my next few weigh-in days. Those days again are January 1st, January 6th, and January 16th. It will be interesting to see if I gain or lose weight during the cruise...I'd be really pleased if I lost and I feel like I might just because of the amount of swimming and beach strolling I'll be doing (plus there's a gym!).

Thanks again for everyone's support and I will be back to tracking on January 16th. I will then be consistently weighing-in every Sunday morning.