keb401

GRRR. I just posted a really long winded lead up and question for it to not post. So here goes again, and I will try to shorten it for my sake and yours.

Hello Everyone!

I have been on fitday since 16 Jan 2011, and have been content to just read the posts and learn from them. However, today is the day for me to come out of the shadows because I need some help.

*Background*
I have never really been overweight. In fact, most of my life has been spent underweight. I do not have an emotional relationship with food (learned by watching my mother eat her tears away) However, I moved far away from home for a new job, started a relationship, turned 25, and quit smoking all in the 2 years since I have moved. This has somehow caused me to put on 20 pounds, as my metabolism hit a brick wall on my 25th B-day, quitting smoking gives me the muchies, and being in a relationship causes me to spend most of my time eating greasy food, drinking beer, and watching the game with the boyfriend. I was actually fine, only noticing a little bit of "squish" until I went home last summer and ended up getting harassed by family. They were poking my new found dough as no one has ever seen me with extra weight. I didn't realize how much I had put on until it was time to go back to the airport and I was weighing our luggage (I don't have scales at home and can see how this may have led to the problem). I had managed to gain 20 pounds in 18 months. Unreal.

*Last Month and a Half*
I started on 16 January. I wanted to lose 20 pounds by 1 April as I have a beach trip coming up. Fitday said I would need to lose 1.8 pounds a week, which didn't seem to be a problem. I cut out beer (), slim jims (I would seriously eat 1 or 2 a day), redbull/monster/etc (I would guzzle 2 a day), Regular Dr. Pepper (2-3 cans a day) an try to eat more whole foods. I decided to keep my intake between 1200-1400 calories a day. I also started to exercise by working my way up to 40 minutes of cardio a day and 20 minutes of weights a day, with one or two days off a week. I lost 8 pounds in the first month! I was really excited and motivated to keep going. I was actually looking foward to exercising (from a self professed couch potato...this means a lot), and I was really enjoying eating better and fresher foods.

*Present*
So now I have been at this for 7 weeks. I have been busting tail in the gym, I miss my cold beer while watching sports and really miss the deep fried salty game day snacks. I am still at -8 pounds. That means three weeks and the scale hasn't so much budged. It makes me want to quit and go back to eating/drinking what I want and being happy. But I also really want my body and fitness back to were it was when I first moved out west.

I made my food journal public. I know I have a soft spot for salty, but I have also noticed I can eat well for a week, and then ruin it with sweets (which I don't normally like) So before I started this, most of my calories were empty and came from what I was drinking. Now I try to make my calories count, since I don't have that many to play with. I struggle with being hungry, but I can distract myself enough to let it pass.

Does anyone have any ideas why I cannot seem to lose no matter how hard I try?

This has also been a bad week as I have had birthday's and dinners out to deal with, as well as lots of chocolate (pms?).

kajajo

This is my first attempt at adding a quote to my answer, so bare with me if it doesn't work.

You mentioned that you don't emotional eat, but the quote above proves otherwise, it doesn't have to be tears that prompt eating, but if eating the wrong foods and drinking beer make you happy then that too can be considered emotional eating. Try finding better alternatives to eat and drink when watching the game, the game itself and the company should be enough to make you happy.

8 lbs down is a great start for someone with only 20 lbs total to lose. I am going to guess that your BMI is probably already in the healthy range, so instead of worrying about the numbers on the scale why not just concentrate on toning what you already have.

Hope I don't sound like I am preaching but I have a daughter your age and wouldn't want her to live her life the way I have lived mine, always worrying about what goes in my mouth, instead I want her to concentrate on the bigger picture of being fit and healthy for life.

Dee

wannabefitgrl

Glad you're coming 'out of your shell'! As for the weight loss, 8 pounds in the first month is a lot and you probably shouldn't be surprised if things slow down. Getting all that junk out of your system makes a bit impact on that scale. You also mentioned PMS, so don't discount additional weight from menstral fluids and the occasional bloating that happens! And if you're willing to admit you haven't eaten as well as you could, maybe log some of those things into fitday to see just how many calories might be in that cookie or bowl of ice cream! I think you'd be surprised by some of the information. I have a real problem with making cookie dough just to eat it and even if I only make a half batch of it and it takes me a couple of days to eat it all, the calories are astronomical (flour and sugar and eggs....oh my!).

I realize more and more that I don't have a healthy relationship with food and struggle to keep myself under control. Have you talked to your significant other about it? Support from my boyfriend helps a lot. He's not the best eater but tries to support my healthy decisions, and at the very least, never makes me feel like I'm missing out if I have a sugar free fudge pop as dessert while he has a big bowl of ice cream, or if I skip buttery french toast for breakfast and opt of an egg white veggie scramble.

We're all fighting hard to find that balance. Using fitday could allow you to plan for indulgences (like a beer or pretzels), so use the tools here. Best of luck!

keb401

"You mentioned that you don't emotional eat, but the quote above proves otherwise, it doesn't have to be tears that prompt eating, but if eating the wrong foods and drinking beer make you happy then that too can be considered emotional eating."

Sorry, don't know how to quote on the forum, lol. Let me clarify tha..., I guess it came out wrong. I was referring to not necessarily what I eat and drink that makes me happy, because the company is what I truly enjoy. I meant I was happy during the days that I could eat whatever and how much I wanted without having to worry about fitting into my clothes or having people poke my soft spots, lol.

keb401

Dee, thank you for advice and support. You do have a point about not concentrating on the scale so much and just trying to tone more. The scale seems to have an appeal to me for some reason, as I moved out here for work at a certain weight and my pants fit a certain way (we have uniforms) so I want to get back to that weight and have my pants fit again . I am down to one pair that fits comfy enough to wear all day/night, and we don't have uniform allowance yet, so I really don't have a choice but to slim down a little bit, ha ha.

Wannabefitgrl, I do log all the bad things that go into my mouth...as much as I want to pretend it didn't happen and think if I didn't enter it, then I will forget I ate it. However, most of the time the damage isn't as bad as it could be and I just have to adjust for it the rest of the day (or sometimes week). As far as the boyfriend, he is supportive to a point. He thinks I am crazy for wanting to "lose weight" but I keep trying to tell him its more than that, it is about living a healthier lifestyle. He just thinks I am trying to make him eat like a rabbit. I am in charge of grocery shopping and meal preperation (thank goodness) so I can pick and chose what comes into the house. But everytime I send him to Costco for toiletpaper and diet soda, he comes home with a 3 lb bag of chips, a tub of random cream based dip, ice cream, and last week - bacon mac n cheese.

kajajo

Your boyfriend sounds a lot like my husband, he can't understand when he brings home a dozen donuts why I can't at least eat just one, when I finally explained to him that if I ate one I would have to skip one of my meals during the day, he still doesn't get it, being the ever skinny man I married, its all in the genes, he is the same size he was in high school, both of my sons are built just like him and his father at the age of 90 when he passed away still was the same size he was when he joined the Army in WWII. I only wish I could do like they do and eat anything I want but I can't and I think he understands that, but he still brings home treats all the time, I just have to be strong and resist the temptation if I finally want to do this for GOOD!!