I've reached the bottom of the Barrel, and it's killing me inside?!
Question: Just once I'd like to be the skinny girl.
But the fact is, I've been battling with my weight for 3 years.
I'm actually watching myself growing bigger and bigger.
5'5 165
Just a month and a half ago, I weighed 150.
I know how to diet but I cannot stick to anything.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
why do I give up so easy.
I'm so hopeless right now.
I need really good motivation and it's sad that I can't provide it to myself.
I used to be so strong, and actually could eat healthy for a month with out grabing something that is unhealthy.
now, I can't even go two days.
aslk;hdjf
Any suggestions?
JR
Answers: Just once I'd like to be the skinny girl.
But the fact is, I've been battling with my weight for 3 years.
I'm actually watching myself growing bigger and bigger.
5'5 165
Just a month and a half ago, I weighed 150.
I know how to diet but I cannot stick to anything.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
why do I give up so easy.
I'm so hopeless right now.
I need really good motivation and it's sad that I can't provide it to myself.
I used to be so strong, and actually could eat healthy for a month with out grabing something that is unhealthy.
now, I can't even go two days.
aslk;hdjf
Any suggestions?
JR
pick yourself up and get back in the race.
Well we can't really do anything to help you.
YOU have to do this yourself have a little self-control, you know you can do this.
Be strong and hang in there, you can do this.
I can only support you.
You know the healthy foods, now just exersice daily....get up and get with it.......get moving!!!
CARDIO
PILATES
RUNNING
WALKING
SOO MANY OPTIONS
FRUITS, VEGGIES, CHICKEN.............lots of good tasting healthy food.
MODERATION IS THE KEY***
No eating after 7 PM
NOW START IT!
Try this website It's absolutely free, and it really helped me think about how I ate. I lost 30 pounds using it. It's not hard to do. You can eat whatever you choose, and there is support available if you want it.
http://www.sparkpeople.com
Excercise.. Find a sport or something that you like and stick with it.. has to be something you actually enjoy, make it a daily thing.
Turn off your Tv and Computer
Go outside
and just join a place where you know you will be getting exercise even if u like it or not
Like a Cardio Core boot camp or something
Sounds like you need to keep your chin up and try to be happy! It's hard.....but remember that life is about more than your weight - and you are worth more than your weight!
The key to being healthy isn't about denying yourself foods you enjoy....that will lead you to binge, or feel that you can't stick to a 'diet' for more than two days at a time - just enjoy everything in moderation and smaller portions. Don't look at it as a 'diet' or as anything temporary, just try to re-design your lifestyle so that it's a healthy one. If you want to lose weight, then for a while that simply means outweighing what you put in (food and drink) with what you put out through exercise/activity. Then when you reach your goal you can back off the exercise a bit or bring the food up a notch.
The following info is what I usually tell people trying to lose weight...there's some pretty specific diet and exercise stuff, with some motivational tips....I really hope it helps - sorry to copy and paste but there's loads of info!
Really - all the best and I hope you can find happiness and health....and balance! Good luck and keep your chin up through the rough patches....I think you'll find that if you get some balance and enjoy everything (food and exercise) in moderation then you will be happier and proud of yourself. When you treat yourself well, you can't help but feel good!
Ok - watch out for so called 'low fat' options, as often they are filled with lots of other junk (like sugar or sodium) to make them tasty. What you should focus on instead is an overall healthy eating plan that is balanced and gets fats from good sources like avocados, nuts etc.
Getting outside for exercise is really fun - but if you can't you can head to a gym, or if you prefer you can do at-home workouts. There's heaps of strength training exercises on the net, and if you buy some dumbells you'll be set! Also try pushups, squats, lunges, planks, crunches etc. A skipping rope is a FANTASTIC invention - I use one all the time, and it's great for your abs if you twist your lower body from side to side while you skip and squeeze your tummy in. This is a great way to get all sweaty! I also picked up an elliptical trainer (my absolute saviour), a rower and an exercise bike on ebay for a reasonable price. I love the elliptical - really strips fat off so fast you can feel it melting away!!!!!! I do my cardio before strength training as this tends to give the best energy burn.
Weight loss at a healthy rate should occur at about half a kilo to a kilo a week, if you aim for 1 kilo per week. It's hard work, but it's also really, really fun and rewarding - and if you make the right changes, your weight loss and healthy lifestyle will be sustainable for life! You can't really spot reduce and lose weight from your stomach and thighs - it's best to shoot for an overall body workout - cardio is vital, but to tone and shape your stomach and thighs try crunches, squats, strength training, core-strength exercises (eg. plank), pushups (squeeze your tummy in - you'll feel your muscles stretching!). Actually I just started yoga, and as far as toning my stomach and thighs, it's been the most effective form of exercise (and I do a lot of exercise!).
The following is what I usually tell people who are trying to lose weight, I've written it based on my own experience (I lose, and kept off, over 40 kilos - so 88lbs). I'll follow it up with a more structured plan you might like to consider following.....good luck - and enjoy yourself regardless of how much weight you lose - you only live once and this is time you should truly be enjoying rather than stressing about weight - instead of focusing on your weight, concentrate on health and happiness - the weight will follow!
Healthy weight loss is simple and fun! You should aim for between half a kilo and a kilo a week as this is a healthy rate - however if you don't notice a change on the scales don't get discouraged as you may be gaining muscle but losing fat (muscle is heavier than fat but is much more dense so takes up less room - you'll appear to have lost weight and your clothes will be looser).
Basically you should aim to alter your diet and exercise in order to achieve healthy weight loss - you dont need diet pills, fad dieting or any expensive weight loss plan.
With relation to your diet, eat 5-6 small meals a day - breakfast is a MUST for weight loss (it kick starts your metabolism and it makes you less likely to over eat during the rest of the day) - try a healthy cereal (low in fat and sugar....watch the sugar!!!! so many are loaded with the stuff), low fat milk and fruit, or low fat yoghurt and fruit (i top low fat yoghurt with fruit salad and muesli - yum!), wholegrain toast etc. Go for lots of lean meats, veggies, fruit, grains, good carbs and good fats (found in oily fish like salmon, and in nuts, avocados etc). Don't restrict yourself of anything though - if you feel like a treat or a cookie, have it (make sure it's a darn good one too if you aren't going to be eating them as often - really makes you appreciate a qualitie cookie!), but remember that what you are eating is a 'sometimes' food that can fit into a healthy, balanced lifestyle but should not be your main source of nutrients. If you deny yourself every 'treat' then when you do finally crack and decide to indulge you are more likely to binge than to enjoy the food in moderation (eg. skip eating a cookie when you really feel like it, and then when you do have some you end up scoffing the packet...not goooooood!).
Some healthy snack ideas - fruit, veggies dipped in hommus, low fat yoghurt (topped with fruit salad and nuts or muesli), toast/english muffins, smoothies (made with low fat yoghurt, fruit, low fat milk), healthy home made muffins (alter your favourite recipe - eg. substitute the unhealthy ingreds like full fat butter with reduced fat marg/spread, sugar can be replaced with apple-sauce or apple puree, white flour with wholemeal, or use a mix of white and wholemeal...if you want a chocolate fix in your muffins go for some cocoa, or dark chocolate chips as opposed to milk or chite chocolate), wraps (using lavash or mountain rice bread), fruit toast (try bakers' delight - they have the apricot delight loaf and the cape fruit and nut loaf - both with no added fats or sugars!). Try cooking yummy but healthy things to snack on - it will prevent you from getting bored, and you can develop your cooking skills!
With exercise, I would recommend doing at least 30 min of aerobic activity a day and combining this with strength and resistance training (to build muscle which will up your metabolism, making weight loss easier to maintain). Try joining a gym, or gym classes, yoga, walking and jogging, swimming, bike riding, weights, using a cross trainer (I do interval training on an elliptical machine as part of my daily routine - works wonders and burns loads of fat!). Just try to make activity a part of your daily life. If you work incredibly hard at exercise, or are working out for periods of 60 min or more a day, then definitely give yourself at least a day each week to rest your body and let it recover - otherwise you won't get results, and you'll be prone to injury - which really sabotages your whole exercise regime!
All the best with your goals - talk to your doctor about what is a healthy weight for you, and make this your goal. If you need extra assistance, a dietician may help you with the nutritional side of things, and booking a couple of sessions with a personal trainer could be a good idea just to show you how to correctly perform different exercises. Also - for additional info I recommend the australian institute of sport website - a lot of the nutritional info is targeted at athletes and very highly active individuals, but there are great articles on weight loss and some great (GREAT!) recipes complete with nutritional info so you know how many kilojoules/calories you're putting in, and how healthy the meal/snack is. Basically, if you outweigh what you're putting in (food/drink) with what you're expending through activity then you'll lose weight!
Happy eating and exercising!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you need help getting motivated to exercise.....
My trick to sticking to my routines (altho I'm a bit the opposite - need to cut back on exercising) is to write out little cards with workout plans on them that add up to a certain amount of minutes - I stick the cards in a hat and I pull one out each day. It's so much fun because you never know what your workout is going to be! Also helps you know how much exercise you're doing so that you don't slack off or go too overboard. Plus, at the bottom of each card I write something fun that I am going to do that day, like play with my puppy when I finish exercising, or play guitar, meet up with a friend, see a movie etc.
Also, make a few cds or ipod playlists so that you're entertained while you're exercising (just make sure you're concentrating more on technique and your exercise than on the music). You should also grab yourself some nice exercise gear (doesn't have to be expensive - bonds are reasonably priced and really funky) - that way you'll feel great while you're exercising!
Try to keep motivated by keeping things interesting - do a different workout every day (so make sure the exercise cards have heaps of different workouts on them), and try to eat something different every day!
Sample plan:
FOOD:
Breakfast -
bowl of high fibre, low sugar, low sodium cereal (I go for special K - love the stuff), topped with slices of banana, and low fat milk (I dont use milk but that's coz im weird about soggy cereal), OR an egg (poached or boiled) on wholegrain toast with tomato and a small glass of orange juice, OR a slice of wholegrain toast with 1 tsp peanut butter and a small fruit salad or low fat yoghurt.
Snack
Pc of fruit or a small handful of almonds, or a low fat yoghurt, or some crackers with low fat cheese/cottage cheese, a salad, fruit salad, smoothie (made using low fat milk, low fat yoghurt, ice cubes, fruit of choice, and a drizzle of honey or sprinke of cinnamon if you want).
Lunch
low fat yoghurt topped with fruit and muesli, or a wrap, or a wholegrain sandwich (with a nutritious filling), or a healthy salad with a grilled chicken breast, or some smoked salmon
Arvo snack
same as in the morning, or if you feel like a nice arvo tea treat make some healthy muffins (extra satisfying if you eat them hot!!!!!!!!!), or sometimes a skim hot chocolate does the trick
Dinner
lean meat or fish, veggies or salad, a carb like a potato or wholegrain bread, or pasta (just make sure the sauce is healthy!), stir fries with a bit of rice etc
If hungry after dinner, go for something light - some fruit, a cup of tea (if ur having a major sweet craving go for a square of dark chocolate, or a skim hot chocolate - beats the hell out of a bowl of ice cream!).
EXERCISE - shoot for at least 45 mins daily......I do a workout each morning ( and I try to be as active as possible all day - walking rather than driving, going for walks, walking the dog, shooting some hoops, going for a swim or bike ride, yoga class etc.