making the changes - need some pointers

OK, this is about week three of me trying to make some choices for myself and some things are going really well:

- I'm moving more every day.
- I'm getting at least my 9 fruit/veg almost every day and this week I'm hitting at least 9/day easily.
- I'm drinking lots of water.
- I haven't had any pop or beer/alcohol since I decided to take back some decisions in my life.
- I'm down a solid 2kgs and maybe a smidge more

So why the whine? I've been down those same 2kgs since early last week so for the past 7ish days nothing one way or another.

I'm eating really well - making sure I get my fibre, vitamins, minerals, etc; cut out all the junk that I used to live on like Doritos & Shapes (flavoured crackers) and Coke. On a regular day I'd be taking in a minimum of 2 600ml bottles of Coke and half a pack of Doritos & Shapes and two-three beers per night plus takeout (cheeseburgers, pizza, Chinese) 4-5 times per week. Now I've cut the junk & takeaway out and am making sure my meals are very pretty with lots of scrummy veggies and some lean protein. The only thing I'm not doing is drinking milk for calcium and I must start taking those supplements again while I'm thinking about it!

I know that moving even more will help so that's a no brainer. My semi-question is why if I've tossed out all the crap isn't anything happening! Heck, one day on just coke and beer could easily hit 1000 calories for me before! It should count for something now that I'm not taking it in

My semi-question is why if I've tossed out all the crap isn't anything happening! ....

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for me... i visualize the fat cells in my body, hanging on for dear life... not wanting to let go and LEAVE my body (do you get that ad over there-the mouth wash with little fat cells with little arms and legs? kinda like a evil m&m - thats what my fat cells look like to me)

so i figured after a few weeks of eating positive foods and making postive health changes your body goes into shutdown mode where its determine to keep the evil fat cells and it hopes to outlast so you will give up and grab that coke and packet of dorritos

BUT DONT DO IT! keep going.... if you can get thru a few more weeks you will be amazed by some of the changes in your body

plus - as a woman and its week 3 for you... im wondering if your starting to retain fluid for TOM (i always have a low loss week once per month)

dont just look at the scales... look for other signs to make you feel good about the changes you are making!

you are eating better! you are moving your body and being active!! if not on the outside your inside LOVES YOU for making these changes!

one meal at a time... one day at a time....

oh, and keep get your calcuim and iron! my iron levels are very very low so im now taking daily iron vitamins and my hair is looking healthier and thicker lately

Alcina - just keep on pushing, I reckon you will see a big difference soon!

If you main meal of the day has Green, Orange, Red and White in it I reckon you are on to a winner!

Make sure you have breakfast, it gets the metabolism going!

alcina:

My semi-question is why if I've tossed out all the crap isn't anything happening!

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Plateaus are sooooo frustrating. I think what almitywife said about time of the month might be a factor. Also, make sure you're eating enough calories. If you eat too little, your body thinks it's starving and doesn't want to let go of the fat. I have read that one should never go below 1200 calories per day. For me personally, with the high weight I'm currently at, if I ate only 1200 calories I think I would fall over. Personally I think 1500 is a better minimum.

Resistance training!!

Good ol' lifting weights.

It builds muscle mass, muscle burns more calories doing nothing than fat does. So even when you're just sitting there doing nothing, you'll be using more energy = more weight loss.

If you're not doing weight training, your body can actually respond to lowered caloric intake by burning up muscle instead of fat, or by lowering your metabolism further.

Also, make sure that those fruits and veggies are not high fructose type fruits. Those types of fruits tend to set of a chain of biochemical events that can tell your body to store fat.

Keep at it and you'll get there!

I've been lifting, walking and suffering through plateaus now for 7 months but I'm down over 30 lbs. It will happen. It's about changing your life, not a quick fix.

To that end, don't look at the scale every day if it gets you down. Heck, toss the scale away and focus on things like reducing your clothing size. Those types of measurements might be better if not seeing daily progress is hard on you.

Couple of things:

Be wary of milk. I know the advertising is that you need milk for calcium, but the truth is that most people get too much protein in their diets, and protein can block calcium absorption. You'll get much more calcium out of steamed broccoli, and no unnecessary protein with it.

Eat more, smaller meals a day. If you can, eat 5x a day with smaller portions instead of the standard 3 large squares. Snack on healthy things often. It will speed up your metabolism and your body will be in digestion/calorie burn mode more of the time.

And like you said, you need to pair good diet with excersize. This is paramount. For me, I can NOT stay comitted to a boring, repetative, gym workout. I make it about a week and then I never go back. I finally found active hobbies that I love and look forward to, and that keeps me active. I rock climb, I take a parkour class, etc. Find an active hobby you like so you'll look forward to working out instead of dreading it.

Thanks, Guys! Knew I could count on you!

King...I eat a wide variety of fruits/veggies each day: apples, oranges, mandarins, bananas, spinach, cucumber, zuchinni, tomatoes, capsicums (only yellow, red and orange - our green ones suck here), squash, pumpkin, asparagus, onions, celery, carrots, sweet potato, corn, beans, cauliflower on and on... I adore quite a few veggies so those are my "go to's" for munching and always make up 3/4 of my meals at least.

LT - I can't drink the milk here, it tastes funny But broccoli isn't going to happen - it's one of those things I can't stomach at all though lord knows I keep trying LOL For now a calcium supplement will do the trick. And I do the small meals thing, it seems to work for me.

CathS - not sure how many calories I'm getting. I can't think it's WAY too many as the bulk of my eating is fresh produce and I'm not eating anything preprocessed so not sure where too many sneakies could be hiding. Might have to look stuff up (blech how boring!)

I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and trying to add more movement each day. I know I didn't put this on overnight and I didn't get unfit overnight so I can't expect to suddenly be where I need to be...some improvement that I can SEE is always nice, though

a great attitude Alcina... reminds me again on how important a good attitude is needed! and yes, you will see results so hang in there and it will happen!

some thoughts on me - after a blood test, im not allowed to have peas, spinach, pumpkin prawns and only tomatoes in small doses.

its got something to do with my lack of thyroid (i had graves disease and 95% of it removed)

there is a great little book called the fat king calorie count.... i have one at home im very happy to send you as it was given to my by a friend (who works for the publisher) but i never use it as simply, i need to stick to the basics and my problem is protion control

pm me if you want me to send it to you! like i said, im very happy to send it as you might get better use out of it than me!

Thanks so much, almity! I might just take you up on that very generous offer!

I just got back from the shops - of course I walked! - and I ran into a woman I talk to now and then. Talked to her just over a week ago but haven't seen her since. She just gushed that "you've lost weight! It looks great!" Kinda a nice thing to hear today!

almitywife:

its got something to do with my lack of thyroid (i had graves disease and 95% of it removed)

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What about thyroid supplements? Synthroid or Levethyroxine? And what do those foods have to do with your thyroid? I'm on pretty high doses of thryroid meds (137 mcg daily and no Dr. has ever banned foods.