Need help restarting my weight loss

Tracy,

You are not a failure you are just struggling.  You have already received lots of useful information and I don't mean to over simplify this but I'll list a few things that all the support staff in my surgeons office say you must do:

• eat dense protein first (60-80 grams per day) eat low carb non startchy veggies second if you have room
• drink at least 64 oz of water a day
• no liquids 30 mins prior to eating, while eating, or 30 mins after eating
• no liquid calories ****asional protein shakes as meal replacements are ok)
• no grazing and no snacking
• exercise

Again I don't mean to over simplify but these are the things that I hear stressed so much.  

Good Luck and keep working at it!  

Trent

The very first rule is to stop considering yourself a failure. You screwed up. You lost a lot of weight before, you KNOW how to fix it. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, make a plan and get to work. It will SUCK the first few days, you know that. It always does. Log every bite of food (my link to MyFitnessPal is in my signature if you want a cheer leader). YOU CAN DO THIS.

We all know nearly every woman in the world "wants to lose 10 pounds". Don't beat yourself up. Work on losing 2 pounds. Then work another 2. Small steps.

Try to get your calories down to 800-1000 (800 is my optimum losing range, but everyone is different). Drink 12+ cups of water, get those carbs down to 40 or so. Go get it!

I think some people need to go cold turkey into excellent eating habits, and some need to make a goal to make small changes each day and work up to the ideal.  I fall into the second category.  Here is what I do (or did)-

1.  Track food and exercise for a couple days.  Determine when you are eating, what you are eating, and why you are eating it.  This gives you a road map to see where you can start making adustments that can stick.

2.  I found that I do best eating at least 6 times a day.  Not huge calories each meal.  Meal, snack, meal, snack, etc.  Many may be able to just eat 3 meals though, so determine which is best for you.  In my case I am hypoglycemic so slow and steady works best for me.

3.  Eat more protein then you think you probably need.  My Nut put me at 80 or 85 grams, but I routinely eat above 110.  

4.  Do not take in too many carbs at one sitting.  I alternate 15 carbs and 30 carbs (net).  If I overdo it, it triggers cravings and hunger.  Insulin floods the system and stores fat too.  Eat good carbs- whole grain, fruit, veggies.  Check out the glycemic index and go for foods that are low.  No white rice, white flour, etc. as mentioned in an earlier post. 

5.  Purge your house of trigger foods.  Just don't bring them in.  I am a lot better than I used to be, but I will still put down a box of cookies over the course of a day if they are in the house.  Thank goodness my family is so supportive.

6.  Exercise.  If you are not, start with something that is hopefully appealing.  Even a 30 minute walk makes a difference from a cumulative standpoint.  During weight loss I set a goal of 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week.  I almost always went much longer once I got going.  For me, the hardest part is just starting.  That is why I chose 30 minutes.  Short enough that even if I don't feel like doing it, I can get it over with quick.  Enough to get me started because I know 90% of the time I will go at least an hour.  Eat some protein after exercising.

7.  Track your food.  Measure.  Get a handle on exactly how much you are eating.  It is so easy to slowly let those portion sizes get bigger without being aware.

8.  Plan.  I know I eat all day, so it is critical I have good choices handy or I will switch to crappy food.  

9.  Protein shakes.  I lose weight when I use them, maintain if I don't.  Not sure exactly why they help so much, but this is a life long habit for me now.  When my weight goes up by a couple pounds I use them until I get my 5 pound cushion back.  

 

In the beginning I would keep the above ideas in mind and identify small, workable goals to work on each day.  After a week or so the full list is implemented.  Prior to surgery, it was a much slower process.  1st month the goal was to just stop gaining, 2nd month to pull calories back more and start exercising, and by the 3rd month the calories and exercise were much better and the weight finally started coming off.  Then surgery hit and the rest is history.

I agree with the others 15 pounds over 5 years doesn't seem so bad.  I know, not ideal- I get that.  But you are not so far gone that you cannot turn this around!

You can do it! Positive attitude and make a plan. I'm feeling stuck right now too. We will make it to goal!

 

Everyone Thank you for each of your post. I have taken  something from each of you either detailed suggestions or words of encouragement. I will re-read each of these post daily as I restart my weight loss. YES I will reach my goal weight. 5 1/2 years ago  I was 294# of sadness and today I am 220# of  "ok this is better but not quite happiness". I think when I get out of the 200's I will feel ALOT better. My goal weight is between 175-180. I can do this!  I pinpointed my BIGGEST errors as eating in font of the tv out of boredom and thinking chips, candy, and other crap wasn't so bad in moderation...but I wasn't eating that crap in moderation...I was eating it WAY TOO OFTEN. I will keep y'all updated. Thank you so very much.  I really needed this support. Tracy in Texas 

You are far from a failure!! You are amazing! You can do this. I know some really awesome people have already commented. I think you got the responses you needed, but I just wanted to chime in and echo the other posts.

You are not a failure....You are not a failure...You are not a failure...You are not a failure...You are not a failure

 

 

(get it...echo? lol I crack myself up)