Please help! I really need it

Good morning everyone! First of all I would like to thank the member who posted the Carnie Wilson story on the news, it really was an eye opener for me.  I have managed to slowly put on 15 lbs.  My question to you experts is what type of diet do you think I should follow to get this weight off like ASAP!  I know about the high protein, low carb, low fat part, but what I'm wondering is should I just do liquids for like 2 weeks?  Or should I do 2 shakes a day & the rest protein & veggies, or 1 shake.?  How about the 5 day pouch test? This is my exercise plan starting tonight: (5 X a week) Workout with a personal trainer for 1 1/2 hour 2X a week ( 1 hour strength training, 1/2 hr cardio) Cardio for 45 minutes 3 X per week. My trainer wants me to eat a lot of carbs (oatmeal, fruits, whole wheat bread etc), so that I can have energy for my workouts.  I understand these are healthy choices, but my nut is totally against this to lose weight, she says protein, veggies & shakes.  Can anyone relate?  What do you guys think is the best approach?  Thank you soooo much for your time & help, & I apologize for the long post, but  I'm starting to feel like a failure... Thanks again, maggie

You have definitely got your head on straight, nipping this in the bud before the gain is a really big one. I have also had conflicting instructions from a nut and personal trainer - the nut said to eat very little and the trainer said to eat a lot, all through the day. I personally liked the trainer's thought better, and it really works better for me too. I would think you should not avoid carbs completely if you're going to be working out a lot, but just try to make good choices like wheat and brown instead of starches and white. My favorite thing to eat right before a workout is peanut butter (and sometimes SF jelly) on a piece of double-fiber wheat bread. I can really tell a difference in my energy level. I just don't know how effective it would be to try a liquid diet. If you're having trouble with cravings, maybe the 5-day pouch test would help, but then again, you're going to need some energy for all that working out you're going to be doing. I know it sounds awful, but maybe if you just followed a very healthy eating plan and worked your buns off for a couple of months, that 15 pounds would probably be gone and you'll feel great and you can just keep going & going & going, like that pink bunny??? You're certainly not a failure - I think you're an inspiration. The hardest part is to recognize that you're doing something wrong and taking actions to correct it, and you're doing that.

Thank u sooo much Wanda, I really appreciate your feedback.  I think I will follow the trainer's plan & see how that goes.. at this point the worst that could happen is that I'll stay the same, but at least I won't gain.  Thanks again & congratulations on your impressive weight loss! Keep up the great work!

Maggie youre doing awesome. My biggest word of caution here is that you are about to begin a cycle we have all experienced at some point. We lost a great amount of weight, only to regain a small amount of weight. Some of us simply ignored the weight gain, continued the bad habits that caused it and gained more. Others would take the extreme dieting approach and lose until bored with the extremes and regained more. The smartest solution to SMALL weight gain is to simply follow your NORMAL eating/exercise regiment. If your life long plan calls for 3 meals, 2 snacks, 100 protein, 2000 cals etc etc etc... Just follow that and let the weight level off slowly. It will eventually stop at a healthy weight. Excercising 5x a week with a trainer is a great way to get in shape, get toned, build muscles and feel great BUT it is a terrible way to "lose weight."  You will (hopefully) gain a lot of muscle (which requires eating more protein) and get stronger all over your body. You will get smaller though most likely never lose 15 pounds on the scale. You are more apt to gain 15 pounds.  Terri R and I are relatively speaking the same size with about the same body fat and excess skin. She is smaller waisted, Im smaller limbed. Over all we are the same height and about the same dimensions. She works out 6 days a week and I do none of the above. Her weight is 167 strapping pounds of woman strength and Im 143 pounds of girly goodness. If she were to consider her weight a factor in her success or health she may be very wrong. I have no idea as to why you gained 15 pounds. If you gained 15 pounds through a change you have made in your life (poor eating or less activity) the simple solution is to get back on track to how you were before the weight gain. If the weight gain came for no reason then the best thing to do is simply ignore it. Changing an already good eating plan to lose weight that isnt making you unhealthy is more stress on your metabolism, imo, and likely to do more harm than good. Personally I have a life long eating plan. The plan is simply how and what I should have been eating since birth but did not know better. This plan was developed for me and is maintainable by me. It is nutritionally sound and still satisfyingly tastey. When I got RNY surgery I gave up dieting and obsessing with the numerical aspect of weight. Now I only watch one end of the equation and that is what I put in my mouth. As long as I am eating healthy I simply dont care what number my clothing says or the scale says. As for your question on who to trust, the nut or the trainer, I say the trainer. Working out is directly related to appetite. You may become voraciously hungry and the trainer will have an eating plan to alieviate this where as the nut will have a plan to intensify it. Massive hunger while working out and eating low cal equals binging and self sabotogue for so many people. Its like quitting smoking and going on a diet the same day. In the end you know both are going to fail and you are going to be the one to suffer it. Good luck  HUGS PK

I have to agree with PK on this one.  Working out may not show a weight loss.  Instead you will lose inches and maybe a few pounds.  I'm 167 lbs of solid muscle at 5'6" wearing a 6/8.  Muscle is more dense than fat.   This picture has one pound of fat and one pound of muscle.  See how much smaller the muscle is?  One very important thing you learn as you workout is that as you gain muscle, you can no longer judge your success with the scale.  Instead you need to go by how you look and how your clothes fit. As to eating when you work out, you will need more carbs in the form or good carbs or you will "hit the wall" as they say.  You will come to a point where you have no energy.  You will need a lot more protein to build the muscle.  I eat 150+ grams a day.  Of course, I also eat 3000+ calories a day or I start to lose.  Listen to the NUT and the trainer both and marry the two programs.   It's better (IMHO) to lose the weight slowly by making life changing habits.  Doing a 5dpt or crash diet is just that ... a diet.  You're setting yourself up for failure.  The 5dpt was not meant to be a diet but a way of getting back on track.  Why not make healthy changes instead.  Drink more water, eat more protein, and cut out simple carbs.  I'm not saying never eat a cookie again.  Just save them as treats. 

I don't agree with your trainer. I worked with a trainer for over a year post op and work out with kung fu now. I get my energy from protein, fruits and vegetables. Sorry, try as we might we are not ARnolds, and we are fighting food addictions. I'd increase your proteins before and after workouts, and eat healthy. Keep your fluids up. Complex carbs in fruit are ok, but oatmeal and bread? No way I'd go there. Your goal is to get your weight off, and your trainer knows nothing about bypass and other struggles. If you were diabetic you could not do what he is suggesting. Nope, just listen to the trainer on how to lift the weights correctly and for form and encouragement, but leave the food advise to your nut, they are better on the right track in my opinion!