In regards to weight loss I’ve read several people mention “diet plateaus” — times where no matter how hard you diet and exercise, weight loss seems to stop. I seem to have hit a different kind of dieting plateau: a mental one. After six solid months of dieting, I seem to have hit things that I’m simply no longer willing to do. I’m not willing to never eat Chinese food ever again. I’m not willing to eat a salad every single day. I’m not willing to wake up an hour early every day just to go walking.
Fortunately, I’m pretty stubborn — I’m also not willing to give up. Instead, I’m having to make some compromises. It’s okay to have Chinese food once in a while — I just have to load up on the veggies and avoid the deep fried stuff. And salad’s a lot better with a little cheese and ham in there too. A salad doesn’t have to be a punishment — you can get pretty full on a 200-300 calories salad! As for the walking, well, I’m never going to be a morning person (diet or not), so I’ll have to find other alternatives that work better. A 15-20 minute break around 9am could serve two two purposes — not only is it a nice supplimental exercise time, but it’s also nice to actually go outside and get away from work for a few minutes. Win/win!
Over the weekend I read Jared Fogle’s book “Jared, The Subway Guy”. It’s not a diet book as much as it is an inspirational book, helping people achieve their goals. All diet books written by people who have lost weight all tend to sound the same. “I got tired of being fat, so I lost weight.” I suppose in reality that’s kind of how it happens — you just have to get tired enough to do something about it. In discussions about my weight loss, I’ve had a few people tell me, “I want to lose weight, but I just can’t make myself do it.” Well, then you’re not tired enough of being fat. Someday you will get sick enough of hurting both physically and mentally that you will WANT to change, and then things will start to change. You’ll change your lifestyle because you WANT to, not because you HAVE to.
I didn’t need Jared Fogle to tell me that. I found out on my own.
Diet is just a word for regulerly ate foods in a period of time, so don’t starve yourself. Eating what you would normaly but in smaller portions is best, especially protein to help build muscle. When you go on these so called diets of nothing but a salad or juice, it hurts the body. Before ever burning fat your body loses muscle only giving the appearance of lost fat. When this happens it can make you feel weak and tired. So eat your salad its good for you but throw in some chicken or other protein.
As for exercise, weight training one day cardio the next. Weight training builds muscle, and muscle burns fat. The more muscle the more fat is burned. This is why you need a reguler diet, you need fuel to stoke the fire. Cardio is not only good for working those muscles to burn fat but also for working and strengthening your heart. Walking dosen’t realy achieve this as well as jogging or running would, you realy want to raise your heart rate and walking dosen’t.
So a blend of portion control and exercise is all you need. One thing to keep in mind is muscle does weigh more than fat, so you’ll gain a bit of weight before you start to lose the fat. Gaining that muscle is all part of the process. Don’t let this discourage you!
I hope this helps everybody!
Hi,
I've had several friends mention that they lost weight during their recovery period. What is the average amount of weight most women lose? I can
understand a few pounds for not wanting to eat, but some friends mentioned more like 15lbs. Is this true?