Going through a rough patch

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Boneman

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I suppose what I'm going through right now is pretty much a common story around here. I've been overweight for several years and started getting serious about losing weight about 5 months ago. Overall it's been going well. I've lost 31 pounds off my 5'6" frame, not bad for a 49 year old male trying to overcome a lifetime of bad habits. I've gone from 219 to 188 in the past 5 months and for the first time in years I don't hate what I see staring out from the mirror.

I'm not on any program. I've kept it simple - eat less, and exercise. The exercise consists mainly of power walking an hour a day, 5-6 times a week. If my research is correct, I'm netting about 1500 calories a day, which is 500 under my maintenance level for my age group and weight. I'm looking to lose 15 more pounds to reach my goal.

But dammit, it's been tough lately. I treat myself to one cheat meal a week. The rest of the time, I go hungry. And it seems like I'm hungry all the time. I'm trying to be careful not to starve myself; I have three meals a day and a light healthy snack in the evening. No cheating in between - not even a power bar. But I mark my days by the time I have left until my next meal.

It doesn't seem to me like I should be suffering this much, and some weeks are better than others. But for the last little while now, it seems to be getting harder rather than easier.

I've worked too hard to start nibbling and grazing again, and I won't let it happen. That much is certain. I just wish I could find a way to not be miserable in the process.
 
how much have you been loosing each week ?

it is expected that rate of loss will slow down as you get closer to your goal but you shouldn't feel like your starving all of the time.

as you get closer to your goal it is also a good idea to slowly move your calorie intake slightly closer to maintenance numbers

Are you doing any physical exercise other than the walking eg. heavy manual labour for work, gardening or lifting weights ? because as you get closer to goal you are more likely to loose muscle while in calorie deficit. Muscle is important to maintain as you age because it keeps your base metabolism up, lifting also helps to keep your bones strong because bone density is also lost as we age.
 
Thanks for the response, Trusylver :)

To answer your questions, no, I'm not really doing any muscle work. My lower body is pretty solid as a result of the walking, but I haven't been doing much with the upper body. Everything is pretty much cardio these days, as I'm limited in the amount of time (and energy!) I have.

To this point, I've been losing about 1.5 pounds per week, every week for the past 5 months. Breakfast is 300 calories, lunch is 500, supper about 600, evening snack about 400 (nuts/fruit), and then minus 300 for the one hour of walking. That seems reasonable to me if the math is right. It doesn't seem from these numbers that I should be so famished, as much as I am as often as I am.
 
the maths looks good, have you tries splitting your snack calories out during the rest of the day rather than at night or are they filling a compulsive need to snack at night ?

the types of food you eat can also affect how full you feel and for how long

protein sources will keep you full for longer
 
Boneman said:
To answer your questions, no, I'm not really doing any muscle work. My lower body is pretty solid as a result of the walking, but I haven't been doing much with the upper body. Everything is pretty much cardio these days, as I'm limited in the amount of time (and energy!) I have.

To this point, I've been losing about 1.5 pounds per week, every week for the past 5 months. Breakfast is 300 calories, lunch is 500, supper about 600, evening snack about 400 (nuts/fruit), and then minus 300 for the one hour of walking. That seems reasonable to me if the math is right. It doesn't seem from these numbers that I should be so famished, as much as I am as often as I am.
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Hi Boneman,

I would advise you to try and fit in some type of weight training if you can fit it in during the week, even if you got in a full body workout of weights once a week. This would maintain some muscle mass, which is very important! Also it would be a good change from doing just cardio all the time, your body will adapt to that so its good to do something different every now and then.

What food would be having in those first three meals of the day?

Green tea is a hunger suppressant so that would help with the hunger and it also helps to burn fat! Iv gotten addicted to green tea lately! :)
 
I LOVE your initial goal......Eat Less......Move More. Such a simple concept and it really is as basic as it gets. I. Would also remind you to fuel your mind as well. Try to read positive motivation phrases and keep your enthusiasm at a high level. There will be ups and downs but keep you eye on the end goal.......you will get there........good job so far........Kris :)
 
I agree with you hypnokris, it's all about positive energy and knowing that it'll take time to see results and get to the weight you want but you have to stay positive and encourage yourself to eat healthy and do those work outs. Eat less and move more is exactly true, should be everyone's motto.

Boneman, you're doing a great job so far so keep it up. You can't starve yourself and tell yourself not to eat because that won't be healthy for your body. Maybe try a supplement to suppress your appetite so that way you can get used to being full and not get that craving to eat in between your normal meals. It helped my sister in law a lot and she lost about 15lbs within 30 days while running on the treadmill in the morning and eating healthy.
 
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