Weight-Loss NEW YEAR: 12 Week Biggest Loser Challenge!!

[Omega]

Food, water, and exercise were all good today but now I find myself feeling ravenous. I want to eat everything in sight. I'm not obvisouly, but what can I do to stop this feeling? It's not because I'm dehydrated, got my ounces in for the day and then some. hmmm.

Are you ensuring that you are hitting your protein targets and doing your 5-a-day. Those both can help to fill you up. Protein tends to satisfy you more than other food types. Most people that exercise a fair bit try to aim for 1g of protein per pound of lean body weight. That is not the same as body weight or even necessarily goal body weight. It depends what your body fat % is. I know that my target is about 100g protein.

Some people need to eat more than 5-a-day to satisfy their hunger.

A lot of people find that they benefit from eating from foods where the energy density is such that you feel full for the amount of calories spent. The old Weight Watchers "core plan" and plans from other slimming clubs where you do not count calories were based on this principle.

Here is a list of such foods. You could try living purely off foods from that list for a few days and seeing whether it helped.



Also - soup can be a very good idea. This research may be of interest:

 

[ChefAshley]

Thanks so much Omega! I must admit, I get no where near my required protein. I'm not a vegetarian in the slightest but I have to be in the mood if I want something like a chicken breast...weird texture type of gal here. So ive been doing lunch meats, turkey bacon, ect... Maybe I'll try to get some more beans in my diet. Ive been thinking of making a turkey chili, just need to get my crock pot back from work. Thanks again and good job not having biscuits!!

 

[Omega]

Beans are actually really good for a number of reasons...

 

[jjjay]

Well its not as much as you guys, but I have managed to work up to drinking 2 litres a day now I now realise just how much tea I was drinking before (up to 10 cups a day!) and how little water plus, drinking from a 500ml sports bottle is so much easier than trying to get glasses/cups of water down!

I too am struggling foodwise - yesterday I was ravenous...absolutely starving no matter what I ate. Perhaps I got used to eating too much over Christmas and my body is finding it hard to adjust!

 

[PlumpHope]

i suck!

i am totally sucking at this weight loss thing!! my water intake SUCKS, my food choices SUCK, and my exercise routine SUCKS.

i haven't been on the scale since the 1st, but i'm happy to delay that until thursday when i weigh in for this challenge thread because i'm sure my weight SUCKS too...

bah. iggy:

 

[grrrkgrrrl]

water did not go well yesterday. i was travelling back to england after my family visit, and thus i actually avoided water/drinks since i HATE public toilets. not very healthy, but it only happens when i travel. didn't get in more than1 litre of water maybe for the whole day

but today's going good!!!!

 

[Jericho]

i am totally sucking at this weight loss thing!! my water intake SUCKS, my food choices SUCK, and my exercise routine SUCKS.

i haven't been on the scale since the 1st, but i'm happy to delay that until thursday when i weigh in for this challenge thread because i'm sure my weight SUCKS too...

bah. iggy:

Sorry..but have you ever seen Spaceballs? I'm remembering a quote that is just funny from it.

Anyways, you need to lighten up on yourself my friend. You are beating yourself up too much. Today is a new day. Yesterday can't be altered. The future is mist you can't grasp. Today. Today is what you can effect.

 

[jjjay]

Well don't worry! I am having the suckiest week too!! I weighed myself on the 4th and I was 3 lbs HEAVIER than when I started this challenge. I'm hoping it might just be water retention and haven't changed my progress bar yet...but I'm betting its christmas excesses coming back to haunt me!

 

[Omega]

i am totally sucking at this weight loss thing!! my water intake SUCKS, my food choices SUCK, and my exercise routine SUCKS.

i haven't been on the scale since the 1st, but i'm happy to delay that until thursday when i weigh in for this challenge thread because i'm sure my weight SUCKS too...

bah. iggy:

Everyone goes through bad spells... The secret is not to give up on one of those. I spent over 20 years doing that - and you dont want to be only getting round to losing the weight properly when you are nearly 50!!! How I wish that I had mastered it in my 20s, or 30s or early 40s come to that!!!

Dont feel bad about it. Accept that it is a skill that needs to be developed. Even when you have been doing it so long that you count as an expert you can still control your weight badly for a while - look at me...

1/ Water intake is hard - especially hard the bigger you are. Most people have to really work at it. It is only the people that havent calculated it out that think that they just have to aim for 8 cups a day that think that it is easy...

2/ Food choices are hard - especially just after Christmas... You have no idea how many people I know that have been on a long project and lost a lot of weight are having a tough time getting back on track... We tend to have been letting ourselves have things that we wouldnt normally have so we crave bad stuff more. Also - we have got used to eating more and have re-awoken our appetite...

3/ Exercise is certainly something that you benefit from building up. I will say that even now people tell me that walking is no benefit to you unless you walk briskly. When I started out I didnt do anything briskly... I just went out and walked. It doesnt matter how fast - if you move that body from A to B you are doing exercise. You might not look like the skinny people wearing fancy gym clothes but a big person will probably get more exercise benefit from a slow walk than a skinny person running around. The main thing is to do something and to feel proud of yourself for doing it. Then do it again the next day. Consistency is the key. You will naturally speed up. You will naturally go further.

Before you get on the scale - try not to add salt to your food the day before. Just like drinking water - limiting the level of sodium really does help at the scales. Also - remember that most women gain weight due to TOM - so do remember that if you feel a little disappointed with the result.

 

[Tracy740]

I understand about the sucking part. My water intake and food intake SUCKED big time yesterday.

I did not get released to do anything but walk on the damn treadmill and can not got back to boxing/kickboxing and my personal trainer until the 18th.
Then my sister (whom I am proud of so do not get me wrong here) but she started workingout and says she is gonna lose faster then me which is probably true since she is 10 yrs younger BUT now I feel like I am being left behind. In August before all of this ectopic pregnancy stuff that has lasted for 5 mo before my Dr. decided to do surgery, I weighed 207 the scale at the Dr. office weighed me in at 224 but then the next day my scale weighed me in at 219. I WAS so close to breaking out of the 200's (I have been over 200 for over 10 yrs) and now I feel like I am so far away. I hate that feeling.

Well that is my pity party that I threw for myself so now I need to stand up walk away and move on. But that is how I am feeling right now.

Tracy

 

[Jericho]

PS: even I slipped off the wagon yesterday. I haven't diaried it, but I did have a pack of M&Ms (270 calories) ...and I was bad and stopped at Wendys. BUT it is ok. I was smarter about my wendy choice on the way home but it was still a slip.

However, I'm still here. You are still here. We are still here. One slip isn't the end. You can treat it like the first day again if you want...the past is gone. Just focus forward.

 

[Addiecakes]

So I decided to do a fun little mathematical analysis of how much of my office's water supply I consume in a day.

I usually shoot for somewhere between 150-175oz of water a day. For argument's sake, let's say that I consumed 175oz. one day:


Our water cooler holds 5 gallon jugs.

128oz. of water = 1 gallon

175oz. of water = 1.37 gallons which is just over 27% of a single jug.

In a week, that's about 1 and 1/4 of a jug.

At this rate, over the span of 22 work days in a month, that is over 6 jugs just by myself.


That just blows my mind. And also makes me have to pee.

 

[Addiecakes]

i am totally sucking at this weight loss thing!! my water intake SUCKS, my food choices SUCK, and my exercise routine SUCKS.

i haven't been on the scale since the 1st, but i'm happy to delay that until thursday when i weigh in for this challenge thread because i'm sure my weight SUCKS too...

bah. iggy:

I just wanted to add something to what everyone else has said here:

Let's use the "off the wagon" metaphor. Even if you're hanging onto the wagon by your little pinky on some days, as long as you're committed to continuing to try, you're still on the wagon. Think about where you were a month or two ago. You weren't on the wagon, right? You probably weren't even near the wagon ... maybe you didn't even give a crap about the wagon at that point. You're still here, you're still holding yourself accountable ... that's still progress. As long as you keep progressing, the results will inevitably follow.

And what's great is, every morning, every meal, every moment you have another chance to ride the wagon and not fall off. It doesn't matter when, you make the choice and you're there ... and it will always be waiting for you when you want to go somewhere, because even the best riders slip off sometimes. Just hop back on

 

[ChefAshley]

I must say you all are awesome. Thats why I come to this forum...I know that you all care and are there to help when one of us falls, and your there to lift us up over your shoulders and cheer when we do great. Thanks guys.

 

[Jess393]

I agree with Ashley- you guys are ALL awesome

 

[Trusylver]

well I have checked in for the week, weight was up and made target for water each day but bodyfat % was down from last measurement day so despite the gain I still feel ok about it. Another good sign is that I need to sit down tonight and adjust my lifting belt at least 1 notch shorter.

 

[PlumpHope]

Don't forget... CHECK-IN!!

You all have SIX MORE HOURS as of now to check in with your weekly results, this would be:

- Did you do at least 2 hours of exercise over the week?
- What was your result with drinking the correct amount of water for the challenge?
- What's your new weight?

I'll post up a new grid tomorrow with new results, challenge wins, etc...

If you didn't do the exercise or do well in the challenge - DON'T SWEAT IT! Send in your weight and I'll update the grid!

Anyone I don't hear from will just go on as no challenge points and zero weight loss or gain. If someone goes more than 3 weeks without sending in any info, then I'll remove them from the challenge list!!

YAY WEIGHT LOSS!

 

[jjjay]

What have I learnt this week?
1) Well, for starters IT IS humanly possible to drink 3 litres of water in one day....just. I managed it on my very last day of the challenge!
2) Drinking more water is actually very very good for you. I've had no headaches this week, felt brighter, more awake (no mid afternoon "dip")
3) A tiny dash of squash (no sugar/additives, fruit squash, 6 calories per 100ml of concentrate) makes it go down oh so much easier (mostly because after living in Munich and drinking pure water that runs down from the Alps, British water tastes horrible to me now!!)
4) Having a sports bottle in my car on my 1 hour drive to work makes me so much less likely to snack - it must be out of complete boredom that I get hungry and want to eat on the drive, because all I did recently was reach for the bottle and take sips through the journey - never crossed my mind to eat something!

So, not much weight lost, but I definitely feel like I had a learning experience this week and will change my ways!

 

[Omega]

I have sent the pm - but here is the data anyway.

- Did you do at least 2 hours of exercise over the week?
YES

In actual fact I walk 6.5 miles on my treadmill every day. This takes between 1hr34 and 1hr38 depending on speed. Therefore have done over 10.5 hours this week (walking some 45.5 miles).

- What was your result with drinking the correct amount of water for the challenge?

Completed in full every day.

I work in litres and it calculates as somewhere between 2 and 2.5 litres. I have drank 2.5 litres of water every day.

- What's your new weight?
9st8.4 (i.e. 134.4pounds)

A reduction of 3.6 pounds on the week. I am pretty sure that it was mainly water weight...

 

[Addiecakes]

A reduction of 3.6 pounds on the week. I am pretty sure that it was mainly water weight...

I lost 3.6lbs too Yay 3.6lb club ... haha