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2004/09/27, 08:01 PM
Hi. I am new here. I actually am a manager at a new fitness center in a small town as I have access to the gym 24/7 if I want it. I am overweight and need to lose like 1/3 of my body weight to be in a better range so says my healthcare providers LOL! So I am beginning the long, hard journey to being fit again (I swear in college I was in perfect shape but overcame an eating disorder because of it).
My problem is that I am ADDICTED to Dr Pepper. Not just in a casual 'Oh, I drink too much pop' kinda way either. I have cut myself down to 1 per day but without it I get major headaches and just have a bad outlook on life LOL! I have been cutting down my food intake (I no longer eat much fast food at all). I eat salads on occassion, suppliments, and I have corn/rice cakes for snacks instead of fries and tater tots. I eat two hamburgers a week instead of 1-2 cheeseburgers per day as I used to (what can I say, I think we all know when working a fast past schedule, fast food just calls to me). I do not eat chips anymore and instead when I need 'just a few' as in 5-6 chips, I eat reduced fat pringles and then if I STILL need something I eat rice cakes (I love them).
All together I know I stay under my calorie intake for weight loss, but after 1 month of working out I have lost a whopping 1lb. I can do 20 minutes of elliptical training a day five days a week and still not lose weight. I am not losing dress sizes much either. Does it take this long to kick my metabolism back in track? I am healthy other than the weight but it's frustrating me to no end.
So anyone else have this problem? And what do you do to overcome the soda addiction?
Thanks!
DBEar
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2004/09/28, 11:07 AM
Hi- welcome to FT. Have you tried diet dr. pepper?? it seriously tastes the same as regular in my opinion. But beyond that, you are off to a good start by excersing on a regular basis. The thing that I see missing from your workout though is lifting weights. Now I'm no expert, but from what I've read on here and also from my own experience, lifting weights is crucial. By building your muscle up, it incrases your metabolism and keeps your body burning calories throughout the day. When I first started at the gym, I did just cardio for the first month, and like you, barely lost any weight. Then i found FT, and started one of their programs. I have now lost over 40 pounds since mid-May, and I actually took a few weeks off, so I'm making great progress, and I know that you can as well. You also need to make sure you are getting enough calories. I know, seems weird when you are losing weight, but often times people don't eat enough and then their body will kick into starvation mode, and you'll start losing muscle, and its just a bad deal. Anyways I'm sure you'll get some good responses on here from people who know more what they are talking about- all I know is from what I've read on here.
Good luck with your weight loss!
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2004/09/28, 02:02 PM
THANKS! I have just started the plan they have for me on here so maybe that will help me kick into gear. I have another question about calorie intake...How do you get enough calories without going over your recommended fat intake? I am having a hard time finding a happy medium. I guess what I wish I had is a sample meal plan for what I should eat every day. My problem is I want to snack all day on rice cakes and eating three bags of them won't get me where I need to be on calories! I am at the point where I don't like big meals at all, just tiny meals all through the day! Any advice there?
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2004/09/29, 04:09 PM
Down on the bottom of the page there is a search called fitBuddy. If you type in, say, Meal Plans, it will bring up a list of all the different posts pertaining to that particular subject. BB1Fit has compiled a list of groceries to help you make good choices- I have found that very helpful. I think its under the nutrition message board. It is one of the top posts listed there, so you should have no problem finding it. And you are right- the rice cakes may be low cal, but your really missing your nutrients and protiens, which are keys to success. I'm glad you started the workout plan- its a godsend. ALso you will read that eating 5-6 small meals per day is recommended- it keeps your body fueled and keeps the metabolism up- again, i'm far from an expert, but this is what i've read.
Hope that helps!
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2004/10/06, 03:59 PM
Swithcing to diet soda may help. You would't believe how much sugar is in regular soda. Also, you might want to read the diet soda label to find out what sweetner is being used. A study was recently released that showed that drinking a lot of soda sweetened with Equal brand sweetner may actually cause a person to NOT lose weight. Even those on weight loss programs. According to the study, the way Equal works is that it tricks your brain into thinking that your body just received a large dose of sugar. This in turn releases chemicals in the brain and body to deal with the "sugar" rush. Oddly enough the pancrease does not release insulin into the blood stream because it does not detect a blood sugar increase. Never-the-less, the rest of the body reacts just as if there were sugar. What happens then is that the only way the body can counteract the effects of the "sugar" rush is to intake more sugar. The only way the brain knows to increase the blood sugar is to create a craving for sweets (simple sugars) or complex carbs that it can make into sugar. This makes it hard to keep to a program.
If I were you, I would look for s soda that is made with Splenda brand sweetener. In the study, Splenda DID NOT cause the same reaction in the body that Equal did. Saccerin also passed the test, but I don't think any soda still uses it as a sweetener.
Just something to consider. Good luck on your weight loss. I know you can do it.
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