Okay, I just feel the need to update you all on my diet and exercise progress.
I am now at five weeks smoke-free (woot woot!) and I’m still getting in about a half hour of cardio daily and doing weights two or three times a week. This is all very awesome, right? So why am I not losing any weight?
I seem to have figured it out.
Recently, I have taken myself off the all-green-foods diet — because it had a teeny tiny shortfall in that it made me want to die all day long — and have moved to Weight Watchers. Their Flex plan basically lets you eat whatever you want as long as you stay within a certain amount of points.
Weight Watchers recommends that, given my height, weight, age and weight-loss goals, I should stay within 21 points a day. So, yesterday, I began rigorously recording my food intake and points in their online system.
Do you wanna know how many points I consumed on Friday?
69.5.
And on Saturday?
70.
OMG.
I am eating over three times as much as I should be if I want to lose any weight at all.
Models are fucking crazy, yo. This shit’s not normal.
Beet do what I did: myfitnesspal.com
You just eat normally, and it counts calories for you. AND it takes into account your calories burned during exercise. It’s WAYYYY better than points. You get used to how many calories you’re supposed to eat and your body sort of adjusts and then you can continue without the site. It’s really good, and people are supportive on the message boards.
I’ve been on that plan for a few months now and I’ve lost 20lbs. It’s all about retraining yourself to eat properly. It’s the easiest diet to follow and positive that you’ll be successful at it.
Why do you have to diet? I say eat what you want and work it off. And you’re already thin!
Great job on the no smoking thing!
weight watchers was too frustrating for me. i ate like triple my points too. congrats on quitting smoking though. that’s great!
Beet, how did you quit smoking? I promised myself that I’d quit after the bar exam, and it’s been a month now, and I’m smoking more than ever. Are you doing anything in particular more than just having better self control? How do you not smoke when you drink?
@sarah:
I honestly don’t know what changed this time. It’s like my 8000th attempt. I used the nicotine patches for the first week, but I’ve done that before. For some reason, this time around I was just SO FUCKING SICK of being a smoker that it stuck. So I guess my advice would be to keep trying. I’ve honestly tried probably 20 or 30 times to quit before this time, and this is the first time I’ve lasted longer than 2 or 3 weeks. And I’d recommend just not drinking at all while you’re trying to quit. I didn’t. It just makes you crave cigarettes more and lowers your inhibition. Once you’ve been quit for a few weeks you can re-introduce the alcohol and be okay, but I’d do a month alcohol-free while you’re quitting.
Oh and the other thing I did differently this time around was exercise regularly. It’s been really cool to see how much better my endurance gets the farther away from smoking I get. It helps give me encouragement. Good luck!
Superb on the no smoking, Beet! It’s been 2 years since I went cold turkey. You never stop craving it at certain times but it tastes so icky eventually you won’t cheat.
The South Beach Diet rocks my world. No or low carbs is tough but holy hell the weight comes off fast! Go no carbs when you level off and you start losing again. It’s just tooooo easy!
Congrats on quitting smoking, Beet! Think how much good you’re doing for your body. The weight will come off as your body adjusts :)
And thanks to Sarah for the tip. Love myfitnesspal.com! But my gawd it was scary to work out how many calories I’m eating… Switched from running to Bikram’s yoga a few weeks ago. I miss the running, but you burn more calories with Bikram’s, and it’s so nice to be flexible again (running’s good for maintaining the weight, but lousy for flexibility, and your joints).
Congrats on no smoking…that’s fucking awesome.
And the points? Yeah, models are crazy. Food was made for eating in large portions….mmmm.
Good on you Beet for not smoking!!!
Not only is it expensive, but it stinks and is unhealthy! :-(
Nobody likes a smelly girl. :-)
As for the diet, people (including me… though God knows I am no diet expert!) have said it before… fill up on water… not to mention, it’s about eating your calories a little at a time over the day. Spread out your food intake over 5-6 small portions rather than 3 big portions. I heard the human metabolism explained to me best one time when somebody said: If you have a campfire, you keep it burning by throwing a few twigs on it over the whole day. If you just throw a log or two on, it won’t burn…. similarly, keep your metabolism burning calories all day with the small meals.
Keep it up! :-)
I used to do weight watchers. Granted, I don’t know how you can eat 70 points a day, that’s insane, but 21’s not easy either.
For me it’s just simpler to eat no more than 1700 calories a day, no carbs except cereals and exercise every day.
Or try Slimming World. I know someone on that and seriously, she’s lost like a whole other person, it’s crazy shit but it works.
I quit smoking almost 2 years ago, and its all about just initially staying away from places or situations or people that provide triggers. Eventually when you return to these things, you realize that it just smells bad and looks bad, and the benefits of not smoking definitely outweigh the cons!
Wish I was as motivated as you beet, i really want to lose a few extra pounds. After I stopped smoking I automatically gained some weight. When I work out and don’t diet, it’s almost like the exercise provides stagnant results! Try cutting down on refined sugars, anything made with oil and processed foods. Drink a lot of water as well and try to eat foods high in water content (ie: soups, fruits, salads).
Wish you the best of luck (and myself too hehe)!
if you are eating as much as you did before
and exercising
don’t forget you are burning fat and building muscle
and muscle is heavier than fat
I am so glad to read this article about healthy, I lost 20lbs these days , I was bothered with my weight several months ago ,by accident , I found my friends on seekingwealthy.com discuss this toplic in full swing and found many ways to loss weight healthy .
I take one and I am so glad to be now!!!!!ha
I believe in “usable” food…try to eat only things your body can use &, like Melissa said, watch those processed foods.
Keep it real. Keep it usable (ice cream, popcorn, meat = usable, cotton candy, twinkies, donuts = not usable, etc). Can your body do something with it?
Avoid deprivation syndrome, don’t fixate on restrictions. Your body is a fat burning machine. Get the furnace going in the morning with something digestible, try not to eat anything heavy before bed. Lots of water, and never underestimate the power of belief.
Congrats on the no smoking!!! I quit in January…when I found out I was pregnant. Ha.
When I was pregnant with my first, it was a bit harder to quit cold turkey. But I did it.
But this time it wasn’t as difficult to quit as it was before. Plus, I didn’t smoke as much this time (when not pregnant) so I guess that helped.
I honestly hope I don’t take it up again. I can’t imagine when I’ll have the time. I never have and never will smoke around my kids, so that’ll help. The only time I can see myself caving is when drinking is involved and when the hell will I have the time to go out now?
So, hopefully I’ll stay smoke free even after this little guy comes in three weeks….
As for the diet thing…I’m all about some South Beach diet! I did it a year and a half ago and WOW! I lost about twenty lbs in a couple of months and felt and looked amazing. I’m totally doing it after I have this baby, since I’ll only have about 20 lbs to lose again.
Congrats again on all your success!!
The problem with south beach and other no or low carb diets, is once you lose the weight you still have to keep doing the diet because the second you put carbs back in your body you gain the weight all back.
SARAH – I quit last October 1st, after MANY MANY attempts. I have 3 tips: 1) concur w/ Beet on giving up “smoking triggers” until you’re over the hump (for me, booze, cutting down on coffee), 2) THINK like a nonsmoker. Say it out loud, “I AM A NON-SMOKER AND I FEEL GREAT THAT I DID THIS WONDERFUL THING FOR MYESLF!!” repeat affirmation, after affirmation. If you take a “poor me….I’m being deprived approach” it makes it harder (IMHO). 3) Drink ice water when you crave a butt. Cigarettes and water don’t mix well. Thanks for the myfitness pal tip…I will check them out…
BEET – I am “dieting” and exercising too. I try to just eat “good” healthy, non-processed fresh foods, AND I WRITE DOWN EVERY STINKIN’ THING I SHOVE IN MY PIE HOLE, and log it into a simple excel spreadsheet. I deduct my calories consumed by what I burn, and simply do the math. (Beet – I created and use a spread sheet template where I do all the above things I mentioned. If you tell me where to e-mail it, I will end it to you for your use.)
1 pound = 3,500 calories. If you eat 3,500 calories more than your body needs, you put on 1 pound. If you use up 3,500 calories more than you eat, you will lose about 1 pound in weight. I rely on the math, and stick to it. It is simply a numbers game. I PROMISE YOU, if you do this, and stick to it, you will see the results. And, if you look at it as simply a mathematically exercise; it (psychologically) is somehow easier. God, I sound like a geek.
Also, I love CalorieCount.com. Link below. It tells you the calories for every food known to man, has most (chain) restaurants listed with calories of all menu choices, AND an activity calculator to figure out how many calories your burning for each exercise.
http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/browse/2200.html
I actually lost 120 lbs in the last 14 months on the Genetix program.
My picture’s on their website! Yay me.
I am so proud of you! You are a Rockstar and you will meet your weightloss goals. That is a very empowering feeling. Lots of love from a fellow WA state girl.
Beet, congratulations on the no-smoking progress and getting yourself to a healthier place!
I listen to Jillian Michaels podcasts – she is super, staunchly anti-smoking. She says it’s more important to quit smoking – and get a firm handle on that than losing weight. Concentrate on one thing at a time.
You might think about upping your cardio on days when you have the time. Your body adjusts to it’s load VERY quickly, so changing it up on occasion can only help.
Congratulations Beet! 5 weeks is a phenomenal! So far I have gone 21 days without a single cigarette! You are absolutely right about not drinking alcohol while you are trying to quit. Driving is also one of my main triggers. I solved that by putting a large bag of lollipops in my center console. When I get cravings that I feel I absolutely cannot control, I shove a lollipop in my mouth. Sometimes I even roll down the window and hold the lollipop out of it like a cigarette (WARNING: No good can come from half-eaten lollipops at high velocities…this is especially true of Tootsie or Blow Pops.)
Congrats, Beet!! Five weeks is phenomenal! You should feel so proud of yourself :)
As for Weight Watchers, I have lost over sixty pounds on it. And I must admit, I rarely exercise anymore, which I know isn’t good. So keep up the excercise, stick to the program, and I promise the weight WILL come off! So many times I wanted to quit because it wasn’t happening fast enough for me. But I’ve kept the weight off/continued losing for a year now, and it has really improved not only my eating habits, but also my outlook on eating and life in general.
Keep going!! I’m rooting for you and I know you can do it!! <3
Haha, way for me to basically double post phenomenal by Lah-Dee-Dah! I need to read _all_ comments first, clearly. Lol
Well done on the Non-Smoking, Beet! That is a big achievement!
And good luck with your diet, I hope you get the results you want!
You don’t look like you need to lose weight! Maybe you’ve spent too long looking at “perfect” bodies leading you to think you’re overweight…
The key to weight loss is not counting calories or points. Most people who lose weight put it back on again. The key is to have a healthy relationship with your body and with food, then weight loss will naturally follow (or you’ll stop caring about it because you’ll have good body esteem!).
the no carb diet is for idiots. any nutriotionist will tell you it is the worst thing you can do, because carbs are what give you energy, and without it you can’t work out as effectively (obviously) but your brain needs them, too – in fact, about 20% of your brain power comes from carbs. maybe that’s why so many skinny celebs are so stupid!
Great news on your 5 weeks. It just gets better and better.
Have you checked out the WW Core plan? Lots less over-focusing on points. I get crazy when I try to do the points.
sorry folks
those diet plans give me the creeps
mediterranean type food rocks
cook everything with olive oil
eat healthy
little amounts
several times a day
eat less than you burn exercising
eat in a way you don’t feel your stomach full
don’t eat at all after 8pm
just a cup of tea with no sugar added
you’ll lose weight in a healthy way
with no muscle atrophy at all
I’ve lost 12 lbs this past month. I exercise an hour-and-a-half each day, eat 1300-1400 calories, and drink nothing but water. The important thing is just to change your habits from bad to good, and stay motivated!
If you like sweets, go buy some of the weight watchers frozen stuff… That’s what got me through when I was on it… only 2 points per treat! And then really, you just gotta plan your meals… if you don’t have time to plan, it’s very hard to stay in the point limit… Their frozen meals are good, but i ended up needing two small ones to feel like I ate anything… Good luck with everything though! :D
Beet, Record here what the hell you’re eating and we’ll tell you what to cut out. k?
Beet,
Don’t get on a scale again!!!!! Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are losing fat and replacing it with lean muscle mass, then your weight will go up. Take a picture of yourself in a sports bra and shorts. Put that picture away and don’t look at it. Do your cardio 6 days a week. Lift weights 4 days a week. Break your body into 3 groups-upper body, lower body and everyday muscle groups. There are only 2 groups in the everyday catagory-forearms and abs. These can be exercised everyday. The other groups you can worksomething like this-Monday: upper body; Tuesday: lower body; Wednesday: off; Thursday: upper body; Friday: lower body; Sat & Sun: off.
When you eat, you have to eat the right foods, but also on the right timetable. If you eat smaller meals 5-6 times per day, your metabolism will pick up and eventually continue to work through the night. You will be burning calories while you sleep. Also, remember that the best way to keep from getting sore is to eat foods with potassium in them and go get some whey protein. Protein is the muscle’s building block-1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight (A kilogram is approx. 2.2 Lbs.).
After 90 days of this, put on the same clothes that you took the picture in and take another picture of yourself. When you compare the 2 pictures, you will be astounded at the difference. Good Luck!!!