Got the exercise part. Can't get the eat less part.

[mimitabby]

For those of you driving while hungry, isn't there something you can keep in your car for those times, something that takes the edge off, but isn't something that you will feel like eating too much of?

Like carrots or apples?

Then you can get home without the screaming stomach and make a good dinner?

I think i'm too cheap to snack like that (go to fast food places) i would be feeling guilty about all the good stuff i have at home!

[Squeaky]

I usually try to be prepared, but yes, I need to make sure I have something with me at all times. The problem is, I eat one of these snacks before leaving work, then I go do one of my activities, which burn through that snack fast. I'm usually an hour away from home at that point, and another apple or pretzel is unappetizing. hmmm, what else besides apples, cereal, pretzels, and granola bars are easy and convenient snack foods that I can keep in the car even when it's hot out?

[EBD]

This is going to seem off-topic, but Offthegrid's story sounded so familiar. I have been 10-15 pounds overweight for years, and despite lots of exercising that never seemed to change. I was up for eating at any moment, and had all kinds of cravings, especially at night. The a few months ago, everything changed overnight - I stopped craving, I was less hungry in general, and my whole attitude toward food changed - despite the fact that I was exercising more than I have in my life, in preparation for my first Olympic tri. What was the change? I stopped taking birth control pills. (Didn't quit all the way, but switched to Nuvaring.) Seriously, the first day I was off the pill, my appetite went down, and it has never bounced back. I've lost 10 pounds without trying, even though I'm not training intensively anymore. I still love to cook and eat, but I don't crave snacks all the time, and when I am hungry I can choose good food with my brain, because it is not overpowered by hormonal cravings.

So, this may not apply to most people, but if you really are hungry all the time, it might be worth examining your medications. (Although I know there are not good substitutes for many other meds, like there are for the Pill).

The only thing that bugs me is - does this mean that I could have been thin for the last 8 years? (That's how long I was on the Pill). Darn it! Being thin in my early 20s would have been a lot of fun .

[Meaux]

I have had the worst luck losing weight. I did the South Beach diet and was successful, but I can't not eat carbs. I was hungry all the time and grouchy. And the minute I came off the diet, all the weight came back and it brought it's nasty little friends I don't know what to do. I eat whole wheat bread/pasta/etc. and have been cutting down on my red meat in take (well, my meat intake in general) and have been TRYING desperately to exercise regularly (I work for a law firm, so my hours are often long and late), but with no luck. HELP. I'm the heaviest I've ever been in my life and I'm going to ride the MS150 in April and can't bring myself to be seen in bike shorts in front of 12,999 other people. I'd like to blame the birth control and the anti-depressants I'm on, however, I've never been a really small person. (Even when I was thinner, I've always be very curvy.) Does anyone have advice? I'd like to find some bike shorts that fit!!!

[Raindrop]

Squeaky asked what kinds of foods you can keep on hand even when it's hot. Well, there's always jerky (whether beef or turkey etc.) although you have the nitrates to deal with there. I mention jerky because protein and high fiber foods tend to keep you satisfied longer and...it's a scientific fact that proteins have a higher thermogetic factor which means it takes more calories to break down protein than it does to process simple carbohydrates like pretzels etc. The fiber in apples and pears are great but they tend to not be quite so satisfying.

I suggest that if you're really serious about having good food and snacks available you invest in a small container and some freezer gel packs. Then you can have meals and snacks that your control the caloric and nutritios value of.

Does this help at all?

[Dogmama]

You'll burn most of your calories at rest. It makes sense to increase your resting metabolic rate. Adding muscle will do that. Weight training must be a part of your plan.

[Squeaky]

Beef Jerkey, great idea Raindrop! Also, if I'm keeping a cooler in the car, then I could have boiled eggs on hand too.... and I could bring the cooler into the office during the day so it stays colder longer, and then freshen up the ice before I leave.

[han-grrl]

i hear the busy at work thing from clients a lot too. I always recommend the lunch bag. Bring enough food for the hours you plan on being in the office. people often don't pack enough and by two oclock are completley ravenous until they get home.

Vegetarian sources of protein are not as "concentrated" so to speak. that means you need a lot more of it to make up for the protein (more specifically to beans). So if you aren't eating enough protein and fat you will tend to be hungry and grouchy. make sure you have some kind of protein with every food, which also helps prevent blood sugar fluctuations.

I suggest that if you're really serious about having good food and snacks available you invest in a small container and some freezer gel packs. Then you can have meals and snacks that your control the caloric and nutritios value of.

Does this help at all?

Originally Posted by Meaux
I have had the worst luck losing weight. I did the South Beach diet and was successful, but I can't not eat carbs. I was hungry all the time and grouchy. And the minute I came off the diet, all the weight came back and it brought it's nasty little friends I don't know what to do. I eat whole wheat bread/pasta/etc. and have been cutting down on my red meat in take (well, my meat intake in general) and have been TRYING desperately to exercise regularly (I work for a law firm, so my hours are often long and late), but with no luck. HELP. I'm the heaviest I've ever been in my life and I'm going to ride the MS150 in April and can't bring myself to be seen in bike shorts in front of 12,999 other people. I'd like to blame the birth control and the anti-depressants I'm on, however, I've never been a really small person. (Even when I was thinner, I've always be very curvy.) Does anyone have advice? I'd like to find some bike shorts that fit!!!

[HappyAnika]

I love food. Good food. DH and I both love to cook. I only eat fast food about 2x a year. I drink about 3 - 4 liters of water a day. I try to make healthy choices for my meals, and compared to most Americans I eat very healthy - no chips, no soda, no packaged cookies, rarely packaged candy. But, like I said, I love food, so the food I do eat I eat way too much of. Portion control is a huge problem for me. I noticed when DH cooks, he'll plate my food and give me as much as he gives himself (he's 6'5", 215 lb). I obviously don't need to eat as much as him, and I've tried explaining this to him, but he feels like he needs to be "fair" in portioning food. That "don't need to clear your plate" thing is a good idea, but my problem is if food is in front of me, I will likely eat it. Same thing at restaurants. I have a hard time responding to my fullness cue, to stop eating when I'm not hungry anymore. My other biggest problem is my carb addiction. It doesn't help that carbs tend to be more convenient for the busy person. For example I eat cereal every morning (healthy cereal, but still cereal, and a lot of it), and for lunch I like frozen pita pocket things, they are organic and filled with vegetables, but its still a ton of carbs. Damn carbs. I know that good carbs are essential to a healthy diet, but I go way overboard. Why isn't protein as convenient?

I am in the best shape I've ever been in, but I'm not the thinnest. Its so frustrating. I thought cycling would help me loose weight, but I actually gained weight. It was because I felt like I deserved more, but I was eating more than I was burning off. It didn't help that exercising so much made me so hungry!

A few things I've found helpful:
If I'm starving in the afternoon, have a snack, otherwise I will over eat when I have dinner. Plate my own dinner, or remind DH I don't need so much. If I'm eating at a restaurant, plan to eat half my food, then take home the rest for lunch the next day. Eat dinner as early as possible, metabolism slows in the evening, so a piece of bread at dinner can cause more damage than the same piece at lunch. If I feel like I have the munchies, I ask myself, do I want to eat because I'm hungry or because I'm bored. Usually its because I'm bored. There are all kinds of mental things that go along with my hunger. If I'm happy and busy, I'm not so hungry. Weight training is incredibly helpful. While cardio makes you feel like you're more in shape, weight training burns a ton of calories.

KSH and others from the triathlon board have inspired me to start keeping track of my food on sparkpeople.com. I hope that helps. I really need to make a concerted effort to eat more protein and ease off the carbs. Evil carbs!

[KSH]

I have had the worst luck losing weight. I did the South Beach diet and was successful, but I can't not eat carbs. I was hungry all the time and grouchy. And the minute I came off the diet, all the weight came back and it brought it's nasty little friends I don't know what to do. I eat whole wheat bread/pasta/etc. and have been cutting down on my red meat in take (well, my meat intake in general) and have been TRYING desperately to exercise regularly (I work for a law firm, so my hours are often long and late), but with no luck. HELP. I'm the heaviest I've ever been in my life and I'm going to ride the MS150 in April and can't bring myself to be seen in bike shorts in front of 12,999 other people. I'd like to blame the birth control and the anti-depressants I'm on, however, I've never been a really small person. (Even when I was thinner, I've always be very curvy.) Does anyone have advice? I'd like to find some bike shorts that fit!!!

It's all about calories in and calories out.

1) Start tracking all the food you eat and the caloric content. www.calorieking.com
www.sparkpeople.com

2) Then try to drop your calorie count to 1600-1800 if you are exercising, and around 1200-1400 if you are not exercising.

Try to find foods that are low in calories and fill you up. That is the secret. Look at eating many small meals a day.

Have 1 cheat meal a week. ONLY ONE.

It's all about the calories... shoot, you could eat McD's all day long, if you only eat as many calories as you are alloted each day. It's all about choices... and picking what you know will keep you full.

Give it about 2 weeks for the weight loss to kick in. After that... you will start seeing some pounds come off. Good luck... with some will power and determination... you can do it.

[Squeaky]

Unfortunately, knowing what to do is not the problem. I know alot of what some people say sound like excuses, especially to those who've never had serious weight problems or eating disorders (with exceptions of course), but it really does help to voice things and know it's not just you. Sometimes you stumble on new ideas or inspiration.

We can sound like broken records saying things like, "why can't I stop stuffing my face?" It's a life long battle and the key is finding balance and learning to live with imperfection. I know many overweight people who are healthier than some skinny people, but that adds to the frustration. I can't count how many thin people do a fraction of the physical activity I do (and have had babies no less!), yet here I am with weight that just won't come off (and yes, for a reason). I'm currently at a weight I should be able to live with, but somehow I can't be content in my own skin.

The kicker is that I know how much better I feel, regardless of my weight, when I eat clean. ahhhhh!

[han-grrl]

I see this problem with a lot of my clients...i get the "i know what i SHOULD be doing - i just don't do it!"

I too was like that for a long time. Its all a matter of recognizing the self talk when it happens (many of us don't).

We talk ourselves out of our workout ("i'll go tomorrow", "what's the point?" etc etc).

when we start talking ourselves OUT of something you must ask yourself
1) will this decision affect my health or wellbeing?
2) Will i be proud of this decision, or will it be something i try and hide?
3) will this decision prevent me from reaching my goal?

you also have to think the following way (or start to) - HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO REACH YOUR GOAL?

My brother in law has skin problems and wants to get into this study that is testing some kind of cream to heal it. He was assessed and was told to lose some weight. One of his problems is red wine. He drinks a lot of it. and he eats a lot of fatty foods. He was complaining to me one day, about the size of servings and how he NEEDS a bigger class of wine (his wife serves him up 1/2 a cup instead of his usually 2-3). I tell him this - how important is it to him to make it into the study and potentially get help for his skin problem. Or is it more important to drink wine.

Some food for thought (pardon the pun)

Smile

Hannah