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

[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!