Help me lose weight

[lilles]

I recently posted that my clothes had been getting tighter because my butt was getting a bit bigger from running. I now barely fit in any of my pants. I think I need to lose 5-10lbs regardless of my new butt and get rid of the little bit of a pooch that clings to me no matter what. I am currently working out 5 days a week. Running 5 days and doing upper body weights 2x a week and legs 3x a week and core work 5x a week. I know I can improve my eating but every time I try to cut back I get super cranky. Here is a typical day food wise for me:
Breakfast
Almond milk and a Greek yogurt-the yogurt is usually the 2% one or regular one since I can't stand fat free yogurt
Morning snack-string cheese
Lunch-Lentil soup
Afternoon snack- a few crackers like Ritz bits or an apple
Dinner- Salad and spaghetti. Dinners tend to be sort of heavy since my DH needs a lot of food calories since he never gains weight. I also have two DDs and I make the same dinner for everyone,
Nightime snack-popcorn(no butter) a few times a week
I drink a ton of water throughout the day and one or two diet Pepsis a day.

Any ideas? Workout more? No snacks? If I cut the snacks out the crankiness comes along.

[Susie]

Dinner sounds like it needs some protein. Chicken to go with that pasta?

Overall, it also just does not sound like a ton of food. Have you added up how many calories/day that is?

I would suggest giving sparkpeople (or your pick of equivalent) a shot, recording every single thing that you eat for maybe 2 weeks. Longer if after 2 weeks you don't have solid patterns yet. It's really easy to say "this is what I usually eat," except that on Monday I had this extra, Tuesday that one, Wednesday a 3rd different one... and all of a sudden your "usual" isn't really an accurate representation of what you're eating on the whole. It's just the core of what you're eating. I bet you either have more extras than you realize, or your total caloric intake is too low, which would slow down your metabolic rate and make it hard to lose weight.  With the cranky comments, I'm guessing it's the latter.

Another thing to consider is what you're doing with these workouts. You run 5 days a week? That is a lot. How long/far? Do you do any speed work? Just doing the same workout over and over will only help you lose weight for a while, then your body adapts to it and it doesn't do as much good. Changing things up helps a lot. Try a combination of cardio and strength training, possibly some interval/speed work, maybe some lifting.

[wambam]

Two things:

1. Excess fat in the mid-section that is resistant to weight loss can be related to cortisol and stress. It sounds like you are doing a LOT of exercise which could definitely be hindering fat loss. Also, look at your sleep habits, stress at work, and how you're recovering.

2. For food, I would try to focus more on eating whole, unprocessed foods. It doesn't look like you're eating all that much. Are you a vegetarian? I suggest a LOT more protein than you're getting.

Good luck!

[rosiedozie]

I feel like you need more fruits and veggies - and that generally gives you more volume of food, which helps with not feeling deprived (at least for me it does)

[Deleted]

Reduce the carbs and substitute with more protein and fruits/veggies. Instead of popcorn, eat celery or an apple with peanut butter. Instead of crackers, eat nuts. Instead of pasta, eat brown rice with some kind of protein and some veggies.

Also, I don't understand what you mean by heavy meals and why you need to eat stuff like spaghetti regularly. 

[Wines Not Whines]

I agree with Susie: track all of your food and exercise for 1-2 weeks and see what the numbers say. It's easy to engage in mindless snacking and forget about it later.

[lilles]

Aug 25, 2013 18:46:27 GMT -5 aswartzw said:

Reduce the carbs and substitute with more protein and fruits/veggies. Instead of popcorn, eat celery or an apple with peanut butter. Instead of crackers, eat nuts. Instead of pasta, eat brown rice with some kind of protein and some veggies.

Also, I don't understand what you mean by heavy meals and why you need to eat stuff like spaghetti regularly. 

The heavy meals thing is that I would be happy eating soup and salad for dinner but my DH does not consider that enough food for him for dinner. I don't want to make different things because then my DDs want to eat something different as well and it is easier to make one meal and have everyone eat that.

[lilles]

Forgot to add that I have a past history of severely restricting what I ate in the past for example in college one year I would have a plum for breakfast, a large Diet Pepsi for lunch and Lean Cuisine for dinner. Not healthy at all. So now I don't weigh myself except at medical appointments because whatever the number is it will never be good enough. I know I need to eat better but I am afraid of taking it to the extreme again and I am trying to be healthy as well as model positive behaviors for my DDs.

[patches31709]

I'm no expert but I really think you need more whole foods and more protein in your diet.

[cole]

No expert at all, but I find personally when I eat whole foods I am full much longer. I can't meal plan for my life and regularly end up eating something fast like pasta or cereal, so I've been doing the fresh 20 program MM has been talking about recently (on week 4 now) and it has helped tremendously. I do probably 50% of my grocery shopping in fresh veggies and fruits, 25% in protein sources and 25% in dairy and grains. Not trying to push the meal plan at all, just found that shaking up my old routine to shift into more regular grocery shopping and meal prep helped me not get cranky hungry nearly as much as I was before.

[gt7301b]

The only way I really lose weight is when I cut back on the carbs. Even if you want to make heavier meals for your DH you can tweak them a bit for you. For example sometimes I have spaghetti squash when my DH has actual spaghetti. Your DH can also just eat larger portions of what you are eating. For example if you have chicken, salad, and a veggie for dinner he could have two chicken breasts or a side of pasta.

[msturtle143]

Aug 25, 2013 18:27:21 GMT -5 rosiedozie said:

I feel like you need more fruits and veggies - and that generally gives you more volume of food, which helps with not feeling deprived (at least for me it does)

I was going to say this too as soon as I saw what you have for breakfast and snack.
You need more fiber in there and try to include them each time you reach for food. I am no expert in weight loss but eating a ton of fiber really helped my aunt who was diagnosed a pre-diabetic. She turned her eating habit around...eliminated pasta, bread, and rice (which is so difficult to most Asians like her!) but in 3 months she had lost 25 lbs and is no longer pre-diabetic!
She ate more beans, steamed veggies, nuts, and only white and lean meats. She says she never feels hungry which surprised her when she first started. She was always the heaviest of her sisters and now she is the thinnest she's ever been at 60 years of age!
GL!

[Deleted]

Aug 26, 2013 10:18:40 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

The only way I really lose weight is when I cut back on the carbs. Even if you want to make heavier meals for your DH you can tweak them a bit for you. For example sometimes I have spaghetti squash when my DH has actual spaghetti. Your DH can also just eat larger portions of what you are eating. For example if you have chicken, salad, and a veggie for dinner he could have two chicken breasts or a side of pasta.

I'm the same way. Left to my own devices, I will eat nothing but carbs all day. I need to add in lots of vegetables and meat to fill me up. 

I also have a similar problem with dinners. My DH eats nothing all day and he works on his feet. When he gets home at night, he needs a BIG dinner. It's easy for me to just eat the same amount as him, but I have to consciously serve myself about 1/3 of what he gets.