Dieting........ it sucks sideways

[deliza]

I just wanted to share my angst for a moment. I packed on 10 pounds when I switched to e-cigs (that is on top of the already too much I weighed), anyhoo, now I'm doing the dieting thing, which I am convinced was invented, if not my satan himself, then by a sadistic member of his minions. Am I the only one here, or does anyone else share my pain?

[marg]

I just gave up, I think about it occasionally tho, lol

[SaintCappy]

I am a noob.....but this is something I am worried about too.....Will I gain weight switching to e-cigs?
Now I dont have a prob at all right now I am 120# 28 w...size 3 in womens (cause most dude pants dont fit me well I have to wear girls jeans)......But still eat well and all that but when my dad stopped smoking he gained some pounds on him.
I will not look so cool with a skinny bod frame and a big gut.

[Mary Kay]

I lost weight at first..vaped chocolate isn't fattening! But I am at a standstill now. I guess my body likes being "fluffy". Maybe If I uped my exercise routine, Lift arm, vape, lower arm..repeat!

[Mary Kay]

Saint..welcome to ECF! But you are in the Woman's Room.
Weight gain is a strange thing, some do with vaping, and some don't..I would think we would all lose some weight if the vaping replaced the snacking, but maybe withdrawal from all the chemicals causes your metabalism to go nuts.

[Kilroy2.0]

Well I gain a lot of weight about the time I started using the e-cig I was also hospitalized for my Cluster headaches and migraines for about a week. I left the hospital weighing 30 lbs more then I did at check in.

So I am not sure weather it is the meds, no analogs or what. I talked to my Dr. and he told me as long as I eat right and work out, what I weigh should not mater as long as I am healthy.

I told him there is no way that a person that is 5' 4" is healthy weighing 195 lbs.

SO I FEEL YOUR PAIN.

g

[Niluvani]

I hate diets. I am so against them. I think going no-sugar, no fat is rediculous.

HOWEVER. I am getting married in November and in desperate attempts to thin up (or down?) before the date comes, I am "dieting".

Now, Denise Austin is a strange strange lady - BUT - her work out videos are amazing. She is hilarious to me, and it keeps me going. She's very motivating. I have like 8 of her work out DVDs. Dancing/Yoga/Stretch for slow days, Cardio Fat Blashing "Women Zone" etc for medium days, and the BOOT CAMP (SO HARD my hubby who is in the military even breaks a sweat haha) for "LETS MELT SOME LBS!" days!

So anyways, back to the "diet". Honestly? You don't have to go nuts.
I am a fatty eater. I eat pizza (half of a frozen pizza.. really.), whole box of velveeta mac & cheese, and about a 12 box of pop a week. (yes.)

(If you want my picture, and how much I weigh, just ask! I have no problem sharing, just not in public )

I know what my personal habits are. I cannot control my portion size. That's the big thing for me. It was tough when I went to dieting, to actually realize what a portion size is. And? When I'm nervous/overwhelmed/stressed I eat. Even if I'm as full as can be, I'll eat. (I HATE that I do that, and it seems simple to quit.. but it's like smoking. I can't! LOL)

But, the first week I started, I lost 6lbs. Honest.

I changed everything to low fat/no fat, low sugar/no sugar.
Even small changes, it all made a big difference. Here are some things
Miracle Whip instead of Mayonaise.
No Sugar Ketchup (or low sugar)
No/Low sugar Syrup
No Sugar Jelly
Diet Pop
low fat crackers
No Fat Kraft American Slices (They taste the same!!)
(Do not cook with shredded no fat cheese. It doesnt cook right - it hardens up quick when cooled. Icky)
100 calorie snack packs
100 calorie Doritos/Cheetos etc
Ultra Lean ground beef (97/3, it's like $2 more @ walmart...)

There is a type of bread, called "Delight" by Sara Lee, it's 45 calories per slice. And it's still pretty good. It's lighter than the normal slice of bread, but it gets the job done. I like it.

I don't care what people tell you about "low carb" is the way to go.
That is complete bull...... Honest!! It's a quick fix, but not a long term solution.

Also, Pick up some bottled sparkling green tea from Lipton. I am a big pop drinker (obviously) so I need the carbination in drinks, therefore I get the sparkling tea. Green tea will literally help melt the lbs right off (Plus, bonus antioxidants!) I at least drank one bottle a day, and tried for two.
(You can of course drink regular green tea... )

I try to stay around 1800-2000 calories a day. The things to look for are:
Fat, Proteins, and Calories!!

Each meal is usually 400-500 calories, and snacks are 200-300ish.
Don't go over 4-5 hours without eating anything, or your "Starvation mode"
will become active! (That means, the next time you eat, your body will likely store more of it as fat, in case it "starves" in the future)

It's very true, that home-cooking your meals is much healthier, even if they are "Bad foods"

My favorite, of course, is pizza! My problem? Portion size!

In the bread aisle in walmart, there are "wraps" (like tortillas...)
Whole grain, of course. (healthy!)

I take one of those, put a little pizza sauce on it.
I place 10 or so pepperonis around (I think the portion size is 14 ..but check your label)
and 1/4 cup of pizzaria cheese (not a lot of cheese.. but thats the portion size! You can add more, and cut from somewhere else during the day, ofc)

I am a very VERY picky eater. No vegetables, etc. (potatoes are not a veggie to me! hah!)

Anyways, Pizza is my fav, like I mentioned, and this pizza is actually good!
It's a little floppy, as the wrap doesn't crisp up much.
You can also take a Pita Bread, and make that a crust. I do that too, (whole grain of course!) and it's crispier.

Hamburger? No problem!

Let's say you get a pound of ground beef. That's actually 4 hamburgers.
Cut it into 4s. Yum! (Whole wheat buns! Add the no/low sugar ketchup and cheese!)

Buy a sack of potatos. Make your own french fries. Cut the potatoes, and dip the potatoes
in olive oil. salt them up, and bake them. Yum! (Don't deep fry!!! BAKE!)

Make sure with every MEAL you drink a glass of milk, and a glass of water.
Try to drink Skim or 1% milk. Absolutely avoid whole milk.
The milk will help keep you full, and water is good for you. It also helps to keep you full, but the milk is great. (three glasses of low fat milk a day help you shed your weight)

Breakfast meals are simple too. Check these out...
Make plain oatmeal (I know.. yuck) and add a tablespoon or two of your no sugar syrup. It tastes just like it has sugar in there. AMAZING ISNT IT!?

or

Make two frozen waffels (whole grain, and if you get a fruity one, make it blueberry!) and instead of syrup, try your no sugar jelly. With your waffels, you can have a fruit, and a cup of yogurt. Try a glass of orange juice instead of water for breakfast. But don't forget your milk

Speaking of Orange Juice, Try "Trop50", it's 50% less sugar, etc etc than the regular. I tried the no pulp.. but it tastes like orange water. Then I got the one with pulp and it was delicious. (I usually HATE pulp!)

One of my favorites is the western scramble. (And I normally HATE eggs with a passion)
Take a couple eggs, whisk them up with a little milk. Add some chopped green and red peppers, and add chopped/cubed ham add cubed cooked potato. Then proceed as if you were making scrambled eggs. YUM!! You can even stuff this inside a pita bread. (Don't forget your milk! hehe)

And for me, it seems to work best to have soup for lunch. Try for Campbell healthy request, or healthy choice. Campbell also has 100calorie "to-go" soups. Along with the soup, eat a portion size (read the label) crackers. You can use saltines, or even hmm... what are they called. You know, snack crackers. Ritz? (They are also available in low fat. Get those. They honestly taste the same) But the portion size is lower on those of course as opposed to saltines (which also come in low fat. get those!).
With your soup, you can even make half a ham&cheese sandwich. (a whole sandwhich AND a can of soup is overkill. besides, with your glass of milk & water, you'll be full!)

These examples, I am just trying to express you can pretty much eat (on the healthiest way of course) anything, just watch your portion, and fat/protein/calorie intake.

I did this, I was never hungry. I loved the food I ate.
I can actually post recipes if you gals are interested.

Again, I lost 6lbs in a week on this "diet. "
I didn't think I would last. I hate diets. But I was pleasently suprised and how I was never full. Ask my hubby, every 5 minutes. "Omg, I can't beleive im still full!" haha.
(I was also working out, cardio and weight training)
I lost a couple inches around my weight, hips, thighs and biceps. I dont have the measurements right now, I'd have to go look in my note book. Thats right.. I was recording =P)

[Kelly79]

Breakfast meals are simple too. Check these out...
Make plain oatmeal (I know.. yuck) and add a tablespoon or two of your no sugar syrup. It tastes just like it has sugar in there. AMAZING ISNT IT!?

Better yet Sunkist's dried berries give oatmeal a real punch especially if you add a couple of drops of LorAnn's or Capellas Flavors.

[skippy]

Well I've packed on 18lbs that I can NOT get off. I run 3 miles a day, eat low carb and work out 4 x a week. My trainer is pulling his hair out, he's convinced I'm up all night eating Snickers! I know that PG and VG are considered alcohols but they are sugar alcohols. Do these liquids have a lot more carbs then we think? Do they raise our blood sugar levels? I'm just really frustrated here, need to vent.

[Niluvani]

imho, low carb is a fail diet. It's a short term fix, not a long term lifestyle. (And you must think "lifestyle change" to be successful, imo.) You will gain the weight back, but be without bread/pastas. No fun!

Also remember, if you're working out (even doing aerobics) you are still working up muscles. This is +weight. Don't weigh yourself at all. Don't use this for your weight loss tool. (Actually, check it every two weeks) but measure yourself in inches. Measure your waist once a week. Your hips, thighs and biceps. (depending on how thin you are right now, if you're weight training, your inches will go up in your biceps, or if you have the jigglies, the inches will decrease before going back up)

Try eating snacks (you know, fruits, yogurt.. not snickers, hehe) every 4 hours. It will boost your metabolism. Drink three glasses of low fat milk every day, and increase your green tea intake (don't add sugar.)