I'm a big fat girl!

[Adelyn Woodcock]

Yes, you read it right! I used to wear size small and sometimes xs 4 years ago. But after I gave birth, I wasn't able to go back to wear those sizes anymore. I tried aiming at least medium size but instead of losing some pounds, I even gained more. Sadly, I am now XL. I don't know what's happening with my body. I religiously work out 3x a week and still, nothing has changed. This makes me feel so unhappy and unconfident. I'm even having a hard time choosing what to wear. So instead of wearing clothes that may help me look thinner, I would just wear big shirts to hide all those fats. How do I get rid of all these unwanted fats? And how do I gain my confidence back?

 

[Paul of Eugene OR]

Fast once or twice a week.

How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight

 

[HereIStand]

Follow your diet along with the exercise. Maybe try Jenny Craig or one of those meal programs.

 

[Sanoy]

Go gluten free. I have no idea why or how it works, but it does. It's amazing and other than pizza the GF version of anything tastes better. You don't have to starve yourself with it, you can lose a lb a week just from switching. You have to go all the way though and commit to no wheat products. ( You don't have to go as far as celiac's do, just no wheat ingredients). So basically swap your breads, cereals, and pastas out for GF versions. Udi's anything is delicious. You might even feel better too because Gluten is an inflammatory.

My wife lost 50lbs after going GF due to Celiac, she didn't do anything but drop gluten. Since she cooks we eat the same so I lost a bunch, and I'm close to the point that I might have to eat something like ice cream to offset the loss.

Oh, and if you find GF food tastes terrible, that is actually a sign that you have Celiac. That's how my wife discovered she had it.

 

[Mountainmanbob]

Fast once or twice a week.

How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight

That works for me
problem is to not eat like a horse soon after the fast.
I could lose close to 10 pounds in two days of fasting.
MB

 

[Shadow]

How do I get rid of all these unwanted fats? And how do I gain my confidence back?

The best thing to do is to treat those as two separate questions. You can be fat and be confident, and you could also be thin and not have confidence. In the end, the fat confident person win out because they are happier and they can make the changes. even people the size of match sticks think they are fat and its not healthy or even really useful. they are thin and they are miserable anyway and that's not good.

If someone calls you "fat" or you think the people around you think you are "fat", remember that it is really easy for them to do it because they don't have to live with the consequences of that judgement. Its easy for them because they don't value their own opinion by actually having to act on it or really invest in you by giving you good advice and feel they can throw it around. So you can respond in kind; don't let other peoples BS drag you down. The fact someone says your "fat" (or whatever) does not mean you have to agree with them. It does not mean their opinion is worth a dam. Nor does it mean you should agree with them that "fat" means being inadequate, lazy, inferior, ugly, unattractive or implies any moral judgement that you should value yourself any less. Being thin may get people to look at you; but having a great personality gets them to hang around. People enjoy being around happy people, so if your worried about getting a date- stop worrying and be happy and you'll be much sexier for it.

You can decide what you think about yourself because you are the person who knows yourself best. Some people can give good advice, but its still up to you to decide whether you use it or not. We take in a lot of negative messages and it is ok to admit to being upset- holding it in and pretending it doesn't matter doesn't help in the long-run because it means we are trying not to care when we really should. Sometimes being upset is the healthy response and its best to just go with it. It's ok to admit your hurting. Its the right thing to do and its brave as well. It helps you heal and learn to defend your boundaries from toxic people.

If you are trying to lose weight, probably the best thing you can do is keep a food journal (if you are not already). This will tell you what is going in and give you more ability to control it. Simply recording what you are eating will change you food you are eating and make it more deliberate. For me, I have chart on the wall that lists all the foods I think I should avoid. (e.g. cheese, fruit juice as its high in sugar). When I have eaten something I think I shouldn't have, I tick it off on the chart. The fewer the ticks, the better I'm doing. [Today, I checked off three things: bread, cheese and "sweets or cake". the cakes were reduced and I was weak dam it. It was a Pretty good day otherwise. ] Its not about getting it perfect, just something that works.

Ultimately, changing your diet is for life. Its about developing good, healthy habits and attitude towards food. Its not a quick fix. The latter might be a rush, but then you put the weight you lost back on and your back to square one and you'll probably feel worse for it being a wasted effort. So in order to sustain a diet for a long time, its worth enjoying your food. If you hate your diet, your not going to have an incentive to stick to it. Punishing yourself and being cruel doesn't work in the long-run. There will always be moments when we feel weak (such as my love of cake ) and that's ok. Its ok to screw up occasionally, because your not looking for perfection. your looking for something that works and does enough to make it better. So eat well and eat happy. When the moments of weakness come along, you'll either forgive yourself or have a reason not to do it because your thinking about a really nice meal you've got back home.

My mum was in hospital recently (she's fine now) and she had a sandwich there; cheese, carrots and onion. It's actually really tasty and I've started having them in packed lunches for work (so rather than go to the shops to eat I can control my diet more and save money ). The cheese and maybe the bread are a bit fattening, but otherwise its just a really nice, filling sandwich. Its an improvement and still a step forward.

....And if all else fails if you stand on the scales and they don't give you the result you want, smashing them still counts as physical exercise. If you have an unhealthy relationship with the scales, its time to have a bad break-up and take it out on them. Burning calories can be fun and you'll feel better.

 

[Runswithdogs]

Agree with Sanoy.. in adition id add, cut out the sugar.. compleatly.
If you have trouble thinking of what to eat, paleo and even better, keto recipes can be found easily online.
If you have time, check out videos by Dr. Jason Fung (free on youtube or message me & ill hunt up a few good websites for you)
Personally ive never been able to loose weight following any the standard diet advice, so i started reaserching, reading.. I first lost weight when I cut out the grains and sugar (and also cleared up some other issues includding a chronically sore shoulder we originally thought was due to work stress... turns out its was inflamation) but after a while weightloss stalled. Tweaked diet so now im eating keto mixed with some fasting & im melllllltingggggg. (Sorry, bad wicked witch of the west impersonation there) but ive dropped 36lbs in 3 months plus putting on muscle (so actully. Probably lost a fair bit more fat than that) and I feel Good. Not weak or deprived. Skin is better than its ever been, more energy and only downside is none of my freaking clothes fit... (yeah, you may think good but i hate clothes shopping)
In addition my dh, has also started to loose weight and his blood sugar levels are perfect (he was diagnosed diabetic 4-5 years ago & we sorted it with diet but since going keto its actully been perfect instead of borderline.)

 

[συνείδησις]

Cut what you're eating now by 10%. Stick with that until it's easy. Then cut another 10%. Rinse and repeat. Doesn't matter how much you exercise when you compensate by eating more calories. When calories in > calories out, fat happens.

 

[SkyWriting]

Yes, you read it right! I used to wear size small and sometimes xs 4 years ago. But after I gave birth, I wasn't able to go back to wear those sizes anymore. I tried aiming at least medium size but instead of losing some pounds, I even gained more. Sadly, I am now XL. I don't know what's happening with my body. I religiously work out 3x a week and still, nothing has changed. This makes me feel so unhappy and unconfident. I'm even having a hard time choosing what to wear. So instead of wearing clothes that may help me look thinner, I would just wear big shirts to hide all those fats. How do I get rid of all these unwanted fats? And how do I gain my confidence back?

Food timing is eating the same foods, but in a different order.

Work on adding healthy food like the mediterranean diet into your current diet, then slowly phase out the white breads and meats that we are addicted to.

 

[Adelyn Woodcock]

Oh my god!! I am overwhelmed with all your positive comments. I thought you'll just ignore my post and just laugh at me. And to be honest I almost seek for help from a counseling site coz I'm feeling hopeless already. I'm reading all your suggestions and taking notes of every detail. I don't know where to begin, lol. Thank you so much!

 

[Adelyn Woodcock]

That works for me
problem is to not eat like a horse soon after the fast.
I could lose close to 10 pounds in two days of fasting.
MB

Wow! 10 lbs is a lot! Eat like a horse --- I'll try not to be.

 

[Adelyn Woodcock]

Follow your diet along with the exercise. Maybe try Jenny Craig or one of those meal programs.

First time to hear about Jenny Craig. I'm seeing 16lbs in just 4 weeks. I'll consider this. Thanks for bringing it up here.

 

[Adelyn Woodcock]

Go gluten free. I have no idea why or how it works, but it does. It's amazing and other than pizza the GF version of anything tastes better. You don't have to starve yourself with it, you can lose a lb a week just from switching. You have to go all the way though and commit to no wheat products. ( You don't have to go as far as celiac's do, just no wheat ingredients). So basically swap your breads, cereals, and pastas out for GF versions. Udi's anything is delicious. You might even feel better too because Gluten is an inflammatory.

My wife lost 50lbs after going GF due to Celiac, she didn't do anything but drop gluten. Since she cooks we eat the same so I lost a bunch, and I'm close to the point that I might have to eat something like ice cream to offset the loss.

Oh, and if you find GF food tastes terrible, that is actually a sign that you have Celiac. That's how my wife discovered she had it.

Ohhh. Thanks for sharing this info. I think I need I need to lose more than 50 lbs I'll read more about Celiac.

 

[Adelyn Woodcock]

The best thing to do is to treat those as two separate questions. You can be fat and be confident, and you could also be thin and not have confidence. In the end, the fat confident person win out because they are happier and they can make the changes. even people the size of match sticks think they are fat and its not healthy or even really useful. they are thin and they are miserable anyway and that's not good.

If someone calls you "fat" or you think the people around you think you are "fat", remember that it is really easy for them to do it because they don't have to live with the consequences of that judgement. Its easy for them because they don't value their own opinion by actually having to act on it or really invest in you by giving you good advice and feel they can throw it around. So you can respond in kind; don't let other peoples BS drag you down. The fact someone says your "fat" (or whatever) does not mean you have to agree with them. It does not mean their opinion is worth a dam. Nor does it mean you should agree with them that "fat" means being inadequate, lazy, inferior, ugly, unattractive or implies any moral judgement that you should value yourself any less. Being thin may get people to look at you; but having a great personality gets them to hang around. People enjoy being around happy people, so if your worried about getting a date- stop worrying and be happy and you'll be much sexier for it.

You can decide what you think about yourself because you are the person who knows yourself best. Some people can give good advice, but its still up to you to decide whether you use it or not. We take in a lot of negative messages and it is ok to admit to being upset- holding it in and pretending it doesn't matter doesn't help in the long-run because it means we are trying not to care when we really should. Sometimes being upset is the healthy response and its best to just go with it. It's ok to admit your hurting. Its the right thing to do and its brave as well. It helps you heal and learn to defend your boundaries from toxic people.

If you are trying to lose weight, probably the best thing you can do is keep a food journal (if you are not already). This will tell you what is going in and give you more ability to control it. Simply recording what you are eating will change you food you are eating and make it more deliberate. For me, I have chart on the wall that lists all the foods I think I should avoid. (e.g. cheese, fruit juice as its high in sugar). When I have eaten something I think I shouldn't have, I tick it off on the chart. The fewer the ticks, the better I'm doing. [Today, I checked off three things: bread, cheese and "sweets or cake". the cakes were reduced and I was weak dam it. It was a Pretty good day otherwise. ] Its not about getting it perfect, just something that works.

Ultimately, changing your diet is for life. Its about developing good, healthy habits and attitude towards food. Its not a quick fix. The latter might be a rush, but then you put the weight you lost back on and your back to square one and you'll probably feel worse for it being a wasted effort. So in order to sustain a diet for a long time, its worth enjoying your food. If you hate your diet, your not going to have an incentive to stick to it. Punishing yourself and being cruel doesn't work in the long-run. There will always be moments when we feel weak (such as my love of cake ) and that's ok. Its ok to screw up occasionally, because your not looking for perfection. your looking for something that works and does enough to make it better. So eat well and eat happy. When the moments of weakness come along, you'll either forgive yourself or have a reason not to do it because your thinking about a really nice meal you've got back home.

My mum was in hospital recently (she's fine now) and she had a sandwich there; cheese, carrots and onion. It's actually really tasty and I've started having them in packed lunches for work (so rather than go to the shops to eat I can control my diet more and save money ). The cheese and maybe the bread are a bit fattening, but otherwise its just a really nice, filling sandwich. Its an improvement and still a step forward.

....And if all else fails if you stand on the scales and they don't give you the result you want, smashing them still counts as physical exercise. If you have an unhealthy relationship with the scales, its time to have a bad break-up and take it out on them. Burning calories can be fun and you'll feel better.

Thank you so much. Your inspiring words (plus funny ones) just made feel better!!!

 

[ThatRobGuy]

There's no one diet that's going to work the best for everyone, but I can tell you what worked for me some years back and helped me drop 55lbs in a matter of 3 months.

I created a daily 400 calorie caloric deficit (checked my BMR, and subtracted 400 from that and used that as my target), and then cycled my carbohydrates. For me, that number was around 2200, so I set my initial calorie target at 1800. (obviously this number needs to be adjusted as body weight drops)

As far as the carb cycling
Days 1-3: 40g
Day 4: 200g

Repeat...

That worked very well for me.


Present day I'm not looking to lose anymore as I'm 6'1" and around 170-175 and have more muscle building and strength goals in mind, but one thing that hasn't changed from then till now is I'm a stickler for reading the nutrition label and knowing the macro nutrient and calorie content of every thing I eat.

One of the present day things I have changed, is that I've drastically reduced my animal foods consumption. I've eliminated beef & dairy, reduced pork intake to around 1/10th of what it used to be, and cut my chicken intake in half. But that's just something I'm doing for ethical & environmental reasons and it's certainly not required for taking the steps I outlined above.

 

[Lost4words]

I found i lost the most weight when i ditched the lead diving boots....lol

 

[Chinchilla]

Fast once or twice a week.

How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight

Or you can eat two meals a day within 6 hour for example 10 AM and 4PM then fast for 18 hours .

 

[unfinishedclay]

I am so sorry you're struggling. I totally understand. A few suggestions:

Dr. Axe
Keyword search "planks" on youtube
"Eat This Not That" has an excellent website full of resourceful tips

Self-image comes with time. Be sure not to compare yourself with anybody. Media images tend to distort our image of ourselves. Even thin celebrities struggle with self-image due to that. Prep up exactly where you are. Take care of your temple (your body) at any size. There are a lot of pretty plus-size girls who are comfortable in their skin (no matter the size).

I know it's easier to give the advice than to receive it. I know way too well. Be encouraged.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Dr. Axe

If I may chime in about this small part...

Make sure you cross reference any information you get from him with actual medical information as "Dr." Axe isn't really a doctor, but instead, a chiropractor, with numerous "doctorate degrees" in various form of "Natural medicine"...none of which are accredited, but merely certificates that say "doctoral degree" you get from the institution for completing their courses.

Neither Josh Axe nor his wife Chelsea are actual doctors, despite how they introduce themselves on their youtube videos.

I've given the guy a fair shake and watched numerous videos he's published, and not all of his nutrition info is bad (obviously there's nothing wrong with wanting to drastically reduce the amount of processed & junk food we eat). However, some of his information is way off the reservation, like his propensity for telling people they should be eating more red meat, and peddling detox supplements that don't do anything other than make your pee change colors.

 

[bhsmte]

That works for me
problem is to not eat like a horse soon after the fast.
I could lose close to 10 pounds in two days of fasting.
MB

Losing weight is easy. Losing fat easy and quickly, is physiologically impossible.