Supper time and learning what’s enough
Hi Heather! I have been a member for a few months, listen to your podcasts, learning lots! My question is, when it comes to supper time, I make supper, usually a protein and veggie and a starch, this is the meal I know I am overeating, I sit at the table and eat, to much! I need tips on slowing down, eating less, my goal is to loose weight, seems like the goal posts keep moving! I am not a evening snacker, I have dialed into eating to late doesn’t help my sleeping hours, thank you for your coaching! Kayann
Having a hard time reducing calories
Hi Heather, I’ve been listening to you for about 2 years now and I’m so appreciative of all that you do to help others. You have great advice that I try to follow. My problem is with execution. Like many other people, I have been on a diet rollercoaster since childhood trying everything from severe restriction, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and even bulimia for a short period of time. I’ve only lost significant amount of weight twice in my life. The first was when I was severely restricted my diet when I was in 6th grade. I lost about 20 pounds and didn’t keep it off for long and gained even more weight back. The second time I lost a good amount of weight was in my early 20’s when I lost about 40 pounds. I was able to do that through some diet change and a lot of exercise. After I got married and had two kids, the weight has piled on and has remained there for 2 decades. It took me a long time to finally get into a habit of tracking my calories daily. I have been consistently tracking for almost two years now and was able to maintain my weight. The problem is I want to lose weight for health reasons. There’s lots of things I’d like to do with my kids but physically can’t. By tracking my calories, I’ve become aware that I like large portions of food and I love to snack, mostly on salty things like chips, crackers and cheese. I’ve maintained my weight eating at about 2500 calories per day and my small goal was to just reduce it to around 2300 calories per day. I’ve been trying not to be too restrictive with my diet because I don’t want to backfire. I have binged at times and I’m afraid if I’m too restrictive, I might binge. I do like to exercise but I don’t want to lose weight just by exercise alone. I know that to lose weight and keep it off permanently, I need to adjust my diet. I try to pre-track my meals. Breakfast and dinner are pretty consistent, lunch varies but I think my downfall is mostly due to snacking. I’ll eat my pre-tracked meals but get hungry and start snacking usually in the afternoon or late evening. I’ve tried delayed gratification and can maybe last for about a half hour when my lower brain starts screaming at me and I give always give in. I can’t seem to ever reach my goal of just 2300 calories per day. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks, Angela
What Am I Doing Wrong??
I'll try to keep this short. Age 66. 5'5". Steady weight all my life. No yo-yo dieting. Then I gained 20 pounds with menopause. I am currently 190 pounds which I have maintained for several years (even through the pandemic) by doing absolutely nothing. No tracking. Pretty crappy eating habits. Decided to finally lose weight. Calculated my TDEE. Subtracted 160 calories to bring me down to 1400. I track daily. I try to hit 30% protein/day. I haven't been perfect but I've been pretty consistent within these parameters for about a month. Started strength training about a month ago (nothing too crazy.). I don't quite get 10K steps/day, but I've been doing cardio almost daily (again, nothing crazy). The result? Absolutely nothing. The scale hasn't moved. All this work and I get the same result as before I started working so hard. Yes - I know - strength training adds muscle which weighs more. But my clothes are not fitting much looser. Shouldn't I be seeing SOME progress? Do I have to go down to 1300 calories? I'm not sure that would be sustainable. I've heard you say "wait for the whoosh." Do I need to give this more time? Thank you.
Portioning treats vs. Grabbing them throughout the day
Dark Mint Truffle Hershey Kisses are my favorites! They are only out at Christmastime, so I tend to grab a few bags and savor them for months after the holidays are over. I work from home and keep the stash in my desk drawer. There's just enough mint that I can't eat too many of them before the flavor gets too strong, so I don't ever REALLY overdo it. I have noticed that if I intentionally portion a serving (7 kisses) and put them on my desk, I rarely eat all of them. On the other hand, if I just reach in my drawer to grab 2 here and there throughout the day, I'll often eat more than a serving. Do you have an idea as to why that is? Thank you for everything you do to support your community, and those of us looking to make our lives better! Andrea
Gaining weight Fast
Hi Heather, I was just wondering if you would tell me why when you lose weight and it takes so long to get it off, why does it come back on so incredibly fast? It took me 1 year to lose 92 pounds and now I have put back on 51 pounds in 3 months due to bingeing and overeating. There is no one in my area that deals with binge eating. You had told me on my last question to get professional help. Unfortunately my family dr & endocrinologist said there is nothing around here for that. Only for anorexia and bulimia. So I’m just wondering why it comes back on so fast. I can’t stop or control it. And I’ve tried to find help. I guess there is no help for some of us. Just wishing I could be normal where food is concerned. No one understands around me. Heck I don’t understand. I hate this. Thank you again for everything you do for everyone.