Still no weight loss

Jeanne · Post by **Jeanne** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 2:09 am

Well, I still haven't lost any weight, but I haven't gained any either. One problem I am having is breakfast. I just can't eat much for breakfast. Any suggestions? If I eat a small breakfast, then I'm hungry before lunch. What can I do? Sometimes I have some milk before lunch. I'm trying to exercise a little more as tolerated with my arthritis. I have been modifying the exercise when I attend a class. I am also doing a yoga class once a week.Still trying but no success yet.

dockanz · Post by **dockanz** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:08 pm

Hunger isn't our enemy, eating too much is.

noni · Post by **noni** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:30 pm

Hi Jeanne,

I answered your other post about breakfast but I'll go into more detail. First off, I know it's harder to drop weight as you get older. I could remember strenuous dieting for a week to drop 5-10 lbs whenever needed. Not anymore as I'm in my 50's. I couldn't do that nor would want to now as I so enjoy good food. Life is too short for that.

For breakfast I normally eat cold cereal with reg. milk. Any kind of cereal. I leave the Coco Puffs for the kids but my cereal isn't much better as far as sugar is concerned. Some here may consider that an S day treat but I don't. (but contrarily, I made banana bread and wouldn't eat it until the weekend-it's all a mentally individual thing over what an S is). My small bowl of cereal holds about one cup to the top so my serving is even less. I do get hungry by 10-11am but I love that growling in the stomach feeling that time of day. (At night I don't like it. I go to bed around 12 midnight so it's a long night). Oatmeal will hold your hunger over longer. I eat a half of a serving but put stuff in it; raisins, nuts, bananas etc...

I drink liquids inbetween meals because I feel a need to put something in my mouth. I drink alot of hot tea, no sugar, even on the hottest days. (My husband shakes his head at me.) I'll have a cup of decafe, too with milk. This holds the hunger at bay for me.

I'll mix a 100% fruit drink with sparkling water, half and half to tie me over from lunch to dinner. At night when it's the hardest and everybody's eating icecream, I'll make myself a fancy decafe coffee-a large one and I put a flavored creamer or syrup in it to make them alittle extra special.

Jeanne · Post by **Jeanne** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 1:58 pm

I always drink a lot of tea (green) even in the summer.I just don't want to eat much for breakfast. I like oatmeal, but can't eat it for breakfast. I sometimes have oatmeal for lunch made with milk instead of water and add some fruit. It is very good.
Jeanne

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 2:33 pm

Jeanne wrote:Well, I still haven't lost any weight, but I haven't gained any either. One problem I am having is breakfast. I just can't eat much for breakfast. Any suggestions? If I eat a small breakfast, then I'm hungry before lunch. What can I do? Sometimes I have some milk before lunch. I'm trying to exercise a little more as tolerated with my arthritis. I have been modifying the exercise when I attend a class. I am also doing a yoga class once a week.Still trying but no success yet.

Another thing to remember is that there's nothing wrong with being hungry. I either eat a small breakfast or no breakfast at all and I'm usually hungry before lunch. With rare exceptions, I ignore it. Hunger isn't necessarily a good reason to eat! I've quoted this a couple of times before.

This is from Food Matters:

Mark Bittman wrote: There's a basic truth here: there are stages of hunger, and we -- Americans in general -- have become accustomed to feeding ourselves at the first sign. This is the equivalent of taking a nap every time you get tired, which hardly anyone does.

There are levels of hunger, and there is a very real difference between hunger and starvation. Starvation is a physical state; your body is deprived of essential nutrients or calories for a long period of time. Probably no one reading this book has ever been truly starving -- though we all think we know what starving feels like.

Hunger is a hard-wired early-warning system. At first, your brain says, "Think about eating something soon." In later stages it says, "Eat as soon as you can; make eating a priority." At no point does your brain say, "Eat now or you will do permanent damage," though at times it may feel as if this is true. But "Eat when hungry" has become a habit. We get hungry. We eat. We get hungry again. We eat again. And so on.

I'm not saying, "Don't eat when you're hungry." I"m saying that if losing or maintaining weight is important to you, think twice before you eat from simple hunger, or from other reasons, like emotion. And when you do eat, choose a piece of fruit, a carrot, a handful of nuts. If you're still hungry, have more. And more. Eat a pint of blueberries, or cherry tomatoes, have a mango, or a banana and an apple. Have a lightly dressed salad. You would be hard-pressed to gain weight eating this way.

You can also embrace hunger, strange as that may sound, just as you might embrace the delicious anticipation of a nap, or sexual craving. Your hunger will, after all, be satisfied. Why not wait an hour? (You're not dying, after all!). You might also stop eating before you're full (three-quarters full is probably about right). And if you eat slowly, taking your time, you'll give the food time to reach your stomach and give you a sense of satisfaction before you have seconds or thirds.

If you embrace moderation, eat whole foods instead of junk, live within your physical, monetary, and environmental budget rather than constantly exceeding it, as so many of us do, you will lose weight, tread more lightly on the planet, and gain satisfaction from these things.

Though there are exceptions, most of us don't need to eat just because we're hungry. So, you're hungry. So what? I've found that feelings of hunger also pass without eating.

One thing I read several times in Michael Pollan's search for our food rules is not to drink your calories. No beverages with calories (except for red wine!).

apomerantz · Post by **apomerantz** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 1:10 am

When you say you can't eat much for breakfast, I was wondering why? Are you just not hungry? Or are you time crunched? What is stopping you from eating more?

I eat a bowl of cereal. I fill 3/4 of the bowl with a very low calorie, low sugar cereal (Special K), add about an 1/4 of my favorite cereal (Select Grains Pecan) and top with blueberries and skim milk . . .I basically eat that every single day. My favorite cereal has pecans in it, and I think those REALLY hold me well til lunch. Basically, I've got the volume without the sugar and a little bit of protein - - seems to be doing the trick.

I'm thinking that if you can't stomach much food, maybe try a food that is pretty satisfying - like an egg with protein and fat. Or a 1/4 cup of nuts with a banana.

In general, what type of breakfast foods do you like best?

vmsurbat · Post by **vmsurbat** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:04 am

Jeanne wrote:Well, I still haven't lost any weight, but I haven't gained any either. One problem I am having is breakfast. I just can't eat much for breakfast. Any suggestions? If I eat a small breakfast, then I'm hungry before lunch. What can I do? Sometimes I have some milk before lunch. I'm trying to exercise a little more as tolerated with my arthritis. I have been modifying the exercise when I attend a class. I am also doing a yoga class once a week.Still trying but no success yet.

Jeanne,

I've seen you post several times about the no weight loss despite a good trial run. Just a few thoughts of encouragement for you.

1. It is TERRIFIC that you've been getting the NoS habits down and with no weight gain. That is a worthy accomplishment right there.

2. Because you are limiting your eating to three solid meals a day, you know where to look (ie., breakfast, lunch, or dinner) to see where any improvements can be made. And I suggest that you try a very small modification of what you are already eating--maybe a few bites left at each meal, or taking just slightly smaller proportions of servings at each meal. Eating 100 calories less per day equals a 1 lb. weight loss per month. It is REALLY easy to eat 100 calories less per day....

3. Although I don't suffer from arthritis, I do have some longstanding ankle and shoulder injuries that prevented me from "regular" exercise. I found a great book, The Core Program by Peggy Brill that is very doable for women with physical concerns. Ms. Brill is a physical therapist and her outlined program takes just 15 minutes a day (after you learn the moves), strengthens core muscles, and puts little/no strain on back, knees, etc.

After I plateaued on losing weight with following NoS principles, and discovering that I couldn't shovelglove due to repeated injuries, I started following the Core Program diligently and I've been VERY PLEASED. I have far fewer aches and pains that previously and am beginning to tone up nicely.

I had a private physical therapist take a look at the book and she thought it outlined a terrific, doable program.

I think you are close to a break through on the no weight loss. Try the above measures for another month or two. You won't gain, you'll keep your good NoS habits going, and if you don't begin to lose, then you can start looking at what you are actually eating...

HTH,

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:24 pm

Breakfast has always been a problem for me. I will skip it more than any other meal. I skipped it for a long time and I never lost any weight doing it. I think that 1 ) you need the energy for the rest of the day. and 2) your body thinks it's starving itself, bring on the fat reserves!

I usually eat a light breakfast. I used to drink a slimfast shake because of the vitamins and I didn't want to eat breakfast. BUT that kind of shake is not that beneficial because all the added sugars that I believe makes it an S. So, maybe you can make your own healthy shake with honey or something.

I am recently vegetarian and greatly miss my eggs and bacon, my favorite breakfast of all time. Now I eat an egg in a hole with shredded cheese melted on top. It's nutritious and light. I still hate eating breakfast, but I know it's important. Yes, I do get hungrier earlier for lunch, but then have a good lunch!

Jeanne · Post by **Jeanne** » Wed May 06, 2009 1:28 am

apomerantz wrote:When you say you can't eat much for breakfast, I was wondering why? Are you just not hungry? Or are you time crunched? What is stopping you from eating more?

I eat a bowl of cereal. I fill 3/4 of the bowl with a very low calorie, low sugar cereal (Special K), add about an 1/4 of my favorite cereal (Select Grains Pecan) and top with blueberries and skim milk . . .I basically eat that every single day. My favorite cereal has pecans in it, and I think those REALLY hold me well til lunch. Basically, I've got the volume without the sugar and a little bit of protein - - seems to be doing the trick.

I'm thinking that if you can't stomach much food, maybe try a food that is pretty satisfying - like an egg with protein and fat. Or a 1/4 cup of nuts with a banana.

In general, what type of breakfast foods do you like best?

I just don't like eating breakfast. Never did like breakfast even as a child. I just don't feel like I can eat that early in the morning. What do I do about it?

Jeanne · Post by **Jeanne** » Wed May 06, 2009 1:35 am

I just don't like to eat breakfast. I don't feel like I can eat that early in the morning. I have always been like this even as a child. I know breakfast is important. What can I do about this?

Everyday Systems