<p>I have lost close to sixty pounds since January and you are correct…the last ten pounds are the very hardest. What worked for me was food tracking (using Livestrong) and cutting out most bread products. I love bread and pasta but I cannot eat it and lose weight. So lean meat, vegetables, protein shakes, limited fruit. That seemed to do the trick.</p>
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<p>Exactly. Not only does calorie absorption change with changes in diet and other lifestyle changes, but also, how many calories your body burns will change with a change in diet.</p>
<p>It’s not calories in vs calories out. It’s calories absorbed vs calories burned. Some people who have been very overweight, and who have managed to get down to a smaller weight, discover that they can eat many fewer calories than a person who is at the same weight but was never obese. It seems unfair, but there it is.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the support, advice and suggestions!</p>
<p>So what I seem to be hearing is that if I’m not exercising, then I need to stop taking in the calories that I won’t be burning by exercising. Hence why I’ve gained the weight. Because I stopped exercising and did nothing about my calorie intake.</p>
<p>Mathmom: haven’t looked at the video yet, but will. So I need to stop eating “blindly” and really notice what goes in my mouth. Eating less to compensate for the no exercise part.</p>
<p>We are big pasta and potatoes people over here, but I almost never eat a sandwich, unless it’s like Hummus on a wrap with veggies.</p>
<p>I agree that my problem has been the awareness. Just being conscious of every meal and forcing myself to drink more waters. I will honestly try to keep a food log everyday and a log for water intake too.</p>
<p>First thing you should do is change your username! 
Just kidding… no, I’m not really. Good luck with your efforts. Whenever I feel a little on the heavy side I really watch some of the “mindless” eating/snacking that I sometimes do and make sure I snack on carrots and celery, and drink water instead of watered down fruit juice.</p>
<p>My weight had creeped up during perimenopause and menopause. For health and vanity reasons, I finally decided I needed to lose some pounds. </p>
<p>I cut back on portion sizes and trained DH to not serve me so much when he cooks (and not feel insulted that I didn’t want so much of his food).</p>
<p>I cut back drastically on carbs, epecially white carbs. I’m not much of a sandwich eater, but when I do it’s on whole wheat bread. Pasta is now whole wheat pasta. Do I still eat “bad” carbs? Yes, but only occasionally.</p>
<p>I try to have 5 servings of fruit and vegetables daily. I figure if I’m doing that then I’m not eating stuff I shouldn’t.</p>
<p>I ended up losing a few more pounds than I intended and have been able to maintain the weight loss and the new eating habits.</p>
<p>I’ve lost over 55 lbs over the past couple of years. Most of it (40) was in the first year. Here is what worked for me:</p>
<p>1) tracking food consumption realistically – I use MyFitnessPal.</p>
<p>2) after the first 40 lbs, I have to mix up my calorie consumption. My target to lose weight is 1200 a day, but if I eat 1200 a day after a while my body tries to make do with that amount. So some days I eat more.</p>
<p>3) figure out my weaknesses/eating triggers. I hate feeling deprived. I love ice cream. I purchase under 100 calorie ice cream treats and I have one every day. If I know I am getting my “fix” I won’t be tempted to cheat on other things that have more calories. I also prepare raw veggies to snack on when I’m hungry.</p>
<p>4) not into a ton of exercise, but I make sure I move. My job is very sedentary so I do stuff like taking the long way to the restroom. I have two dogs who love to go on walks which helps.</p>
<p>5) if I eat out, I automatically cut my meal at least in half and bring it home for another meal. Doing it first thing, as soon as my meal is served, I’m not tempted to keep eating.</p>
<p>6) I do better if I stick with the foods I like/enjoy (like ice cream, meals out) and just eat less of them. Since I am tracking all my calories, I can decide if something is “worth it” to me. Sometimes it is. It is very easy for me to pass up beer, wine, etc because I much rather eat my calories than drink them.</p>
<p>7) I eat my biggest meal of the day at lunch, when I am hungriest. </p>
<p>8) Use vanity if that motivates you. My kids are not engaged or planning any weddings, but when they get married, I don’t want to cringe when I see the photos.</p>
<p>9) I don’t think it will ever be easy, but I just keep at it every day. If I overeat, the next day I try to do better.</p>
<p>I wish I could exercise and not diet and lose weight. I love to swim and go to water exercise class, but I love to eat!</p>
<p>Although I don’t see a wedding in the near future, as I’m in my fifties, I’ve started to look into long term care insurance and have found that I do not qualify because of my weight. Problem is, I live in New Orleans. Nuf said.</p>
<p>NJres:</p>
<p>That’s really funny! I chose that screen name because my husband & I would wager a friendly bet over something and bet each other a chocolate chip cookie! Maybe that’s where my problem began! :eek:</p>
<p>Montegut:</p>
<p>I’ve been to New Orleans twice. You have my sympathies, the restaurants in that city are outrageous! (In a good way;))</p>
<p>Shellfell:</p>
<p>Yes, this is definitely attributable to menopause. No question. Long story. But I haven’t been “aware” of my eating before and now that everything is tight on me, I’m aware now!</p>
<p>I may just start tomorrow morning with a food log and water log and consciously watch what I write down and eat. That in itself will be an eye opener. Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>PS: I do some exercise, but very little because of complicated health issues. My H & I do belong to a gym and go there only 2 x per week but will try to step that up (literally! :)) And walk more outdoors and go for a short bike ride now & then…I just know that in my case the diet will be a bigger part of my losing weight than the exercise, which is more recreational.</p>
<p>My exercise routine is more recreational, and for my mental health. I really don’t think it would work with diet to help me lose weight. I would have to diet to lose weight.</p>
<p>When I was younger, and we were very, very poor, once I noticed my clothes got tight, I cut back so I could fit into them.</p>
<p>Now, I just buy the bigger size.</p>
<p>As I’m finally getting around to cleaning out my closets, I found some dresses that I really liked, that are “only” a couple of sizes smaller than what I wear, and were purchased after I had my son. I put them in a space bag with the promise that I WILL one day get back into them.</p>
<p>Now, after I had my son, I was the smallest I had been in years. I ate very healthy and was at least 20 pounds lighter than my prepregnancy weight when he was born. But, my body changed, and I could not fit in my prepregnancy clothes any longer, even though I weighed less.</p>
<p>One of my son’s former teachers is now a stay at home mom, and she has a blog called This Mom is Losing It. She has lost over 100 pounds. Kudos to her! Bless her heart, though, she has those flappy upper arms that us old ladies all have, and poor thing is under 30. I know she’s exercised all this time, doing things like Zumba and running, but has been told the only way to lose that arm flab is through surgery. So, I guess you have to do a little bit of exercise when doing a major weight loss endeavor so your body can keep up with the declining flesh.</p>
<p>Other than during pregnancies, I’ve been within about ten pounds of the same weight my adult life (now early fifties). A few habits that work for me:</p>
<p>Stop eating when you are satisfied, not when the plate is empty, or when you actually feel full. Tell yourself, if you become hungry a few hours later, you can always eat something else then.</p>
<p>Contrary to most advice, I don’t eat most of my calories early in the day. I like to eat a satisfying dinner…and very important, not go to bed hungry. I can’t sleep when I’m hungry or thinking about food, so I’d rather eat lightly during the day when I’m busy, then enjoy a good dinner and sometimes a light snack before bed.</p>
<p>I am very concerned with the quality and type of food - the more balanced the diet (higher protein and fiber, low in sugar and fat), the better I feel and the less likely to overeat.</p>
<p>You really can learn to love healthy foods. I don’t eat junk food - it doesn’t appeal to me. My idea of a treat is a piece of grilled salmon and veggies - I’d rather have a glass of wine than a piece of cake. A dish of ice cream once in a while is about as decadent as I get.</p>
<p>Since losing the ten pounds, I now weigh myself every day or two - it helps me to stay aware of just where I’m at. Not doing this led to the creeping up of my weight over the past several years. Now, if I’m up a pound, I cut back a little for a few days.</p>
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<p>This is the kind of comment that gives people who have never had a weight problem a bad name. Gosh, you don’t eat food that doesn’t appeal to you. What self-control. Yeah, nobody else eats food they don’t like either, unless they’re on some unpleasant diet. You don’t like cake? Well then, you don’t have much help to offer to people who do like cake, do you? </p>
<p>One can learn to love food that is healthy, but that won’t make one dislike food that isn’t healthy. I love fresh green beans; just picked, they are absolutely delicious. But loving green beans hasn’t made me stop liking hot fudge sundaes.</p>
<p>Carb snacking is my downfall. I lost six pounds by making snack substitutions. When I want a salty snack, I eat a couple of good olives. When I want sweet, I’ll take a spoonful of peanut butter or have a piece fruit. I haven’t completely eliminated chips, cookies and crackers but I have cut way back.</p>
<p>Wow, Cardinal Fang. That was quite some response to a well meaning post. </p>
<p>I have a major sweet tooth. I could eat brownies, cake, candy, cookies all day and all night. A serving of Oreos is a sleeve as far as I’m concerned. But what I think the poster meant is - you CAN train yourself not to feel this way. Now that I’ve been eating “clean” since April and have lost 25 pounds, sweets don’t have the hold on me they used to. I can look at a brownie and go “eh” or just a bite or two will do it. It IS a physiological change that I trained myself into. And, if I start eating a lot of sweets again, the cravings will come back, intensely.</p>
<p>Cardinal Fang: I’d have a weight problem if I didn’t watch it - I’m not one of those naturally thin people who can eat anything. Even eating healthy food, I still have to watch my portions, so keeping the weight off is not only about food choices, it’s also about portion control. The OP is looking for advice on how to lose (and keep off, I imagine) about ten pounds. I’m sharing my experience. Are you looking for a magic bullet where you can eat cake and be thin? Good luck with that! </p>
<p>If all you crave is rich and high in calories and you consider healthy food to be tasteless and bland, that’s a problem - you’re going to always feel deprived. I do think it’s possible to reset your tastebuds and learn to like what is also good for you. I used to love all sorts of junk - fried chicken, burgers, cookies, gooey desserts, chips, which I ate often when I was young. I now find it unappealing - greasy, heavy and difficult to digest.</p>
<p>I agree PG. If I ate a big giant NYC style bagel every morning (even a whole wheat version), that’s all I would think about getting out of bed, and I would eat a 700 calorie bagel slathered with peanut butter every morning and gain 15 pounds over the course of a year. So, I’m better off not having it, pretty much ever, then I don’t think about it and I’m happy with the banana. I’ve gone through this…</p>
<p>Away from home and on vacation, I have the bagel.</p>
<p>I agree that one can learn to like healthy food. The part I’m dubious about is learning to un-like food that one shouldn’t eat often. I used to love fried chicken, burgers, cookies, gooey desserts and chips. Now I adore fresh vegetables-- and I still love fried chicken, burgers, cookies, gooey desserts (especially gooey desserts, with plenty of whipped cream) and chips. And cheese. And bacon. </p>
<p>I’ll have to stick with my plan of periodically going on long bike tours. I always lose weight on bike trips no matter what I eat.</p>
<p>I have one kid who loves fried chicken - years ago I’d look at his plate and think “that looks really good,” but now, I can leave it. I’m not saying that I don’t like anything unhealthy…a great piece of pie still makes my mouth water, but those are not foods I eat regularly. </p>
<p>Perhaps I should have clarified…I’m focusing on daily eating…but it is really important to incorporate at least one weekly nice meal. For me, a nice meal is a lovely piece of fish, vegetables, and a salad…the treat would be wine and a dessert. The point is that a great meal isn’t a huge plate of ribs, fried chicken, mashed potatoes…it’s a delicious, lighter meal that is not a caloric blow-out.</p>
<p>I appreciate gormetmom trying to help, but I kind of agree that someone who’s 5’ 7" and who weighs 125 and who has never weighed more than 135 in your life may have a lot to teach us about maintaining a good weight. However, the OP’s question was about losing weight. You’re very lucky. The rest of us, less so.</p>
<p>I always get a kick out of those diet commercials where they show the woman with a baby in her arms, saying how much better she looks now. Hello, you lost your baby weight. You were normally thin. I’m sorry, I don’t think someone who has been overweight most of their life can all the sudden be thin for the rest of their life. Now, one doesn’t have to use this as an excuse to become morbidly obese, which unfortunately I have done. For years, I weighed around the same, give or take 10 pounds. But I was still considered fat, so I was never happy with my weight and yo yo dieted most of my life. When I stopped caring, and weighing myself, is when I put the weight on, in spades, and I only wish I could weigh as “much” as I did when I was in my teens and twenties.</p>
<p>“I agree that one can learn to like healthy food. The part I’m dubious about is learning to un-like food that one shouldn’t eat often.”</p>
<p>Well, I’m shorter than 5’7 and heavier than 135, so you’ll have to take my word for it - I sincerely believe, at age 48, that by following a “clean” diet I have reset my tastes so that the foods which used to tempt me don’t, or that I am content with a bite or two. I also, for the first time in my life, genuinely enjoy exercise and pushing my body and look forward to working out. But a lot of this has to do with being scrupulously honest w myself about how much I was eating and how un-active I was. Once I got real w myself and didn’t lie to myself, it started to fall into place.</p>