Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Slaying one dragon at a time

I just feel like every damn day is such a goddamn obstacle course with several dozen dragons I've got to slay and getting healthy slips further down on the list because the other dragons are breathing fire down my back right fucking now and need attention. I have 3 young kids and I work full time nights and my husband works full time and between juggling tantrums and school and work drama and marriage struggles I often just find myself completely overwhelmed and completely in survival mode. I promised myself after having 3 babies in 4 years that after I nursed each for a year that my body would be mine again. Now I have arthritis in my hips from birth injuries from said kids and horrible plantar fasciitis from my nursing job. I try to fast like I did last year with moderate success but I'm so short tempered with my kids when I do that and they deserve patience. I am working on things. I'm currently on the recumbent bike at gym with 2 hours of childcare. I come here 2 times a week when I can fit it in. I do an hour on the bike and an hour of massage chair or walking outside. I guess I'm rambling. It just feels like I'm treading water and focusing on weight loss is like taking up knitting while drowning. I keep thinking if I can make it through the next 3 years all kids will be in school and I'll finally have the energy for myself. That's a long wait.

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Buy Clothes that Fit

Several months ago I realized that very few pieces of clothing I owned fit me anymore. For a while, I went along wearing clothes that really didn't fit me, but I squeezed in anyway. This led to me always adjusting myself (i.e., worrying if my belly is showing from the shirt that doesn't make it down to my waist anymore) and feeling even more self-conscious.

But, my mindset at that time was "I'm going to lose weight, so buying clothes that actually fit me now is a waste of money." Well, I finally gave in and bought a decent amount of clothing in sizes L and XL when I had been a size M for almost all of my adult life. I bought them at less expensive places than I would typically shop, but still very respectable clothing. At first I was self-conscious about asking for help finding L or XL in stores, but then I realized that people who work there deal with hundreds of customers of all shapes and sizes daily and really couldn't care less what they look like. And if I really didn't want to deal with people in the stores, I would just order both L and XL online and send back the one that didn't work.

Well anyway, a funny thing started happening. Instead of thinking of them as my "fat clothes that I hate" I began to feel a little better about myself and how I looked because the clothes I was wearing actually FIT ME. This was one part of me beginning my weight loss journey, and just one month in I am down 18 lbs., making some of these "fat clothes" actually big on me and letting me "go shopping in my closet" to see what might start working for me again.

Moral of the story? Don't torture yourself squeezing into clothes that don't fit. They are going to make you look and feel worse than clothes that do.

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Candy Craving? 7 Delicious Bars for a Healthier Halloween

If you’re trying to lose weight, Halloween can be really scary: There’s candy everywhere! And even if you’re loading up on fiber to stay full and staying on your meal plan, willpower will only get you so far—if you’ve got a sweet tooth, those fun-sized temptations are bound to lead to candy cravings and lead your astray from a healthier Halloween.

Don’t deny yourself completely. Nutrisystem dietitians say that the best way to curb a craving is to tackle it head on—if you want candy, you should have some in a smart, portion-controlled way to help quell your craving.

Instead of raiding the office candy dish, try one of these seven easy, sweet bars for a healthier Halloween:

1. Four-ingredient Peanut Butter Rice Krispies >

rice-krispies

Calories: 71

Counts as: Two Extras

to kick off your healthier Halloween, we’ve got a classic. Most crisp rice treats are held together with sugary marshmallows and calorie-dense butter. What if you could have fewer calories, less sugar, and more flavor? It’s not magic: It’s peanut butter! These better-for-you treats are just as gooey as the original, but add the flavor of peanut butter to the sweetness of honey to hold steady.

2. Cake Batter Rice Krispies >

Cake-Batter-Rice-Krispie-Treats

Calories: 68

Counts as: Two Extras

Not a peanut butter fan? These treats bring back the butter flavor without the extra calories, and add in the flavors of cake batter—without the risks of eating it raw. Almond butter, coconut oil and brown rice syrup make them as sticky-sweet as any treat you’ve ever had, and at 68 calories each, they’re guilt-free.

3. Salted Orange Bark Bars >

chocolate-bark

Calories: 33

Counts as: One Extra

Dark chocolate has antioxidant and heart health benefits that you’ve probably heard about (https://ift.tt/2EPzY0b), but in a season of caramel-stuffed, peanut-packed goodies, the dark stuff can seem like … diet chocolate. Kick it up a notch and add flavor and a fancy feel with just two ingredients: Orange zest and sea salt. It only takes a few minutes to make, and it’ll take your treat from bland and bitter to surprising, fresh, and fancy.

It’s Soup Season! 5 Simple Soups for Your Fall Menu

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4. Quinoa Chocolate Bars >

quinoa-chocolate-bars

Calories: 87

Counts as: One SmartCarb

You might be asking, “Quinoa?” A better question: Why not? You’re already used to grains like puffed rice adding crunch to your candy. Quinoa takes the same idea and adds protein: The South American staple is higher in protein than almost any other grain, meaning these bars won’t just satisfy your sweet tooth, they’ll help you get full and stay that way thanks to the gut-filling power of your muscles’ favorite nutrient.

5. Pumpkin Spice Bars >

pumpkin-bars

Calories: 52

Counts as: One Extra

If you spend the fall craving pumpkin lattes and find yourself tempted by pumpkin spice popcorn, candy, cookies and cakes, this one’s for you. By adding pumpkin spice and puree to a traditional crisped rice treat recipe, these bars wind up being lower in calories than normal treats, have added fiber and vegetable nutrition from the pumpkin, and, of course, have that taste of fall you crave.

6. Grasshopper Candy Bars >

Grasshopper-Rice-Krispie-Treats

Calories: 61

Counts as: Two Extras

Mint and chocolate are a classic flavor combination, and with these six-ingredient bars, you get all the flavor without the guilt. Each bar is loaded with chocolate chips between layers or cocoa-flavored crisp rice held together by delicious, melted marshmallows. But there’s no trick with this treat: Each bar is just 61 calories, 30 fewer than you’d have from a traditional, chocolate-free rice krispie treat.

6 Slow Cooker Recipes You Need to Try This Season

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7. Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars >

healthier halloween

Calories: 174

Counts as: One PowerFuel and one SmartCarb

Enjoy a healthier Halloween with this delicious “crunch” bar that combines the rich flavors of chocolate and peanut butter to make a protein-packed sweet treat. If you’re a peanut butter lover, this bar is a great alternative to your favorite vending machine treat. Whip up a batch of these Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars and enjoy a healthier pick that will fill your Halloween candy sweet tooth.

The post Candy Craving? 7 Delicious Bars for a Healthier Halloween appeared first on The Leaf.



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Fat Denialists make me (almost) quake with anger.

Hi all, first decent-length post here. First off, warmest wishes to all my future fit guys and gals :)

Now...the rage. Buckle up.

After decades of being told, "Oh you're not fat, you're a nice guy, decades of so SO little action with the ladies, the tide is turning. I should be happy - I am. Turned 50 and in the last 2 months, I was asked out by TWO girls. Both notably younger, both fairly pretty. That's more than have asked me out in the previous 2 decades. More likely ever. Life is great, and it's getting better. The handsome guy I long suspected was buried underneath a mountain of fat, is finally surfacing. I'm glad to say he's alive.

All good, yeah?

Here's what's cutting me up; I'm something of an elitist prick. There, I said it. I LIKE it there are dumb people who do the dumb things that need to be done, but that we won't touch. When people have the truth right before them, but choose to ignore it or deny it, I will react in one of two ways - disgust that they are that stupid, or relief that someone else isn't not as smart as I am. What I can't reconcile, though, is why women - even the sweetest, well-meaning ones - persist in telling us, "You're fine, you're not fat", or "Looks aren't important" etc, when the data, including both my own experiences and observing the partners of attractive women, F*KING well shows otherwise. I hate that society is so scared of telling people a biological reality - fat people are, all else being equal, less attractive by far, than people at helathy bodyfat levels. I hate that those girls asked me out when, if everything else their fellow sisters keep repeating were true, the amount of girls asking me out during my weight loss should have increased by ZERO.

Why Doctors blithely say, "Please lose weight" in the same offhand, "This-Crap-Happens-To-Other-People" tone they say, "Hello, please take a seat". Like the lifestyle changes required for losing weight, the acquisition of cooking skills, food storage skills etc, are as simple a changing the air-freshener in your car.

I'm glad I'm here. This isn't /r/WhoCaresAboutBeingFat . We're here because NONE of us wants to continue doing what we have always done - eat wrongly. The other day I called out a girl, otherwise quite intelligent and well-meaning, for being a fat-denialist. She asked genuinely, "How are you?" and I replied how stoked I was to be dropping blubber. She THEN saidd, "Oh no need you're not fat." I could have let her have it with both barrels but I simply said, "Look, I am. You're denying it but it's a fact".

(takes deep breath)

It would have been FAR kinder for my female relatives - who claim to love and care for me - to have said, just frickken ONCE - "If you want some success with the ladies, you're gonna have to drop some weight". Would that have sped up the start of my weight loss efforts ? Not by much. I just find it frickken galling that they participated in the same self-delusion that most women, most people do. This is MY OWN FAMILY, who should have told me the truth, and didn't. I mean, if you can't trust your own family to be forthright, who the hell will be brave enough to tell the truth? My own family participated in a society-wide taboo. I just can't reconcile how they could love me YET not say anything. Yeah, I'd have replied, "How the hell do I do that? What diet do I follow?". I frickken hate it that people pay WW like a hundred quid per month just to manage their own intake.

Ok - I'm sure a few of you are tempted to suggest I go and talk to someone on a couch, about this. MAYBE I should - but that's not the focus here. The 240lb elephant in the room is this frickken society-wide denialism, the fact in infiltrated my own family, and my inability to reconcile my smart-alec attitudes to how deluded society is. The fact there's not even a term for this. "Denialist" isn't even a common word. It's gonna take ma a while to process the enormity of all this. I hope some of you who have encountered the same will have some words of wisdom here.

:)

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how to start over after a yoyo/how to come at weight loss from a positive headspace

I lost 12 lbs this year and since July, I have gained 10 back. I keep trying to get back into the weight loss mindset but I cannot do it! I don't know what my deal is. It's like every time I tell myself I am going to go back to eating 1400 cal/day (how I lost the weight) I freak out and overeat and/or do it for a day and quit. For reference, I'm female, 22, 5'6 and probably around 130 (Idk because I haven't weighed in weeks). I do orange theory 5X/week. I know I'm not overweight, but I don't have much muscle so I am at a 26% body fat which I would like to lower for health/vanity reasons. Needless to say, this gaining weight back has not been great for my self-esteem. I am disappointed in myself for backsliding and am having a hard time letting that go. I constantly think, oh now I weigh this much and I'm only gaining more and it's just going to get worse. I know I should just switch my mindset to, oh I've done this before I can do it again but for some reason I am having the hardest time making that connection!

Has anyone felt like this before? Any tips to develop grit and/or have a more positive mindset for weight loss? I think I come at it from a place of disliking how I look so that is why it is hard for me to stay motivated when I gain weight back. I really want to learn how to weigh daily and not be sad about the numbers because I want the data associated with them.

I also think I am overcomplicating things. When I first started losing weight, I just tracked calories and it seemed to go really well. Then I learned about macros and now everything seems 10X more difficult.

Any advice/personal stories would really be appreciated. I left this sub a couple weeks ago and it was a bad decision. I am so happy to be back with all you lovely people!

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I’ve lost almost 6 pounds in just under a week, how is this possible?

Im a 5,8 male and started at around 175lbs.

Im no stranger to weight loss, i lost around 50lbs in 2017 going from 210 to 155.

I moved to down to be with my now ex, and started putting on weight getting up to 175 while we were together. Last week we broke up. Its putting a lot of stress on me, not only because of the breakup but now i have to move back to my home town on short notice.

Ive been very stressed out and when I get stressed I eat less. The thing is im still eating around 1500 to 2000 calories a day. I havent been exercising as much. Mainly going for a hour walk on the treadmill on an incline. Ive been weighing my self every morning at home and at the gyms scale when I go. And both are consistent. . I have gone down almost a pound a day since last week. Im drinking water and zero cal sports drinks to keep my self hydrated. Im just curious as to whats happening as it seems rather rapid.

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Can't Find the Podcast! (XPost in r/keto)

Hello internet friends! I need your help with something. I've done all manner of searching (and of course I didn't save the post I saw it in, because who does that?) and I'm hoping someone here can read my mind. I'm looking for a motivational podcast about habit building. Male Podcaster, the name had some sort of acronym. Something about being a boss, I think. One of you lovelies mentioned it in a post a while back, and I thought I'd saved it but apparently I'm a failure at using technology.

(Honestly, I'll take any suggestions on motivational-type podcasts. I need something new to listen to on my morning "pretend-it's-a-run".)

I realize this doesn't have anything to do with weight loss, specifically, so if there's somewhere else I need to post this, please let me know!

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