Need Advice on Getting Slimmer

[Guest ValerieD]

I'm living in an apartment while I do summer research this summer (wow, that was redundant!). Problem is, I don't know how to cook, and I'm a picky eater. I like pasta, bread, subs, hamburgers, and pizza mostly, and I've been trying to get by with microwavable foods and sandwiches (also oatmeal and soup), but I feel like I could do better. Any advice here? I generally eat two meals a day (lunch and dinner).

I'm also trying swimming for working out, though instead of losing fat it seems that it's mainly causing me to gain muscles on my arms (BAD... I'm not on HRT yet), ruin my hair (chlorine; I need a LOT more shampoo on the days after I swim), and cause me to sleep in far later than I should the next day. Any advice on how I can fix some of these issues? I don't think I can keep up any exercise other than swimming regularly; I was planning for 30-45 minutes three times a week.

[Guest angels wings]

My trainer used to tell me that building some muscle was gd as this is what burns fat . Eating foods that are high in protein keeps u full for longer . For easy recipes look in you tube or just type in easy recipes in ur search bar . Pizza for instance u can use tortilla bread or Lebanese bread add a bit of sauce or even some pasta sauce put some cut up veggies of ur choice and chicken or ham . Then add ur grated chesse put it in the oven for about ten min till the chesse is melted and u have a yummy healthy meal

[Guest KarenLyn]

Advice? 1. Learn to cook 2. Don't be so picky.

Sorry. I had to do it.

Oh, and while it may not be easy, it's not bad advice.

Karen

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Grin - the truth?

pasta, bread, subs, hamburgers, and pizza

really bad,bad,bad, okay if no bread, really bad

To lose weight you have to get serious. The above is NOT serious. Find a GOOD way to reduce food intake that you can tolerate. It's all changing your eating habits - a fad diet will cause you to yo-yo.all over the place.

Go on one of those food calorie intake sites and list EVERYTHING that you put into your mouth and swallow. And be brutally honest.

Okay, swimming helps but you need a minimum of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day (the only kind that works - look it up, it is not necessarily dancing exercises - running up flights of stairs is aerobic, for example, certain types of swimming also qualify - mainly based on higher heart rate).

That's 30 minute minimum PER DAY.and it has to be aerobic. You CANNOT skip a day. Remember this is for weight loss nt muscle build up, although it will TONE the muscles.

And you have to weigh every day in the morning, without clothing - and you have to understand the best you can do is AVERAGE 2 pounds loss a week - but it will more likely be 1 pound loss a week - if you work hard on it - and have NO CHEATING

You must want to loose weight very much to do all that. It's not easy.

When you reach your target weight, you can increase your food intake slowly. But find the habits of eating that keep you at the same balanced.weight -and learn what are solid calories and what are empty calories. Generally, carbohydrates and sugars are empty. Learn to read food labeling for carbs and sugars - you will be astounded!

When you get on HRT - it is TWICE as hard to lose weight. We women tend to have a metabolism that hoards calories.

Good luck!

Lizzy

[Guest Lacey Lynne]

Everything Lizzy says above is true!

Also, buy a copy of Cory Everson's Fat-Free & Fit, read it and do it! Cory's is the second winningest female fitness athlete in history. Many say she is THE VERY BEST physique-wise, looks-wise and attitude-wise ... with which opinion I whole-heartedly concur! Finally, I'm not recommending anything to you that I do not do myself! Yeah, I talk the talk about fitness and diet, true! However! I walk the walk too!

We, if I can, and I do, then YOU can too! You just gotta wanna!

Just Believe Lacey Lynne

[Guest Maria_B]

Pasta once a day, once a week.

Learn to make some Stir Fry recipes, it's pretty simple. If you're not into the whole Stir fry scene, you can add a cream sauce on top, it hurts you a little but it takes away most of the culture-ised taste a lot of Stir Fry has.

[Guest ValerieD]

How do I become a less picky eater? There are very few foods I actually like... and a wider range of foods I tolerate, but I don't think that's going to change unless HRT does something to my brain to change my food preferences.

Unfortunately the swimming is also leaving me very exhausted. Today, for example, I wasn't ready to start anything until 3pm.

[Michelle 2010]

How do I become a less picky eater? There are very few foods I actually like

I like pasta, bread, subs, hamburgers, and pizza mostly, and I've been trying to get by with microwavable foods and sandwiches (also oatmeal and soup)

At 21 years old I'm sure you understand the idea that the taste of food you eat is primarily salt and sugar. Processed boxed and manufactured foods are stripped of the natural tastes and nutrition and the large food manufacturers insert fortified non natural nutrients and enhance the bland product with Fats, Salt , and Sugar. These tastes and foods become attractive to the point of the body craving them over time. Hence, the need to slim down. Any processed food lists its nutrients and ingredients and a quick glance at any of the labels will confim what I am saying. Sodium (salt), carbohydrates (sugar and processed flour) are measured in grams. Additionally, a "small" bag of chips will have a per serving nutritional analysis but will contain 2-3 servings thereby hiding the actual amount of salt and junk you are consuming. It is a viscous cycle.... thye body craves more because its nutritional balance is out of whack.

What to do?

quit buying junk food including pizza and sandwiches and buy a frying pan and a two quart pot. Any green salads and veggies are good, all you want. Dairy, meat and fish are good. Don't know how to cook? simple... buy olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Also some worchester sauce, mojo sauce and v-8 juice. Dice up your veggies, throw in pan with above ingredients, cook on mediuum heat, add meat , cook some more, throw some lettuce in a bowel with tomato, add italian dressing... Bingo fit for a king or queen! No sugar, zero carbs, good food. Make enough to have leftovers for tomorrow... Your on your way to a new lifestyle and losing weight. Btw, total prep and cooking time .5 hr.

the reality is the american food industry does not have your interests at heart. If they can maximize profits by selling you obesity and a heart attack they will do so..

Ok, I'm done now

Enjoy your wonderful food and invite a friend over to see how cool a cook you are

Michelle

[Guest Lani]

I don't think you should skip breakfast, it's the most important meal of the entire day.. Plus, if you don't eat enough then by instinct your body goes into starvation mode & builds up fat quicker.. That saved some of the people thousands of years ago... Well, anyways.... If you want to be more slim then don't skip breakfast & eat healthy.. DONT STARVE YOURSELF!!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

[Guest ValerieD]

Well, I don't get up in time for breakfast... ever! If I'm up earlier by some miracle I'll eat brunch earlier (unless it's Tuesday, in which case I have lunch provided at a lunch meeting). I've recently stepped up my swimming to an hour a day (week days; the pool isn't open weekends), though it's annoying to have to base my schedule on the pool and makes me less productive because I have to cut some things short to get to the pool before the rush, especially on a hot day. I've actually had to increase my calorie intake slightly which must mean that my metabolism is fixing itself for the first time in a decade, and I'm slowly thinning down.

I do have one major problem though: after this week, the pool will be closed to replace the chemical filtration system, and won't re-open until mid-August. How will I exercise without it? I thought I could jog in place in my room for the same time while watching Sailor Moon, but I get tired easily and this isn't really practical in the hot July weather (no AC in my apartment, and my college doesn't allow it) (plus I can't see the subtitles as well in practice as I thought I'd be able to). I'm not really sure what to do; I get bored and tired easily with any exercise but swimming, but I need to keep it up, or I'll never slim down in time for HRT.

[Guest Lani]

Well, I don't get up in time for breakfast... ever! If I'm up earlier by some miracle I'll eat brunch earlier (unless it's Tuesday, in which case I have lunch provided at a lunch meeting). I've recently stepped up my swimming to an hour a day (week days; the pool isn't open weekends), though it's annoying to have to base my schedule on the pool and makes me less productive because I have to cut some things short to get to the pool before the rush, especially on a hot day. I've actually had to increase my calorie intake slightly which must mean that my metabolism is fixing itself for the first time in a decade, and I'm slowly thinning down.

I do have one major problem though: after this week, the pool will be closed to replace the chemical filtration system, and won't re-open until mid-August. How will I exercise without it? I thought I could jog in place in my room for the same time while watching Sailor Moon, but I get tired easily and this isn't really practical in the hot July weather (no AC in my apartment, and my college doesn't allow it) (plus I can't see the subtitles as well in practice as I thought I'd be able to). I'm not really sure what to do; I get bored and tired easily with any exercise but swimming, but I need to keep it up, or I'll never slim down in time for HRT.

You could try to jump-rope!! That's fun!!

[Guest HarajukuWarrior]

What's really been giving me the best results is a lot of the classic stuff:

Don't eat just to eat. Exercise. Take pride in your body. Surround yourself with healthy things.

If you haven't got hormone therapy don't worry yet if you have muscle or not.

The hormones will put those into place and in the mean time you want to keep yourself healthy.

The entire transition is a process even from ground Zero.

The healthier male body you have the healthier female body you will have.

Also, visualization helps a lot too. Visualize yourself in the state of health you envy and you will become that.

Surround yourself by healthy foods. Take pride in exercise.

Think "Yeah, I'm gonna kick some @$$" while you exercise and you'll start to become a super girl.

Look at yourself and think "Wow, what a blob I am" and you'll probably stay fat.

I know it's mentally tough to be gaining muscle but in the long run you shouldn't sacrifice your health.

In MTF transition you don't get a new body so much as go through a metamorphosis. Take care of what you got because

the day you tackle puberty 2 you want it to be at it's best.

Some of my favorites: Jamba Juice + Bike Ride, Hiking, Swimming, Running, Meditation, uh..?

Oh yeah, we're both bad cooks!

Fruits and vegetables: Cold carrots to munch on, Celery, Beans of course, fruits and veggies, fish, nuts, berries, I actually stay away from pasta and and more of a rice person. (be careful with rice it can stretch your tummy) Eating healthy is like a habit. Once you start to eat healthy it's hard to go back!

[Guest new805gurl]

You and me seem to have the same problem. Except I'm an ok cook but am very very picky when it comes to food, if I could just lose my belly is be very tiny and I hope for this. I also don't know much about eating healthy or exercising..

[Guest Valerie]

Valerie;

When I started my transition and HRT, back in January 2010, I weighed in at 260 pounds. I am now down to 210 pounds. Yes, it is a long process and I do not really workout alot. I have changed my eating habits and the size of the servings that I do eat. I drink alot of water everyday (thanks spiro) and I eat several fruits or vegetables daily. I have recently started the Body By Visalus Challenge and I have noticed more weight loss. I substitute a shake for two meals and eat a small meal once a day, this is to loose weight. Once you get your target weight you can sub. one shake and eat two small meals a day to maintain that weight.

I do walk anywhere from 6 to 8 miles every day. Two years ago I started my walking by parking 3 miles from where I work at and then walk in to my office in the morning and walk back to my car in the evening.

I still am not comfortable with going to the gym, maybe if my hair ever grows any longer ( 2.5 years growing out my hair and it is barely to my shoulders), I may start going back to the gym. So, I just do my daily walks.

/Hugs

Valerie

[Charlize]

I've been on a fat free diet for 2 years now and am now down to my high school weight. i was over 190 and now 168. All veggies and no fat. No nuts and only nonfat dairy.. Sounded terrible but there is some great indian and mexican foods that are very healthy in this way. The fats we eat are turned into fat, carbs aren't. Mushrooms and beans and rice wow simple and good but you need to cook your own. Life is about food learn to love it an it will love you.

hugs, Charlie

[Guest AlyTheGreatAngel]

I'm not gonna be mean here, but YOU ARE NOT 5 YEARS OLD BEING PICKY IS A CHOICE. Its a choice because its easier, but being thin is not easy! Like I said you're not 5, learn to eat properly with lots of veggies, fruits, and complex carbs in your diet. I'm thin and its SO HARD to look a certain way, but I most certainly do not stay thin by being 'picky.' I do eat junk food here and there, I'm only human, but my diet doesn't consist of only that. I LEARNED to eat RIGHT since I was little, my mom always made me eat my vegetables, there was no "I don't like vegetables" with her. I'm thankful because now I eat every vegetable I can, and fruits too! There's none that I can say I don't like.

Being thin, is a mix of many factors. Diet, exercise, hormones, BUT genes also play the biggest role! So just exercise and do lots of cardio. All the food you listed- TRASH. I'm being serious don't eat that stuff anymore. Remember you are what you eat. . .

[Guest ValerieD]

Well, I have been trying to branch out, but it's kinda hard when you consider the stuff most people like to be bland. My taste buds literally haven't changed one bit since I was 5, which I know is quite unusual; I don't know if that's part of some physical or mental issue or just a function of my mom cooking largely the same things as I grew up since I was so picky then. I do have a very rigid personality that has resisted all efforts to make me more flexible, which does not help at all.

It's easier to eat better things during the summer than at school; the only healthy food my college offers on the meal plan (mandatory for all who live in dorms, as nobody in their right mind would buy a meal plan otherwise because they're extremely overpriced) is salad. Not really sure what to do about that. I can't really afford to spend real money on food during the semester period (I don't have much of an income), especially with $3000/semester being spent on a crap meal plan.

[Guest Melissa~]

You have to force the palate to expend. I used to barf on tomatoes, then I used to gag, anymore I can eat them but I just avoid them anyhow. Someday I may actually like them. I just occasionally force myself to re-try foods that don't agree with taste, texture digestion etc. I would not recommend doing this for any actual allergy causing food. I have grown to enjoy a much wider palate that I grew up with, what broke my little world was trying bean dip around 19 years old, no they were the cooked beans that my parents tried to force me to eat at dinner as a kid.

[Guest Otto]

you should try to eat fresh things like fruits and vegetables, eating an apple is easy to eat

Also eat lean protein: chicken, white fish, meat (NOT RED), eggs.

And combine it with complex carbs such as whole grains (there's whole grain pasta and stuff, a good portion of it is around 30-40 grams (uncooked, after it doubles or even triples the size, it weights more cooked)

Take some low fat yogurt (extra calcium and protein).

Drink home-made natural juices, not the bottled or boxed ones.

also soups are really easy to make

you can always do easy salads: you buy a pack of salad, you pour a can of tuna or pieces of chicken, you put things you like, some vinegar and olive oil and that's it, perfect.

[Guest Tania57]

Wonderfully good advice in each reply ...and you might like to investigate a website which could help you see the calorific values of what you are eating - myfitnesspal.com - it certainly helps me ...and you may also find ways of having the odd food treat...as Charlie remarked love it and it will love you...it's the way you love it that reflects how it will love you. Go for it.

[Guest Dracip]

Here are some fast food and exercise facts I have learned.

1. Eating breakfast is important because it jump starts your matabolism in the early hours

2. You should optimally eat every 2.5 hours

3. It is super important to learn proper portion sizes, if you are used to eating a lot of food like I was this will be hell, but is nessecary.

4. The most effective way to burn calories is training muscles, but that doesnt mean you have to build muscles, lift smaller weights and do more reps.

5. Cardio is important but only for staying in shape.

6. Try to build a strict menu that you will not deviate from that includes lots of veggies.

7. Fruit is good for you, but limit your servings to 3 maybe four a day as they are super high in sugar.

8. Stay away from starchy foods such as potatoes.

9. Make time to do 30 minutes of physical activity a day

That's all I have for now I'll add more as I think of them.

~Rebecca

[Guest SusanB]

I'm the burger and pizza queen, my favorite foods

All in moderation and lots of walking to counter the effects

Blue collar worker sweating those thingies off

Tend to pack on a few extra pounds over the winter

Learned to counter that with weight training

[Guest meagan]

I just want to be clear about this meal plan. Is this money (3000/semester you say in a post) from you given to the school. Then they provide you with the meals? If so, then can you not keep the money yourself and plan your own meals? Or, i should assume you are in school provided rooms with no ability to cook or refrigerate? Also assuming a semester is 15 weeks-ish? If so, that seems like a large amount of money to cover food for that short period, would it not be better to rent a room in a house and gain access to a real kitchen and learn to shop, learn to cook and learn to budget better.

learning to cook is not hard either, grab a cook book or two, use YT for visual demos of techniques like saute, fry, boil. even knife skills ( cutting/sharpening etc.) Yes i did say boil back there, there is proper methods and times for boiling different foods to retain flavor and value or you get bland mush. Microwaves destroy food and are IMO for the lazy

As well, I am also a picky eater, but i eat things i don't like cause if not, my diet is garbage and a garbage diet makes me lazy, tired, slow and stubborn which then affects my relationships with friends.

I am just brain storming here as i also have lots to think about and change in my own diet and lifestyle, good luck and i hope you find what works for you.

[Guest Jo-88]

I can help here I think, I was in a very similar situation for a long time. I have tried to diet in the past and failed... so this time I focused on something completely different. Instead of focusing on losing weight or increasing endurance, I focused on building my willpower. Willpower is like a muscle, the more you exercise it the stronger it gets. So I started by denying myself small things that I knew weren't good but also things that weren't that important to me. The first thing I did was stop eating out, but I still made the same meals at home. I also denied myself things completely unrelated to eating, such as how much time I spent on FB or playing games. I also did the reverse I started forcing myself to do things I didn't want to do... like get up a 7am even when I had nothing to do and nowhere to go. I also started to learn how to cook.

Within a couple weeks my willpower had doubled or even tripled and I noticed a snowball effect, I started craving ways to further exercise my willpower. So I quit smoking, quit drinking soda and coffee (or anything with caffeine), stopped drinking alcohol, became a pescatarian, started riding my bike again...etc.

The result is that in about 1 1/2 months Ive lost 33lbs!! I feel spectacular, and I am 1/3 of the way to weight loss goal... granted the weight loss will slow down as I get smaller and my RMR goes down but still I am making excellent progress. Also my anti-depressant probably has a lot to do with how easy this ended up being.

The point is FOCUS ON WILLPOWER when your willpower gets stronger you will have the power to change anything about your life that you don't like... including your eating habits. I had always read that the key to long term weight loss wasn't dieting but instead changing your lifestyle, I never really understood that until now.

To give you an example of what I eat in a day....

For breakfast I drink two servings of a whey protein supplement which is very good for you and keeps you full for HOURS

For lunch I eat an apple cut into slices with 2 tbsp of peanut butter

For dinner I will have some stir fried veggies (broccoli, carrots, snow peas, zucchini) sometimes with some quinoa but usually without

Evening snack, a banana and a glass of milk

but I mix it up of course, sometimes instead of the banana at night I will have a bowl of cream of wheat or instead of the apple and peanut butter for lunch I will have a tuna sandwich, etc... its not so bad and every now and then I will spoil myself. Like last night for instance, I made a pizza... I used a thin whole grain crust, then for sauce I used regular pizza sauce mixed with a bit of pesto, then instead of cheese I used the fake cheese made out of vegetable oil, and for toppings I used broccoli, cauliflower, and boiled spinach. I had 3 slices which is a bit more than my normal calorie intake but still less than 500 cal for one meal... good luck finding delivery pizza where 3 slices is less than 500 Cal. Oh yea and it was AMAZINGLY good.

P.S. exercise is very important, but what you consume is way more important... start there then once you start feeling better, then inject exercise. If you try to do too much at once you'll get burnt out... so don't let that happen.

[Guest ValerieD]

I just want to be clear about this meal plan. Is this money (3000/semester you say in a post) from you given to the school. Then they provide you with the meals? If so, then can you not keep the money yourself and plan your own meals? Or, i should assume you are in school provided rooms with no ability to cook or refrigerate? Also assuming a semester is 15 weeks-ish? If so, that seems like a large amount of money to cover food for that short period, would it not be better to rent a room in a house and gain access to a real kitchen and learn to shop, learn to cook and learn to budget better.

Yeah, it's roughly 15 weeks. My university requires signing up for one for everyone who lives in a dorm, probably because nobody would purchase a meal plan if it wasn't. I believe the cost works out to between $8-$20 per meal, depending on the plan (assuming all meals are used, which is actually unlikely due to university policies about when they can be used and how frequently). Let's just say there's a lot of corruption involved in the dining experience; depending on who you talk to, either Aramark's CEO is using it to fill has hot tub full of money, or the university is using it to build frat houses. It definitely doesn't go to campus dining, that's for sure; they're always having to cut back to meet new cost guidelines from Aramark corporate, and even their website acknowledges that if all the money went towards food, we'd be eating lobster every night (their website then proceeds to list costs they claim that nobody else has, but in reality every restaraunt on the planet has).

When I was looking at housing this year, and off campus apartment above the bookstore was offered as an option, but it had no laundry or parking available. I'm also constantly running around campus like a chicken with its head cut off too; people who live off campus often find that extracurricular activities are difficult to handle.