The Fat Loss TroubleshootThis is your place to troubleshoot your fat loss problems from nutrition to training. This section is led by Leigh Peele, author of "The Fat Loss Troubleshoot," the ultimate fat loss manual. If your results have slowed or stalled this is the place to come for advice for all your fat loss needs.
I was listening to a song with that title. It wasn't about fat loss, but it made me think about all the things in life that could be simple or simpler, if we just let them. Squatting was one, but that I don't know as well, so I'll let those goofs hash that one out. Fat loss I know...
These are not pointed at anyone in particular. I've gone through all these. I've seen many of you go through them.
These are thought starters and things to consider. I don't have all the answers, but sometimes it's good to think about the question or the problem. Just to get it out there...These aren't statements, corrections, instructions, or anything. THOUGHT STARTERS. Got it? Good.
Is fat loss an active task or passive one? How important is it for us to feel in control of it? If we merely eat less, we're simply not doing enough.
We look for more. If I add intervals? If I lift more days? More walking? Eating less IS hard.
What's the tipping point where actively added NEAT is now exercise? A Swiss Ball Chair > A stand up desk > laptop on a treadmill > jumping jacks between conference calls. Yep. Calories burned. Uh oh, tomorrow's a sitting in a meeting day. I'm doomed.
I need to take next week off but the programs says to take the week after off. I was sick and took this week off, where to start back? ...and next week is my scheduled off week.
I didn't hit my macros this week, and next week I'm supposed to eat more carbs, so what's going to happen since I ate too many this week?
This semi-rhetorical stream of consciousness brought to you by all the thoughts and worries that I've had myself over the past few years. It's not just you, it's the nature of the problem that you face.
Emotional eating can turn into emotional fat loss. Granted, it's a healthier goal, physically, but how healthy is it to obsess and worry like that?
We all have problems, obstacles, stalls, plateaus, etc. Face them as they come and do the best you can to avoid them, but not at the expense of your mental health.
Let the fat loss happen, don't make the fat loss happen. Be at peace with the fat loss process and you will lose fat.
This is SO true. My husband asked me this weekend why people who are dieting are always talking about the diet. I think part of it is because of the first thing you listed (the passivity of the diet process).
I also think that the rest of it comes from doubt and the absolutely overwhelming amount of information out there. I know I fall prey to it myself (in fact, just in the last few days, I had myself convinced that for some unknown reason, I needed to follow the Paleo Diet because I would lose weight faster ).
It's funny how when you read those statements from someone else, you mentally cringe, but then you find yourself doing jumping jacks in your office in a pencil skirt and heels. Thanks for helping put things into perspective!
LD, this is a great post. And so very true.
Right now I'm trying really hard to take the approach of just taking a deep breath, backing away a bit from overthinking, simply eating less and moving more (though not necessarily in a structured workout/gym setting), and trying to see that much of my overthinking is really an excuse/justification to eat more.
It IS hard, when it doesn't have to be. We've gotten so far away from eating to live, and from using our bodies in day to day life (instead of just sitting in front of a keyboard using our brains), that it's hard to know - or belive - what needs to be done to become a healthy person.
I know I constantly battle the fear of "wasting" my time. If I just "let it happen", maybe I'll be eating more than I think? Or moving less than I ought? What if I could accomplish MORE and FASTER if I did something else? Thing is, if you're always switching from 1 thing to the next, you're not giving anything time to actually work. I just have to work on not trying so hard to get everything perfect, but also not going too far to the other extreme.
__________________ "It's never too late to be what you might have been" - George Elliot
LD,
I agree with this statement, but I think the complexity is due to info overload. If I didnt know so much from years of reading this and that, and someone told me to lose weight, you know what I would do?
.............................. .EAT LESS MOVE MORE.......................... .........
But lately we are told so much this and that.
5 meals a day.
Count your calories
Macronutrients
Eat this, dont eat that
PWO shakes
fasted cardio
fruits are bad
dont eat past 8pm
dont eat white flour
do this
dont do that
Honestly, in my best shape ever, I didnt think about it so much, lost it by eating less and moving more, and ate whatever I wanted. Was I the healthiest ? Maybe not, my food choices could have been better. But I lost weight. I looked pretty good. Then the info police came into my mind and I gained it back!!!!
Thanks for that , cheers! I will remember this post next time I wake up and I am not hungry, I wont force myself to eat anymore.
Wow Roland... what a great post! I lost about 65 pounds just doing things the simple way... eating less, moving more. It's the last 20 pounds that have me torturing myself! It should be so simple, but I constantly find myself over-analyzing everything in the quest to find the "best" way to lose fat, instead of just sticking with one plan and giving it my all. When something isn't working as well as I think it should, my first thought is to abandon it and try something else. I end up spinning my wheels and going nowhere... and that's been going on for the past year. So frustrating! There's just such an overwhelming amount of information out there that it's hard not to buy into the "latest and greatest" method sometimes... but it can all be simplified into the same basic ideas. I was reading about ESE last week on the forums here at JP, and someone posted that even Brad Pilon would tell you that if you just follow the plan and track your food, you don't need to do ESE. Any plan will work if you stick with it. That's always the tricky part for me!
Krispy, I laughed when I read your post about people who are dieting always talking about the diet.... I realized today that I do this too much, and I have to force myself not to be "preachy" about it when I see things that other people are doing that I don't agree with.
Thanks for giving us something to think about Roland! So many of us are in the same boat that it's comforting to know we're not alone!
"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training." ~ Matt Thorne
"The reason that most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."
I was listening to a song with that title. It wasn't about fat loss, but it made me think about all the things in life that could be simple or simpler, if we just let them. Squatting was one, but that I don't know as well, so I'll let those goofs hash that one out. Fat loss I know...
These are not pointed at anyone in particular. I've gone through all these. I've seen many of you go through them.
These are thought starters and things to consider. I don't have all the answers, but sometimes it's good to think about the question or the problem. Just to get it out there...These aren't statements, corrections, instructions, or anything. THOUGHT STARTERS. Got it? Good.
Is fat loss an active task or passive one? How important is it for us to feel in control of it? If we merely eat less, we're simply not doing enough.
We look for more. If I add intervals? If I lift more days? More walking? Eating less IS hard.
What's the tipping point where actively added NEAT is now exercise? A Swiss Ball Chair > A stand up desk > laptop on a treadmill > jumping jacks between conference calls. Yep. Calories burned. Uh oh, tomorrow's a sitting in a meeting day. I'm doomed.
I need to take next week off but the programs says to take the week after off. I was sick and took this week off, where to start back? ...and next week is my scheduled off week.
I didn't hit my macros this week, and next week I'm supposed to eat more carbs, so what's going to happen since I ate too many this week?
This semi-rhetorical stream of consciousness brought to you by all the thoughts and worries that I've had myself over the past few years. It's not just you, it's the nature of the problem that you face.
Emotional eating can turn into emotional fat loss. Granted, it's a healthier goal, physically, but how healthy is it to obsess and worry like that?
We all have problems, obstacles, stalls, plateaus, etc. Face them as they come and do the best you can to avoid them, but not at the expense of your mental health.
Let the fat loss happen, don't make the fat loss happen. Be at peace with the fat loss process and you will lose fat.
Great post and good responses. We do make it more difficult than it should be.
Better watch it or I am going to have to quote you again, so that I see it everyday.
__________________
Ginger
"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." ~ John Bingham
"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training." ~ Matt Thorne
"The reason that most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment."
My God. I've tried to respond to this twice already and keep losing my internet connection.
Quote:
Originally Posted by krispy1138
This is SO true. My husband asked me this weekend why people who are dieting are always talking about the diet. I think part of it is because of the first thing you listed (the passivity of the diet process).
That's a tough one. When you are finally finding success, you DO want to talk about it and share. People ask, you tell...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kirjava
LD, this is a great post. And so very true.
Right now I'm trying really hard to take the approach of just taking a deep breath, backing away a bit from overthinking, simply eating less and moving more (though not necessarily in a structured workout/gym setting), and trying to see that much of my overthinking is really an excuse/justification to eat more.
I tried the whole G-Flux thing (eat more and workout more). It worked, but I could only keep up the activity so long, then I had to go back to work, or take care of the family, and the whole house of cards came tumbling down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by norahd
It IS hard, when it doesn't have to be. We've gotten so far away from eating to live, and from using our bodies in day to day life (instead of just sitting in front of a keyboard using our brains), that it's hard to know - or belive - what needs to be done to become a healthy person.
I know I constantly battle the fear of "wasting" my time. If I just "let it happen", maybe I'll be eating more than I think? Or moving less than I ought? What if I could accomplish MORE and FASTER if I did something else? Thing is, if you're always switching from 1 thing to the next, you're not giving anything time to actually work. I just have to work on not trying so hard to get everything perfect, but also not going too far to the other extreme.
Right. How much progress do you lose by not being perfect? Assuming you have two different fat loss plans, and both work, worrying about which one is perfect and which is close to perfect is wasted brain power. Wasted happiness.
Quote:
Originally Posted by getmovin78
LD,
I agree with this statement, but I think the complexity is due to info overload. If I didnt know so much from years of reading this and that, and someone told me to lose weight, you know what I would do?
.............................. .EAT LESS MOVE MORE.......................... .........
But lately we are told so much this and that.
5 meals a day.
Count your calories
Macronutrients
Eat this, dont eat that
PWO shakes
fasted cardio
fruits are bad
dont eat past 8pm
dont eat white flour
do this
dont do that
Honestly, in my best shape ever, I didnt think about it so much, lost it by eating less and moving more, and ate whatever I wanted. Was I the healthiest ? Maybe not, my food choices could have been better. But I lost weight. I looked pretty good. Then the info police came into my mind and I gained it back!!!!
Thanks for that , cheers! I will remember this post next time I wake up and I am not hungry, I wont force myself to eat anymore.
Right. I lost 75lbs just eating less. The same food as everyone else, just less of it. I counted my calories and things were simple. I'm better now, but there was a period when I was obsessive and desperate to find the next big thing.
Getting informed is good, but there's a line somewhere.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lorigaud
Thanks for giving us something to think about Roland! So many of us are in the same boat that it's comforting to know we're not alone!
Quote:
Originally Posted by GinnyLou
Great post and good responses. We do make it more difficult than it should be.
Better watch it or I am going to have to quote you again, so that I see it everyday.
Uh oh! Can't have that! I'll try to make less sense.
I tried the whole G-Flux thing (eat more and workout more). It worked, but I could only keep up the activity so long, then I had to go back to work, or take care of the family, and the whole house of cards came tumbling down.
That's pretty much how I lost 30 lbs and then maintained that loss for 3 years. Then I finally said: "whoa, I can't do this anymore, because it's as stressful as hell, is injuring my body, and is making me tired and irritable." Like you said, the house of cards came tumblin' down. (oh wait, you didn't drop your g.) Then I went on a 3-week vacation to Europe summer of 2007, ate marveously, didn't exercise (other than lots of walking), and promptly gained 10 lbs, which has taken me a year to even start budging. But I just can't do the same thing I did before--exercise like a madwoman to allow overeating habits--because I just can't do it anymore! And even when I try to do it, it doesn't work.
That's pretty much how I lost 30 lbs and then maintained that loss for 3 years. Then I finally said: "whoa, I can't do this anymore, because it's as stressful as hell, is injuring my body, and is making me tired and irritable." Like you said, the house of cards came tumblin' down. (oh wait, you didn't drop your g.) Then I went on a 3-week vacation to Europe summer of 2007, ate marveously, didn't exercise (other than lots of walking), and promptly gained 10 lbs, which has taken me a year to even start budging. But I just can't do the same thing I did before--exercise like a madwoman to allow overeating habits--because I just can't do it anymore! And even when I try to do it, it doesn't work.
Back in 2003, I did some ghetto "g-flux" before it was all cool. I used calorieking, which gives you more calories when you log your exercise. For good or bad, I dropped weight just fine, and since you eat more only when you exercise, it's good enough.
__________________ It all starts with the mind, but the thoughts, the intention aren't enough. Action needs to come next. Dream it, believe it, plan it, execute it, celebrate it. - Wendy
Simple As It Should Be
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