Getting Thru the Hard Parts of Dieting

If going on a diet were easy, it wouldn't be called a diet, it would just be "lunch." Still, we often feel like a new body really is within reach. But while it's easy to eat right, stay strong, and resist temptation early on, it gets trickier and downright treacherous as time passes which is probably why nearly 80 percent of diets fail.

To join the 20 percent who reach the land of leanness, you need to know what tests you'll face along the way and what strategies you can use to best those tests. Keep this week-by-week diet guide handy and turn your resolution into a revolution.

Week 1
The hard part: You're starving. Really, really starving.

Get through it by...not skimping on breakfast. If you're ravenous during the first few days of your diet, it's because eating fewer calories has your body producing extra ghrelin, a hormone responsible for making you hungry, says Robert Kraemer, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology and health studies at Southeastern Louisiana University.

To reduce ghrelin levels while still keeping your calories under control, focus on breakfast. Researchers in the Netherlands found that those who started the day with a high-calorie meal rich in complex carbohydrates produced 33 percent less ghrelin throughout the day and were more likely to feel fuller longer. Aim for a breakfast that's 20 percent of your caloric needs for the day (about 350 calories) and full of slow-burning complex carbs. That means a bowl of raisin bran and one slice of whole-wheat toast with jam, or half a cup of multigrain oatmeal and half a sliced banana sprinkled into a small container of vanilla low-fat yogurt.

Week 2
The hard part: Going low- cal is making you uptight and edgy.

Get through it by... reaching out to your friends. It's no secret that diets are as tough on your mind as they are on your body: A recent UCLA study linked dieting to chronic stress. "The big part of dieting is changing a behavior, which can be stressful," says Mollie Smith, R.D., a lecturer at California State University's Fresno campus. Unfortunately, tension is doubly dangerous for dieters. Not only can it make you revert to your old eating habits, but it can also keep you fat because cortisol, a hormone released during stress, slows down weight loss.?

This is when you need to rely on your friends for support or even enlist them to join you in your weight-loss crusade. Researchers from the United Kingdom found that women who dieted as part of a group had less stress than those who went it alone. "Group support is very helpful: It allows you to share frustrations with other people and learn successful ways to deal with change from other people," Smith says. And have faith: If you've made it this far, you're only a few days away from having things feel easier. "After 21 days a repeated action becomes a habit," says Rovenia Brock, Ph.D., a nutritionist for BET.

Week 3
The hard part: PMS munchies have you craving ice cream and potato chips in the same bowl.

Get through it by... eating more often. During the final 14 days of your menstrual cycle, called the luteal phase, progesterone is elevated. When that happens, the feel-good hormone serotonin decreases, along with endorphins and dopamine, two chemicals responsible for helping your body fight stress. The combination makes your mood plummet and your appetite soar. Additionally, insulin sensitivity increases during this phase of the cycle, which can increase your desire to eat.

During this cravings-crazy time of the month, skip your normal 9 A.M., noon, and 6 P.M. feedings and switch to smaller meals spread throughout the day. "Eating four to six small meals a day will stabilize your blood sugar, cut fatigue, and also prevent bloating and lethargic feelings that can lead to overeating," says Gay Riley, R.D., founder of NetNutritionist.com.

Week 6
The hard part: The scale hasn't budged, despite your best efforts.

Get through it by... trying on your skinny jeans. After about 6 weeks of steady exercise you'll notice you have more muscle and less fat. That's a good thing even though it can temporarily stall the needle on your scale. "Muscle tissue weighs more than fat tissue because it's 70 percent water, while fat is 20 percent water," Riley says. But even though your weight might not be dropping, you're still making progress because your new muscle is helping you burn even more fat. (Muscle tissue uses more calories than fat cells do just to stay alive. So the more muscle you possess, the more calories you'll burn even when you're not working out.) To curb the frustration you feel at this point in your diet, look for other ways to measure your progress. Do your clothes feel more comfortable? Can you hold a conversation when you jog? Do you look better? All those count for as much as, if not more than, what the scale says.

Month 6
The hard part: After steadily losing weight, you stop.

Get through it by... skipping the gym for a week. Take heart in the fact that you're not alone. "Most research shows that weight loss slows or stops at 6 months," says Julie Meyer, R.D., a dietician from Brooklyn. Too much time at the gym can make your body too efficient it figures out how to do the same moves burning fewer calories. Taking time off can be just what your body needs to jolt it back into gear. Do some light jogging during your off time, and come back to a new routine, says Eddie Carrington, fitness director at Bally Total Fitness. The change should be enough to shock your body back into weight loss.

Year 1
The hard part: You get cocky, thinking you've figured out this diet thing.

Get through it by... knowing that year 2 is just as important as year 1.

After a year you've likely assimilated healthy eating and exercise into your daily life. But you're not quite finished. The world we live in including fast food and eating on the run can make it easy to slide back into old dietary habits. "Right now all these forces are coming together so that when people lose weight, it can be difficult to avoid regaining that weight," says David Gee, Ph.D., professor of food science and nutrition at Central Washington University.

To keep yourself on track, reward yourself for 365 days of success with a body-based treat, such as a new winter wardrobe or a massage. Then get psyched for next year by setting new goals. "If you ran the half marathon last year, this year vow to run the full marathon," says Lona Sandon, R.D., an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. If you vowed to lose 20 pounds but only lost 15, change your goal to a number-free one: finishing a triathlon, wearing a bikini by May.

The good news: If you can keep your healthy habits for another year, you're likely to be a long-term loser. According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, those who maintain a consistent diet through each week for 2 years are 50 percent less likely to regain the weight. You've made it this far; why give up now?

I found this doing research and for me it seems so true... epecially the chocolate.... I hate chocolate except TTOM....... Please give me your input!!!!

I have a very simple method for weight reduction. One can eat what one feels like for 4 days a week and then watch for what one eats for rest of the 3 days.

Weight redution is without starving yourself.

Simple do not drink water or any other liqud except on empty stomach. Do not lie down during day. Drink 8 to 12 glasses of water. Maintain a gap of 15 minutes between 2 glasses of water. Divide the water intake into 3-4 lots morning 3-4, afternoon 3 and evening 3 to 4. 

No water to be taken with meals or shortly afterwards.

Avoid tea, cola, coffee etc.

 

 

 

nicolee - are you saying you are not eating for 6 days and eating a lot on the 7th?

Btw, 1000 calories for one day is not even close to what I think you should be having.

Could you elaborate on your technique, because i think I'm missing something? 

Thanks 

So far I'm in the middle of week 3, i don't have any cravings and I didn;t starve in my first week, just as I wasn't anymore edgy than usual in my second week, When I get to week 6 I'll post here again.

tan~~ Not sure what she's saying but I think she needs a lesson in proper nutrition!

Great post and very true! I have also tagged it and know that I will need to read it many times over during the journey.  I have added you to my friends list and look forward to following your continued success!

I've neither gained nor lost an ounce in over 10 days...if it were not for you all I would have lost my mind by now! Thanks for the laughs, tutorials and support! Jane :-)

The note was really good. I've been at this weight loss for three years. I've lost 70lbs. Work out 2hour 5-6 times a week . Have increased and decreased my excercise. Have changed calorie intake to 1400 and still haven't lost. Help

Sue - Congrats on the 70# loss and my sympathy for the stuck scale! How close are you to your goal? (The last 10 - 20 pounds are notoriously hard to get rid of!) Also, have you had your body fat measured? I had a session with a trainer at my gym and he measured my percentage of body fat (which was really high!) and said that as I lose weight he'll re-measure the body fat vs. lean mass total to make sure I'm losing fat and not muscle. If you had your fat vs. lean mass calculated earlier you should get it checked again because it certainly sounds like you've probably added muscle.

Also, and I hope Loosing, Shiptona and/or Coach K step in here, I wonder if 1400 is too few calories. (Wouldn't that be a nice problem???)

Best of luck and you're in the right place here for support and encouragement.

Jane :-)

stayonpiste~~ I emailed sue a PM and told her what I thought..... when I was on my 1 month plateu.. and what info my nutritionst gave me..... here it is:

i was on the elliptical for an hour a day 7 days a week.... burning anywhere form 1000-1200 cal.....  I was at a stand still..... they my nitrioist told me I needed to up my resistance... and burn less calories... It was all about my heart rate... Here I was running on the eeliptical for and hour and my heart rate was 130-140 instead of around 150-160.... (closer to 150 is where it shoudl be) but I was doind AEROBIC instead of FAT BURNING..... I needed a STRONGER RESISTANCE to make my body sweat.. work.. PUSH HARDER..... It was definalety harder.. but it worked.... I started losing again.. only burning 600-700 cal but losing again.. The reson behind this: YOUR BODY LEARNS TO DO THE SAME ACTIVITY BY BURNING LESS CALORIES.. " A SHORT CUT" JUST LIKE WE DO WHEN DOING AN ACTIVITY.. WE FIND THE EASIEST WAY TO DO IT..

Or take a few weeks off from the gym to get your body out of its COMMON routine...  that works too... Hope that helps..

Thanks a lot!....good info. Also I didnt know about the six month stall....Now when that happens I'LL BE PREPARED!....I tagged it!

I am definitely guilty of being cocky after a year. Nearly gained it all back - never again :( i'm at original weight again though :)

GREAT post!

I'm 17 months into my program and have lost almost 100 pounds.  This information is really helpful.  Thanks for taking the time to post it.

the being cocky part I actually thought was funny at first.. then the more complimenst you get the better you feel.. not sure if its cocky or a raised self -esteem that we just ARENT USED TOO!

Thanks for the advice. I trying to figure out if my calories are too low. I've changed my routine recently and upped my heart rate some. I'm trying to incorporate more protein and stop late night eating. Hope this helps. Thanks for all the words

suep7~~ Keep me posted on your outcome!!!!

Thanks

Your Welcome!

This is just a bump-up in anticipation of "Resolution" newbies. 

(That's not a condescending term; whatever gets you motivated to lose weight is a good thing.)

Glad to see so many get good insight from this. Thanks

Trisha