When I first lost 100 pounds the lowest my weight ever got to was 143. Unfortunately I didn’t stay there long. I think I weighed 143 for about one month and hovered between 144-146 for four months. Then I started taking Celexa and gained 15 pounds.
After stopping the Celexa and starting to lose those 15 pounds again I finally returned to the pre-gain weight of the mid-140’s. Once again, I got down to 143 but did not stay there long. A month later I was back to 144.
It seems to me that I can never break through that 143 barrier. Don’t ask me WHY I want to weigh 140. There’s no specific reason other than it being a whole number. But no matter what I do I can’t seem to get there.
I’ve written a little about this before: Why Can’t I Lose Weight? And Why Do People Cheat? I’ve also mentioned before that while it would be nice to weigh in at 140, it’s not the end of the world if I don’t. I’d rather be able to maintain my current weight for as long as I can, while I still enjoy my favorite treats.
I was chatting with a friend of mine who has done Weight Watchers for a long time. She thought I wasn’t eating enough food on days I work out and my body was in “starvation mode.”
My base number of calories a day is 1570 plus whatever I burn working out. I gave her an example of my estimated calories for a few days:
Monday: 1827 (w/ 180 burned)
Sunday: 2058 (w/ 411 burned)
Thursday: 2046 (w/ 90 burned)
Her response: At WW you’d have 1450 a day without exercise. Add 200 or a day depending on the exercise. Then add another 2450 spread out through out the week and you should be eating 2000 a day on the days you work out. There was only one day that you almost hit 2000. That could be the reason why you’re not losing. You’re not eating enough on the days you work out.
She also suggested that I eat more protein and fiber. This is a goal I can get behind. I’ve been trying to eat more protein and fiber for awhile now.
So now I’m wondering if I should switch things up on days I workout. I was pretty satisfied with my food lately (minus the snacking) but if it’s not working I am willing to experiment a bit.
Michael’s suggestion was to workout less because muscle weighs more. Not an option for me! Maybe eating more protein will work. My friend also suggested that perhaps my body will never get under 144. That this is the weight it is happy at.
Michael and I already eat (what I thought was a lot) a lot of protein: chicken, pork, steak, we eat scrambled eggs 4-5 days a week and I eat nuts or Greek Yogurt as a snack. I’m making a list of things to add to the weekly grocery list that are high in protein.
- Cottage Cheese
- Hummus
- Cashew Butter
- Cheese
- Canned tuna (I can add this to salads for lunch)
There HAS to be more that I can add to this list! Why am I drawing a blank?
QUESTION: What should I start eating for lunch in order to get more protein and fiber? How do you sneak protein and fiber into your meals and snacks?
Leah @ L4L
What about doing scrambled egg whites either in addition to or in substitution of your regular scrambled eggs? I like to do 2 eggs + 1/2 cup of eggbeaters + veggies. It adds a lot of protein w/o adding a lot of calories. I also love snacking on hardboiled eggs. I’m obviously obsessed with eggs though.
Lisa Eirene
I never thought about just adding extra egg whites to what we already eat. I’ll have to talk to Michael about it.
I’ve also considered having hardboiled eggs at lunch or as snack but I don’t want to eat eggs in two meals, you know? Maybe I could alternate breakfasts and eat hardboiled eggs on days I eat oatmeal for breakfast…
Sam
I love this question! I eat mostly primal/paleo so I eat a TON of protein. I will give you an example of my day of eats.
Breakfast: eggs, bacon, coffee. If I have time I’ll make an omelet with veggies.
Mid-morning: Apple/Banana something with sunflower seed butter or natural PB.
For lunch, I usually have a BAS(BIg Ass Salad) and it’s just like it sounds. ALL The veggies you want/have, I usually throw some eggs, chicken, salmon, nuts, etc. on for protein.
Afternoon: Depends on what I have on hand. Typically some veggies(carrots and ranch or celery with natural PB or sunflower seed butter). Or, if I forgot snacks or ate them already, I will have a protein shake. Nasty powder but I paid for it so I have to finish it. These are also great post workout with some goat milk.
Dinner really depends. Usually meat, veggies and quinoa or double veggies.
Swap your peanut butter for almond butter or snack on almonds. Almonds tend to have just a bit more protein and are a little nicer to your body than peanuts are. Mainly because a peanut isn’t really a nut but a legume. I don’t eat almond butter because I’m actually allergic to almonds, go figure! Ha!
Also, if you’re looking for a good on the go protein bar, the Clif people make Builder bars that have double the protein. The mint chocolate ones taste just like girl scout cookies. AWESOME!
Some links for info.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/top-ten-protein-sources/
http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_builders
http://walkamileinmyboots.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/what-i-ate-wednesday-2/
Hope all that helps! 🙂
Lisa Eirene
Hey thanks Sam! I’ll check out the links.
It sounds like our food is pretty similar. The one thing I don’t do is eat the peanut butter as a snack. Or at least, I don’t eat it very often. I could definitely get into snacking on cashew butter.
I like the idea of a salad with a bunch of protein. Tuna, eggs, etc.
Sam
You’d be surprised at how much a little bit of peanut butter with your usual snacks will fill you up! I LOVE celery because it’s 0 calories to munch on but I always was still hungry. So, I started eating it with natural PB. Perfect snack! GL!
Lisa Eirene
Great tip! I’m sold. I’ve been trying to find an excuse to spend the extra money on some organic cashew butter, now I have one.
Chris
I am in the same weird place of not going up too much but definitely not going below my current weight. Have you tried HIIT workouts? I am have considered bumping up the calories as well because I am good on fiber and protein for the most part. I would also look at pro-biotic sources for more “gut” cleaning…kefir and the like. For protein source I am not sure if you like cereal much, but Kashi Go Lean and Special K protein plus both have a good amount of fiber AND protein. They are great with splashes of almond milk!
Lisa Eirene
Hi Chris, I was doing interval workouts for awhile but then slacked off on them when I went on vacation. I’ve never tried kefir but will look for it (My grocery list is so long now, I love it!). I try to skip cereals simply because I’m REALLY trying to get away from processed food as much as I can.
Lori
Why not eat eggs for 2 meals? They won’t give you high cholesterol and the fat is good.
If you can find peanut flour – go for that. High protein stuff!
It helps if you swap out bread type of things with something made similar but with protein. Like protein pancakes/waffles instead of regular. Use those for bread for sandwiches.
I shoot for 100 grams a day on most days. I will use unflavored whey protein isolate on days when I need to boost my protien. I like the unflavored because who wants to purchase 5 pounds of cake batter flavored protein powder? I love the whey isolate because it has minimal ingredients – just protein pretty much, so it has more grams of protein for the calories. Not to mention it is the kind that has really no taste. I can whisk a few grams into my coffee, yogurt, tomato sauce – whatever! I get it from True Protein.
I actually wonder if you might be willing to take Micheal’s suggestion for a week and cut way down on exercise. Funny thing – when I totally dropped exercise for a week – I dropped weight. It’s like the body is taking a break and repairing. You should at least take a week off of lifting every 3-4 months or so.
Geez – better close off this novel. Sorry about that. Slow work afternoon LOL!
Lisa Eirene
Hmmm I guess I thought if I was eating eggs for breakfast it would be “too much” if I ate one for lunch too. The same reason I don’t want to eat bread more than at one meal. I will look for the peanut flour. I don’t eat waffles or pancakes much though.
It looks like my protein intake fluctuates anywhere between 50-120 a day. Yesterday I had 73grams of protein. I definitely need to do better!
I took over a week off from weight lifting when I went to Arizona, so I will take another break in a few months. I’m reluctant to take a full week off from all exercise though. That makes me nervous…
Carbzilla
I know this is going to make me wildly unpopular, but have you thought about giving up beer and wine for a month and see what happens? I’d give that up before I gave up weights. (Don’t hate me.)
Lisa Eirene
GASP how dare you? Let the virtual tomato throwing begin!
Actually yes–I know that if I completely stopped snacking on ALL sugar and stopped drinking ALL alcohol I’d lose weight in a flash. But would I be able to sustain it after I started drinking or eating dessert again? Probably not. So why would I yo-yo like that? I should be able to have 1 glass of wine a few times a week without having to think about my waistline. In my opinion anyway. It’s the same reason I still eat dessert. I just eat “Better” desserts now and less of them.
Carbzilla
Still friends? 🙂
Hey, I know it’s a sucky option. Just throwing it out there.
Lisa Eirene
I don’t know……I was gonna suggest we meet for a drink tomorrow before the show but now?
😉
Carbzilla
ROFL! We’ll eat some cheese with it and then it will be high protein!
Lisa Eirene
Or we can get protein from ICE CREAM! 😀
Carbzilla
YOU are a nutritional GENIUS!
Amy Ramos
I make a point of making extra dinners for leftover lunches. Are you a leftovers kind of person?
Lisa Eirene
I do take leftovers for lunch. Back when I was cooking a lot more I’d make recipes that had leftovers. I haven’t done that in awhile. I need to again.
jane Cartelli
I have 8 oz fat free/sugar free Greek Yogurt, 1 cup raspberries, 1/2 oz walnuts, and 1 serv oatmeal or oat bran. I let the oats soak up the yogurt for a few hours. If you freeze the berries they keep the yogurt cold a longer time – great to take on hikes or to work. There is more than 25 grams of protein and 14 grams of fiber. I always have all the ingredients in the house so it is my no time to think no time to plan go-to meal.
Jane~
Keepingthepoundsoff.com
Lisa Eirene
That sounds like a great snack. Never tried nuts with yogurt……
Michelle
A combo very similar to the above that I ate everyday for 6 months straight…because it’s THAT good!
cottage cheese…frozen blueberries (thawed by the time I ate it)…walnuts
It is a “feel good” snack packed with lots of nutrients!
Lisa Eirene
Okay I am definitely trying this mix! Two votes for cottage cheese, blueberries and walnuts!
Michelle
Ha. I’m eating this as I read your reply. Though I am out of walnuts so I had to have pecans today.
Here’s another little savory snack if you aren’t afraid of a little fat. Celery stalks stuffed with a mixture of light cream cheese/crumbled blue cheese. To make it a festive little appetizer, add a candied pecan to the top. YUM!!!
Lisa Eirene
I have celery and hummus on my grocery list. I’ve never tried celery with cream cheese. That sounds yummy.
Jennifer
I was wondering, you mentioned you were on Celexa you gained weight but when you got off of it you lost. I’m on Effexor and I feel that this could be contributung to some of my problem when losing weight. Did they put you on something else?
Thanks!
Lisa Eirene
Yep! They ALL cause weight gain AND they make it extremely difficult to lose weight when ON them. The doctor will tell you it won’t effect your weight but it’s a complete lie. I was on some sort of combo of meds for most of my 20’s and that’s when I was 250+. Not that that was the only factor but it contributed to it.
To give you an example, I took Celexa for 10 months. I started the meds when I was 143 pounds. I worked out 5 days a week like a fiend, counted my calories and lived a healthy life and in the 10 months I took Celexa I gained 15 pounds. So the doctors CAN’T say it doesn’t contribute to weight gain.
I’ve taken Effexor, Lexapro, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Wellbutrin…all the same results. I don’t take anything now and while I don’t feel 100% better every single day I have more good days than bad days. Exercising has been a lifesaver. It keeps the depression and anxiety at bay. It makes me feel better. I’m healthier all around and not on pills.
blackhuff
Protein: Hummus, chickpeas, cottage cheese.
Fiber: At least 2 fruits per day, add digestive bran to my morning muesli, All Bran Flakes, whole wheat bread.
Hope this helps and good luck
Lisa Eirene
Bran cereal is a good idea as a snack.
Kara
I actually try avoid a lot of extra fiber in my diet (doesn’t mesh well with my running), but for protein I like to get Barilla plus instead of normal pasta, and if I make a tuna salad, I use greek yogurt and mustard for extra protein.
Lisa Eirene
We don’t eat a lot of pasta but when we do, we do the Barilla whole wheat kind. I like the idea of greek yogurt instead of dressing on a salad! Great idea!
Kristina @ spabettie
here I am reminding you about quinoa! 🙂 it is a great source of both protein and fiber! spinach also has protein – if you like spinach you can add it to salads or scrambles.
🙂
Lisa Eirene
Thanks for the reminder! Adding it to the grocery list. I’d already forgotten. LOL