Help me help my wife lose weight

AcesFull - 2010-05-18 10:33 AM

Write everything down.  Screw the fancy diet, just write EVERYTHING down. 

Eating only real food helps.

I use www.fatsecret.com, mostly because they have a free android (and I'm guessing iPhone) app that allows me to barcode scan my food. 

noelle1230 - 2010-05-17 10:46 PM

If she works out regularly but struggles with the diet, I'm not sure a trainer is the way to go.  Perhaps a nutritionist would be the motivator she needs. 

rxman - 2010-05-18 12:49 PM These are all great suggestions. The number one thing I see is track it. We can do that. What about going too low? I know she has gone as low as 800 calories in a day. Where do you get metabolic analysis done? Local gym have something like that? Thanks for the many great suggestions.

rxman - 2010-05-18 11:49 AM These are all great suggestions. The number one thing I see is track it. We can do that. What about going too low? I know she has gone as low as 800 calories in a day. Where do you get metabolic analysis done? Local gym have something like that? Thanks for the many great suggestions.

jgaither - 2010-05-18 8:50 AM Had same issue recently.  We found that most of our problem was in our lifestyle.  eating out once or twice a week, keeping junk food in the house, not a full workout schedule, poor food choices etc........  Here's what we did, and it may not work for you, but something I say might, who knows.  We found that if one person was on a diet and the other wasn't, then it just led to failure.  So we both agreed and attacked it as a team.  Her problem was my problem and my problem was her problem.  We don't talk about weight, we talk about calories.  No pounds.  Pounds aren't the issue, it's the calories.  This seems to make it a little more "acceptable".  The one thing that holds true across teh board for weight is "you have to burn more calories than you take in". No matter how you slice it, that is what it is.  There are a million different formulas for doing it, but they all come back to this one truism.  And so we agreed on our new rules:  :

1) the whole house changed their dietary habits.  candy, chips, cokes, cakes, etc..... went directly in the trash.  We do not buy them anymore because if they are there, I will eat them.  Ironically I am the only one who will admit to eating them.  I'm not the only one to eat them.  We have one thing that we all agree on that we keep around, ice cream.

2) we buy all organic, and all whole foods.  virtually nothing out of a box (we don't make our own gluten free organic pasta, we buy that).  we have food scale that we used until we could eyeball the portion sizes.

3) ABSOLUTELY NO FAST FOOD

4) we spent the money on a metabolic rate analysis test to set in stone what her burn rate was and what her intake rate could be.  WROTE EVERYTHING DOWN THAT SHE ATE FOR A WEEK and made dietary adjustments from there to set calorie intake to the appropriate level.  This was significant because we found out her metabolic rate was much slower than we had anticipated.  on a normal day she will only burn 1,200 calories (age and kids are harsh on women) so we had to set her cal intake at 1,000 and up her workout volume so that she would burn 3,500 cal per week (or 1 lb per week)

5) set up heart rate zones and had a personal trainer set up work out necessary for 3500 calorie per week burn.  (bought heart rate monitors so she can make sure she is burning the right fat to sugar ratio for the workout)

6) All snacks are fruits or vegetables and we eat 5 times a day, sometimes 6.

7) we cheat on the weekends.  by cheating I mean we pay no attention to calories or number of meals, but everything is still organic and whole foods.  This actually usually results in a calorie reduction for me.  I think for her too.  we get caught up in other things and forget to eat one or two of our meals.

8) workout 5 times a week. no more, no less.  minimum workout is 1 hr.  I go at 9 at night she goes any time she likes during the day.

She won't tell me how much she has lost, but I can see she has lost weight.  I have lost 20 lbs. on her diet, but it's more of a lifestyle shift away from crappy processed foods.  I think 30 lbs is a decent chunk for most women, ESPECIALLY when you get to the "last 10".  They say that's the hardest....... and I would think it's true.  My wife knows my world revolves around her (and our 3 kids), so I get away with saying whatever I want, but I think if she feels like you're in it with her and you stay away from "weight" or "fat", and you communicate that you are "supportive"/"proud"/"admire her work ethic" (these are words I actually use) then you should probably get a pass on some comments.  One thing the metabolic rate analysis allowed me to do is say "there are no excuses.  You have all the tools and the knowledge you need to accomplish whatever it is you want to accomplish.  If you're not losing weight, you know the reasons why.  Either your calorie intake is too high or your workouts are too short.  Fix one of them."  When it's there in black and white, there aren't many excuses you can make.

jgaither - 2010-05-18 10:24 AM

We're members at lifetime fitness (local Gym), so that's where she got her metabolic rate done, but if there isn't one near you, then you can check around to different sports medicine facilities, ask your local tri shop.  I would think, because most in Houston do, that any place that will do a Lactate Threshold test can run a metabolic test too.

If your calorie intake is too low your body will respond by storing fat.  It thinks it's getting starved and responds accordingly.  Her metabolism will drop also.  You are better off focusing on activities that will increase her metabolism (reduce stress, eat smaller amounts more often, exercise more, whole foods, exercise same volume just break up to twice a day, etc.....) and keep the calorie intake at a reasonable level.  For example in my wife's situation burn 1,200 per day; it would be better for her to take in 1,200 cal per day and increase her workouts to 500 cal burned than it would be to reduce her calories to 700 and not exercise.  The last thing most people need to do is go hungry.  If you're hungry, EAT.  An apple can be very filling and it's only like 50 calories.  I burn 50 calories farting.

rxman - 2010-05-18 11:49 AM >If your calorie intake is too low your body will respond by storing fat.  It thinks it's getting starved and responds accordingly.  Her metabolism will drop also. 

Pector55 - 2010-05-18 9:36 AM

Real food has barcodes on it?  Man, I'm doing it wrong.  This apple must be fake! 

wwlani - 2010-05-19 6:30 AM Really? Then explain to me how people in parts of Africa or _____ (pic the country) aren't overweight. If your calorie intake is too low, you WILL lose weight. HOWEVER, study after study shows that if your calorie intake is too low, you tend to overeat when you do eat, even if it is "healthy" food (portion size). Only 2 things that impact metabolism are age (it slows as we get older, and activity, can make it work harder). Others are just myths that have been passed along for years. To the OP - Having been the overweight wife, she has to WANT to do this. I seriously doubt she wants to be overweight. Most of us that have been overweight didn't get there just because of the food. We eat because we are ______________ (fill in the emotion, happy, sad, stressed, treat ourselves after day with kids etc). Portion sizes, tracking and picnics instead of fast food are great starts (and I also agree Weight Watchers works, it did for me) Lani