Once again, I resolve to lose weight

[goldenguru]

husband and I are choosing to eat healthier too. (Notice I did not say the D word ... LOL).

Nothing drastic. Just cutting out the junk and trying to follow the food pyramid - while cutting down on calories too.

I would like to drop about 15 pounds by this time next year.

So, count me in too.

 

[TerryJ2]

Hi,
wow, lots of familiar faces around here!

And so many health problems.

BBK, I know that smoking set you back 50lbs, but if you quit smoking, frankly, that's probably harder than losing wt so I think you're going to do great! As are all of you!

Like several others, I have hit peri-menopause, and the stuff I always wanted on my chest and rear is landing in my lower tummy and thighs . I lost 3 lbs in Calif but gained it all back. It is so easy to go out and exercise when it's gorgeous outside and you can walk on the beach forever! It was 32 and windy when I woke up today and I hated the idea of going for a walk. And I can't do a lot of situps because I have a really bad back.
Sigh. :frown:

In addition to firming up and losing 5-10 lbs, I want to look like Michelle Pfeiffer. Never mind that I have dark hair, squinty eyes, freckles and big feet. Hmpf.

 

[mrscatinthehat]

Ok, I could use to lose between 100 - 150 lbs. So count me in. I do not know how I am going to go about this yet. I will go step on the scale (eek) in a few minutes. I imagine my first cut back will have to be soda (omg that will send me into fits guess I better check out how to combat the caffiene withdrawal). I guess I also could start using my Y membership I have before it runs out and then husband won't let me have another one. Maybe I might even spend the extra money to have one of the trainers set up a plan for me. Might work out well with support.

Beth

 

[Martie]

Hi everyone,

Count me in...I have 15 to 18 lbs left to lose. Since last year at this time, I have lost 33 lbs. The best thing about it is I can "shop" in my closet...meaning I can wear things that I kept even tough I no longer could wear them. This might seem like a down to some who would prefer **new** clothing, but I have classic woolens that never go out of style and I am happy to be able to wear them again. It is a big incentive for me...

I noticed that most of you are focusing on diet. I did that for years and yo-yo'd all over the place (which may be worse for me that staying 50 lbs overweight. I have STOPPED dieting, except I really try not to eat "whites" and keep fat intake low. How I lost the weight is ...I hate to say it, but it is true, EXERCISE!!!! I am now a gym rat and try really hard to make it five days out of seven. It is a pain (meaning I do not LOVE it) and a huge time drain, but it is the only way I can lose weight and not feel deprived. I believe it works not only due to the 400 or so calories I burn off while at the gym, but also because exercise is the only way to increase one's resting metabolism. I also find that exercise decreases my evening stress eating.

I realize that I am blessed, considering my advanced age, with few health problems and no joint problems so I am able to exercise as much as I have time for. I know everyone does not have this option but I thought I would mention exercise because I lost the same weight and gained it back about 20 times before I finally figured out what works, at least for me. In addition to aerobics to burn fat, I lift weights because increasing muscle mass also increases the number of calories burned at rest.

by the way, JJJ's idea of losing 10 and then another 10 is really good in my opinion. I could not lose 50, let alone more, so I lost in increments of 10 also. My goal is to weigh no more than 10 lbs more than when I graduated from college. This is supposed to be one's "correct" lifetime weight, assuming one was not overweight at age 21. I do not know what the "extra" 10 lbs is for, but I have read this in several sources, so I tend to believe it. I'm glad there is a 10 lb "allowance" because if I am supposed to weigh what I did at 21, I would have to lose 25 lbs, which is a LOT more to me than another 15...

Best wishes to you all!

Martie

 

[TerryJ2]

Beth and Martie, the fact that your notes follow one another is perfect. My husband is a health freak and spouts statistics all the time... he just came up with-one that I really like, though. He said that if you cut out one thing, such as sodas, or butter, and walk for 20 min. a day, you can lose pretty much whatever wt you want. It takes a while but it works. It's a lifestyle change.

I know a guy at church who cut out beer and lost 50 lbs. He looked fabulous! Everyone wanted his secret and he said that was all he did. I believe him. We have no idea how much we sabotage ourselves with-the little things (especially the prepkgd stuff.)

So instead of "Dieting," I agree that a lifestyle change, albeit it minor, is the Way To Go, in addition to doing a little bit at a time so we don't overwhelm ourselves. I for one cannot pass by a table filled with-tukey, gravy, stuffing and mashed potatoes and not eat any of it. But I can refuse to go back for 2nds, and go for a walk after dinner.

It also involves consistency... which is what we all need to get through the day with-our G'sFG. How apropos. Sigh.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

I think the word diet is a bad word! I totally agree it's about making a lifestyle change. It's getting to the point where you are ready for the change that is the hard part.

I think all of us that have weight to loose know what we should be doing. It's not really a matter of will power. It's a matter of wanting to do what is healthy more than what is unhealthy. Except in the case of some medical issue, I'm sure we all knew when we put something in our mouth that was not "a good thing." It felt good though. I think we all know that activity is a good thing. But it may be overwhelming if you carry around an extra 100 or plus pounds.

That's what is to be overcome. When you have 100 pounds or more to loose it is a daunting prospect. JJJ has it right in making small incremental goals. I keep thinking about how much more I will feel like doing with my kids.

Ok, here's my goal - to attend easy child's high school graduation next year and be comfortable with myself and confident in how I look. To not be affected by the mass of people, the warm temps, or the length of the walk from the parking deck to the venue. I have set that up as my time table. So, I have 18 months to find the better me. I don't have a particular weight goal - just a feeling. My weight increments will begin with the first 25 as the first goal.

Since we started the forum on Wed., and many of you began your lifestyle change on a Tuesday (New Year), let's use Wednesday as our progress report day.

Sharon

 

[SearchingForRainbows]

Count me in too!!! I need to lose the five pounds I've put on during the last year. I manage to get a few of them off but then they just keep coming back...About six months ago, I officially hit menopause. While I've read many articles that say menopause in itself doesn't make women gain weight, I know many women like myself who start packing on pounds once this stage of life is reached. I think it has something to do with the fact that our metabolisms slow down after menopause as well as the fact that we lose muscle mass as we age. Such happy facts, lol!!!

Anyway, I know that five pounds doesn't seem like that big a deal to some of you who are struggling with much bigger health issues. In reality it isn't. However, if I don't get a grasp on this weight gain now, I've read that I can pack on an average of two to three pounds per year. So, if I don't make even more changes to my lifestyle, I could conceivably be eight pounds heavier next year, eleven pounds heavier the following year, etc... A SCARY THOUGHT!!!

I have always been a big believer in exercise and continue to exercise regularly. I already eat healthy meals. I'm pretty consistent and even make healthy choices when eating out. However, as some of you know, I'm definitely an emotional eater. I know that I need to stop this. On an intellectual level, I know what to do. Why can't I just STOP???

Like Janet said, I don't believe there is any such thing as willpower either. I think that staying healthy and fit is a lifestyle. As I've said in other threads, "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels." (I think this is from Weight Watchers) Now, I just have to stay away from the kitchen when negative emotions get the better of me...

Trinity, thanks for the name of the book. I'm definitely going to check it out!!! And, thanks in advance to all of you who are going to help me kick my emotional eating habit, lol!!! WFEN

 

[trinityroyal]

I've always believed that will power is a mug's game.
Believing that will power is all you need sets you up to fail, because when you give in to a craving, you feel guilty about not being "strong" enough to withstand it, which leads to more emotional eating for a lot of us.

Like WFEN, I am a bit believer in exercise. It just makes me feel so much better, regardless of weight.

What I do is to try to just build all of my health goals into my daily routine, so that I don't even have to think about it. If it's automatic, then it just happens.

For example: If there is chocolate in the house, I will eat it. I'm talking pounds and pounds of it. So...I don't keep it in the house. If I go for a few months without chocolate, then I lose the taste for it and can keep that craving switched off. But...if I have even one bite, then I start to want it all the time. I think about it, obsess even. (Golly...just writing this makes me realize that my "chocolate jones" has all the earmarks of a true addiction. Never realized that before.)

With exercise, I can't get to the gym for love or money, so I try to force exercise on myself in other ways. The subway stop nearest to my office is about a 15-minute walk, so instead of taking the bus connection, I walk the rest of the way. And in Toronto, a lot of the downtown office buildings are connected to each other through the PATH (a series of underground tunnels, with shops, restaurants, a post office, etc.) so when it's nasty-cold outside, I can get all my errands done, walk about a mile, and not use the bad weather as an excuse.

If it's just "stuff I have to do" then it's not part of a diet, and it seems far less daunting to me, somehow.

Incidentally, I play the same trick on myself with the alarm clock. I set the clock 20 minutes early. Although I know perfectly well that the clock is fast, I don't resent getting up that early, because the clock says it's later.

Because I don't call it "exercise", but rather "going to the office", or "buying stamps" or "window shopping", it doesn't intimidate me so much, and I manage to maintain a reasonable fitness level.

 

[TerryJ2]

I agree. I used to work in an ofc bldg downtown Mpls that had an old elevator up to the 3rd floor. I walked the stairs every single day, except when I had to carry in supplies.
It was a small but significant lifestyle choice, and I still do stairs whenever I get a chance.

 

[jbrain]

Hi WFEN,
sounds like you and I are basically in the same boat--5 lbs to lose (well, I could lose 10 and be ecstatic but am trying to be realistic). I went through menopause about 6 yrs ago at the age of 47 and that is when I gained my extra 10 lbs that I cannot seem to get off.

I walk quite a bit--to and from remote parking lot (about 2 miles total on workdays) and I walk a lot in the course of my job and usually take the stairs rather than the elevator. I am lucky in that my husband is a big believer in exercise (and very thin, darn him) so he is always ready to go take a walk with me. We used to dance a lot, not so much lately. I have tendonitis in my right arm and that has made it really hard to get the weight training I need plus it hurts if husband and I try to do any swing dancing (my lead arm is my right arm, can't do any turns). I just made an appointment. with my Dr. to take care of the arm--have been trying to ignore it for months now and it is no better, maybe worse.

I am doing a new exercise routine I found through AARP and am writing down what I eat--that seems to work pretty well with me--not so likely to eat it if I have to record it and the amount of calories. I try to stick to about 1800 calories a day but I know I am eating more like 2200 right now. I usually give myself a "day off" in the week so I can eat whatever and how much I want--do that on Fridays. husband and I go to Happy Hour Friday nights and have dinner so I don't want to have to be worrying about watching what I eat and drink those nights.

I am trying to have a different mindset these days--eating and exercising "right" not to lose weight but to be fit and feel good. I am trying to accept my body more for how it is instead of always thinking, "why can't I look like I did before menopause?" That just makes me depressed and then I want to eat more sweets. Also, husband is very supportive--tells me I am not fat, am beautiful, etc. I just have to try to believe him!

Thanks all,
Jane

 

[Sue C]

I would like to join in, but am not going on a diet, per se. I am trying to make a healthy lifestyle change. Cut out chocolate and chips, limit sodas, and no bedtime snacks.

I have been a member of Curves and am paying for it and have not gone since early June!!! What a waste! I have got to get my butt over there. I think once I can motivate myself to get back into the routine, I'll be OK. It's the getting myself there that's the hard part.

I'm not sure yet how much I want to lose; I can't decide. I know I want to "look better" and "feel better" and wear at least one size smaller clothes. I weigh 156 lbs now and am 5' 5-1/2" tall.

sue

 

[SearchingForRainbows]

Sue,

I definitely agree with you. As I've said before, and others have also, I firmly believe that the only way to achieve permanent weight loss is through a healthy lifestyle. in my humble opinion, diets don't work. In the long run, the statistics show that most people that go on diets, end up gaining back the weight they lost. in my humble opinion, the only way to maintain a healthy weight, is to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

As others have also pointed out, I think Terry mentioned this somewhere on this forum, small changes in what you do or don't eat, can add up to significant weight loss over time. So, by cutting out chocolate, chips, bedtime snacks, and limiting sodas, I'm sure you'll lose a significant amount of weight over time. I think this is part of what a healthier lifestyle is all about.

After saying all of this, I still believe that for some, dieting might be necessary in order to get to a place where they have more confidence in themselves. Once they begin to look and feel better, then they might have more motivation to switch from whatever diet they've been following to maintaining their desired weight through a healthier lifestyle.

So, I firmly believe that whatever works for someone, is the way to go. I don't believe there is any right or wrong way to lose weight. However, I do believe that once the weight is lost, it will return quickly unless a healthy lifestyle is followed. I hope I'm making sense!!!

I also want to add that I think that programs like the G.I. Diet, that Trinity mentioned, and Weight Watcher's, like Sharon mentioned, are great approaches because they provide you with healthy ways of eating that can be maintained for a life time.

Just the fact that you're here proves that you're ready to begin a healthier lifestyle. I think it can be overwhelming to change your lifestyle all at once. I think taking it slowly by changing some of your snacking habits is a great way to go! I'm sure as time goes by, and your new way of eating becomes a habit, you'll be ready to go back to Curves again.

Don't be too hard on yourself!!! Developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is hard work!!! However, the rewards are definitely worth it!!! Now, if I can just follow my own advice, lol!!!

You can do it!!! WFEN

 

[SearchingForRainbows]

Jane,

I agree - we are in the same boat. You have a wonderful husband!!! It's great that he's so supportive!!!

You gave all of us some great advice by saying that as we age, we need to focus more on a healthy lifestyle rather than on losing weight. Lisa, aka Daisylover, said the same thing to me not too long ago. I know both of you are right. However, at this point in time, I'm still having trouble accepting the fact that my body is changing. I know I need to get over this!!!

Anyway, I'm glad you're going to see a doctor to take care of the problem you're having with your arm. WFEN

 

[trinityroyal]

One thing that is essential to keep in mind.
As you exercise you will likely build up your lean muscle mass.

Muscle weighs considerably more than fat does, so even though your body is changing and you're losing inches, you may not lose all the pounds you intend to.

As long as you're looking better, feeling better and getting healthier, try not to get too hung up on the numbers.

All the best,
Trinity