by Mulan 40 Replies latest jw friends
I am sorry I didn't mean to point out a bad thing about the treadmill.
I was just trying to help not knowing you knew that. Sorry. I hope you gave luck with the weight loss. The videos help that stable plateau and bust through all of that and gets to your weight goal.
Brooke WI
I don't know if you have this kind of program where you are, but it worked WONDERS for me.
My problems were
1) no time to exercise, unless I wanted to get up at 5 or do it right before bed. Neither of those worked for me on a regular basis.
2) My eating habits weren't bad, so there was little if anything I could cut out. I also drank lots of water.
3) I was gaining weight, slowly but steadily.
So, I went to this diet place in my city. It's not cheap, but it works wonders. They give you a vitamin B12 shot daily, along with a B complex. You take a water pill, and two potassium pills daily. You have the option of taking an appetite suppresant, but it's not required. You do a modified fast the first three days, then eat regular food according to the menu they give you. If you reach a plateau (which we often do) then you can fast for a day or two to re-energize your body.
I started this program at the end of August, and I have lost over 40 pounds. I still don't exercise, at least not regularly, but I feel a lot better, and am back down to a size 8.
Unfortunately, it's not a national company, there is only this one location with that name. However, if you call weight loss places in your area, you can ask them what their program is and go from there.
As I mentioned, it's not cheap, but it has been great, and I am successfully weaning myself without gaining any weight. I think I should be totally off the program in the next 2 months, and can go back as necessary if I choose to.
Good luck, I really feel for you.
Happyout
Mulan, maybe I can help you....or maybe I am full of crap, but I HAVE lost 35 lbs total since October and will continue to do so
You said: "I will lose at first and then it just stops coming off."
This happens to everyone on a diet...its called a "plateau". I have gone through 2 of these since my beginning to lose weight in October. The first one was 1 week, the second one lasted 2 weeks... It is your body just fooling itself thinking it is starving, just continue what you do and it will get back to normal.
If you are uncomfortable with how you feel physically, then it means to need a change, that you are unhealthy and you need to do something about it. It would be one thing if you were comfortable with a large body, but you are not.
Well, my 1st sugestion is to trade that treadmill in for something more fast-paced and less boring. What I do is, I have an Elliptical machine. It is very low-impact (unlike a treadmill) but fun! I had to work up from barely able to go 5 minutes on it, to being able to go 40 minutes without a break. You must try to make it to 20 minutes...if you do at least 20 minutes a day, you are doing great. You will have more energy too. After 20 minutes of exersize, the body will continue to burn calories. I have added weight training to my exersize with 2 5lbs weights and simple exersizes for toning, it is fun. Put your machine in front of a TV or have a radio there with some fast music. I watch movies on my laptop, a half hour a day. I got the Eliptical for $150 at Wal Mart! Eventually I will get a nicer one but this one has certainly done its job...its a little noisy and takes a bit to get used to but once you do, you will love it. Do you think this would be possible for you to use?
As for food diet...do not do the Atkins diet, any diet where you have to trick your body into starving itself is not healthy. If it tells you to eat burgers and bacon but fruit is bad? That is very unhealthy. You need carbs, but there is nothing wrong with watching how much you take in. I generally count calories. Stay below 1800 to maintain weight...1500 to lose weight (slowly). I take in about 1000-1200 but this may be a little too "hard core" for you. I basically changed what I have eaten. You need your mate to support you in this because having their "temptation" food in the house is not good for you. This works for Mike and I because he is also trying to eat healthy and eat less like myself. Its good to have 3 meals and 2 snacks so you do not feel hungry. For snacks, granola bars are good, so are fruits and vegtables. Stay away from packaged foods...it can be done! I eat chocolate rice cakes--very tasty and only 45 calories. For meals...switch to skim milk, diet foods too (low carb is useless), look at the labels before you buy (for example, Low Fat yogurt has a lot more calories than "Light" yogurt of the same brand). Get bread that has grains you can SEE, get rid of the white bread. For dinner, a steak the size of a deak of cards is considered a serving, keep that in mind.
Another thing, DRINK WATER! I drink 2 liters a day. I have a 1 liter bottle I keep with me, fill it at night, keep it in the fridge. Its nice and chilled in the morning which makes it refreshing to drink. By lunch it should be all gone and then fill it again and make sure to drink it by bed time and fill it again for the next morning.
Mulan, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I feel as a person who has "dieted" before and has failed...I am very successful this time around just using common sense. (eating healthy, eating less and exersizing more). There are also websites that have calorie calculators and databases of what is in every grocery (and resturant) item you can think of... Also some will tell you how much you should take in to lose weight, etc.
Do not let the plateau's get to you and make you give up...it is completely natural and you just have to wait it out.
Also, take a vitamin in the morning. This helps me with energy. Exersize right when you get up in the morning, you DO have time for it even if you have to adjust your schedule for it, MAKE time for it--20 minutes. You will get to the point where it becomes a habit like brushing teeth. If I do not get on the Elliptical for the 20 minutes...I feel icky all day, THATS GOOD! Take care and get healthy!
Mulan,
When you were doing the excercise, did you see any chang ein your body? Did the way your clothes fit you change?
It's not in the magic number of weight, it's all in how you look naked & how your clothes fit. Muscle weights more than fat.
I agree with Gypsy. When I was going through my first "plateau" I stayed the same weight but went down 2 sizes. (I went from a 15 when I started and I am now a size 8).
I would like to suggest buying the book The Meditteranean Diet. It's only about 10 dollars and is much better than the South Beach Diet, or any of that stuff.
I had gastroplasty done in late August and I'm down 40 lbs!! Gastroplasty is where they go in laproscopically and make your stomach smaller, but I did NOT have anything bypassed. I exercise 4 - 5 times per week, but I (obviously) don't eat nearly as much as what I used to. I'm thrilled with what I've lost so far and I should look human again by this time next year.
The problem with us, is that there are numerous things against us when we try to lose weight. Our age works against us, and the second we start to diet, out body tries to keep our set point at a certain level and it slows your metabolism down even more. Estrogen also is a major culprit in holding on to our fat. Plus, we've got all the pressure of food, food and more food being put in front of our faces on a regular basis. It ain't easy, but exercise is a big key factor in losing weight.
This happens to everyone on a diet...its called a "plateau". I have gone through 2 of these since my beginning to lose weight in October. The first one was 1 week, the second one lasted 2 weeks... It is your body just fooling itself thinking it is starving, just continue what you do and it will get back to normal.
That, I could handle. My last plateau lasted two months. The one at Weight Watchers was several months. That is more than a plateau, girls.
I do take vitamins, and I do drink a lot of water. I know these things...............it's my business. I already said that part.
As for how my body felt, when I was going to the gym, maybe a little bit looser in my waist. But not significantly.
I have a low thyroid, but not enough for the doctor to give me any help there.
I know estrogen is an issue too, but can't do anything about that.
I like Weight Watchers points program. But I cannot afford to go even with their scholarship stuff. I had lost 30 pounds - went from 216 to 186. I'm now running 196. (I'm 5'9" but still 30# overweight - I hate being considered obese, but I am)
Some things I learned from my WW experience
Drink lots of water
Avoid fake foods - butter, mayo, diet drinks, etc. use the real thing but in moderation. I found when I did the fake food thing I gained weight.
Mix real mayo half-n-half with non-fat yogurt for tuna sandwiches.
Now Tillamook Lite sour cream I use. Has only 20 calories per 2 tblsp. It has natural thickeners.
There is a syndrome with diet soda: the sweet taste triggers the body to expect carbs coming. When the body doesn't get those carbs, it feels like it's being starved, so one end's up eating more.
I drink "fuzzy" water. Selzer water, either plain or flavored. I like Talking Rain. We buy it by the 2-liter bottles, 16 at a time, especially when on sale. It gives the feeling of having a pop - fullness - without sugar or chemicals.
To get your water in, drink a full glass when you brush your teeth. If you're hungry, drink a glass of water because the body can send confusing signals and sometimes hunger is really a hunger for fluids. If you have a headache, drink a glass of water. If you are stopped and thinking of buying a pop to get you buy, buy bottled water.
At our age, dont drink water 2 hours before bed.... I hate getting up in the middle of the night to pee.
Don't eat 2 hours before bed. It just sits there and can cause health problems.
Drink a glass of skim milk in the morning with your vitamins. Reduces the vitamin burps, and provides some nutrician with nominal calaries.
Yogurt with live cultures are great for the gut. When a person changes their diet, the gut gets confused and usually will constipate. Yogurt will help with this change. We buy Nancy's non-fat. I also give yogurt mixed with skim milk to my diabetic cat - helps his gut problems from too much glucose, and is a treat.
One quality piece of fine chocolate far outweighs just about anything else in the satisfaction department. Just don't buy more than one.
12oz can of V-8 get's 2 servings of veggies. Add a zip-lock of non-fat pretzels and you have a decent filling lunch. Alt. a 6" subway meat sub with no cheese, no mayo, no oil, and just a dash or two of vinegar and lots of veggies is an excellent lunch or dinner on the go.
Sour dough bread requires no butter for flavor.
Certain medications will make a person's body more resistant to loosing weight. Prednesone, anti-depressants, etc. Talk to you doc. Effexor - an SRI (seritonin reuptake inhibitor) also has an epinephrin reuptake inhibitor, and is often Rx'd for weight loss when a person needs and anti-depressant. It also helps the sex-drive but that's another thread.
Walk. Get a pedometer. Park on the South 40 in the parking lot. Walk the opposite direction in the store as to where your items are. Walk your neighborhood. Level at first, then add hills, up and down. Add hand and ankle weights as needed. There in Seattle you have some great walking areas. I used to live at the bottom of Dravis and got in shape enough to walk to the TOP of Dravis on Magnolia - 500ft elevation in 7 blocks.
Put away the rubber hose. You can stop beating yourself up for being overweight. You have my permission
Huge Hugs
Bren
