Buying bigger pants is probably not the right answer...

[Lorelei]

Ha - I remembered the 8 bananas bit correctly!

 

[Mara]

lol that diet sounds nasty!!! hehee.

i definitely like the mild detox thing better. i don''t understand where people come up with these CRAZY diets. eat grapefruit for a week and you''ll lose weight? well hope you don''t plan to actually DO anything in that 7 days because your body can''t really survive and move around on just grapefruit, hehee.

i definitely believe in more moderation, eating good stuff for you, doesn''t have to be BLAND. i love seasonings as much as the next person but it''s super easy to throw some salt and pepper on a fish and grill it on the stove with some fresh salsa on it. i actually LIKE finding healthy ways to remake old dishes or love when we find something that tastes REALLY AWESOME that is not loaded with calories and fat. we made a turkey lasagna last week that greg just loved. he wanted it again and again!!

oh and DJ i wanted to say about the whole clothes thing...this is kind of a funny anecdote. since i lost the 4 clothing sizes, okay so first off i was a 10 to begin with. not a monster huge thing, and i am like 5''7" so it was carried all pretty well and i had big boobies. now i am much thinner and my boobies are too (i finally was able to go buy a push up PADDED bra, i have never worn one in my life!! its interesting and does amazing things!)...but also i find myself totally more open to fashion and clothes. well who i am i kidding, i was open to fashion and clothes before. but now i feel like ''wow i can actually wear that strange skimpy laced top and not look like a heff in it!''...so i have gotten more adventurous with my wardrobe (though i''m still pretty conservative)...and i wear HEELS more too which is really funny! i have never ever been a heeled girl, more flip flops. but now i am like well with jeans heels look FAB and they dress up whatever i am wearing and make me look taller and thinner at the same time, total bonus. so i wear heels to work with jeans and sweaters/tops/jackets almost every day!!! it''s so different from my old shoe routine. anyway...i wanted to say that you totally feel more motivated when you finally see some real changes in your body, it can take a while (do not trust that scale by the way, it tends to lie and then you will feel discouraged. take your measurements NOW and then keep taking them like once a week or something to see how your body is changing! it''s very exciting)..and then you can start to get super jazzy with clothes. i remember your post about all those sweaters you have in your closet, well at some point soon you won''t want to hide under big sweaters anymore. i realized i also used to buy my clothes all a bit too big for me. nothing spectacular, just didn''t want anything SUPER form fitting to show my slightly unfit belly or similar. now i get the RIGHT size or sometimes a bit smaller because many times things stretch a bit and you don''t want to wear baggy clothes when you feel hot. hahaha. so anyway, just a few words of widsom since i just experienced the whole clothes revolution again (to my hubby''s chagrin...aka it was ''when are you going to stop buying new clothes?!) with my smaller bod. it''s fun!!!!!! good luck gal and stick with it. you will never regret it in the long-run.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Wait -- you were a TEN and you lost FOUR sizes so now you''re a TWO?!? I came out of the womb bigger than a 2 and I''m only 5 feet tall...

What parts should I measure BTW?

 

[gail013]

Everything Mara says about clothes is true when you feel better about yourself. After I lost the weight, I went on a MAJOR shopping spree, I felt like I was on the ''What not to wear'' show, and was it ever fun. Most of the old stuff went away to be donated, and getting dressed was so much fun with a new wardrobe. I am now a sz 8-10 depending, and happy with that. Being a sz 4-6 would be nice but way too hard for me. I don''t like exercise THAT much.

 

[Mara]

lol DJ i meant from 10-6...!! So it's either 4 if you count #'s or 2 if it's 10 to 8 to 6. But right now I am borderline 4. So maybe it's 3 or 6? LOL! either way..10-6ish4. hehehe.

I was a two in the womb too so no worries there.

I just went to Loehmanns for a treat (gosh that happens way too often!!) and got 2 pairs of jeans and a cute short little ruffled cord army green jacket...the best part is the jeans are a size smaller than the last pair i bought, woo hoo. i haven't been this small since about college age!

so hard work DOES pay off!!! i'm living PS proof.

 

[Shay37]

DeeJay, I would also just once go over to that gym and try out the exercise stuff before I bought a machine of any type. What others might love might be tedious beyond words for you. Find a machine that you love, and see if it''s worth the investment. It only works if you do it. I know believe me. I have one in my dining room that I love, I am also waiting for a replacement part for the foot so that I can get back on it. I only did ten minutes a day for a week to start, and then built up from there. I found that 15 minutes every day was easier for me than 30 minutes 3 times a week. Exercise is a four letter word as far as I am concerned, so i have to trick myself with it.

shay

 

[Cheekyprincess]

Yeah I stuck with it fairly well. I would have a cup of coffee with a little bit of whole milk and 1.5 sugars everyday (without this I couldn''t do it) I also drank no fruit juice but as much diet coke and soda water as I wanted, as well as plenty of water with lemon juice.

Day one I would eat soup, vegies whatever I wanted but not potato, pumpkin, or sweet pot. Fruit (no banana). I would generally have a punnet of strawberries or blueberries and a mango.

Day two... vegies I would cook in pasta sauce, soup, a tiny boiled potato for my dinner, Soup (not sick of it yet).

Day 3...same as day one

Day 4... I would only eat 3 bananas- one with each meal. Also soup and whatever vegies as in day one.

Day 5... I dont like tomatoes so did the veges in a tomato pasta sauce and one small (100g) of steak.

day 6... Beef again only 100g (tiny steak) I let myself eat whatever fruit and veg I want didn''t bother with soup

Day 7... I just ate healthy, veges, fruit. Didn''t bother with the rice.

Yes it worked for me. Yes I am sick of the soup. I have no cravings anymore, have dropped a clothes size. Find it easy to live without bread, rice, too much pasta. I don''t even want to look at chocolate. I can spend the whole day shopping and running around town without giving in to junk food.

 

[rainbowtrout]

Hm. Short of recommending you catch my parasite, I don't know of any quick fixes for dropping 10-20 lbs. I don't believe in cabbage soup diets or wierd don't eat this, don't eat that. Eat whole grains, lots of produce, limited amounts of dairy and meat, and no processed food. Your body will thank you. As some people have mentioned, cutting out corn syrup and refined sugar is a biggie as well.

If you really, truly cannot abide exercizing: I have a friend who is overweight, and she has dropped two pants sizes just by changing the way she eats and making a point of walking around the neighborhood for 30 minutes each day.

Some people also just hate gyms. Walking outside, playing frisbee or soccer, biking--all good things to do that don't involve a gym.

This may inspire hatred, but I think if you can watch a movie or read while excerizing, you aren't doing it right. Music, OK, but much than that and you ain't paying attention and may hurt yourself.

I've been very into free weights lately, and I cannot say enough good about them. Being weak in the arms is a potential injury point for all women when we want to do something as simple as lift a couch or a chair, and the only solution is weights. It also helps bone denisty. Even 20 mins a day three times a week will make a big differance. Plus, when you gain muscle it burns calories even when sitting around on your butt.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Rainbowtrout - LOL about the parasite. And don't think I haven't thought about it!!!

Honestly, I've come to the conclusion that I need to improve both my eating habits and to also exercise if I'm going to achieve my goals. I am back on the Weight Watchers core plan, which has been successful for me and is doable becuase it's easy--as long as you eat the foods on the list you don't have to worry about counting points or calories or anything like that.

As for exercise, I am going over to the gym in my complex in the next hour and taking a test run on the eliptical machine to see how I feel about the whole experience. Also, one of my clients suggested a certain form of yoga to me where they turn the heat up really high (I can't remember the name of it at the moment--senility at 36 is a terrible thing... ) and when I was telling my husband about it he said that his physical therapist recommended it to him too. (He's seeing a PT because his ankle is screwed up from long distance running.) He said that he would try that with me, so all I have to do is find a class.

I do (did) have some free weights bout when I went to look for them yesterday they were MIA. If I don't find them soon I might buy some more because at least that is something I could do at home and I would have no excuse not to do it since they would be right here and totally accessible.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/17/2006 11:21:56 AM
Author: Dee*Jay
Rainbowtrout - LOL about the parasite. And don''t think I haven''t thought about it!!!

Honestly, I''ve come to the conclusion that I need to improve both my eating habits and to also exercise if I''m going to achieve my goals. I am back on the Weight Watchers core plan, which has been successful for me and is doable becuase it''s easy--as long as you eat the foods on the list you don''t have to worry about counting points or calories or anything like that.

As for exercise, I am going over to the gym in my complex in the next hour and taking a test run on the eliptical machine to see how I feel about the whole experience. Also, one of my clients suggested a certain form of yoga to me where they turn the heat up really high (I can''t remember the name of it at the moment--senility at 36 is a terrible thing... ) and when I was telling my husband about it he said that his physical therapist recommended it to him too. (He''s seeing a PT because his ankle is screwed up from long distance running.) He said that he would try that with me, so all I have to do is find a class.

I do (did) have some free weights bout when I went to look for them yesterday they were MIA. If I don''t find them soon I might buy some more because at least that is something I could do at home and I would have no excuse not to do it since they would be right here and totally accessible.

That reminds me of something I read about a ''tapeworm'' gum which was available in the sixties

The idea was that you purchased the gum which contained supposedly a tapeworm

, you chewed the gum, ingested the worm, who then proceeded to gobble up your food and therefore calories to make you lose weight! This is a true story!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Lorelei -- I was thinking about almost exactly the same thing, but I thought it was a pill! The article that I recall had some woman who thought, well, if one is good then two must be better, so she took two of them!!! Of course they didn''t tell people what the "miracle ingredient" was and it caused a lot of problems (no kidding!).

Believe me, I want to be thin, but this is not a route I''m willing to take. (Then again, six months from now if I''m eating good and working out and still fat I might be writing to this company asking for a piece of the gum, LOL.)

 

[Mara]

eww tapeworm gum? that''s just nasty!!!

rainbow, i don''t really agree on the ''it''s not doing it right if you aren''t suffering'' kind of mentality. i don''t believe that exercise has to be painful or totally mentally consuming to be ''effective''. basically for me it''s about a calorie burn and if i can achieve that without panting like a fiend, then fab. i like workouts too where you are totally consumed with what you are doing like when taking a kbox class or similar, but for me what helps mentally is a distraction as well. like i can do lizziec''s bootcamp in front of the TV while watching buffy and burn the same amount of calories in my kickboxing class so why not? hehee.

 

[Tybee]

As a distance runner who is not competing for "time" I''ve always heard that you should be able to have a conversation while you run.
I stand by that theory. I want to enjoy my runs, and I run for distance, not for time. A nice conversation really makes a long run more fun.

As far as work out machines, anything I can do to pass that time is welcome. I actually hate the whole hamster wheel feel of being on a machine, so I feel like I MUST read, watch something, or listen to music so that I don''t lose my mind and jump off the thing! Again, I''m not trying to burn a lot quickly, I''m happy to build endurance. I guess it''s all in the way you look at it.

I''m also a HUGE fan of free weights!

 

[bookworm21]

The heated yoga is call bikram yoga. I have a friend who used to do it all the time too, and she lost a ton of weight. But she broke out really badly because she didn''t wash her face afterwards, so if you do try that particular form of yoga, make sure you rinse your face after to avoid breakouts.

 

[Christa]

You're ALL right!

I think all the different diets and excercise programs exist because the same thing doesn't work for everyone. Yes, they are all about fewer calories in and more out, but none of them will work if you don't stick with them. Personally, I love carbs, and Adkins is never going to work for me. When I lost my 30 pounds almost 6 years ago I ate baked potatoes several times a week--very filling for under 200 calories. And I am never going to get in my car and drive the the gym to work out in a room full of strangers, and I can't even describe how much I hate to run. Instead, I get up an hour earlier almost every morning and take my dog for a 4-mile fast-walk.

I'm not saying that DeeJay or anyone else should do what I do--my point is that you need to figure what works for you and just do it. Get goin'!

 

[phoenixgirl]

I''m really glad I found this thread.

I was never unhappy with my size until about a year and a half ago when I outgrew all of my pants. So first I bought a bunch of new stuff in size 8. Then I got fed up and started working out and watching what I eat. This was made easier by the fact that it was the summer and I wasn''t working. I used the My Pyramid Tracker on the USDA website to calculate my nutritional information and how much energy I was consuming and burning. http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/ I definitely wouldn''t call my eating habits a diet. I''ve never believed in eliminating families of foods, but the pyramid did encourage me to eat more vegetables and fruits and try to avoid so many processed foods.

I walked briskly for about 45 minutes every other day and did The Firm videos on the interim days. I live in a tiny condo and was able to store the "Fanny Lifter" and weights pretty easily (the current fanny lifters are significantly wider, but mine is about 14 inches square). For all of you who hate the gym, I''m with you. To me, working out is not fun, and I have a pyschological aversion to doing it in front of strangers.

I didn''t lose too much weight because I gained so much muscle, but I lost a lot of inches and had to buy another set of new size 6 pants when it was all said and done. I also had some nice definition like in my shoulders.

Unfortunately then school started and it was just too hard to keep it up. Not having regular time when my husband was out of the house during the work year made me not want to do it since I basically took up the whole living room and neighbors could be coming and going.

But then the inches started going back on and I had to ditch all my new smaller pants for my less new bigger pants. Finally last month I decided I''d had enough and that I would have to work out in the mornings before my husband wakes up (luckily he is a heavy sleeper). I did The Firm twice, and then I got hit with this nasty cold. I still haven''t recovered, but I think I''m well enough to start it back up once I get home tomorrow.

Christmas was not a lot of fun because everyone seems confused by what size I am. I''m 5''5", 135 to 140 (honestly I just go based on how clothes fit so I don''t keep track of it), with more of a pear shape. My husband got me some XS tops. Yes, I have a small chest so I don''t need extra space, but my arms and shoulders are medium-sized. When I told him to buy me S or M in the future, he was very upset that he hadn''t gotten the right thing, but I just don''t know what he was thinking. When you weigh 100 pounds, you get XS, not when you are average-sized. And then my mom got me a cute pajama set that was size S, and the pants were just horrendous on me and barely fit over my rear. It was very demoralizing because nobody likes to try on clothes that don''t fit because you''re not as small as everything seems to think you are. Perhaps they thought I''d get a M and be offended and wonder why they thought I needed such a big size (not that M is a big size, but I''m just trying to figure it out), but it''s much worse to not be able to wear it.

My parents are so funny when it comes to weight. My mom was always a stick like Twiggy but my sister and I got my dad''s genes. My sister suffered from bulimia in college, but my parents were in denial about the seriousness of the situation. My dad would still comment that she needed to lose weight and they seemed to think she would just stop if she wanted to. So finally years later they seemed to realize that it''s a real concern. They had an addition put on the house, and I was visiting while this was being done. They called me in one day very concerned and asked me if I had bulimia. I said no, and they told me that someone had thrown up all over the bathroom that was being built so they wanted to make sure. I said it was probably one of the workmen, and my mom conceded that one of them hadn''t come back the next day. I''m glad they had finally seemed to "get" my sister''s problem, but now they were completely misinterpreting a situation in which a real bulimic would not have left a mess (I pointed this out, but they said they thought it might have been a cry for help). And then when I did get in shape a few years later, they didn''t notice, but now that I have gotten out of shape again, they always tell me how good I look, as though they''re afraid I''ll collapse in a heap of despair if they don''t affirm my body image. I figure this is why they buy me too-small clothes as well, afraid that a size too big will offend me. Again, I think this all goes back to my sister.

I bet you guys that next year everything I get will be at least one size too big because my parents will be mortally afraid of me trying on clothes that don''t fit again.

Honestly, I was pretty peeved because we all make a wish list on the internet, so even if my mom forgot that I wear a M on the bottom, she could have looked it up. And my husband just wasn''t thinking. I know he thinks of me as cute and little, but come on, out of all the sizes in the store I am not going to be the tiniest.

So anyway, now that my new clothes have me feel like I have fat arms and a fat bottom, I am resolved (again) to get back in shape.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Phoenixgirl, I''m sorry you sound so unhappy! I also got a few things yesterday that don''t fit (even though people bought the size I told them to buy), and I totally know what you mean about trying on things that are too small. My husband was like, hey, why don''t you put this on and see how it is. And I had to beg off and say that I would try everthing on later at one time so it would be easier. (Translation: I didn''t want him to see if anything didn''t fit!)

Why don''t you join the Weekly Workout Thread? Everyone on there is wonderfully supportive and I''ve gotten a lot of great tips. Plus, I find that if I commit to doing something on the thread I don''t want to have to come back later and confess that I didn''t do it. That has been the only thing that has actually gotten my big butt to the gym on more than one occasion, LOL.

BTW, I admire the fact that you can work out in the morning. I am SO not a morning person that I can''t even imagine it!

Don''t worry Phoenixgirl, you are definitely not alone!

 

[Mara]

pg i totally agree, come check out our weekly workout thread. it's not JUST for working out, it's for eating right too. it's kind of a combo thing. it's a lot of fun, it keeps me pretty motivated and i know it's helped others as well.

DJ..keep the stuff that's too small for you because chances are with the excellent way you have been going you can fit into them sooner rather than later! when i started dropping sizes it happened fairly all at once...i didn't have a lot to lose really i thought...just figured i'd drop a few lbs and get into an 8. i was just plugging away for a few months seeing body changes, but not a lot of scale change or clothes change...and then all of a sudden it was like BAM and i was A LOT smaller. and now a lot of my clothes seriously do not fit me in a flattering way. i've decided i'm going to sell a bunch of my AG jeans and juicy hoodies on ebay. i just can't keep them around hoping like they will magically shrink and i can fit into them. my closet is packed right now with clothes, so i just need to get rid of stuff and i've already bought some new ones that will fit so hopefully selling this stuff will offset a portion of the new clothes cost. haha.

 

[AdaBeta27]

re: Exercise Equipment

Dee Jay, I just wrote a dissertation on elliptical trainers (or lack thereof!) for petite women.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/anyone-own-an-elliptical-machine.57298/

I can never buy pants that fit, either. It's high time someone figured out that sometimes ya gotta shorten the rise for petites, instead of just take the lazy way out and cut 6" off the pant legs. 98% of the time, the waistband will hit halfway up my rib cage and the bottom of the pant legs are halfway up my shins. Do off-the-rack petite pants fit anyone out there??? It's a good thing I learned how to sew and tailor.

 

[poptart]

Date: 2/7/2007 11:15:02 PM
Author: AdaBeta27
re: Exercise Equipment


Dee Jay, I just wrote a dissertation on elliptical trainers (or lack thereof!) for petite women.


https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/anyone-own-an-elliptical-machine.57298/



I can never buy pants that fit, either. It''s high time someone figured out that sometimes ya gotta shorten the rise for petites, instead of just take the lazy way out and cut 6'' off the pant legs. 98% of the time, the waistband will hit halfway up my rib cage and the bottom of the pant legs are halfway up my shins. Do off-the-rack petite pants fit anyone out there??? It''s a good thing I learned how to sew and tailor.

Haha, funny you should ask. I just spent hours at the mall trying to find pants that fit, and they did not. The length was great, but the waist was all the way up my rib cage. My torso is short enough without doing THAT to it. I hate looking for pants...

*M*

 

[Dee*Jay]

Wow AdaBeta -- I just read your description in the other thread and that was AWESOME!

Another problem I find is the stupid arm things... My arms, coincidentally, are short, just like my legs (a feature of being 5 feet tall in general I suppose). If I hold on to those things they launch my body so far forward that I have actual smacked into the display thing. OWWWCH!!! And if I hold on to them at a lower point the motion is really awkward.

How come the whole world is taller than I am...

Poptart, so sorry about the pants. I find that most of the pants that fit me right now are low(er) rise--did you try those too?