How did you lose weight?

[stepcutgirl]

Hey guys. I need to lose at a minimum 50 lbs. I have a foot condition that won''t allow too much exercise, even walking leaves me laid up for days. I''ve found a glider that doesn''t worsen my foot condition and I''ve been using it for 20 minutes a day for the past week. My eating habits are not terrible...but not very good. While I''m disgusted with how I look and feel my resolve to change it is not not as strong as I''d like it. I''m your typical super motivated one day and couldn''t care less the next.

For those of you who have lost a large amount of weight, how did you do it? What did you do to keep motivated? Did you ever feel like I do where your disgusted...but comfortable?

 

[White Orchid]

Let me start by saying that my weight loss goal is 30 pounds and I''m only about a third of the way there. I struggled for years to figure out how to lose weight and now that it''s finally working I feel I can share what''s been working for me.

I''ve been tracking how many calories I eat every day and how many I use up exercising. My daily net calorie goal is 1250. No, that''s not a lot of food - but the good news is the more I work out, the more I''m allowed to eat for that day. I''ve also been watching what I eat. No fast food, light snacks, no dessert most nights. The biggest challenge has been not allowing myself to drink anything besides water or herbal teas. The other night I splurged and drank a glass of milk! I haven''t appreciated milk that much in years!

Good luck on your weight loss! It''s not easy, but it''s so rewarding!

 

[BeachRunner]

Hello Stepcutgirl! Honestly, there is no secret to losing weight. Diet and exercise are it. Easy, right? I wish! Whether you need to lose 5 pounds or 50, or just maintain weight; its takes a lot of work. When it comes to diet, portion control and moderation is key. There is a ton of food advice on these forums, and just so much to discuss. If you have a specific question, let us know! Find an exercise routine that you can stick with. Since you are just beginning, try 30 min of cardio three times per week, and go from there. You can incorporate strength training to help tone your muscles. Also remember that rest is just as important as a good workout! If you choose to join a gym, I guarantee any trainer can write up a exercise program geared towards your goals.

the DONT''s of weight loss:
1. diet pills. please stay away.
2. cutting out whole food groups (unless medically necessary). like I said before, portion control and moderation
3. fad diets (grapefruit, Atkins, etc) the key to weight loss and maintenance is a whole lifestyle change, and no one can live on those fad diets forever!

 

[neatfreak]

Do you keep a food journal? I think it's pretty unbelievable to see how many calories you are eating even when you think you are eating ok. Try sparkpeople.com and keep track of everything that passes your lips-and measure it! I bet you'll be surprised. I was VERY surprised to see how much I was eating-all while thinking that I wasn't eating much at all.

As for the motivation- I hate to say this but one day you just need to wake up and want to be healthy more than you want to eat that brownie (or whatever). I do find it's hard to motivate yourself until you are at that point. I'm losing 30 lbs of baby weight (had twins) right now-it's a lot easier said than done for sure. I've lost 10 so far and honestly most of that was due to watching what I am eating (within reason of course because I am breastfeeding). But I have hardly been to the gym at all.

 

[marcy]

Hi Stephcutgirl. I don''t know if you know my story or not but I have lost over 1/2 of my body weight. I used to be morbidly obese and now to look at me you''d think I was as normal as anyone. To lose over 160 pounds I ate 1200 calories a day and I couldn''t do a darn thing exercise wise at first. As I lost the weight I began to do basic stretches found at the following website. I was so unhealthy I really took it very easy. The easiest thing for me to do was try to walk a bit more when I could. I used to need pain pills to go grocery shopping. I could not walk or stand for any duration at all but now I can walk for hours and use a treadmill. Baby steps will get you there. Set small goals, focus on getting healtier. Sparkpeople is a great resource. You can track your food, get suggestions for exercise and the support teams there are awesome.

I found if I eat 6 times a day; small meals or snacks I don''t get hungry. I stay motivated because I used to be so unhealthy I was a heart beat away from a stroke, heart attack and a wheel chair.

I had very bad feet and knees (now they are better but certainly not cured) so I looked for exercises I could do setting down. You can get in stretches out of a chair. Good luck.
http://www.womensheart.org/content/Exercise/Exercise.asp

You might consider joining the HLT group. We have everyone there from beginners to people just wanting to be healthier but everyone is very helpful and supportive.

Let me know if I can be of any help.
Marcy

 

[bee*]

I want to lose about 70lbs and I''m about half way there now. For me, I went to a trainer in the gym and she''s a b**ch. I had seen her about a year before and she had my chart from then and I''d put on weight since that time and she gave out to me (so much so that I cried all the way home). I''m a big fan of tough love though and what she had to say made sense and she kind of gave me a kick up the rear end. Since that time, I''ve been going to the gym 3-4 times a week and my eating has totally changed. I have to meet up with her every 4-6 weeks and the night I meet her I''m allowing myself a treat but no treats other than that. The biggest motivation for me is my wedding which is 2 months away so that keeps me going (plus the thought of my next weigh in with the trainer always makes me go to the gym). I think it''s like NF said, you just have to want to be healthy more than you want the brownie. It is hard but I think the more you get into it the easier it becomes.

 

[marcy]

I agree wtih Bee the more you get in to your routine the easier it becomes until that is more of your daily, normal habits.

 

[stepcutgirl]

Thank you all for sharing. I have hooked up with a good friend of mine who lost 85 lbs last year and she is sort of mentoring me if that makes sense. She said what you did bee that if you make small changed and see results it makes you want to make more changes and excites you to keep upping the game so you continue to see results. I''m excited!

 

[bee*]

That''s great that you''ve hooked up with your friend and she''s helping you. It really does get easier-I''m only 9 weeks into it and I''m eating and exercising so differently than I was beforehand. I just needed that kick up the ass from the trainer! Best of luck and let us know how you get on!

 

[marcy]

Date: 4/19/2009 12:52:35 PM
Author: stepcutgirl
Thank you all for sharing. I have hooked up with a good friend of mine who lost 85 lbs last year and she is sort of mentoring me if that makes sense. She said what you did bee that if you make small changed and see results it makes you want to make more changes and excites you to keep upping the game so you continue to see results. I''m excited!

That is great to have a friend mentoring you and help you out. Good luck. Keep in touch.

 

[babygirl]

SCG, it''s wonderful that you''re taking control of your health.

Hang in there- once you start seeing results, things get a lot easier!

In the past, I''ve used running to help me lose weight and get in better shape. Since you said you have a foot condition, might swimming (or water aerobics) be a way to get in your cardio? I usually eat fairly healthy and have never actively dieted, so cardio has made all the difference in the world for me. I''ve always been athletic but have never really enjoyed running- I view it as a necessary evil!

Personally, it''s always taken 3-4 weeks to get into a routine where I finally don''t mind lacing up my shoes and going for a run. I have a hard time getting myself focused in the beginning.. and a considerably easier time thinking of things I''d rather do instead of work out. Best of luck to you in your weight loss journey. I hope others have some good suggestions for you!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

The secret to weight loss isn''t really a secret. It''s common sense. It''s a matter of calories in versus calories out and self-accountability. Write down every drop, crumb, and morsel that goes in your mouth and get moving every day. Make sure your plate is 1/2 green or colorful vegetables (corn does not count), 1/4 protein and 1/4 good, whole grain carbs (corn counts here). And water water water!

 

[KimberlyH]

I lost 70+ lbs. over 6 years ago. I started by going to WW, but it wasn''t a good fit for me (I didn''t want to spend an hour a week talking about food, I needed to stop obsessing about it, not think about it more). I took the principles I learned there and applied them. Eat right, within a normal calorie range (1400-1600 or so a day for me), and exercise.

I gained some weight back over time, started counting calories religiously and lost 15 pounds, which I''ve managed to keep off for 2 years or so.

Food was/is 85 percent of it for me. Exercise has been great for feeling good and healthy, but to get the weight off changing what I ate was what I needed to do (and most people I talk to fall into the same catagory).

 

[AmberGretchen]

I"m in a very similar boat to Kim, and did almost the same things to lose weight. I lost 50 lbs about two years ago, and about 10 of them have come back, and now I''m working hard to get them back. Definitely ditto on tracking what you eat though - I really think that that is the simplest but most helpful thing you can do when losing weight. All the doctors I talked to agreed - weight loss is about 85-90% what you eat, and very little about how much you exercise, because very few people can exercise enough to burn enough calories to actually lose weight.

Its great that you have a friend to mentor you - that is so important. I wish you the very best of luck with your weight loss goals - come back and tell us how its going!

 

[PaulaW]

OMG, stepcut, you could not have started this thread at a better time. I am in the exact same boat as you!
I have tried so many diets and failed, it''s sad. I have gotten to the point where I HAVE to do something. I''m 33 and on blood pressure medication which I can''t stand. I need to lose about 75 pounds so it''s not going to be easy, but maybe we can check in here together and motivate each other! I love that you hooked up with a friend who has done what you want to do. I''m sure she will be an invaluable resource for you!
All of you have such great stories and suggestions. Marcyc, Kim, and Amber, your posts really hit home for me, it must feel so good to have lost such significant amounts!

 

[dragonfly411]

stepcut- I''m going to tell you what I''ve done and also offer up some ideas for you considering your foot

I lost 45lbs btw last year.

Diet wise, I would recommend first of all making sure you get lots of vegetables and fruits. These make up a vast majority of my diet. Cut out as much fatty meat as you can and stick to lean meats and proteins (chicken... fish... light cheeses...beans). Eggs are good too. Switch to whole grains. I can''t stress this enough, they are much much better for you, and help you to avoid diabetes caused by sugar spiking white flours.

As to exercise, I have done a lot of walking, jogging (not for you), crunches ( you can do those), squats and lunges (again not sure if you''d like those) bridge (you could do that it''s on the ground). You could try yoga they have many moves that rely on weight elsewhere.

The MAIN THING I thought of when I read your post was swimming!!! Swimming is a huge huge toner and calorie burner and you wouldn''t have to worry about bearing weight on your foot! You can do swimming itself (laps) kicking exercises, weight moves with your arms, squats that would work your leg muscles without putting pressure on your foot... so many water things!

 

[OneAngryElf]

Good for your for starting!!!! You''ve got to start somewhere.

I gained almost 35 pounds in college and finally decided to lose weight about 1 1/2 years ago. My FSIL and I worked out together and tried to stick to healthier eating. A lot of people on here are saying that exercise doesn''t matter as much but I have to say that for me, exercise makes a HUGE difference.

Once I was working out 3-5 times a week, I had way more energy to cook healthy meals and be healthier throughout the day. It''s harder for me to eat horrible food if I just worked out. And a lot of times, I only work out for about 20 minutes.

I am a HUGE believer in Bill Philips and his Body For Life program. It consists of doing aerobic training, strength training and eating smaller meals throughout the day to satisfy hunger (they''re supposed to be a balance of protein, carbs and healthy fat with plenty of veggies throughout the day).

He''s got a great challenge called the Transformation Challenge that focuses on emotional changes, not just the physical ones, to help you find out why you are overeating and hindering weight loss. You could also win $10,000 for yourself and $10,000 for a charity of your choice if you take part in the challenge. It''s also a great weight-loss community with really supportive members. (www.transformation.com)

Best of luck!!! I hope you find something that works for you!!

 

[stepcutgirl]

Thank you everyone for responding! Paula-what do you plan to do to lose weight? Where do you live? Maybe we should start a progress type thread.

 

[queenkaren]

Swimming is a great exercise if you have pain in certain areas, since it''s so low impact. And you can burn as much or more calories than running!

Also, avoid corn syrup. Corn syrup is not only bad for your liver, but it makes you feel less full which makes you eat more.