The holidays got me inching back up to 200 pounds. Yikes!
Before Christmas, I set the goal of getting down to 180 by my birthday, which is at the end of February.
Lack of exercise is my biggest hurdle. If I'm working out, I tend to eat less. If I'm not working out, I just veg out with food. To help with that I've bought a ton of new exercise DVDs to keep things mixed up. (I love ebay!) I find I get bored if I do the same video over and over. I also bought an exercise ball and a new exercise/dance hoop.
I noticed during my last period that I was doing a lot of late night eating, which is the worst time for me in terms of getting a little crazy with the food. So I'm starting to make sure that I have a psyllium drink after dinner. (This was prescribed for me due to some digestion/intestional issues.) It makes me feel so full that I don't want to eat anymore. And it's an added incentive to make sure I drink it. I was also not doing that, and my body was feeling it.
So I've got 15 pounds to go. I'm very determined that I make this goal. I was over 200 pounds last May, and it's been very slow going to get the weight off. I know I can do it, I just need to plan my time a little better in order to do so.
I hope it's OK if I post weekly about my progress. I'm not good at talking about this. Weight is a *VERY* sensitive issue for me, but I'm starting to really talk about it, though it is hard.
One of my biggest motivators lately has been watching "The Biggest Loser". I realized that since I was cheering on these people on TV and I can also cheer myself on in the same process. I didn't make that connection for awhile, but now I see it loud and clear.
Before Christmas, I set the goal of getting down to 180 by my birthday, which is at the end of February.
Lack of exercise is my biggest hurdle. If I'm working out, I tend to eat less. If I'm not working out, I just veg out with food. To help with that I've bought a ton of new exercise DVDs to keep things mixed up. (I love ebay!) I find I get bored if I do the same video over and over. I also bought an exercise ball and a new exercise/dance hoop.
I noticed during my last period that I was doing a lot of late night eating, which is the worst time for me in terms of getting a little crazy with the food. So I'm starting to make sure that I have a psyllium drink after dinner. (This was prescribed for me due to some digestion/intestional issues.) It makes me feel so full that I don't want to eat anymore. And it's an added incentive to make sure I drink it. I was also not doing that, and my body was feeling it.
So I've got 15 pounds to go. I'm very determined that I make this goal. I was over 200 pounds last May, and it's been very slow going to get the weight off. I know I can do it, I just need to plan my time a little better in order to do so.
I hope it's OK if I post weekly about my progress. I'm not good at talking about this. Weight is a *VERY* sensitive issue for me, but I'm starting to really talk about it, though it is hard.
One of my biggest motivators lately has been watching "The Biggest Loser". I realized that since I was cheering on these people on TV and I can also cheer myself on in the same process. I didn't make that connection for awhile, but now I see it loud and clear.
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SF Bay Area
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Re: Goal 1 - 180
Wed, January 9, 2008 - 12:41 PM<<I hope it's OK if I post weekly about my progress. I'm not good at talking about this. Weight is a *VERY* sensitive issue for me, but I'm starting to really talk about it, though it is hard. >>
Of course it's okay!!! and truthfully reading about others progress is just more motivation to get off my duff and do something!!! So thank you for posting!!!
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Re: Goal 1 - 180
Wed, January 9, 2008 - 5:11 PMYup! Absolutely okay, that's what this group was really created for. To share your fears, progress, success and failures amongst those who can help, listen, encourage and support!
Lots of us had our own "progress threads" last year (I think I had 3). Think its about time to start a new one for 2008!
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Re: Goal 1 - 180
Mon, January 14, 2008 - 12:58 PMI've only lost .5 pounds since my last post. I'm trying not to get sad about it, but I do.
I'm going to measure myself tomorrow as well to see if anything in that area has changed and not solely rely on the number on the scale.
The exercise is going well. I've worked out 3 times in last week, and have kept my steps above 10,000 every day. I've been using this Cardio Walk DVD which I thought would be fairly easy, but is kicking my butt. I'm learning to like squats, which I always used to have problems with due to knee problems.
And I've also been paying attention to my eating and how/when/type of hunger I have. I'm not keeping a food journal, but often think about it. Do any of you use one? How does it work for you? -
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Re: Goal 1 - 180
Mon, January 14, 2008 - 1:14 PMI tried to keep a food journal but found that I got more depressed about it then anything else. Mostly cause my budget at the time only allowed for unhealthy but substantial food. Hmmm. Maybe I should try it again.
And dont get down about the number on the scale. When I was working out a lot and dancing alot that number got bigger!! but everything else got smaller and that because I losing fat and building muscle. And that is a good thing!!!! -
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Re: Goal 1 - 180
Mon, January 14, 2008 - 4:01 PMWell, first off, its only been a few days! Give your body a chance to get working again!
Second, what Tuffy said. Go by your measurements and by how your clothes are fitting.
Also, what REALLY works, but is slightly horrifying, take a picture of yourself in your undies: front, back and sides. Take a new pic every 3-4 weeks and you be able to SEE the progress. Even when I didn't see much change in measurements, I could see a change in the photos.
But if you're like me, it can be rough to look at those pics. They do work as good motivation, though. -
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Re: Goal 1 - 180
Tue, January 15, 2008 - 9:23 AMI try not to be obessed with the scale. I weigh myself only once a month.
Also, how is your water intake? It's amazing what drinking 8 glasses of water a day will do.
Besides making you go to the bathroom every five minutes. But seriously, your body adjusts and you won't be making those trips so often. -
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Re: Goal 1 - 180
Tue, January 15, 2008 - 10:56 AMOh boy do I drink water! Though I have started to keep a tally of how many times I drain my water bottle at work. That way I *know* I've gotten enough water during the day.
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Re: Goal 1 - 180
Tue, January 15, 2008 - 4:54 PMExercise videos - If anyone has Blockbuster online or Netflix, you can get DVD's that way too...and if you like them (and you don't have a problem with this sort of thing), you can "back them up," or use it as a chance to review DVD's you might want to buy. My collection is groooooowwwwwwiiiiinggggggg.
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Update 2/11/08
Mon, February 11, 2008 - 12:39 PMWell, it's been hard to reach this goal. I haven't posted in awhile and my weight has slowly been creeping back up. I weighed in at 200 pounds over the weekend. YIKES! It's supposed to go down, not up.
I've been slowly adding in exercise. I've been in the all or nothing camp and that hasn't gotten me anywhere by exhausted. Last week, the goal was to walk to and from BART every day. It's a 20-25 minute walk each way. That's almost an hour of light exercise.
This week, in addition to the BART walks, I'm shooting for 20 mins a day of this cardio walk DVD I have. It really gets my heart rate up and I'm breaking a sweat in the first 5 minutes.
I'm thinking I'm going to have to start a food journal. I really don't want to because it just seems like an anal process and I don't want to be any more structured than I already am. But then again, maybe it will help. Do any of you have any experience with keeping a food journal that you can share with me? -
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Re: Update 2/11/08
Mon, February 11, 2008 - 2:26 PMThere are several free ones online that I've used, sparkpeople.com is my favorite so far. Its a bit more work at first, because you have to look a lot of foods up or enter them yourself, but once you create your favorite foods list (things you eat the most often) it goes pretty quickly. After doing it for a few weeks you may find you don't need to track as much as you start to know what foods you can and can't eat. -
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Re: Update 2/11/08
Tue, February 12, 2008 - 5:42 AMAnother one is Fit Day
www.fitday.com/
Food journals are diffiicult, but like with any new habit, you just gotta do it. If you do it religiously for 3 weeks, it will be come a habit. And it really helps.
I think a lot of people gain and/can't get rid of the weight is that they are not consious about what they eat. To spend time weighing and measuring your food and writing down what you eat, then to slowly eat your meal - you then start thinking about what your eating and it helps you make better choices.
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Re: Update 2/11/08
Tue, February 12, 2008 - 11:31 AMwww.mypyramidtracker.gov/default.htm
I strongly recommend this site. It allows you to track your physical activity level and enter frequently eaten food. Since you can enter frequent activities and foods eaten, it takes a while the first few times you use it but becomes fast and easy as you use it more. It also helps you determine what supplements (if any) you might need to take. -
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Re: Update 2/11/08
Tue, February 12, 2008 - 4:43 PMIs the pyramid tracker going to tell me that I need to eat meat.... or consume dairy?
As its a dot gov website, I'm not sure I trust it entirely.... the food pyramid is grossly out of proportion, IMHO.
Veganism aside, (almost) no one needs to eat as much meat as the pyramid suggests. eeeew. -
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Re: Update 2/11/08
Tue, February 12, 2008 - 6:05 PMOh, well I am almost vegan myself. Just disregard the pyramid and use the nutrient calculation table, which is really excellent, the pyramid is bogus. I input beans and it takes that as meat, but for some reason it does not like it that there is never milk in my input. This is a flaw with the site, but I think it is useful software, as long as you disregard the pyramid. Somebody should point this out to them, I can get perfect nutrition (from their own calculated daily requirements) but it still tells me to drink my milk....just ignore that part of it. I guess they have not figured out that one can get calcium from kale and broccoli!
I started using it not to lose weight but to figure if I was getting my nutrients from the food I eat. I am never consistent about taking supplements. Interestingly enough, I get plenty of protein, calcium and iron (I eat lots of brassicas veggies and beans). However, I usually lack vitamin E (unless I am eating lots of nuts, but nuts have so many calories). Also my b12 is too low of course, so I need to supplement for b12.
It is more of a guideline really as far as nutrients, but it gives you something to go on, if a nutrient reads very low, it will probably be too low RDA or not RDAs....so that can be useful to know. RDAs are too high for protein, but too low for fiber for example. Also, in my case, any cholesterol is too much cholesterol (genetics). -
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Re: Update 2/11/08
Wed, February 13, 2008 - 12:59 PMI just stopped eating wheat on a consistent basis- now it's like 1 time every 2 weeks.
My bf is allergic to it anyway, and to be honest, I tend to feel sleepy when I eat it.
That, combined with an hour of exercise a day has dropped me by 3 pounds in the past two weeks. Reducing the alcohol intake helps too.
I also feel WAY better when I snack instead of eating huge meals.
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