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Old 03-15-2007, 10:19 AM   #1  
On my way to 160!
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Hi All!

In reading over my journal entries over the last year, I have come to the realization that at least for me, MY FOOD PLAN seems to be the key to my weight loss more than the exercise that I do. I have exercised DAILY for the last seven years, but MY FOOD PLAN has been the deciding factor in whether or not I have gained weight, lost weight, or maintained weight.

I don't plan to quit exercising, and I don't plan to stop lifting weights. I will continue to mix it up and do all kinds of different exercise such as walking, Turbo Jam, yoga, Pilates, exercises "on the Ball", step routines, and cardio intervals. I will be adding HipHopAbs when it arrives, too! Yes, at 55 I will be HipHopping around with Shawn!

I know that I've read that the FOOD PLAN is very important. I'm interested in what all of you have discovered about this!

Cheryl
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Old 03-15-2007, 10:28 AM   #2  
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For me it`s the same.

For example, for the last three years I´ve been doing very physical work.
I would walk uneven fields at a fast clip, or dig holes through clay, or carry equipment around. I would do abut 6.5 to 7 hours or more of physical labor a day. 5 days a week. And then go to Pizza Hut, or McD´s or In´n Out and eat like a 17 year old boy.

Imagine how I would look if I ate healthy!
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Old 03-15-2007, 10:41 AM   #3  
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Well I can't tell you exactly how it is for me. Before Sept 4, 2006, I was eating horribly and totally inactive. Then I completely and totally changed my eating AND added exercise. I added the exercise slowly though. I have increased it lately to keep up with me, I don't want my weightloss to slow down.

I have read from several sources that in actuality it is 80% food and 20% exercise.

Who knows for sure? But I agree, I really, really think for the most part eating properly is the key. Although I believe exercise is vital in burning calories and your overall fitness level. And in your frame of mind. It all goes hand in hand.
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Old 03-15-2007, 10:44 AM   #4  
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I read something like that too. It said weightloss was 75% what you eat and 25% how active you are. The basic point being that even if you exercise and burn calories.. if you are eating horribly and taking in more calories than you are burning then you won't lose weight. Not to mention that even when you do have an active job your body becomes used to the amount of activity you are doing. You are right to change it up with different exercises.
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Old 03-15-2007, 11:10 AM   #5  
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Cheryl,

First off, I have not gotten to your other thread yet during my playing catch-up, but CONGRATUATIONS ON ONEDERLAND! That is such a huge accomplishment! You inspire me so much because so often I see and read on the internet about twenty to twenty-five year olds losing 100 plus pounds and with me being forty, I worry about whether or not age and gravity will even allow me to get down to the weight I would like to be. You are proof that it can happen! Thank you!

Changing my eating was so important! The workouts are also important, but I used to look at food so much differently. I've done things slowly this time; started with food changes for several weeks before even adding in the exercise, and the result of that is that I feel like this is permanent this time. I don't think I can ever go back to what I was doing before....Thank God!
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Old 03-15-2007, 11:14 AM   #6  
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Cheryl, I've come to the same conclusion. Yet at the same time, I'm a former "athlete" (I use that loosely, in the beginning of my high school days I ran track and threw the shot put, and was on the swim team for awhile), it was different for me back then. I had a LOT of muscle and I ate like a maniac but didn't gain.

That's a little different, though. I've stayed active over time, just not as much. I'd stomp my feet and whine when I didn't lose weight and exercised, but I was binging almost daily. My food plan is SO MUCH more important to my weight loss at this point, I think. But lately I haven't been losing at all, so I'm trying to reevaluate.

As a sidenote, I *do* find that I'm much less likely to reach for the extra treat after dinner or at the TV when I've exercised. It's like, all that work for nothing? C'mon, get a grip, you don't want to have "wasted" that hour and a half of your life for a stupid cookie! In that respect, exercise is a little bit on a more even plane than the "statistics" (80/20, which is what I've heard too).

And congrats again on onederland! Hip hob abs, eh? Let us know how that is!
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Old 03-15-2007, 11:28 AM   #7  
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Default That is interesting, Cheryl.

I have been slowly added exercise into my plan. I do think the food we eat is so impotant. The exercise may not move the scales but it does so many other good things for our bodies and spirit. (I am convincing myself or this because to be perfectly honest Ireally don't enjoy it yet. Hopefully it is coming! )
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Old 03-15-2007, 01:45 PM   #8  
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I always tell people "weight loss is 80% what you eat.." I'm sure people want to tell me to shut up I say it so often. I always seem to gain from exercise, so thats the last thing I add in.

Cheryl - congrats on reaching onederland, you are really doing SO great! I am happy for you

-Aimee
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Old 03-15-2007, 01:49 PM   #9  
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I agree that the food plan is the most important part of losing weight. However, exercise is the most important part of how your body will look as you're losing. There are a lot of normal weight people with too much body fat.
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Old 03-15-2007, 01:57 PM   #10  
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I am new here so I feel a little strange joining in but I agree that the food is important than the exercise. I have been exercising almost daily for the last four years but I really notice a drop in the scale when I eat right.
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Old 03-15-2007, 02:18 PM   #11  
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I, too, am coming to this conclusion. When I exercise regularly, I do lose, but only up to a point. Food adjustment is key...and for me, not just calorie adjustment, but food quality adjustment.
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Old 03-15-2007, 02:36 PM   #12  
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Welcome, Grammy! Don't feel strange about jumping right in; that's how we get to know each other!

I can't really and totally bring myself to say that the eating is more important than the exercise. Especially when having to lose a great deal of weight and I say that for a couple of reasons that have been true for me.

1. If I'm working out while eating right, there is probably less chance of having so much flabby skin when I'm finished losing weight.
2. Exercise gives me more energy and distracts me from eating when I'm not really hungry.
3. When I do want that extra little fattening treat, maybe once a week if that, I can do it and not feel like my scale is going to show that I did it, because I have been exercising.

For me, the two things really and truly go hand in hand. What has amazed me about eating better is that I am very rarely hungry! There is always something healthy I can reach for when hunger hits and I love that. It takes away the deprivation element.
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Old 03-15-2007, 03:58 PM   #13  
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I've found this to be true as well. I lost 50 pounds in 2001 doing WW without exercising much at all, but it took me longer and I didn't get as small as I did after losing 50 pounds this time. Your body changes more when you exercise, obviously. I do notice that a lot of people who haven't had to lose significant amounts of weight sometimes think they can eat whatever they want if they exercise. A girl I sometimes run with thinks this. She says that since she runs now (even though she usually only does it once a week), she feels like she can eat whatever she wants. She wants to drop a few pounds, but she's not heavy. Even though running burns tons of calories, it obviously won't make up for the kazillion calories in the ice cream or cheesecake she feels entitled to after a long run. People have even asked me why I still watch what I eat when I'm running all the time. "Running will take the weight off anyway," someone said. Hmm...not if I throw down thousands of calories every day. As much as I've learned to love exercise just for the sake of exercise and not just as a weight loss tool, I still would hate to burn all those calories for nothing!! Know what I mean?
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Old 03-15-2007, 04:03 PM   #14  
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Well, this is an area where it really is so very different for everybody. When I don't exercise, my scales don't move....even when I follow my food plan 100%. Of course, I'm menopausal and have insulin resistance...I'm not sure how much this contributes. I've tried many diets over the last two years and the scales don't move without some 'movement' of this body!
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Old 03-15-2007, 04:06 PM   #15  
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Well me it was the opposite.I was eating right with NO exercise.I lost a little at first,but then I just stopped.So,I joined Curves and the weight is just falling off.So,I guess it both food and exercise together that makes it work.Great Job on your weight loss!
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