I have been reading a lot of posts, here and at a couple of other weight loss sites and almost all of them bring me to tears. I feel so much empathy and compassion for all of you, my sisters in this journey-I remember feeling so depressed and most of all frustrated -I WAS eating less and less AND making GOOD food choices -and yet I wasn't losing much weight. I felt there must be a secret key that I didn't know about.
Well, it isn't really secret, but I have found, over the years as I lost weight and KEPT it off for 30 years (and now gaining back 10 and losing it again)- that for me the "secret" really truly is EXERCISE!
It IS a "magic pill" - it just takes an hour a day to take!!!
I fought it at first too- I thought I WAS exercising - but found that 20/30 minutes of cardio was simply not enough!
I almost feel you have to trust me on this - or someone else who has lost and maintained. I have NEVER met any adult who is truly slim AND fit and healthy for any length of time who doesn't work out. It is impossible. AND YES, IT will be hard and you will probably be exhausted and discouraged and you will no doubt NOT like it at first. BUT PLEASE, just trust me and work through it PLEASE, TOUGH it out for a few weeks - IT WILL get easier!
You have to get to a point where you are seriously working out about 45 minutes to an hour a day 5/6 days a week. Through 30 years of helping others lose weight this is what I have found - that is what it takes. And NOT wimpy strolls either - you need to move at your target heart rate - you need to breath hard and sweat!
People in America are dieting and dieting and taking pills and eating less and less and NOT losing weight...They ARE NOT keeping it off - clearly they aren't suceeding because they aren't doing something right. I am positive they aren't exercising enough.
For me it was running - maybe for you it will be something else. I choose running because it was the exercise I could do on my own time rather than a class, I could do anywhere I was and the calories burned for minutes preformed were high. I had three kids when I started and then 4, 5, 6 and 7 while I was running. I didn't have time to mess around!
BTW, I HATED running at first. I gasped, I choked, I had to use my inhaler a lot...I threw up a couple of times. IT was so horrific I thought I was going to die. BUT I was so desperate to lose that weight that I trusted my husband who swore I wasn't exercising hard enough or long enough...on a side note he said the day he made that claim was the only time he has EVER heard me swear or call him a vulgar name!
So maybe you will have to trust me - I really don't think YOU are exercising hard enough or long enough - feel free to swear or call me names - I can take it and understand your resistance! AND I know all your excuses - I used most of them up already...
All I know is once I got into the discipline and routine of running every day - I started to look forward to it - I started to (gasp) ENJOY it! It became my fun and my recreation - I ran with my husband, with my kids as they got old enough - with friends -oh my gosh it was awesome in those days! I felt, as I said in another post like the QUEEN of the universe. I had and still have tons of energy.
What I couldn't do and keep up with when I had three kids and a small house, I was doing easily with 4/5/6 kids and a 5 bedroom house!
And, of course, you still cannot "over-eat" BUT by exercising and gaining muscle you can eat more calories a day and still burn them off! Even at my small size I can burn close to 500 calroies in an hour of running! I also started wanting to eat better food -my tastes changed -I stopped eating sugar and white flour easily AFTER I started running.
So that is my rant for now! I post it only because I still meet desperate women trying to lose weight that are totally focused on THIS diet and that diet and they don't work out enough! I wish someone had told me the "secret" long before they got brave enough to do so!
Of course, if you have medical conditions that you need to address you should consult your Dr. I had to change Dr.s twice to find one who would let me run with asthma though, so you might consider that too.
Bless you all - I wish you the best - to be strong and healthy and have lots of energy and zest for life! HEY, I just thought up a great slogan - "JUST DO IT!"
That is amazing and very inspirational I just want to add one thing - while running is GREAT for a lot of things in addition to burning calories, it needs to be balanced with other activities. If you rely solely on running to keep in shape, you are very likely to have problems down the road with your feet/knees/etc. Running 3-4x/week is probably okay when it is paired with swimming, weightlifting, biking, yoga, pilates or any other array of activities. Just give your body time to rest in between runs!
I do agree with you about exercise - everyone is looking for a quick fix within a pill, but no one that is truly healthy became that way without working out.
THANK YOU for your post! I am the most healthy eater in the world, haven't touched goodies here at the office in years (yes, years!) but I will admit... loud and clear... I DON'T work out long enough, or hard enough. It's a day or two a week, enough to keep my weight plugging downward slowly, but not nearly 1lb a week. I'll go on a major diet for 3 weeks and drop a ton of weight, then incorporate other foods (healthy foods) back into my diet, then I plateau again. The key IS!!!!!! exercise!!
Again, thanks for your post. I am visiting my DBF in Pittsburgh this weekend, and I'm gonna drag him out for major workouts. I don't want to take this weekend off just b/c I'm away. I think I'm gonna print out your post and keep it in a motivational journal I have. Thanks for telling us how it is!!!
I can eat and eat and exercise and still lose, but if I just reduce calories and portions with no exercise=slow or no weight loss. It is the key and its like a habit, and then you'll see results and you'll feel good. Listen to me, maybe I need to listen to myself.
Yes, Kimberly is right-some/probably most people need to balance thier running (if that is what hey choose to do) with other activities! For me that would not have worked as I started to train for races and needed the mileage. I also LOVED that "Runner's High" which I did not get from other work outs - I think that amazing feeling is what made the diff between keeping up the exercise and quitting!
I have been VERY fortunate not to have knee or feet problems but I do know MANY who do! KNOW THYSELF! Great addition to my rant!
I wonder what would happen if we all just quit dieting, and focused on food as fuel (i.e., skipping a doughnut only because we won't have energy to workout later, not because it's 'bad') and just focused on working out?
Something is wrong here. Day after day there are new posts with lines such as "I'm so frustrated with myself" or "I'm so depressed. Help!" and I am guilty of these thoughts as well. Something needs to change. This ISN'T working, ladies! Dieting and eating a healthy diet are two differnt things! I'm still in this boat. I gotta take my exercise up quite a few notches. Usually I get so stressed out by following a 'diet' to a T that I skip the workout. I'm gonna say forget it and start to turn myself into an athelete. I think what will happen is my body will balance, and my appetite and tastebuds will change naturally. Like I said, I don't think we should run for 2 hours then grab a Snickers. But what if we run for 2 hours (or any other working out) then come home, and focus on a healthy, no-junk meal, without stressing about counting, measuring, or eliminating food groups? I really wonder if that would change things.
You CAN do it - and I think deep down inside we all KNOW that exercise is the key but, it IS hard at first. I was such a big whiny wimp! I did not believe people when they swore to me it would get easier and I would someday LOVE it!
Even now, in my 50's I look forward to working out...I don't run AS much now but I still run and I still love it.
I gained 10 pounds over the last couple of years - I realised it was because I slacked off on the exercise! Pure and simple. I forgot (read: IGNORED) my OWN advice! That's embarrassing!
Now that I have started running again I have lost almost all of it...
Again, my heartful warm and best wishes to all-I KNOW your struggles -
Thanks, I was struggling to find motivation to get out the house and exercise today, reading your post has really helped. I am going to exercise and it is going to get better.
I agree. Whenever I lose a lot of weight, I am always exercising a ton. I have been gaining nonstop and i have not eating as much as I think but still gaining like crazy and I was trying to figure out why.
Whenever i exercise a lot, the eating part comes easy to me. First reason is because exercising stops me from eating because im exercising the time i would be eating lol. The second part is because im never hungry when I come home from exercising nor do I crave anything so its super easy for me to lay something healthy for me to eat because I'm really not in the mood to eat anyway so its whatever.
My energy is better and so is my mood. I definitely am trying to come up with an exercise routine so that everyday I do it without thinking about it.
I find that to be so true also -- when my exercise program is working well, then the diet tends to fall in line. When I've fallen out of the exercise habit, then the bad eating habits tend to creep back in too. I have to do BOTH for it to work. I think it has as much to do with mental attitude adjustment as anything else ... working out makes me happier and I feel more in control, which translates over to how I eat and act the rest of the day.
Plus, I just love the increased energy, strength and stamina that regular exercise brings. I can do so many more things now than I used to, because I'm lighter and stronger. That's the real payoff!!
It really is simple ... not EASY ... but not complicated.
Thank you for the reminder! I really needed it. The most fit I have ever been was the year after I graduated from college. I worked a regular 9-5 job, there was a gym across the street, so every day, unless I had plans, I would head over to the gym at 4:50, run 3-4 miles on the treadmill, and lift weights for 30 minutes. I don't think I lost that much weight, but I was toned and I felt good! Now, I weigh probably only 10-15 pounds more, but I'm panting by the time I get up two flights of steps. My boyfriend is a real enabler in terms of not exercising. Past people I have dated have been really into physical fitness and liked taking me out to play squash or tennis or whatever. My current boyfriend is a skinny, but fatty, blob, so it's a huge temptation to stay in and just be fatties together. But we even have an elliptical in our house, so there is no excuse.
The Secret to my sucess
I just want to add one thing - while running is GREAT for a lot of things in addition to burning calories, it needs to be balanced with other activities. If you rely solely on running to keep in shape, you are very likely to have problems down the road with your feet/knees/etc. Running 3-4x/week is probably okay when it is paired with swimming, weightlifting, biking, yoga, pilates or any other array of activities. Just give your body time to rest in between runs!
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