This post hit a nerve. YES! I too was killing myself with food...literally. Less than a year ago (Sept '10) to be exact, my doctor had me on so many meds (statins, water pills, prilosec, etc.). My cholesterol was over 330!
I was literally eating myself to death!
Well...it's been 9 months and I've lost it all. 60 lbs in all. I'm healthy. So healthy, in fact, that I just qualified for "preferred" status on my life insurance policy (something exclusive to the elite of healthy people).
Nevermind the fact that I can now fit my old size 6 clothes from 20+ yrs ago and the fact that I just turned 44 yrs old.
I mention all this to give you encouragement that it CAN be done...and in relatively short period of time.
Keep in mind, I LOVE FOOD...I mean I really LOVVVVVVVVE FOOOOOOD! I even photograph my meals!
That said, I didn't do anything drastic. Just smaller portions, more fresh fruits, veggies, less sugar, more whole grain, legumes, nuts, etc. Basically, I do ALL my cooking, and as it turns out I'm a pretty good cook (or follow cookbook instructions reallly well
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All in all...it was pretty painless. I got to eat foods I love, desserts like pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, cookies, etc. and also got to eat my favorite take out treats like Jamaican curry, chinese food (chicken wings & beef brocolli), pizza (digiorno 3 meat) once (one meal) per meal throughout the entire process.
Although I started off (and learned balance and moderation) from eating a frozen meal delivery service called "Bistro MD", I dropped half of the weight on my own using the calorie counting method. I log all my foods, exercise here--->
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/calo...op-26-lbs.html
For exercise, I started off walking my dog. YES...I was so out of shape (ex-smoker for over 20 yrs), that walking my dog was a workout!
I did it consistently, increasing in 30 sec intervals of time spent running/walking. Over about 10-12 weeks...that dog walk became running 3 miles without stopping!
I started at 200 lbs so I was no twiggy...and I tend to carry most of my weight in my thighs, so I felt like I was hauling rocks in my pants with every step. But I was determined to do this....so I perservered.
Now...just recently in maintenance...I run 5.4 miles 3-4 days/week. Some weeks, when I'm feeling lazy, I'll only run 1-2 days that week. I listen to my body. If I have a little something extra (like my favorite pint of baskin robbins icecream), I DON'T beat myself up over it. I savour how delishous it is enjoying every bite, then I MOVE ON back to healthy eating. I see it this way...1 pint of ice cream won't make me fat...BUT...1 pint of icecream EVERYDAY WILL!
Sorry for the long post...but as I said...you struck a cord in me. Hope this helps a little.