[thefictionalme]

Can you all please kick me in gear?? I dunno, name all the good things about losing weight and all the horrible things that could happen to me if I continue life at my size. I've been in a total slump since Easter.. school is getting really stressful. I really want to lose the weight but I lack the ambition and I really really need to get on with it.

[Gardenwife]

Hi, Jenny - Well, you picked the right place to lean, because we've all been in your shoes. What are your two biggest struggles, diet-wise, right now? What practical things can you do to be successful in those areas?

[Gardenwife]

Oh, and positive things about weight loss...Here's a few. You will increase your endurance so you don't get winded going between classes. You'll have more energy and therefore think more clearly for class work. You'll have a better outlook on a lot of things beyond your control if you take control of the things you CAN change, things like eating and exercise. How about those?

Go, Jenny! Go, Jenny!

[thefictionalme]

Originally Posted by Gardenwife

Hi, Jenny - Well, you picked the right place to lean, because we've all been in your shoes. What are your two biggest struggles, diet-wise, right now? What practical things can you do to be successful in those areas?

My biggest struggles are eating smaller, healthier meals. And getting to the gym instead of coming home after work and crashing. I even have a gym bag in my car with all my gym stuff!! It's just having the ambition to go. I can easily go Monday, Wednesday, Friday but haven't been..

[Gardenwife]

Okay, let's start small. Tomorrow's Wednesday. Just do it -- do the gym. It's one day, and you can do the one thing. And when you eat, if you have to eat out, get something like grilled chicken sandwich instead of a cheeseburger. If you cook at home, if you take your own lunches, go shopping and get some really tasty stuff that's good for you. Take small steps, but steps heading in the direction you want to go.

You know what helped me with calorie counting? I looked at the calories as money. I am a bargain shopper and love to get a great deal, so when I started thinking of calories as money, I wanted the food I ate to offer me the most bang for the buck. It made it kind of fun to see how much pleasure and goodness for my body I could squeeze out of every last one of those calories. Now the things like portion control are becoming truly normal, my thinking's changed, and I find I don't crave the high-fat stuff like I used to.

[nhmommy]

WONDEFUL idea's I will have to remember some of them. I have a real issue with putting my foot down with myself. I tend to back down easily when it comes to over eating. My will isn't all that great but I want it to be.

[Gardenwife]

Main thing is, don't try to change your entire lifestyle all at once. No one can do that and stick to it, you know? You didn't become obese overnight, and you're not going to develop good habits overnight, either.

[Gypsydancer]

You've been given some good advice! I'm also in a bit of a slump, so I'm really not in a position to give advice (but I will ). If you're too tired to go to the gym in the afternoon, could you exercise in the morning?

Another thing that might help is to eat every 3 hours. That will keep you from getting too hungry and keep your energy high. For example, eat breakfast, then have a mid-morning snack (like a cheese stick and whole grain crackers/fruit).

[treefrogtoes]

In January I decided that I need to get back on plan for good and change my lifestyle. Since then I've lost 39 pounds! What helped me was to remove Every tempting, high fat-low benefit food from my house. I brought everything that was not in my plan to my workplace and let people take home my chicken nuggets and frozen burritos! I didn't want any of that easy to make stuff in the house at all, because it's just too easy to have it and get off track. I also only allow myself 1 day a week to take off from exercising. It has become hard to chose my day off, but I know my body needs that day of rest.
The weight I've lost in the last few months tastes SO much better than the 2 dozen frozen pizza's I would have had otherwise!!!

[thefictionalme]

I started my day off right today I have a small bowl of Bran flakes with skim milk and some water. I'm about to head over to the coffee station and get myself a nice big glass of water. I brought myself a snack along to work this morning (100 calories Ritz Snack Mix) and I'm about to take my Green Tea Extract (I've heard good things from coworkers and friends about the benefits of green tea extract). I have my gym bag in the car and when I get done from work tonight I'm off to the gym! I made sloppy joes last night and had one and 1/4 cup of baked beans. Normally I would eat 2. I'll have one of those for lunch and some fat free cottage cheese with another big glass or water. Now I need to figure out what to make for dinner... I'm thinking chicken.. but what to do with it, I dunno.

[boiaby]

It looks like you've been given some great advice, and have a good solid plan for today. I agree that eating smaller meals, more often is the way to go, that's what I do. And just take baby steps. Make a committment to yourself one day at a time, and before you know it, new habits will be formed.

Kimberley- that calories for money idea is absolutely brilliant!! I don't really count calories but I have the feeling that the way I think about using them is going to change now, thanks!!

Beverly

[dragonwoman64]

Great tips.

Congrats on your work today.

Here's some thoughts about losing weight that I have. Think about how great it is when your clothes get looser and looser then you have to buy a SMALLER SIZE! Think about being able to buy better fashions! and how about the way you'll feel when you look in the mirror and can see those changes! You can get a virtual model of yourself and print pictures of yourself getting slimmer and slimmer (I did )

Think about how you'll be able to do some of the things you don't feel like doing now because of your weight -- for me it's hiking, biking, rollerblading.

Imaging having that extra energy, more zip to do all the things you want to accomplish, fun and work related.

Think about how making those smaller changes in your habits starts to add up after a while. Think about feeling great, and looking great! and that it's your life and your worth it!

Hope that helps!

[howie6267]

Lets see. Good things about losing weight.

I can fit in a chair at the movies and baseball game.
I feel so much better about myself.
I don't think everyone is laughing at me. Even though they are not anyway.
I sleep better.
I don't hurt as much.
I know I'm going to live longer.

Things I faced by staying heavy.

High blood preasure.
Heart attack.
Any number of health problems.
DEATH!

So with that in mind I think it's well worth the struggle. I know you can do it. So just keep with your plan and it will come off.

[thefictionalme]

You all rock so much I feel great today! I put on a really cute outfit and did my hair so that I would feel good about myself. I find that when I feel good about myself, I tend to want to take care of myself more. I just had my mid-morning snack and I'm almost done with my first 16oz of water here at work. My belly is very full right now! Which is great because I'll be having lunch in an hour and won't want to scarf everything in the house when I go home. I'll be able to have a small lunch. Then I'll bring myself a rice cake back to work with me for a snack and drink more water, then by the time I go to the gym at 3:30 - I won't feel too hungry or too stuffed from overeating at lunch. Weeeeeeeee.

Thanks so much for the motivation. I found what really motivates me is looking through the Progress pics topic. I want to be in there!! Right now my pictures are standing still in my gallery. I want to see a difference by this summer. I want people to see me this summer (like my friends coming home from college) who will be like "Jenny, you look amazing, what are you doing?" I want to be the friend giving healthy eating tip advice and making good decisions instead of the friends whose getting them!

I want my husband to not be able to keep his hands off of me because I'm looking so great. I don't want to be "the fat girl", I want to be described or remembered by people for something else - even if it's my poofy hair or my big feet

Most importantly, I want to go ONE DAY without thinking about how fat I am.

[teapotdynamo]

A while ago, a bunch of us wrote up some great things we'd noticed since losing weight. I often look back at what other people wrote to inspire me... here it is!