I managed to lose about 40 lb. on WW about 18 months ago but I got discouraged and had some problems that I let be an excuse to put it all back on again. I'm 55 and I weigh 260 lb. I had to go back on blood pressure pills and I know I'm at a high risk for diabetes. Some how I posted this before it was done. I start every day with good intentions but always give in to temptation to eat more than I should or to eat sweets. I can't afford to go back to WW and I'm not doing well on my own. I have started exercising at least 30 minutes most days but that is recent and while it makes me feel good hasn't affected my weight or helped with my eatting struggles. Anyone have any advice on getting started again?
Last edited by cj_chick; 02-03-2006 at 08:40 PM.
Reason: accidently posted it before I was finished.
Well, you need to "detox" your body. Your body seeks balance, which is where the cravings come from. If you are in a "toxic" balance (junk food, highly processed, fast food, etc), your body will seek that balance and you will crave the bad stuff.
If you shut that stuff out, and get your body in a healthy balance, you will crave the good stuff.
It is not an easy road. The first week in any plan is often hard, cravings are tempting, etc.
My personal motivation is the mirror. Every morning, after I work out, after my shower I drop the towel in front of the full length mirror. I look at myself from ALL sides. THAT inspires me to keep going.
You will need to find what works for you, and what keeps you happy food-wise. There are many, many diet plans. Most are good, as long as you consider it a LIFETIME and LIFESTYLE change, not a *diet*. If you think you will be perfect until you lose the weight, and then when you are thin you can do what you want...think again because it does not work that way.
Look at yourself. There is a healthy person on the inside begging to come out. Are you going to help her?
The only place motivation comes from is from within. I can't give you that. But as far as a plan? If you are at risk for diabetes, you should be eating low carb. It is the fastest way to prevent yourself from going there. It is also a quick way to take off some extra weight. You may be even amazed at how motivating it can be because of how quickly it works.
December 12th I weighed 268.5 and this morning I weighed 249.5. Most of December I wasn't on Atkins, so all but 4 of those pounds came off between January 2nd and today.
What I love about low carb? You leave behind the starchy and sweet foods, eat meats, low carb veggys and some berries as well as dairy and fats, and you will find that you are less hungry. You are satisfied all the time. When you get hungry you can eat, and you don't have huge blood sugar spikes.
Plus you don't have to give up all sweet treats, you just have to make sure they aren't sweetened with sugar, but with something that keeps them low carb. The first three days are a bit difficult, but once you are through them, you will find it easy. (At least I do).
Why not try it? Read the book first so that you understand the way it works.
If you were on a train track and heard the whistle, would you get off the track? GET OFF THE TRACK. You are headed towards death. Do you have loved ones that depend on you? Step off the track. For them.
Basically what I'm saying is that if what you described is true you don't have any time to mess around. You could die tomorrow. It's that cold, and brutal and simple. I'm not being mean, I'm being real.
Everytime you go to stick something in your mouth, ask yourself, "Is this worth blindness, heart failure, limb loss and death?" The answer should be no.
And I agree, at least start low-carb. It helps to break addiction to sweets.
As a calorie counter, you'll have to pardon that that's the plan I'd advocate for you. I'd suggest you visit www.fitday.com set up a profile (it's free!) and start logging what you eat every day. I know how hard it is to overcome cravings, but just start logging everything you eat, especially on bad days. I have to admit it helps. Start with small changes if you can (cut out soda, buy lean meats instead of regular, etc) and just go from there. For me it's been an entire process and I couldn't have decided on what I'm doing now in only a few days, it's taken me over a year, and I'm still working on it.
Sherry is right, the carbs will shoot your blood sugar up. When I was pregnant, I had gestational diabetes. But I was never able to get my sugar under control. The reason being is because while they told me to avoid sugar, no one ever told me to back off of the major carbs (pasta, potatoes, bread, etc.) and I ate that stuff regularly. Which is why I could never get my sugar down. It would have been nice to have known this at the time.
My mother was a diabetic (coupled with high blood pressure) and lost both of her legs from the knees down. She lived a year in a wheelchair, of course, then a massive stroke put her into a nursing home, her whole right side was paralyzed. She died 2 years later, she simply gave up. She lost her home, her dog, and her independence overnight once she had that stroke. And she HAD that stroke due to her high blood pressure and diabetes and because she didn't take care of herself like she was asked to by her doctor.
I used to weigh 220 pounds. I had high blood pressure that I was on medication for. Since I've lost this weight, my blood pressure has come down to normal and I don't need meds anymore. I've also brought my cholesterol down to normal levels.
For some of us, this isn't just about looking good in a pair of jeans... it's getting healthy and trying to prevent the fate our parents endured.
It's important to get that weight off. And you can do it. And we'll help you.
I appreciate the help and advice from all who replied. It gave me a lot to think about. I think I will read those posts every day for a while. I did go to fitday.com yesterday and set up an account. I logged and journaled there and it seemed like a step in the right direction. I didn't eat the best but I ate less than I burned so was pleased. I also saw that I'm eatting way too much fat. I don't know about Atkin's - I tried it once for about a week and was so constipated on induction even with taking fiber supplement. So for right now I'm going to just try to cut out sugar and high fat foods, eat healthy foods and exercise. I need to get my cravings under control and start with portion control. I have to admit I fear hunger. I know it won't be easy but I believe I can do this.
I'm siding with Miles on this one. I love calorie counting. I'm repeating myself because I just posted this somewhere else but .... It doesn't even matter if you have horrible likes and dislikes, it doesn't matter if you have food allergies. It doesn't matter if you have irritable bowel disease ... You can customize calorie counting to any situation.
Did I mention that I love calorie counting? I love fitday too.
I don't know what makes the "click" happen, if we could bottle it we could make billions. Just based on my own experience, no plan created by anyone else could ever have worked for me, I had to plan around me, what I like to eat, how I live.
To me, losing the weight forever meant changing the way I eat forever. So, I looked at how I normally ate and thought "what can I change that will still be delicious that I can stick to forever?" and I thought "how much effort can I commit to on a daily basis based on my life?"
I also hated being hungry, so I eat every 2 hours. My new way of life includes a ton of planning/shopping/cutting up veggies, etc etc. Now it's a habit, on Sunday night I cut up 5 days of veggies while watching Grey's Anatomy.
Based on how I ate, there was no way I could go low carb. I ate a ton of pasta, curries over rice, stir fries over rice, quesadillas. I switched from white potatoes to sweet potatoes, from white rice to brown rice, from white bread to whole grain, from white pasta to wheat (or spelt!) and white tortillas to whole wheat. I used to be a sugar addict. Eating whole foods and good carbs and avoiding sugary crap, processed foods, fast foods and booze helped me break my sugar addiction.
For me, weight loss has to be maintainable, sustainable. That means NO changes that I can't stick to. No plan to start with an intent to stop. No way I can live without carbs, they are the basis of my eating, I just turned the useless carbs into good carbs.
Good luck, losing weight has been an incredibly effort, but so much joy to me. I am not the same person - I am energetic, I am happy, I am healthy.
Glory's message is right on. You can't think in terms of "diet" or you'll yo-yo like me. This time I'm REALLY thinking in terms of "lifestyle". I used to tell myself I that the last time, but I always talked about how nice it would be when I got to "maintenence" and could eat higher and cheat more. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Now I know that maintenence won't be much different than it is losing. I am enjoying the process more this time around. And when I suggested Low-carb I did so because of cravings and only for a couple of weeks, because for "me" I did that and then switched to a plan that sounds similar to Glory's and it really helped me (and my husband even more so) break our carb addiction.
Glory & Yoyonomore,
Thanks so much for your helpful advice!! Having support really helps. I have almost cut out sugar for the past few days and today at work was the real test and I managed to say no. The place I work is terrible! Sweets around all the time! For right now I am working on changes. I'm down to about 2500 calories according to fitday and I know I need to go lower but I honestly was eatting much more than that. (I'd be embarassed to know how many calories I'm used to consuming but I'd say feeding frenzy pretty much describes a lot of my days.) It is also healthy foods. I'm working out 30 minutes a day - cardio stuff like treadmill or execise bike - because that's what is available at work. Saturday I walked outdoors but snow is preventing that now. I love walking and I can't wait for golf - I just started golfing last year and I love it. That is one big incentive to lose. I always had to use a cart or I couldn't finish and stil have enough energy to get back to the clubhouse. I know I need to work on portion control. Just putting together more than 2 days in a row of trying to change my life seems good to me at this point. Thanks again - any advice is greatly appreciated.
CJ
I need a plan and motivation.
