[need2lose100]

Hi, just joined today. Was thin all my life up until several years ago when the menopause thing hit, then my body filled out everywhere! I get discouraged quickly. I once went 2 weeks without eating any bread, pasta or sweets, did not lose the first ounce. I really believe I have a "curse" on me. Hope talking to gals in my similar situation will help motivate me. Currently unemployed and finding myself sitting around all day when I should be taking advantage of the time and getting active. When I worked, my excuse was "don't have time". I am in Florida not a good place when your overweight, last thing I want to do is go out in the heat.
Soooo any tips would be appreciated.

[JayEll]

Hey!

I'm over here in the Tampa Bay area, and I know what you mean about the heat. However, I also know that heat doesn't have to be an excuse for not exercising. Throughout the summer months I went walking just about every day--because I went at 7 a.m. before it got hot. This is the kind of strategizing that helps! Also, there are air conditioned fitness centers like the YMCA, which can be pretty inexpensive.

There's always some kind of climate challenge. When I lived in the north, winter was the problem. Oh I can't go out and exercise it's too cold. Yeah, right. Guess what? All that fat on my body did not care what my excuse was.

You may find that just cutting out certain foods isn't enough of a plan. Try browsing through some of the reviews of diets here on 3 Fat Chicks--go to the main page and click the Diets button. You can see many different plans and what they entail.

I've lost my weight using simple calorie counting plus almost daily exercise, but many others have used other approaches successfully. Figure out what will work for you!

Good luck!
Jay

[aleka]

Hi!
I live in FL, south of Sarasota. I know what you mean about the heat and I can relate to the menopause thing.

My first suggestion is to find a friend to exercise with you. You will keep each other going. A friend and I started walking 5 days a week last Jan. 2nd and we've only missed 1 or 2 days. We have both commented that if we weren't walking together we probably would've given up. We walked all summer long, leaving at 6:00 am before the heat of the day. If you would rather sleep longer and would prefer to walk in the A/C, go to the nearest mall and walk inside. The mall that is closest to me opens 1 hr. earlier for walkers. There are a lot of exercise videos to choose from. If you haven't exercised in a while, start with something easy and work your way up. Leslie Sansone has a lot of walking tapes that are low impact. Go to your local YMCA and see if they have a water aerobics class. I hope this has been a little help to you. Good luck.

BFN, Ali

[meowee]

Hi there . . . . . . to the 'flock'. I know you will find 3FC is a terrific place for lots and lots of support while you travel the long, and sometimes very bumpy, road to better health and fitness.

Must admit that I cannot easily relate to Florida's humidity especially at this time of year when it is getting pretty cool up here in Canada (for which I am definitely thankful) but I certainly can relate to the amount of weight you want to lose and to the added difficulty of losing once over 50 (in my case, well over 50).

Hope we will be seeing lots less of you, lots more often here in the Age 50+ Forum now that you've found us, chickie. . .

[need2lose100]

Thank you all so much for your responses. That's what it's all about is the excuses we use. And I know all this. I am lazy. I have to find a way out of that mode.
What I need is an eating plan that gives me choices and not recipes. Like, use this instead of that. All the diet books I have ever bought, are 3/4 recipes that just don't fit my lifestyle, or are just too much preparation.
Today, I will do my best to get off my butt and go walk for a while. Take my dog, she's also overweight. Thanks all.

[JayEll]

Hey need2lose100! Good for you for going walking!

Here's a general guideline--but I'm not a nutritionist or dietitian, just a person like you, so these are just ideas based on my own experience with weight loss! This is not medical advice--and you should check with your doctor.

Calorie tracking: Try to keep each meal at 300-400 calories. Have 2 or 3 snacks between meals, at around 150 cals. Use a book or a computer website like FitDay (www.fitday.com) or Calorie King or The Daily Plate to give you calorie values, and keep a log.

Portions: Most people have no idea what constitutes a serving size of a food. For example, a cup of mashed potatoes has 162 calories, so that's half of a meal right there! And salad dressings can have LOTS of calories. Adjusting portions is what allows you to keep your calorie counts down.

Try this: On your plate, 1/4 of the plate should be carbs (rice, potatoes), 1/4 should be protein (meat, chicken, fish, etc), and 1/2 should be green vegetables like green beans, spinach, etc.

Also, Lean Cuisine dinners are an easy way to get a fairly balanced meal without a lot of preparation. You can always add a salad or green vegetables on the side.

Hope it helps!

Jay

[meowee]

Definitely good advice from Jay . . .

Here's a non-plan idea for you that I follow that is called VOLUMETRICS -- I really think of it more as a principle than a plan . . . have a look over here . . . http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124035

BTW . . . don't forget to come and join us in one of our regular monthly chat threads, too . . . there are three on the go right now

Golden Girls . . . http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124010

Getting Lighter . . . http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121803

Active Folks Over Fifty . . . http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123621

See you soon . . .

[pamatga]

That's the first thing you need. Did you feel it?
This is for the rest of us. Yahoo, we're doing it!! We are on our way!

Okay, how do you get motivation? Well, this was/is my motivation. My Mom, Dad and only Sister all have health problems. My parents are doing an excellent job of facing it head on and have made some life saving changes. I am very proud of them!

My Sister is struggling. I pray for all of them daily. Quite simply, my motivation is them. I just don't want to be "like them". I do NOT take any prescribed medications. I do need some surgery when I can afford it but I am doing okay. I really am! I am happily married so I am not dieting so I can get a husband. I got him at my heaviest and he has loved me for eight years so I don't need to do it for that reason. I just want to be and feel healthy.

I weighed 259 lbs on Sept 1, 2007 and I weigh 243 lbs today Oct 24, 2007. I hope to lose my "first 25" by Thanksgiving or early Dec. I now say "this is not my first diet but it is going to be my LAST".

I do not have a perfect life but I do feel very blessed. We moved to Atlanta in 2004 so my husband would have steady work. Since that time, I was depressed for 10 months (terrible homesickness), going through menopause and moving to the South from the North (crazy?!) and both of us going through our life savings and then racking up $75K in debt. My husband will get health insurance in 6 months but I don't have any yet, we rent, and our families including my only daughter are 1000M away. So what is so blessed about my life?

I have a loving and supportive husband. We are now both employed, I work at home (for a company back where I moved from!)which I love, we are slowly paying off our debts, we talk to our families at least once a week, and we have a church that has become our new family. Now, I have found this website and found some wonderful people to support and be supported by. What more could I ask for?

I don't have a lot of money either for gyms or special foods. Walking is my main exercise but remember getting busy around the house like cleaning is also activity that burns calories! I make most of our meals from scratch since it is cheaper and I too am learning what foods help me stay healthy. I buy cookbooks just to read them. I don't like making a lot of recipes either. I just have learned to eat what I usually do but smaller portions. I was eating relatively healthy before I began this.

Try eating an apple. No recipe for that! I save the smaller plastic bottles and fill them with tap water, putting them in the fridge to get ice cold. You'd be surprised at how expensive a lot of those pre-packaged and processed foods are any way. I shop at Publix and I know you have them there in Florida. Publix has a lot of really healthy foods at reasonable prices. Publix's brand frozen low fat yogurt is to "die for". I love their low fat mini pretzels too. Amy's organic pizza is very good. I like quick and easy meals. Think whole foods if you don't like to cook. Keep it simple sweetie!!

Good luck!! I know you can do it.

[akrosey49]

Howdy..im rosey from alaska..i follow weight watchers point system at home no meetings or fees..every food is assigned a pt value..and according to your weight u are allowed so many points aday..u make the choices of what u want to eat..real food, u can follow recipes or not..when u use up your pts u are done for the day..u learn quickly to get more bang for your pts and not choose un healthy higher pointed foods.. u can find this info in here under diets and also www.dottiesweight losszone.com..i find it easy and i write down everything i eat and keep track of my points..ive lost 42#'s since last april.. some days are better than others and some times chocolate wins we are all human and mess up occasionally..but for the most part i can stay with this method..i also hate exercise but do it every now and then cause we are suppose to..its all about making better choices for ourselves..oh portion control is impt to with this plan.. i also use lean cusines..hope this helps, sometimes we take the advice from all and make our own plan that works for us..good luck and welcome to a great place to share info rosey