Hopefully, here I will be able to get the support and encouragement I need to stay on track and really lose the weight I need to before our big trip. My spouse and I are going on our yearly vacation in a little over 22 weeks. We live very far from our families, so we make it a point to visit them (2 weeks in Chicago and 2 weeks in New York) toward the end of summer each year.
I am 5'10, and should be around 155 pounds. Unfortunately, I am out of shape and flabby, and weigh 198 right now. I have a really nice treadmill, a fancy polar watch that tracks my heartbeat and calories burned, the knowledge of what to eat in order to lose my excess weight, and the strong desire. What is lacking, however, is the follow-through. I have great difficulty being consistent.
How do you do the "right thing" and eat properly and exercise, when you just don't feel like it? Or even worse, how do you hold yourself back from doing the "wrong thing", when the temptation to do so is threatening to overpower you?
I'm hoping that by writing here to you guys who are going through some of the same challenges and successes, that we will be able to help each other all succeed in losing the weight we need for our big, special occasion.
I need to feel that I am not all alone in my quest to lose the weight. Everything around me seems to be going against me. Let's face it, most people would not be able to lose the 45 pounds I need to lose in 22 weeks; it will take a consistent, almost super-human effort of will power and determination. The easy way out is not to exercise, and the easy way out is not to eat healthy. Without proper preparation starting when I go shopping, the food I'll end up eating will not be good for me. My spouse, although supportive in theory, is not really there for me in this area.
That's why I am coming here to the "boards". I need some support group to make my dream of losing this weight and ugly flab a reality. Please respond and let me know that you are there for me, and that we can be there for each other, and really succeed in looking our best for the "big event". Thank you
p.s. The big joke around work is when I will actually START my diet and exercise program. I have wanted to for some time already, but haven't been able to really kick it into gear. Also, my sister (who is stick thin, and could actually GAIN a few pounds) has taken my picture each year when we come in. She told me that now that she has a "before" picture, she is looking forward to taking the "after" picture this year. I know that she didn't mean to be insensitive, but nevertheless, there is a lot of pressure on me to lose the weight (both at work and at home).
I too am a repeat offender. WW 3 times and a lot of other attempts to do it by myself. My first motivator was to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. That kept me going for 25lbs but then when I started to falter I started to read dr phil's weight loss book. I lot of things hit home for me when I realized exactly why I was overeating. So far I am staying very motivated. I have been eating a lot of fruit and vegetables and whole grains. I would never eat these things before and now I actually love the taste. I also feel better than I have ever felt before. Physically and emotionally! Good luck to you!
I hope you reach your goal so that you can really enjoy yourself(without overeating of course!!!).
Tell me about it. I always start with great intentions and determination, but as the weeks drag on, I start going back to the old habits. I'm new to these boards as well. But you will find that a lot of people have found great success and not by following some fad diet. To lose weight, we have to change our habits, whether it's to eat less, make better food choices, or work out more. It's a slow process. I'd love to buddy up with you as I'm just starting on ANOTHER attempt at dieting.
Perhaps don't consider it as a "diet", but as "changes to eat and exercise better" or something like this? "Diet" has always this edge of must-do, must-this, must-that... not very encouraging. I never managed myself to really lose weight as long as I was "going on a diet", because the bad habits would come back right after.
Here's waht I did so far, if this can help. Granted, I didn't feel like eating better and exercising at first, it was more a battle than a pleasure. It started to get better once I was used to it, once I realized that I liked a bowl of strawberries just as much (or more) than a pack or cookies, once that I stopped telling myself "I don't want to do it, thus I'll fail". I deliberately kept all "bad foods" out of home, so that if I feel like eating, the only choice I have is fruits, and it's far from being as bad; or I focus on something else, go on a walk where there are no stores, etc, to forget that I have the need to eat something useless. I also started with "quiet" exercising - I went out for walks (I told myself that if I had 2 hours to waste playing a game on the comp, then I could find 2 hours to walk *lol*), and next thing I knew, the walks just weren't enough anymore, and I hit the gym for some cardio. What can work too is to find inspirations. I got strongly hit myself by Krista's website on women's weight-lifting, and this gave me the desire to lift weights as well, to one day look muscular and not all flabby with fat on every limb, because I knew that with commitment, I could do it too (everybody have muscles after all, contrary to everybody having the body structure to be very thin, or something like this). This kind of cues can work pretty well, once you find your own
I don't know if this could help you to start, but if it can, all the better. Good luck on losing the pounds, I'm sure that you CAN do it!
Let's lose weight together
