Hi All!

I am ALMOST ready to join the group.. I have about 22 lbs to go.

I read your posts often for encouragement and I just wanted to pop by to let you know I have my eye on your group!!

Congratulations! You're almost to goal. Feel free to join in anytime- we don't come by and do a scale check, ya know!

Mel

Hey, it's my buddy Gretchen! Mel's right -- this group isn't for people who are already at their goal weight. It's for anyone, regardless of what they weigh, who is getting close to goal or even just thinking in the long term about life after goal -- all those years of maintenance. Everyone is welcome to join in!

So, Miss Gretchen, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you're doing to lose the weight? And what have you discovered along the way? Any surprises? Has it been harder or easier than you thought? Inquiring minds want to know!

Hi and thank you for the warm welcome!

Where to begin… I have learned tons on this journey. The most important piece in my success, without a doubt, is the positive attitude I developed about weight loss. In my opinion, without a positive attitude, losing weight—and keeping it off is nearly impossible. Rather than continuously focusing on the failures I have encountered; and in turn getting down on myself, I choose to focus on the positive. I recognize when I fall off the wagon, quickly devise a plan to avoid a reoccurrence of the situation and move on. I have encountered many “speed bumps” along the way, who hasn’t! I just refuse to let the speed bumps become roadblocks in my journey. It’s this type of mental exercise that keeps my momentum going!

Now for the specifics of my plan:

I jump started with a VLCD, under the supervision of a dietician. After about 2 months, I gradually increased my caloric intake to a more realistic level and have been doing that ever since. I plan for occasional treats, nothing too extravagant, I stay away from fried, fatty foods, limit sugar intake, and I try and eat bread products with as many “visible ingredients” as possible i.e. 12 grain bread etc. I love “grains”.

I usually do 20 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning, a 2 mile walk at lunchtime (weather permitting) and if I am really ambitious, another 20 minutes of cardio in the evening. I don’t drink as much water as I should—I need to work on that. My dietician tells me that drinking diet iced tea is considered water. I am not so sure.

For maintenance my plan is to gradually increase my caloric intake by 100 calories for each additional 10 lbs lost from this point going forward. I have about 22 more to go. By the time I reach my goal I should be right around 1400-1500 daily. I suspect that this period will also be my “trial and error” time until I discover what values will work for me in maintenance. I will continue to do cardio and I continue to gradually increase the amount of high rep. weight training to intensify the toning efforts for the arms and tummy.

Overall, I am totally satisfied with my experience. It has been very easy for me, unlike other attempts. I fully credit my success to my positive attitude and determination to live a healthy lifestyle.

Whew… that was long winded eh?

Speaking of water, did anyone see the little blurb in Prevention magazine about water increasing your metabolism?

Hey Gretchen -- thanks for sharing and please bring your positive attitude over here as much as possible, OK?

yay, well, i am almost at my goal weight, with 3 more lbs to go, but i think i am sort of maintaining at each tiny step because otherwise it comes back north *hate the scales*
I am skipping high-cal dinner and swapping it for a healthy snack or vegetables and going to the gym more often, so it's like my idea of maintaining, plus eat more veggies and proteins rather than processed fats/carbs, but not necessarily limit the quantity so much.
I still have to get to my goal though, I do not want to rush it, but by the end of the summer or better middle August would be nice.

HI Guys! Whew... a few crazy weeks of a nasty plateau.. but... fingers crossed... I hope its gone! I'm losing again and have got 19 lbs to go to goal! Whoo Hoo!

The last few seem the hardest... I'd love some tips from you guys and gals!

Congratulations on breaking that plateau! Nineteen pounds to goal is NOTHING compared to how far you've come (66 pounds!!) -- but sometimes getting those last pounds off can be frustratingly slow. You know how the weight came off fast at first? Well, as you're discovering, it can slow to a glacial pace and even stall completely as you get closer and closer to goal. My only advice is keep on doing what's been working for you so far and be PATIENT! Think of this as the time to transition to your maintenance skills. Think about how this has become a lifestyle to you and focus on life after goal. Picture in your mind the day you reach goal -- yayyy! you'll celebrate -- and then what will the next day look like? And the next? And so on.

I think we all have the tendency to focus on reaching goal as being an "end" to the weight loss journey, when in fact it's only the end of the beginning. You know how to lose weight -- you've certainly demonstrated that! -- so my advice is to use this time (however long it may be) to work on the "head stuff" that's going to let you keep the weight off for the rest of your life.

We're proud of you, Gretchen!