Hey Mexico Mom - I'm in about the same boat. I decided about 11 lbs ago that it was time to get rid of what has accumulated over the last couple of years (total of about 25-30 lbs) so I've still got 15-20 to go. I'm not following a particular program but I am counting calories pretty religiously and trying to stick to about 1400/day. I've also been going to the gym 2-4 times/wk and recently added weights to my routine. I've never been married, no kids, recently got out of a 4 year relationship - getting back down to my "dating weight" has been a good motivator. The ex & I went to Mexico for 4 weeks in January, we actually drove all the way from Tennessee to the Guatemalan border - Chiapas was incredible. Where are you living?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Hi there Julia - I had about given up that there was anyone on this site who wanted to buddy-up with me! Thanks for responding!
Yeah, you're right. The pounds add up over the years until you look up and you're... well, you're twice the person you once were!
We're in Queretaro Mexico - you'll find it on most maps. It's right in the middle of the country.
Tennessee to Guatemala is a loooooonnnnnnggggg drive. What fun! Mexico is much more than desert and cactus between two beaches, as I'm sure you discovered!
Good for you on your weight loss. How long have you been at it? I've been "kinda dieting" through the years - just enough to maintain, but last Christmas I had an injury and had to take 10 days of steroids and lay off exercise, and I gained about 15 pounds. Ugh. Now I'm fine and am enjoying the exercise bike (low impact from now on) and lifting weights 3x a week. We use the Body For Life book for our guide on weight lifting, and like I said, we were using it for dieting but I'm switching to WW for a while and see how that goes.
I say "we" - it's my hubby and me dieting and exercising together. I have four kids, ranging from 19 to 9.
- Laura Y

Since right after we came back from Mexico actually. I am a very picky eater and usually lose weight when I travel outside the country and I was hoping it would jump start me but the food was just too good.

I went back to the gym (that I have been paying for but didn't go to for 2 years!) in mid Feb and went from 148 to about 144 as of the first of May without changing my eating habits at all.

Since May 1, I've drastically cut back on calories. I'm eating now what I should have been eating all along. I didn't realize just how much I was consuming before until I started keeping track of my calories and I realize now that I was probably at about 3000+/day. Before May I think the only meal I cooked at home in the last 2-3 years was frozen pizza. Since then I've probably only had about 10 meals away from home which seems to make it much easier to control portions. Seven lbs in 6 weeks isn't fabulous but it is sustainable so I'm pretty happy with it.

I already feel sooo much better - I was getting to the point that I could feel the weight making it harder to breathe even when I wasn't exerting myself. That was one of the wake up calls that it was time to do something about it.

Do you live in the city of Queretaro? We drove through the state at night trying to avoid DF on the way to the coast. We ended up camping at the base of a volcano near Toluca that night and woke up with a little bit of snow that we were NOT prepared for. There's a place in Ciudad Valles that I would buy and move to in a heartbeat if I could find out who owns it and buy it from them.

How long have you been "on" the wagon?

Hi Mexico and Julia -
Mind if I jump on your bandwagon?

I just started dieting about a week ago and am finding it pretty hard to be honest. I'm physically able to keep my calories around 1100-1200, but it's just so unpleasant! I realize that dieting isn't supposed to be easy or fun, but I find that now I'm constantly aware of how hungry I am.

I'm just trying to lose about 15lbs like you guys, but I worry that, even if I'm able to stick to the diet long enough to lose the weight, I won't be able to maintain. Any thoughts? Julia, I see you're at 1400 calories/day, that works for you?

It's working slowly but surely so far. I decided that I wasn't going to do anything that I couldn't sustain indefinitely. From everything I've read, you should take your current weight in lbs times 10 to get the number of calories for weight loss, i.e. current weight 140 x 10 = 1400, but never under 1200. If you go much lower you risk putting your body into starvation mode and reducing your metabolism (I think it's safe to say that nobody here wants that to happen).

Before I would starve myself and then eat a huge meal in late afternoon. When I first started this plan I would panic when I got hungry after only 3 or 4 hours because compared to my previous eating schedule it seemed like I had just eaten. After a couple of weeks I realized that it was OK to eat again since I only had 200-300 calories. I never get really full but I don't ever let myself get very hungry either. I also give myself one day per week to splurge a little. I figure there will always be times when I'll end up doing that anyway, might as well give myself permission so I don't fall into the ICan'tDoThisWhyKeepTrying trap.

Hope that helps...

Welcome, Kazkitten! I'm also concerned about maintenence - especially since this weight is some I lost two years ago with WW and here it is again- it's not so exciting to lose the same pounds again!
I'm not counting calories, but WW points. I know there's some way to figure out how many calories a point is, but alas, the point system is less complicated to me. I also write everything down. We're using a home-made version of the BFL Success Journal, and I'm writing EVERYTHING down. You get one day off on the BFL diet (like Julia suggested) and it does make dieting more realistic and easier to stick with on the long haul.
I find that most of the time I'm "mouth hungry" not "stomach hungry." I can often get something to drink and it's enough to appease me. I know all that Nutra-Sweet is supposed to make you lose your memory..... at least, I think that's what was.... I can't really remember. Hmmm.....
I've been on the BFL exercise program for three and a half weeks. I was doing their suggested diet for three weeks, but wasn't seeing much results, so this Monday I switched to the WW diet, but am continuing with the exercise regime.
Yes, Julia, we live in the city of Queretaro. It's a beautiful place to live. My children are all VERY fluent in Spanish - I'm somewhat fluent after six years, but still make alot of mistakes and I'm sure my Southern accent interferes with my Spanish accent!
Okay - I can't figure out how to put the little weight goal thingy on the bottom of my reply.
Laura Y

Hey - I think I figured it out!

How are you girls doing? I've been a little nauseous the last 3 days and I've actually had a hard time worrying down enough food. I've only managed about 850-1000 calories a day so I made a conscious effort to make sure that I ate a little more today - never thought I'd see THAT day.

Anyway, it makes me feel a little better about maintaining once I shed these lbs. Apparently the portion control thing is taking hold because I still couldn't bring myself to eat as much as I would have before - brought half my dinner home to maybe try to eat later.

Hi Julia - sorry to hear you've been under the weather. Hope you'll be feeling better soon. Not pregnant?
I've had a good couple of days - I've liked the WW diet alot better than the BFL, though I may return to it if I can lose a few pounds first! My belly fat is REALLY bothering me - It's so UGLY!
Tomorrow is the day we weigh and measure ourselves (my hubby and me) so I'm eager to see whether or not I've lost some/any/more than usual.
Then, because of the BFL program, we take Saturday as a "free day" - where we completely go off the diet and eat whatever we want. Hopefully it fools the body into NOT honing down the metabolism. AND it's a birthday party for my 11 year old daughter, so I'll be baking a cake - and who could resist anyway?
Have a great weekend!
- Laura Y

Not unless an angel comes to apprise me of the fact.

Actually, I caught my ex (of 4 weeks) with his new girlfriend and it was just so unexpected that it makes me want to throw up every time I think about it. It wouldn't have been so bad if he weren't teaching her how to waltz. Dancing in the living room with Billie Holiday playing in the background was one of the few unambiguously happy memories I had of our relationship so I think I'm mourning the "tainting" of that more than anything. Not to mention that fact that I can obviously be replaced so quickly.

I've always said that the best way to lose excess weight is to get rid of a man -maybe this time the nausea will help

Happy birthday to your daughter and good luck with the weight in!

Well, I weighed. I only lost one pound this week. Ugh. I'm really dieting well, and exercising alot, so I'm going to choose to believe that I'm building LOTS of muscle, and losing fat - but I really don't see it changing my body like I'd hoped to see by four weeks. Ugh! VERY discouraging.
I'm really sorry about the boyfriend issue. I'm sure that's a real downer, knowing that he is doing stuff with another girl that was "special" for the two of you. But the new girl coming in a few weeks - with the hot new bod - (YOU) will be beating them off with a stick!
Have a great weekend. Good luck dieting.
- Laura

I don't know about you, but I only lost about 2 lbs the first 4-5 weeks and then *nothing* for the next 3-4 weeks. I think it took that long for my body to get going in the opposite direction (I was probably gaining 2-3 lbs a month consistently up until then). During that time I had to just tell myself that even if I wasn't losing weight I was at least getting fitter and gaining some stamina. Granted, at that time I hadn't changed my eating habits much but I was going to the gym a LOT.

Stick to it, I'm sure you'll start to see more results even if it happens slowly. A pound lost is much better than a pound gained!

Self congratulatory mode on: I wore my skinny jeans yesterday - just around the house because they're still way too tight for prime time - but it was a victory just the same.

Quote:
Our daughter (9 yrs old) asked my husband and me if we lose weight WHILE we are exercising, or later, while we sleep, or just what. I visualized myself on the exercise bike and PLOP - there's a big ole' hunk of fat falling off me and onto the floor! Too bad it doesn't actually work as easily as that!

When do you weigh? Daily? Weekly? I want to put the scale away so I'm not tempted to weigh daily - we usually just try to weigh and measure on Saturdays

Funny you should mention those 2 things together. I don't have a scale at home so the only time I weigh myself is at the gym (but only on days when no one is hanging around the scale ). I have been known to weigh myself before & after my workout just to see if there is any difference.

I saw Pat Benetar in concert last night - who knew she was even still around? Took me back to my gymnastics days when my coach LOVED her and played her stuff non stop for weeks at a time. It reminded me of the time in my life when I was in incredible shape. I might have to get a "best of" CD to listen to while working out. After all...we are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong.