Did You REALLY experience more energy....
 

I am soo frustrated with years of dieting. I have decided to focus on increased anergy and improved health.

Can you PLEASE encourage me by witnessing the health benefits you have experienced by improved diet and increasing exercise?

Did you have a better attitude from this?

I guess this is embarrassing to admit, but I feel as though = even if I manage to lose weight - i will still be me, stuck in the same depressing rut I have been for nearly nine years. :(

Thank you,
Amanda

Amanda, I know just what you mean. Dieting always makes me depressed - I don't know if it's the idea of deprivation or that I don't do it the "right" way - but then again, "diet" is a dirty word, as some people on this board will say! LOL! That's why it's so important to find a way of eating that you can live with!

Food aside (and oh, if I could put it there!), I have found that exercise is really the key for keeping up the energy and chasing away the depression. Exercise produces endorphins (I think that's what does it) that are a natural anti-depressant. I have always found that when I start exercising, I start feeling better and having a better attitude in a very short while. So why don't I keep up with it? Oh, I get too busy to exercise ... but I'm trying really hard to keep in mind how important it is to schedule exercise into my day. And it can get upsetting that you do all this exercise and the numbers on the scale just seem to sit there. I've got 70-80 pounds to lose, and I guess if I've gotten rid of about half of that by next summer, I'd be happy ... and I know if I keep up with my exercise, I'll certainly be feeling better and stronger. It's better than eating next to nothing, losing the weight, and then gaining it all back! I've done that too many times.

So find something you LIKE to do and get into the habit (I have found that I enjoy lifting weights). I'd be very much mistaken if it doesn't help you start feeling a little better and maybe give you some hope that you can get out of that rut!

Best of luck to you!
Pen

:wave: Amanda,

I am a first place member (yippee) and I can honestly, from my heart tell you, YES!!!!! I can really really really really (did I say really?) tell you that I feel better since I've been on 1st Place.

I joined 6/3/02. I was very depressed and extremely miserable. My weight was serioiusly out of control. I was always tired, always in bed, always grouchy, well, just plain miserable. I knew as a Christian, I was not living up to the potential that I could. I was no use to God in the position I was in. He had created me, wonderfuly saved me, and I thank him by turning into a big slug. Well, I was praying for a way out, and God gave me 1st Place.

Since joining I have become my old self again. My personality has returned to someone who is happy and loves life. My family likes to have me around again. I very rarely take a nap - ever. I go to bed at a reasonable time and I wake up around 6. I love my 1st Place group. I love the fellowship and accountability.

I really felt my life turn around the most when I admitted to my group that I needed prayer for help with keeping my committment records. God needs us to voice that we need Him.

I try to pray everyday for strength in eating right and exercising. I've always been one to hate exercising. I am now exercising most every day. I am excited to go to Curves, swim, or walk. I've lost 21#'s so far. I'm truly thankful to have my energy back and to be out of bed! Oh, and I have a ton of weight left to lose, but so far, God has been blessing me with 2#'s a week loss. Hopefully by Christmas I'll be looking good and by Spring I'll have met my goal.

Feel free to message me privately, if you'd like to take this dicussion off the board.

Hang in there and pray. Share with others your weakness and have them pray too.

Hi Ladybug'smom
Exercising has definitely changed me. I use to get so tired in the afternoons that I could hardly wait for it to get time to put my nephew down for his nap, so I could take one too. Now that I exercise at least 3x weekly I rarely need a nap. It also helps to work out stress.

I also belong to first place. It's GREAT!!! The bible study is very encouraging. I also enjoy swapping recipes and other low fat cooking tips.

Hi Sandy, Isn't it nice to run into fellow First Place members? Do you think it's gaining in popularity? or coincidence.
Bye for now

198/160/140

If you feel that even if you lose weight you will still be depressed, then It might be something deeper that you need to deal with instead of weight loss. Not trying to sound "Dr. Phil-ish" but keeping a journal and writing your honest feelings helps tremendously (believe me). I always thought that it was the weight but after starting a journal I found out so much more about myself. After going back and reading alot of my entries, things were there that I was ignoring for years. I guess actually going back and reading the words opened my eyes more instead of actually living the moment and making excuses right then and there as to why IT happened (whatever"it" is).

Hi Amanda
Yes more enery is what I gain from loing weight and excercising you have to look at losing weight as a lifestyle change not a diet. I started WW in Feb 2002 and to date have lost 56.4#'s with plenty more to go. I don't feel deprived and if Im really craving something I have it but I count it in my days points. Im not able to do alot of excercises but I can walk and I do..not fast either. My energy level has doubled and I can now keep uop to my 2 yr old grandson. I love life and I love the change I see in myself and that everyone else sees. My whole attitude towards food has changed I even have different favorite foods and guess what they are good for me. Keep on trucking you willl find what you need.

Dear Amanda,
I must tell you that weight oss will give you SO much more energy. I was a fat marathon runner and judo practitioner. I thudded / plodded through my workouts and when I was thrown I had a hard time getting back up. My running pals would be blabbing for two hours at a time while I was gasping for air the whole way.

I joined a local weightloss clinic and quickly (safely 2-3 pounds a week consistently) lost 50 pounds. Now when I run I do it for pure joy of the feeling of freedom and power. Not to mention I'm MUCH faster. In judo I pop right off the floor ready to dish out some more. I can outrun and spar quicker than guys half my age, and I'm a middle aged woman! It is so wonderful I can't express. I was very depressed when fat (I was obese, now I'm a BMI of 23). I started to get agorophobia (?) the one where you hide away in your house and avoid social situations. I never looked in mirrors. I ripped up pictures of myself.

Now I have a full length mirror in my bedroom and love going to social events. Who needs paxil!!!

I know not all depression stems from being overweight, but I found that mine certainly did. I also had visions of my husband leaving me and I started to get neurotic. That only harmed my marriage more. Today he is my slave! He has a picture of me as his screensaver and shows it to people at work (eek).

It takes a long time to lose 25% of your body weight, but if you plug away and don't lose hope you won't believe the difference. It's a very slow process but WELL worth your effort, and effort it WILL require. Also a lifetime commitment to healthy eating which is, as I found out, much more important than tons of exercise.

I know posted before, but I wanted to add something else. In addition to more energy, I have more strength and that is really cool! A flight of stairs used to kill me, last night I went up 3 flights of stairs a total of four times (most of the time carrying heavy items) and I hardly even broke a sweat (major accomplishment for me).
I've never exercised so consistently for as long as I have (2 months now). I feel so good, I never want to stop. Keep doing it, don't stop! It takes a while to feel the benefits, like climbing stairs or just sittin up from bed and using your stomach muscles. Very neat, I actually have stomach muscles now!:)

You can do this! You'll be so happy you did!

Health benefits?
 

Hi Amanda,

18 months ago I was morbidly obese. I could not tie my shoes or pull my socks on. I had to roll on my side to get out of bed, I used to get out of breath in the shower. My wife and I would walk ten minutes downhill to the beach, I would have to get the bus back up the hill. My cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure and heart rate were all dangerously high. My doctor was treating me for 'asthma' which was really fat in my airways.

None of these things apply any more. I ride a bicycle to work, 10 miles a day. I walk, I breathe, I enjoy life.

What more can I tell you!!!

:cb: :dance: Hi folks,

This is my first time posting on this board, but after reading some of your post, I just had to reply, you all seem so positive. I started on my weight loss journey in March and I am SO happy to report that I have lost 30 lbs to date.

I had resigned myself to being heavy for the rest of my life, but I kept telling myself if I didn't go over 200 lbs, I wasn't really terribly obese. I had tried many times to lose with little success, I really thought I couldn't lose, but when I went to the doctor and the scales read 208, I had put on more weight and I had gone beyond my limit. I was on two bloodpressure meds and medication for high cholestral, etc. I have arthritis in my feet and was having trouble with walking and being heavy wasn't helping. I also have had back surgery and have two stainless steal rods in my back, and because I was so heavy my back was beginning to bother me again. That is when I made up my mind that something had to be done.

I came home from the doctors office with a new attitude, I was going to lose this extra weight and start on a healthy lifestyle. I started by doing a little exercise. First on my exercise bike then on a new treadmill. For a diet plan, I just cut back on portions but didn't really eliminate anything from my diet, except for bread or rolls and dessert. I follow a modified low fat diet, not to many fried foods, and for beverages I only drink decafe coffee and water. I eliminated all other beverages. Except for breakfast when I have coffee, I have only water the rest of the day. I eat three meals a day, and am very careful not to let myself get too hungry. I find if I do get too hungry, that is when I set myself up for failure.

As a snack when I need it, I nibble on 1/2 cup of honey nut cheerios. I eat them one at a time slowly and it seems to satisfy my need to munch.

Yes Ladybugsmom, the best thing that has come out of this program is that I have so much more energy. I feel so much better. My back pain has stopped. I can walk further and I have been able to get off one of my blood pressure medications. I am hoping when I lose another 10 lbs, I will be able to cut back on the Cholestral Medication.

The exercising is so important. I still don't do as much as I should, but I am working on it. I am sure too that just eating more vegtables and fruits has helped my overall health. I can't express enough how much better you will feel when you start to lose weight, and it doesn't take much of a loss to start feeling the benefits. So any one who is struggling - KEEP AT IT - don't give up. If you mess up, forget it and try again. Your whole outlook and attitude will improve! As you begin to lose, and you find you are in control.

Keep it simple, you don't have to eat any different then the rest of your family. What is good for you is good for them. Just eat smaller portions, no rolls, no dessert or a light dessert if you need it, drink water. It's easier that I ever believed it could be!!! I am doing it and you can too!!!

:cp: :cp:

I'm with all of you. When I lost weight last year, it was almost entirely attributable to exercise, and with every mile I walked, it seemed I gained the energy for three more. I could not sit still, and, more to the point, didn't want to. Don't we all envision ourselves whitewater rafting/rollerblading/running marathons/playing pickup games of basketball with strangers in the park... in short, I guess, Living Exuberantly? That's what I felt like last year. I could do Anything... Everything! And I even did some of those things!! Then came winter/full class load/full time job. I lost the time to exercise extensively and with it, I lost my enthusiasm and a great deal of my sense of joy. I'd give anything to feel like that again, so give is what I did. I gave up my job (in exchange for another that pays somewhat less, but gives me more amenable hours), gave up my full class load, gave up those demands that interfered with my ability to MOVE. I am happiest in motion, and while my choices might strike some as foolish, it was a matter of priorities. I found it difficult to justify a life without joy. The life of my choosing Will include whitewater rafting/rollerblading/running...

Amanda
 

You already have great responses here but I wanted to add my 2 cents. About a year and a half ago I sat in my living room crying totally depressed because I had to clean my basement and my energy level was so low that I could not bare to even walk down the stairs with all the weight I was carrying . Here I am now 80 pounds lighter when I get home from work I automatically ask my family who is up to playing a basketball game with me. What a change ha? Don't get me wrong I hate to exercise and maybe I always will, but it has bought me all this wonderful energy and turned me into a totally different person. Give it a try Amanda you have nothing to loose except weight and all that wonderful energy to gain. :lol:

Lots of luck to you:)

Amanda
 

You already have great responses here but I wanted to add my 2 cents. About a year and a half ago I sat in my living room crying totally depressed because I had to clean my basement and my energy level was so low that I could not bare to even walk down the stairs with all the weight I was carrying . Here I am now 80 pounds lighter when I get home from work I automatically ask my family who is up to playing a basketball game with me. What a change ha? Don't get me wrong I hate to exercise and maybe I always will, but it has bought me all this wonderful energy and turned me into a totally different person. Give it a try Amanda you have nothing to loose except weight and all that wonderful energy to gain. :lol:

Lots of luck to you:)