having gained back all the weight i lost for my daughter's wedding in january 07, losing my mom, hubby back in chemo,etc., i'm disgusted and need to get this weight off. i'd feel fantastic with fifty less pounds of me, and know i can do it if i work out for two hours a day at least three days a week. and eat just brown rice and steamed veggies with lean protein.
but i am starving all day long!! why is my appetite so strong? and to make it even harder,, yes, hubby feels well enoug to eat his favorites, and he loves to cook and bake high calorie stuff. i start work this week,part time at starbucks,, so hope to get a lot of walking in there. because of hubby's cancer, he's no longer working so i can no longer afford my pilates classes and personal trainer.
i bought a used aero pilates reformer bed on craiglist and will get that set up tomorrow--pilates mat classes three times a week,plus an hour of personal training those three days really worked for me before,,and i know enough pilates by now to do well by myself--and it helps that i love it.
anyway,,thanks for letting me pour this all out--my brother came to visit and showed pics he took this past summer at a family gathering---i look like a house in them!!!!
gotta get this appetite under control and move my body more. wish me luck?

I'll be happy to wish you luck, but I'll be honest that I think you're setting yourself up for failure here.

These seem like unreasonable demands to make on yourself. There's no reason to work out 2 hours a day. There's no reason to limit yourself to brown rice and veggies and protein. Honestly if I thought that's all I had in my future - 2 hours of exercise and brown rice and veggies and another broiled chicken breast - I'd run for the nearest Cold Stone and have a Birthday Cake mix in the Gotta Have It size.

Of course you're starving all day long ... because you're depriving yourself physically and mentally and emotionally. And with everything you're dealing with, don't make things harder on yourself than you need to!

Why not take a more reasonable approach. Count calories. Set yourself a healthy range and eat healthily within that range. Of course brown rice and veggies are a healthy part of that. But so is whole grain pasta. Yogurt. Fruit. Oats. Salads. Spinach. Soups. Roasts. All kinds of yummy stuff.

That's the food part - now the working out part. Studies are showing that you burn more calories and make your workouts more efficient if you do high-intensity-interval-training (HIIT) for about 30 mins at a time, 3x - 4x a week. Add in about 30 mins of intense weight training 2x - 3x a week, and you're setting yourself up for some solid weight loss. 2 hours of working out a day simply isn't necessary and places an excessive burden on most people.

The 50 lbs will come off slowly and steadily and you don't need to torture or deprive yourself for it to happen.

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of course you are right, that's how i lost it before and as soon as i went back to 'normal' eating, combined with giving up the gym in order to care for my mom while she was dying, well, the pounds jumped right back on.
i feel best when working at a physically demanding job several hours a day, and when we were eating a macrobiotic diet when hubby was first diagnosed, i felt terrific. but he is no longer willing to eat that way, he's lost fifty lbs with his leaukemia, so he feels he has free rein to eat and cook whatever he wants. since he loves to cook he makes me cheese omelets,fried potatoes, cookies, creamy soups, etc.
i've had yet another conversation with him today--he knows tomorrow i'm going to start refusing those things in favor of better choices.
so,, part-time work at starbucks for more exercise, better diet choices, and a determination to succeed is what i need. plus a workout buddy would help---anyone in north central vermont need a workout partner?

I'm somewhat with Photochick. It's great that you're doing this for yourself, esp when there's so much crappy stuff going on in life - my prayers go out to you and the hubbie. But I also think diets only really work when you mix up what you're eating and are still enjoying mealtime. I used to think it could only be chicken, veggies, and brown rice, and hardcore working out, but I always failed when I do that because each day becomes a chore. Photochick's suggestions are good. Also, right now in the fall there are so many delicious foods that are good for you - apples, pumpkin, squash, zucchini...mmmm. Anything whole grain is good. When I start exercising more, I definitely get more hungry and sometimes end up binging if I'm not careful. Try keeping some healthy snacks on hand so as not to get too hungry- almonds and carrot sticks are my favs. I'm sure if you commit to a good exercise plan and healthier eating, the pounds will come off and you will be a happier healthier you!

LOVE LOVE LOVE this advice you're getting... one thing that has worked for me is eating more often but less amounts... I eat 6 times a day instead of 3. This will rev up the metabolism. Also, I eat every 2-3 hrs, so I don't get too hungry. When you let your blood sugar drop too low you are more likely to binge/over-eat. Eat proteins, fruits, veggies, grains... steer clear of simple sugars/simple carbs. An example of what I eat: 1/4 cup of mixed nuts and an apple. Make smart choices and watch portions... don't deprive yourself. And I think the best way to begin exercising is to start at 20-30 min. a day, 5 days week. This is what works for me, anyway... Good Luck! xoxoxo

I really think Weight Watchers meetings would help you wrap your mind around a lifestyle change. Yo yoing is far more unhealthy than even being overweight. Let's get this weight off for good. Sometimes, having that extra support, in addition to this site, will really pay off.