NatalieAnn, Great attitude for a great start to the NEW YOU
There is a program called "Couch to 5 K" or more commonly "C25K".
I encourage you to look up one of the several sites online that give the basics for getting you there. And by next spring, you will ROCK the 5K for the firefighter fund. It is a great goal and you have plenty of time to make a big difference. Also, take a "before" picture. You don't ever have to show it to anyone, but it will be nice motivation on your journey.
Hang Tough GF!
As a psych person, I feel like I gotta state the obvious here. You have reached one of the most important points of your weight loss journey, you're ready to change! That's amazing.
One of the most important things for me, as a compulsive overeater, is actually to sit there and brainstorm the reasons for why you overeat. Everyone does it for different reasons. Stress, unhappiness, even self-loathing can all be purposes. Then think about the situations in which you overeat. Then think really critically about the emotional component; no eating problem exists in a vacuum. How does eating too much make you feel? I feel like people with problems of eating too much aren't in any more control than people who are eating too little, and being aware of your feelings will make your goals more memorable when you're tempted to eat.
I really hope your juice fast goes amazingly : ) You can do it!!!
As a matter of fact I am very much aware of c25k... I want to do it so bad! I have to start out with walking though because running with 240lbs is hard on the feet! I have a treadmill and radio set up... now I just have to do it! If I had to tite this chapter of my life it would be "running late and eating bad". I know, its an excuse. I'm always running late which means poppin in to a drive through. My juicer will be here soon, but OH not soon enough! I have to do this. One, for me and my happiness. Two, for my marriage. And three, for my daughter. I want to be hapy and to smile again! Oh I hope I can handle this!!!!!!!
Ok, so even though I can't start juicing right away, I can't start making changes. Like more water and less of everything else. Let's see if I can reach one tiny goal first. Two pounds by next Friday....start small right!
Small steps are great because they are steps forward. Here's to the new you....I'm on the same path and cheering you on. The ladies below are cheering for you!
I have tried juice fasts to cleanse - I could barely ever last a day. The sugar tends to naturally bring on some of the strongest hunger pangs you've ever felt. Monster hunger.
If I were you, I'd probably lay out a healthy 1800 - 2000 calorie meal plan for a day to see what it looks like (or maybe you are already familiar with counting calories?). I'd also buy a scale as the most accurate measurement of food. Of course your water idea is good as well .
I was reading about a behavioral therapy approach to weight loss where a 24 hour fast was encouraged. It is not to lose weight, but rather to experience hunger and let it subside and experience it again - it helps a lot of people get "on the wagon"..... making it through the 24 hour period, while probably one of the most difficult times of your life, gives you a greater sense of confidence that you can succeed on your diet.
I dunno..... also something I've been thinking about trying once.
Well, regardless, stick around! I'm sure you will figure everything out and be offering good advice to others soon!
One insight I've gained on my weight loss journey is the importance of getting into the habit of acknowledging things. It seems to me you've reached your tipping point, which is the first step to lasting change. So take some time and acknowledge the power your about to give back to yourself.
I want you to succeed so I'm going to tell you the truth.
The juice fast is the wrong way to go because you can't do it forever. I know you want reboot and cleanse, but you're better off creating a realistic, healthy eating plan from day 1, that you can continue forever.
Regardless of what you choose to do, you should be so proud of yourself for making the decision to reclaim your health.
I can really relate to your post, because I am in the same situation. I woke up today fed up with the way I've been treating myself. I want to start changing today so that by the time summer rolls around again, I will be fit and healthy. Having a baby at home has taught me that time flies by so fast, so I don't want to let my life pass me by!
I think the important thing is that you're excited about the things that you want to try. Like the juice fast. I think you should try it because you're interested and it's exciting to you to get started. However, what you should take away from the posts is that you're not a failure if you can't finish it. It's true that the sugar will probably make you hungrier. I find that if I eat something carby or loaded with sugar, it makes me much hungrier than if I just hadn't eaten anything at all. It sounds like you're getting a juicer, so it probably won't be as bad as if you were just drinking juice loaded with sugar vs the juices from fruits/veggies as you are
I will tell you the most powerful thing I did when I started losing was simply record everything I ate, when I ate it with no changes to my eating habits (I used fitday). It was a true eye opener. After that, I started trying to get my carbs and protein where they recommended. It was difficult and took me a long time of trials and errors.
So try some things out that you're interested in. If it doens't work or you have a bad day, hop right back on track as soon as possible!
Good luck!!!
Last edited by pinkflower; 09-23-2011 at 12:07 PM.
You guys are awesome. Thanks so much for all the inspiration and advice! I appeciate everything you are all willing to say.
I think part of my problem is being in a home where it isn't brought up. Sometimes, I don't feel fat at all. Then, when I have to go somewhere, I'm immediately aware of my weight. So excited because the juicer will be in my hands on Monday!!! I might start a little sooner (presently have house guests).
As for today: lots of travel which meants lots of fast food BUT I had water with every meal instead of soda! So proud of me! Its small but its a start! Ready for this next week to be over.... super busy! But I will be there, with my water!
My little Emma turns one Sunday!! I hope by the time she is two I can be in much better shape because I want to take her to disney, but I want to be able actually ride the rides (don't fit right now). Its part of my goal! Thank you all for everything!!!!!!! You are all the greatest!!
Look the very first thing I must tell you is self control, now I m telling you some of the tips which helped me a lot to reduce my weight at least. So you can try out these and hopefully will get a solution.
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Start your day with a glass of water.
3. Drink a glass of water before you start the meal.
4. Have another glass of water while you are having the meal.
5. Stay away from sweetened bottle drinks, especially sodas.
Try out these tips, for the reason it's pretty tuff to exercise in gym all the time.
Ok, so even though I can't start juicing right away, I can't start making changes. Like more water and less of everything else. Let's see if I can reach one tiny goal first. Two pounds by next Friday....start small right!
Two pounds by next Friday isn't really starting small. I'm not saying it's not doable, but you have to be very careful with time-based weight loss goals.
You can do everything right and still not lose any weight at all. Or you can lose 1.8 lbs and feel like a failure because you didn't acheive the full two pounds.
My experience (in 40 years of dieting) with time-based goals hasn't been very positive. If I started to fall behind in my goal, I'd do crazy stuff to try to try to catch up, and if I came up short, even by a smidge, I'd focus on the failure not the success (and would second-guess every choice I had made, obsessing on whether or what I could have done differently that might have yielded my goal results).
When you set behavior-based goals, you win, even if the weight loss lags behind. A lot of people do lose the most their first week of a weight loss plan, but a lot of people don't lose anything. No matter what your starting weight, and no matter how careful you are with your choices, it's possible to experience weight fluctuations and eve gains, because our bodies don't work on weekly schedule (or whatever timeline we want them to).
Many people do set time-based goals and do fine with them - but if falling short would discourage you, you might try goals that are 100% within your control. After all weight loss isn't really something you have complete control over (at least not without a chainsaw).
Weight loss is the reward for what you do have control over. You can start with more water and less of everything else, that is completely in your control. But if you aren't measuring either, will you be happy if your results aren't visible, or will you beat yourself up for not making bigger changes. Will you be able to know that you ate less or will you just have guessed.
An even more specific goal may help (x number of glasses of water, y number servings of veggies, or z number of calories) because even if you lose nothing, if you've met your goal, you will have succeeded (and even if you met your goal 4 days out of 7 or even 1 day out of 7 - you have something to gauge your progress by next week.
You don't have to be perfect, you just have to keep getting better.
However, it's outrageously easy to get discouraged if we set goals that we aren't able to consistently meet, and time-based goals are sometimes outside of our control. If success isn't in our control, it's that much easier to feel that failure is inevitable.
Feel free to ignore my advice, I'm not saying that what has worked for me, will work for you. I just know that time-based goals have been disastrous for me in the past. Making my goals behavior based, means that I never have to feel that I did everything I set out to do, and failed anyway.
So here's to the start of a new day! Bring on the water. So far today I had a cinnamon bun, made them for the house, but I only had one!!!!! Normally I would eat at least two and half the cream cheese icing haha! So today I wil be more aware of what I'm eating and drinking!
Great Job NatlieAnn!!
One day at a time, or rather one Meal at a time.
Yesterday, I boiled several eggs to have on hand as a "go-to" snack. An egg and a glass of water, then I ask myself if I'm really hungry. Usually that will tide me over for a couple hours.
So proud of you for being conscious of every bite!
C25k
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Look at all my new friends!
