Lets Have A Serious Discussion About Weight.

[drynot]

Hey folks. Like many people in North America today, I have a weight problem. While I won't go into close detail it is safe to say that I have a significant amount of weight to lose. I'm not here to tell you a tale of woe and lay blame at anyone's feet but mine. I am overweight simply because I eat far too much junk food and get far too little exercise.

I would like to discuss solutions. Losing weight is actually a no brainer. Keeping it off and finding the motivation to continue down the path of that ever elusive 'lifestyle change' is difficult for me. Why? I'm not sure. I enjoy the taste of food and sometimes the cravings for certain foods gets the best of me.

My weight is beginning to significantly affect my personal realtionships, my job performance, and my overall well being. Some would say that these things should be enough of a motivational tool for anyone but I still struggle daily with cravings.

Thin folks....I wholly encourage you to chime in here. I think I can say with certainty that most overweight individuals would love to be in your shoes.... I would like to know how you look at eating....why you eat....and how you avoid gaining weight in the first place....

Any athletes out there? Where do you find your motivation and how do you stick with a fitness regime?

I welcome any responses and input from everyone....

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

Let's not and say we did. There are some things that I cannot get away from in the media. That is one of them. I am OD'ed up to the top of my tiara on it

[beallucanb]

I'm thin now(108) but I wasn't at one time, I had my ups and downs with weight but I still struggle to keep on the right track.

the thing that worked best for me eating the same type things everyday, it helped stabilize my weight, you need to find out how many calories a day you eat and adjust them to loose weight.

I'm not a very active person but I do have days I need to do more things but I keep to my calorie count of 2000 to 2500 a day.

I started to loose weight when I was 18 in 1968, I went from 260 lbs to 130 in a years time, it was my determination and wanting to be thin that did it for me, I never used any pills or exercised I found out exercising when you are fat just makes you bigger. .

If you want to exercise after you loose weight then it will work to give you a great shape, me I like my little mo muscle body, I'm small and have the shape of a teenage kid and I like it that way.

[sarah_ab]

Hi!!! *edit* apparentlty this is a reallllly long post... so yeah........

i am fat. I do not say this in any derogatory manner. I'm fat in size, but not in mind or actions. I am very active, i love walking around town, i take public transportation which entails walking to and from bus stops. I go to the gym 3-5 times a week (depending on weekend schedules). I gave up fast food completely two years ago. I only eat 'junk food' (chips and dip type stuff) once in a while and now instead of bringing the entire bag of chips up to the bedroom i would put a small amount on a plate to bring upstairs. I have a wicked sweet tooth and very much like dessert... so I started buying the one hundred calorie packs, and i really do enjoy them.

At any rate... Due to other medical contions which my doctor is in the process of discovering (6 months of blood tests, blood tests, blood tests and giving more urine samples than i can imagine, we have it narrowed down between two conditions and i'm perfoming one of the final tests tomorrow, a 24 hr urine collection sample)..well due to this mystery condition, the 35 lbs i lost in the first 6 months of my new lifestyle chances, has all been gained back and then another 25#!!!

but I still go to the gym, and continue my new 'healthy eating' thing...

I know I could not have made and stuck to all the choices if i had not made them with another person. My boyfriend and I joined the gym together, and gave up fast food together. since we live together and eat our meals together, and share a vehicle, we are able to motivate each other, and when neither of us wants to go to the gym, one of us has that 'guilty' feeling for not going and we both grudginly end up going, 'for the other person'....

When we joined the gym we got the personal training package and each got personal trainers suited to our unique work out style, but trainers who were trained not only in fitness but nutrition... as we worked out we would talk to them about nutritional choices... these trainers knew that cardio would help you lose weight, but doing some light weight training would help you build some muscle... and muscles burns calories just by existing...

i also started going to websites for a variety of recipe ideas so i could still eat the foods i enjoyed, just made with ingredients that were healthier....

There is one website i recently joined aftering seeing a friend from 10 years ago for the first time. she was always a bit bigger, not huge, but overweight, and after her first child who is now three, she got a lot bigger. she was about a size 18. She joined sparkpeople.com and by the time she got pregnant with her second child, just a year ago, she was back down to a size 6. So in two years she went from a size 18 to a size 6, and she had her baby three months ago, and is once again back to her size six. the website is free and mainly is a social networking size to provide support for people wanting to lose weight.

It also has access to an activity tracker, and really delicious recipes.

Also if you have health insurance, call and see if they cover a nutritionist. I know mine does, and so i had a few sessions with them just to get some ideas for healthier meals, and to really understand what a nutrion label tells you and how to truly compare two brands of food to find the more healthy one...

i didn't let fitness and 'dieting' take over my life... more i incorporated fitness into everyday... by making the gym just another part of my routine.. instead of get up, go to work, come home eat, lie in bed, it was get up, go to work, go to the gym, come home shower, eat dinner, then relax...

also making a list before grocery shopping and NEVER EVER EVER shopping when hungry.... but i still look at eatin the same way, i enjoy food, the tastes, the smells the textures... and one way to enjoy food, is not by eating more, but by eating slower... taking the time to put my fork down in between each bite means i can enjoy every bite individually. I also started eating smaller meals and having 'snacks'... so i will have something light for breakfast, then at my first break at work will have some grapes or a granola bar etc...etc...etc... also i stopped eating at least two hours before bed.... actually i stopped eating in bed at all!

and while i have gained my weight back because of some mysterious medical condition (because i still go to the gym and eat healthy, and my doctor has seen some of my symptoms first hand and knows there is osmething wrong)... I actually ENJOY going to the gym. I enjoy going to parks in the summer and walking the trails, I sleep better, and have had to take less anxiety medication as a result.....

I will admit after spending all summer in a friendly 'biggest loser' competition with my co-workers, going to the gym every weekday after work, after spending 8 hours doing greuling pjhysical labor.... I had GAINED 45# in those three months, i was super upset, and for about a month barely went to the gym. What was the point, if i wasn't losing weight what was the point of working out....

but i realized... the point of working out was even if i didn't look it, i WAS healthier.. my lung capacity was higher, my cholesterol was lower, and i still sleep better and take less anxiety medication... so even if the pounds don't drop off, there are so many more benefits to just

exercising.

*edit* oh yeah its Cushing's Syndrome that my doctor things I have... which is scary cause if it is that, its most likely caused by a tumor on my pituitary gland.... although on the plus side most of the times the tumors are benign.

[~Skitty~]

I wouldent say i need to lose any weight. but i could stand to tone up a bit.

but im just lazy.

but when it comes time to exercise.

im sure all the nicotine from the cigarettes i smoke, and the sugar from the sodas i drink have been

saved up in my body and will give me super energy when i goto exercise :3

[babylin]

With a BMI of 34 I fall into the obese category also. Denial was my big thing. I could always lose the weight if I HAD to. So as I was going over the hump and heading downhill (60) I sought out a diabetologist to get my blood sugar under control and a pulmonologist for the sleep apnea (worsened by excess weight). Haven't found a dietition I can believe in yet although I have consulted a few. Have a urologist, podiatrist and oncologist also but no PCP. Been using a FNP as coordinating consultant until he got another job. Basically I know it is all up to me anyway and no number of"ologists" are going to get me to do anything unless I accept and agree.

What I've learned from a couple years of counting carbs is that all the other stuff counts too. I love NY strips, prime rib, chicken, sausages and lots of other non-carb foods and gorge myself on "good" carbs like spinach and salad vegetables. Don't eats breads and avoid dairy. But the total calories I've just ignored. It's a simple equation: calories in vs calories used. To lose weight, eat fewer and use up more. I get too many. And diet sodas are a lie; just bad for oneself, period.

I used hypnosis to quit smoking and have tried several tapes to quit over-eating to no avail. I realize it takes a lot more energy to carry around all my stored energy just in case I ever have to starve, and that paradoxically I will have more energy if I lose weight. My numerous medical conditions should all get better, too. But denial and low self-esteem are problems. So who cares, anyway?

Thanks, Drynot for posting this question.

Happiness Is Wearing Cotton Diapers

[bignappybo]

ometimes the hardest thing about weight loss is not in the starting to get it off,but as was said in the first post the motivation to keep the weight off once it is gone,yes we all say at the start i will keep it up,but lets face it none of us ever do.

Food manufacturers do not help any way,when they say they have cut back on certain things we buy the stuff,but all they have done is cut one thing out and added another thing that is just as bad for us.

I no longer buy frozen ready made meals,for the amount of things tha are in them that just do not help in a weight loss regeim,now i tend to buy fresh stuff i know it might cost me more but it is worth it.

Also i know i to do not take enough exercise,and that this is not helping me in any way,how true it is that we cause our own weight gain by eating to mutch,but when we are bombarded with all the adds for things that are not good for us it cn be hard,and for those who are on a tight budget,buying the things that a best for us might not be an option.

I would say it is about time those who make the healthy foods,time for you to reduce your price and help everyone to be able to buy more healthy choice,we all have a part to play in helping reduce waistlines,and that icludes healthy food manufactures.

[sarah_ab]

again why i suggest a nutritionist NOT a dietician... for one thing.. flash frozen vegetables are so much cheaper than fresh veggies and have not lost any of hteir nutrients.... and for people trying to eat healthy on a budget this is important..

the same with flash frozen fruit.... and one way to get in those fruits... and fill yourself up..... frozen fruit, with skim milk, in a blender makes a delicious morning smoothie or nighttime snack.... or use some choclate rice dream (its rice milk, but with the frozen fruit all blended up you only taste the chocolate) and you have nice sweet, healthy, dessert....

there are many ways to eat healthy on a budget...and nutritionists can give you the tools you need ot make the right purchasing decisions.... unlike dieticians who try to tell you what to eat, when to eat it and how much to eat... nutritionists are like getting a private tutor who will teach you about nutrition, and reading labels, and understanding dietary norms for different amounts of foods.. nutritionists can also help you learn how to continue eating out, and eating the foods you enjoy, but how to do it in moderation.... losing weight should not be a negative experience.

exercising should not be a negative experience and eating should not be negative... the key is to understanding and incorporating healthy things into your life so that you enjoy them.. and look forward to them.... if going to the gym isn't for you, then go to the local park and walk the trails instead.. bring a friend... never go alone, toooo many ways to talk yourself into stopping early, or not going at all......

also many of us just are not able to afford the gym.... but here is a tip.. the YMCA gives scholarship memberships, based on your income.... and they have full gyms and often pools w/ water aerobics classes.... an hour of water aerobics, if you really push yourself, burns the same amount of calories as an hour spinning class!!!!!!!! and water aerobics are low gravity and excellent for people w/ bad joints, arthritics or other degenerative processes...

[aleyxsis]

I stopped eating fast food started waliking and whatched my portions when i ate i managed to lose almost 50 pounds and have kept it off for over 4 years .Im not saying it is easy because it is not !.As Sarah said sometimes there are medical issues ! and you must check them out if you are having probs !!goodluck to all !!

[drynot]

I am quite certain I don't have any medical issues in the way of losing weight. I can and have lost lots of weight before and IIRC didn't feel like I was trying to starve myself or restrict foods. However I do know that when I eat healthy with lots of fruits and veggies and avoid overly processed food then I feel better and my energy level increases. You'd think that was enough motivation for anyone to continue down the road to healthier living...but no.

I think 80 percent of my problem is mental. When things get too hard I tend to fold like a cheap tent. I'm not very good at resisting temptation and nothing can stand in my way of eating something if I feel entitled to it or if I'm emotionally compromised.

[PArms]

healthy food manufactures.

Oxymoron of the day!

If it's manufactured, can it really be considered healthy?

[bignappybo]

And the fight to get the weight is only the start,keeping it off is the biggest fight of all, i am diabetic and i do try and watch my weight and what i eat as well.

But the some of the medications that i take formy diabetis,along with other health problems that i need to take medication for,also have some side effects of weight gain,it realy is a case of swings and round abouts.

How true it is that froen ruits are just as good for you as fresh,and more so when you need to watch eery penny,just the same as frozen fish or chicken just an example of the many things that are just as good as fresh.

Portion size also plays a great part in weight loss as well,we just tent to have to mutch for our own good,but just as mutch to blame are food manufacturers who are making portion sizes bigger,maybe we should start a campaign to have portion sizes cut.

[LuvsGurl]

For some people weight is a genetic thing. However the American lifestyle and American diet are also to blame for turning us into a nation of chubbies.

We have to consider that we are constantly rush rush rush hurry hurry from the time we get up in the morning to the time we go to bed.

Get up in the morning... gotta get dressed for work and the 2.5 kids ready to go to school. So we either down a doughnut and coffee on our way out the door or pop in the fast-food drivethru for a biscuit on the way to work. Once we're at work, it's stressful and fast paced. Many employees get less than 1 hour for lunch, so we focus on foods that can be prepared and consumed rapidly. It's either a microwave dinner, something we made at home (doubtful b/c that takes time in the morning that we don't have) or back to the fast-food place again. Which we cram down our throats as fast as possible (less chewing makes food harder for the stomach to process) before it is back to the grind. 3:00 comes around and we are dead on our feet, so it's off to the snack machine for a sweet snack and a caffeine infused soda, neither of which are healthy. Finally it is 5:00... what a relief, right? Wrong. We gotta run and pick the 2.5 kids up from after school care. Johnny has soccer practice, Billy has karate and little miss Mary has ballet. No time to cook dinner, the kids are hungry and fussy... so its over to McD's for a Happy Meal, that'll shut them up. It's going on 8:00 by the time we get home. Just enough time to get the kids bathed and into bed. Finally we have some free time where mommy and daddy watch the news or late show, but that can't be accomplished without the obligatory bowl of popcorn, ice cream or other bedtime snack... oh, and the soda to go with it.

Americans are locked into this high stress fast paced lifestyle from the time we start preschool to the time we retire. This is why we see more cases of depression, obesity and disease than other developed nations. This is also why we have shorter lifespans than our European counterparts, who live and work at a more leisurely pace.

It's the fast lane to Burnoutsville here in the states, but the people who get there first find out that they are the losers.

[sarah_ab]

Sooo true luvs' girl... i can say i was stuck in this lifestyle for hte past like 5 years......

I am very lucky to have gotten a new job where while yes its important that we 'go fast' its very much just as important that we 'do it right' and my supervisor knows that everyone is not going to make their expected number of dispo's a week, and as long as they are doing their work and making progress she would rather it be right.

i'im also lucky in that while my job has some stress, its certainly not the type of stress i had at my last job, I don't have a boss who tries to sneak up on me, who will inspect my work to find things i did wrong, or missed, and then instead of letting me know i missed something, try and write me up... and I don't have to go to school at the same place i work, consequently being on campus 16 hours a day...

My new job, I can eat at my desk, so while i get a half hour for lunch, if it takes longer, I can sit at my desk and eat at a leisurely pace while reading medical records. While its not good to read while eating, its nice to know its not a race to cram down my food!

because of having a job that is not so exhausting - both physically and mentally, i am able to have time at night to cook dinner, whihc means we don't just get pizza or eat out somewhere... and consequently i have yummy left overs for lunch.

Just having reduced the stress in my life by getting rid of my old job i feel SOOOO much better, mentally and physically....

Its just so true what you say about rush rush rush and how that can totally have an overall effect on your life... and stress has been directly linked to cortisol levels, which have been directly linked to weight gain around the midsection!!!

[D_danny777]

1. eat breakfeast within the first hour of waking up in the moring to jump start your metablizem for the day. i eat breakfeast everyday , got to stay consistant with it though

2. drink lots of water, and snack througout the day , if you're hungrey then go eat, to keep your metabolizem going,

3. do cardio work outs, such as push ups, running pull ups and any other work outs that dont use heavy lifting. heavy weight work outs will make you gain mucel mass and make you swoll, but not cut and lean

[sarah_ab]

mmmm can't eat breakfast, if i eat w/in the first two-three hours of waking up, i end up in the bathroom for like an hour!!!!!

push ups and pull ups are actually not so much cardio but muscle building exercises, you are using your own body weight to increase arm strength... best cardio to start with... walking.... just keep increasing your speed...

walking, biking, skiing, swimming, aerobics, basketball, etc... those are cardio.... but push ups pull ups are considered toning exercises to work particular muscles... but still good to do!

[BBB]

mmmm can't eat breakfast, if i eat w/in the first two-three hours of waking up, i end up in the bathroom for like an hour!!!!!

bulimia is no laughing matter Sarah

[PArms]

1. eat breakfeast within the first hour of waking up in the moring to jump start your metablizem for the day. i eat breakfeast everyday , got to stay consistant with it though

2. drink lots of water, and snack througout the day , if you're hungrey then go eat, to keep your metabolizem going,

3. do cardio work outs, such as push ups, running pull ups and any other work outs that dont use heavy lifting. heavy weight work outs will make you gain mucel mass and make you swoll, but not cut and lean

I disagree with the second part of #2. Snacking will keep food in your stomach rather than letting it be completely empty. Food in the stomach won't allow it to rest. Can you imaging being woken up every time you nodded off and NEVER sleeping? Meals should be spaced at least 4½ hours apart. (www.graciediet.com and http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/basics/transit.html)

I STRONGLY agree with the first part. Instead of snacking between meals, just drink water. It will curb your appetite for a little longer. Most of the time, we mistake our body's "thirsty" signal for a "hungry" signal.

Fasting is good for the body. Every once in a while, you might want to try it. Fasting is not the same as not eating. While you fast, you can drink juices (vegetable and fruit). They will provide you with nutrients that you would miss by not eating. You don't need to fast for 40 days. Just try a single day.

[WallaWalla]

Work out regularly and don't eat bullshit. Take an active interest into what goes into your body and treat it like the most important possession you own, because it is.

There's nothing more to say than that on this topic as far as I am concerned.

[sarah_ab]

bulimia is no laughing matter Sarah

heheheheh can you have bulimia of the butt? because THATS what i have!!!!

[drynot]

Work out regularly and don't eat bullshit. Take an active interest into what goes into your body and treat it like the most important possession you own, because it is.

There's nothing more to say than that on this topic as far as I am concerned.

While the message is true, the application remains elusive. Unless you have been heavy you simply cannot fathom how difficult it is to 'work out regularly'

What remains and is the root of the issue for myself is how can you undo YEARS of procrastination and blatant lack of discipline?

I've always been lazy and put everything off until later.....HOW can I change that way of thinking?

[bignappybo]

It is not just the american lifestyle that is leading to bigger waste lines, the biggest part of the western world is now getting bigger waste lines as well, compared to our grandparents generation.

When you think that they had to live with food shortages due to the war,is it now just a case that as we are not facing those sort of shortages we are just helping ourselfs to bigger portions of food,not only in the home but also when we eatout as well.

Just how many of could trulyive on the amout of food our grandparents had to live on per week,should we not start to go back to the sort of portion sizes that they had to eat,after all were they not a lot thinner and fitter compaired to this generation.

[sarah_ab]

While the message is true, the application remains elusive. Unless you have been heavy you simply cannot fathom how difficult it is to 'work out regularly'

What remains and is the root of the issue for myself is how can you undo YEARS of procrastination and blatant lack of discipline?

I've always been lazy and put everything off until later.....HOW can I change that way of thinking?

when we first started going to the gym, we got the personal training package, you have ot make an appointment and even if you don't go, you are still charged for that session.... sorta like a doctors appt.

having an appt, that we paid for helped us get into the gym routine... that may help, the trainers actually said lots of people did that, because on their own they were not motivated to go, but knowing they would lose money if they didn't go by having to pay for a service they didn't use... was motivation enough..

even the best procrastinators will keep appt's.

[WallaWalla]

While the message is true, the application remains elusive. Unless you have been heavy you simply cannot fathom how difficult it is to 'work out regularly'

What remains and is the root of the issue for myself is how can you undo YEARS of procrastination and blatant lack of discipline?

I've always been lazy and put everything off until later.....HOW can I change that way of thinking?

I used to weigh 210lb, I've lost 60lb since then.

You change your way of thinking by acting. There's nothing more to it. I made a decision and I followed through. I told myself that I didn't want to be fat anymore and I changed my habits. You either want to do it or you don't. You have to take charge of each and every moment. The next time you get hungry, drink a glass of water instead. If you are still hungry, walk right out the door, down the street, and away from the refrigerator. It's the same way that you make the decision not to punch somebody in the face when they piss you off or go blow money you don't have on a new car. Think about the consequences of your actions and then work toward the outcome you want to see happen.

[bignappybo]

I guess that as you have paid for the gym session,that would realy make you go as you would not want to pay for something that you are not going to use,now that i am all for to get you to exercise.

I know that if i had paid to use the gy even if i did not turn up would make me go,it is ne of the best thing to get you to go,afterall whowants to waste any amount of money.