Exercising more, making better food choices

[tloonya]

If I only knew Internet Forum on weight loss I would be happy to share this info with you but so far I know only this place and travel forum...
Seems like your problem is greater than just 'get away from the fridge' issue...when meds are involved - please talk to a professionals! And good luck with and after the procedure.

[constanz22]

Hmm, I'm a WW lifetime member and always find it curious when someone says "I went to WW....". Going to meetings is a small, small part of WW, and if you didn't follow the other parts of the plan, I'm not surprised it "didn't work for you". Interestingly, the "new" changes of "eating better and exercising more" are all PART of Weight Watchers, which kind of led me to the first conclusion that you may be equating "going to meetings" with being "on WW". Ok, then having said all that, I had a hysterectomy last August. You will not feel like exercising for a LONG time afterward. Mine was minimally invasive and it took a good 6 months until I had no more pain from surgery and felt back to "normal", had my energy back, etc. It is very hard on your body, and I'm in my early 40's.

[cronewitch]

I hate the stalls myself but to jump start the scale try eliminating almost all sodium from your diet and add extra fiber. This will get rid of some bloat especially if you drink a half gallon of water a day or more. At least water weight shows quick on the scale when calorie reduction doesn't work.

I am down about 40lb since February and hit a three week or more stall after 34lbs while eating the same diet as before, I have had stalls last 6 months sometimes and it is discouraging so try a anti bloat diet to get the scale to move.

Good luck, it is much more than calories in vs calories out but eventually it works.

[tloonya]

constanz...
had Marilyn Monroe really said that?:
I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so you can appreciate them when they're right. You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. ~

They were saying she was a stupid one...

[SVT]

I'm 5'11" and was 171 in April, certainly not overweight, but was starting to get a little bit of a gut. I used to always be able to eat whatever I wanted to as much as I wanted but it was starting to catch up with me. Last month I started to get more active again and eat much healthier. I'm now down to 160. Not a lot but I feel much better. Gotta get that 6 pack back

I don't eat any crappy snack food anymore. I've replaced that with cups of fruit and applesauce. I've also increased protein intake while decreasing fats. Lifting weights and doing cardio everyday, too.

[Deleted]

Well, here is some pic of early pioneers. They didn't have drive thrus or vending machines or junk food and they aren't stick thin either. We aren't going to have a physique like a 10 yr old all of our life:

[8 Bit WWBG]

I too am trying to restart exercising. I love my foods very much, so I want to at least balance the other side of the equation. I did a run Monday morning, and I did 45 minutes of elliptical last night. I also ate an enormous unhealthy dinner.

One day at a time.... one meal at a time. I think that people who think "I have to get healthy, no more fun food ever again" are doomed to fail. I figure if you can just get through the next meal without going overboard, you are in the right frame of mind. Each meal is "the next meal". If you mess one up, you always have the next one.

And yes, I'll move the thread to "off-topic" per your request.

[wvugurl26]

May 30, 2012 7:36:43 GMT -5 SVT said:

I'm 5'11" and was 171 in April, certainly not overweight, but was starting to get a little bit of a gut. I used to always be able to eat whatever I wanted to as much as I wanted but it was starting to catch up with me. Last month I started to get more active again and eat much healthier. I'm now down to 160. Not a lot but I feel much better. Gotta get that 6 pack back

I don't eat any crappy snack food anymore. I've replaced that with cups of fruit and applesauce. I've also increased protein intake while decreasing fats. Lifting weights and doing cardio everyday, too.

6 packs are good

[Deleted]

Nazgul, my mom did WW about 12-13 years ago. She dropped 20 lbs (a lot for someone who's 5'4") and for a while we wore the same size. It was a little weird. But after she and SD divorced she gained it all back and then some. Now she and I are both members of Myfitnesspal.com, but she rarely logs in anymore. She was doing well with exercising and eating right, but I think she gets frustrated because she's not seeing results as quickly as she did before. I have dropped a clothing size since I started, but she's eating better than I am (according to her), and she still hasn't made any real progress.

I think the website we use is very helpful. It's free and will help you track your food and exercise. Putting everything I ate into that site helped me to make better food and exercise choices. Instead of snacking on chips or granola bars every day, I snack on fruit, popcorn, or almonds. I eat smaller meal portions as well. And I exercise more. I recommend yoga for building strength and balance. Swimming is also a great workout.

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

I firmly believe portion control is one of the keys to successful weight loss. Everywhere we go, we are served far more food than the body needs. Combine that with the fact that we eat far more processed food than is healthy for us, including beverages with all the sugar in it, real or artificial. I have never been real big on processed food, but I know I could do better. Exercise is essential in maintaining healthy weight. There are many prescriptions out there for various conditions that includes weight gain as a side effect. If your prescriptions are causing weight gain, talk to your pharmacist about alternatives to your medication and then go back to your doctor and discuss your findings so hopefully you can use a different prescription. Pharmacists and many nurses often have far greater knowledge of various drugs than doctors do.

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

May 30, 2012 8:11:07 GMT -5 @moneyjenny82 said:

Nazgul, my mom did WW about 12-13 years ago. She dropped 20 lbs (a lot for someone who's 5'4") and for a while we wore the same size. It was a little weird. But after she and SD divorced she gained it all back and then some. Now she and I are both members of Myfitnesspal.com, but she rarely logs in anymore. She was doing well with exercising and eating right, but I think she gets frustrated because she's not seeing results as quickly as she did before. I have dropped a clothing size since I started, but she's eating better than I am (according to her), and she still hasn't made any real progress.

I think the website we use is very helpful. It's free and will help you track your food and exercise. Putting everything I ate into that site helped me to make better food and exercise choices. Instead of snacking on chips or granola bars every day, I snack on fruit, popcorn, or almonds. I eat smaller meal portions as well. And I exercise more. I recommend yoga for building strength and balance. Swimming is also a great workout.

I think at some point our bodies just can't lose what we think we should, despite our best efforts. One may not be able to lose the weight one wants, but are still benefiting oneself by eating healthy and staying active.

[8 Bit WWBG]

...:::"Well, here is some pic of early pioneers. They didn't have drive thrus or vending machines or junk food and they aren't stick thin either. We aren't going to have a physique like a 10 yr old all of our life:":::...

I have a book about 1920s and 1930s boxing from my grandfather. Its amazing to look at the pictures. Today, professional boxers look like chiseled greek gods with enormous pecs, ribbed 12 packs and bulging arms.

Back then, the "legendary champions" had almost no pectoral definition, no 12-pack, and lean arms. Champs like Gentleman Jim Corbin were the ass-kickers of their times and I bet nobody would have called them "out of shape".

[Colleenz]

Have you tried the food diary? I have found if I am religeous about the "if you bite it you write it" approach it seems to really help get me back on track. Plus, if you show it to your WW leader they usually have some awesome suggestions for change ups.

[Miss Tequila]

The best diet for me is a low-carb diet. I have done WW over the years and I will lose a little, but it doesn't seem to work best with my body. I shed weight like crazy on a low-carb diet. It sucks because who doesn't love bread and pasta? But, I can either be skinny or eat the breads and the pastas....it's summer so I choose skinny!lol

[NancysSummerSip]

I know everybody groans about giving up carbs, but I'm doing just that, and I hate to say it, but it's working. I have not given up all of them. I still have them at breakfast, after a hard workout. But not the rest of the day. Oh, and the exercise works. I try never to miss a day. Thirty-five pounds gone so far. Blood pressure down to 115/60. Just got my bloodwork done, so I don't have those results yet.

[Miss Tequila]

Nancy, huge congrats to you! I know how hard you have been working :-)

[Deleted]

Wow Nance, that's fantastic!

I don't know how you all can do low-carb diets. I will go ape shit on everyone if I don't have carbs.

[wvugurl26]

I try to avoid white carbs. I know when I did low carb I completely jacked up my body. I couldn't sit straight up in a chair without thinking I'd fall out. My blood sugar tends to run low so perhaps that diet wasn't a good choice for me. I try to make good choices and not eat crap. I also try to have any junk by mid afternoon. I go to the gym after work.

Oh I forgot I was also queen bitch

Great job Nancy!!

[movingforward]

May 30, 2012 9:29:32 GMT -5 @moneyjenny82 said:

Wow Nance, that's fantastic!

I don't know how you all can do low-carb diets. I will go ape shit on everyone if I don't have carbs.

Me too! Also, I tried the low carb diet and almost passed out while running. I don't think low carb and running mix too well. I do try to pick wheat over white though, etc. I know the low carb diet works for a lot of people so I don't knock it but for me it is more about portion size and exercise.

[Deleted]

I tried the South Beach Diet when it first came out. I was still living at home at the time. I had a low/no-carb breakfast and was starving to death 2 hours later. I didn't pack a snack, so I got crackers from the snack machine. So I lasted a whole 2 hours. I think I could do a much better job if I tried it now (I discovered my love of nuts a couple of years ago), but I heart my carbs too much. Some low-carb diets also try to eliminate fruit consumption which I think is silly.

[muttleynfelix]

By the end of last summer, I was 10-15 pounds over my preferred weight. I started working out to relieve stress when my Grandma passed away and work went crazy. It was a SLOW process, but I set goals for myself - running a 5k before my birthday in November and running another 5k this spring and by the time I got pregnant this spring, I was down 12 pounds. I tried not to watch the scale too much because when you are averaging losing less than 2 pounds a month it can be really frustrating. But my clothes were fitting better and my friends and family were noticing that I looked fit. I cut out snacking after supper because I was working out and that helped a lot. I also tried to limit my soda intake (hard for me because I already drank over 100 oz of water a day and don't drink milk or juice routinely). I tried to limit my portions.

Since I became pregnant, I've been too sick to workout and eating has been whatever I can that I can keep down. It is really frustrating to me because I had every intention of working out throughout this pregnancy and at 9 weeks I already have a baby bump and have gained 2 pounds. I feel like i have lost everything I worked very hard for those 9 months leading up to this, but this won't last forever and I'll have to figure out when to fit in working out with a new baby and toddler next year, but I am determined to do it.

[souldoubt]

I've been pretty bad in recent months and my weight has slowly been creeping up. What's worked best for me and what I'm starting to do again is eating better, cutting out alcohol and eating smaller meals most notably dinner. I eat 5-6 "meals" a day which consists of the usual 3 and small snacks in between. Breakfast should be your biggest meal of the day, followed by lunch and then dinner, at least that's what I've always heard and that's what worked best for me. I work out regularly but if you take in more than you burn no matter how much you work out you will gain weight and I've see it happen the last 6 months or so.

When I had the most success losing weight in recent years it wasn't because of some crazy diet or huge changes it was just small changes across the board, watching what I eat and cutting out alcohol all together. The alcohol part may make me sound like a lush but instead of having a few beers on the weekend I would cut it out all together for months at a time. I noticed that I just naturally felt healthier but definitely got more sweet tooth cravings which I normally don't get. Whatever you do don't get deterred as you lose less and less weight and eventually plateau that just means you need to mix it up and those last 5-10 lbs are the hardest.

[8 Bit WWBG]

...:::"I know everybody groans about giving up carbs, but I'm doing just that, and I hate to say it, but it's working.":::...

Isn't it more that giving them up outright only works so long as you continue to give them up? One might lose weight, but the moment one eats a little bit, the weight comes right back.

I'm sure for many, it is possible to cut back. DW always wants me to make her garlic bread when we have pasta. Then she piles the pasta on top of the garlic bread.

[steph08]

May 30, 2012 9:42:52 GMT -5 movingforward said:

Also, I tried the low carb diet and almost passed out while running. I don't think low carb and running mix too well.

If you are a runner or run at all, you do not want to go low/no carb. Carbs are the energy that your body uses while running and if you don't have any, you are definitely in danger of passing out or at least not being able to complete your runs. Runners should probably eat more carbs than the rest of the population - I make sure that before/after long runs I have some sort of carb snack (usually those chews or sport beans that are a carb/electrolyte combo to replace what I burned) so I don't hit a low. I haven't tried them while running yet, not sure if my stomach could handle eating and running at the same time!

I would classify myself as an "okay" eater - I was a "good" eater while I lived at home with my parents before I got married because we hardly ever snacked and we had fairly healthy dinners every night. However, my DH likes to eat out and it has been a struggle since getting married. And I find I eat way better when I am at work than if I am working from home. At home, there are always snacks and at work, I only eat what I take with me (never have any cash for the vending machine).

For me, the key is to not keep snacks in the house, so if I want something "bad," I really have to want it to get dressed, get in my car, drive there, and pay exorbant prices at the gas station or wherever.

[Deleted]

I need to find another cheap fruit (not apples, not berries) to replace my bananas. I love them, but they are too high in calories.

[movingforward]

May 30, 2012 10:51:13 GMT -5 @moneyjenny82 said:

I need to find another cheap fruit (not apples, not berries) to replace my bananas. I love them, but they are too high in calories.

What about peaches or plums. I am not sure about the calorie content though. Also, raisins are great and have fiber.

[Deleted]

raisins (the normal kind) are high in sugar. I guess I'll try peaches and maybe pears, but I find myself not eating them when I bring them.

[NancysSummerSip]

...:::"I know everybody groans about giving up carbs, but I'm doing just that, and I hate to say it, but it's working.":::...

Isn't it more that giving them up outright only works so long as you continue to give them up? One might lose weight, but the moment one eats a little bit, the weight comes right back.

I'm sure for many, it is possible to cut back. DW always wants me to make her garlic bread when we have pasta. Then she piles the pasta on top of the garlic bread.

Sadly, WWBG, you are right. This is a lifetime committment. But so is anything you do when it comes to losing weight AND keeping it off. Losing weight is the easy part. Keeping it off is not. I will have to commit to eating this way pretty much forever. That's not to say that I am 100% ironclad. If it's the weekend, and I want pasta for dinner with DH, I plan it. I eat no carbs early in the day, and plan for a small serving for dinner, with a big salad and reasonable protein along with it.

Oh, and I like Mrs. WWBG's thinking on the pasta sandwich. I could eat that combo every day. ;D

[NancysSummerSip]

If you are a runner or run at all, you do not wan to go low/no carb. Carbs are the energy that your body uses while running and if you don't have any, you are definitely in danger of passing out or at least not being able to complete your runs. Runners should probably eat more carbs than the rest of the population - I make sure that before/after long runs I have some sort of carb snack (usually those chews or sport beans that are a carb/electrolyte combo to replace what I burned) so I don't hit a low. I haven't tried them while running yet, not sure if my stomach could handle eating and running at the same time!

I sort of agree/disagree with you. I run, and bike and swim, and do low carb. It depends on the person. If your weight is low or normal, I'll have to agree with you. You need the higher level of carbs, and can certainly handle it. But we overweight/obese folks do not need the excess carbs. We are not burning enough calories as it is, and we don't need to store any additional. I don't believe in carbo-loading at all the night before an event, even a long one. I will add a few more carbs evenly throughout the week before a long event, but not the night before. I'll just have to hit the porta-potty to eliminate most of what I ate anyway before the gun sounds.

Now eating while running - yuck. Cannot do that, not even the beans or the gels. No coffee, either. And I need to wait about 30 minutes after before I eat anything. Liquids are fine, but not food.

[movingforward]

"Now eating while running - yuck. Cannot do that, not even the beans or the gels. No coffee, either. And I need to wait about 30 minutes after before I eat anything. Liquids are fine, but not food."

Yeah, I usually run about 1 - 2 hrs after I eat