Weight-loss tip: First, make sure you're ready

[Anne Westlund]

This is a link to a really good article on the Mayo Clinic website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/NU00266#

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

Good article, thanks Anne. I lost 35 lbs once. I got up to 176 ... and I said that's IT. I really don't know how I lost the weight, other than cutting out carbonated drinks and eating a carnitas taco at lunch most every day! I felt so much better afterwards. Well guess what ... I've crept right back up there. So I'll be talking seriously to my BF (he does the cooking) about my distress, and get back to a healthy weight next year.

[sueokieffe]

seems like being ready is key. last spring i joined weight watchers, but i sure wasn't ready, and quit after a couple of months. now all i feel is guilt. hard to admit, but true.
how do you "get ready?"

[Anne Westlund]

sueokieffe

Maybe you get ready when you've had enough. I gained 20 pounds in the last 2 months (not sure why) and my doctor will put me on a higher dose of an anti-cholesterol pill if I don't lower my cholesterol. I'm definitely ready! I get a lot of my support from CoachCreativeSpacers which is why I started this group. I have people to support me offline as well. I hope we can learn from each other.

[Carol Clark]

You're right, this is a great support area, Anne. :-) And being healthy helps us to be more creative, I know that. More energy...!!

I'm right there with you, Anne. I put on 15-20 lbs in the last few months. Mine is stress, the infertility. Certainly not looking for sympathy here, just stating that I think "not getting what I want" in that area, I fill it with food, snacks. The worst is, I don't eat poorly at all. I eat a good Cream of wheat or oatmeal breakfast, fruit and salads, etc. My downfall is SNACKS. THe dreaded snacks at night in the living room!
And those damn mocha cold drinks my husband buys for me...:-0 He is treating me, which is nice, but then they're loaded with calories.

Maybe I'll find some decent snack ideas for those of us trying to lose weight. Then when we get those cravings, we'll have something to munch on.

Carol

[Anne Westlund]

Carol-

Those mocha cold drinks are good, aren't they? You're husband sounds like a sweetie!

Anne

[Carol Clark]

He really is, Anne. I'm very blessed with him. :-)

Why do all the good foods need to add calories, y'know? Like why can't I eat half a pizza or steak and potato like I can eat a half bag of carrots? Age-old questions... haha

Carol

[Hannah]

That really is an excellent article. I always regarded losing weight as a social necessity, even though it wasn't a medical necessity in my case, or even close when I started thinking like that, at age 9 or so (and I was fairly thin). Losing weight, making money, and sex are all anybody seems to talk about (oh and spectator sports -- I somehow managed to bypass regarding that as something I need to do). I tried almost everything but never achieved a lot beyond probably maintenance. Then maybe ten years ago I got tired of constantly watching what I ate and still not achieving that rail-thin appearance that seems to be the standard for thin so I decided to just eat more or less what I wanted, and gained 10 or 15 pounds in a very short amount of time! Mind you, I still wasn't overeating to the degree that would justify that, but I enjoyed a bagel with cream cheese in the morning, and a full size sandwich for lunch. I wouldn't even really eat dinner. But I just can't eat like that. In desperation, I started eating only oatmeal and chicken. It filled me up, was easy and relatively cheap. Money has been a problem too. I lost 15 pounds, but it took me a year and a half!! Then I went on antidepressants and to my horror, the scale went up every day even though I was eating the same. I'm off them now. One day I noticed there were diet frozen entrees on sale and I tried them. I didn't lose any weight though because I was still counting calories. I have recently started what I learned of Weight Watchers from various websites -- not the official ones -- and am counting points and this seems to be just the ticket. Leave it to WW. However, it's going to be as slow as moving through taffy again and might not even work at all if I don't exercise, so that's my goal now. I actually bought several workout DVDs that I enjoy -- one is ballet, another is hip hop, another is yoga and another works with an old fashioned medicine ball. I also really like to walk and bought an mp3 player. I'm sure there are other workouts I would enjoy but I really think with all the variety I've already invested in, I have no excuse.

[Anne Westlund]

Hannah

Those workout DVDs are a good idea. I have a stretching one I really like, but haven't used in a long time. A friend of mine tried a Belly Dancing one and really liked that. Thanks for the input!

Anne

[Hannah]

Yeah, having fun is really important to me so I'm still on the lookout for what I really feel like doing at any given point. I want this chin up bar they're selling really cheap at Bed Bath and Beyond. That's great for abdominal and upper body strength and it would give me a nice stretch. What I really wanted to do was soccer and badminton, but organized sports are harder to schedule. I think money comes into this as it does with everything, also. I might get into racquetball or tennis or swimming if I had the money for a trainer and/or a pool or courts. Heck, if I could afford a trainer to come to my house I wouldn't have any motivational problems since the answer would be built in. Classes are an alternative for some but the Lucille Roberts is too far from me to go regularly and I didn't really love most of them. Nike famously says "Just Do It" but I think it's important to choose what you're going to "just do" wisely and there's a number of factors involved in that. Afterwards though you do still need that sort of unthinking commitment. So, though there's a lot of fun options I might be able to arrange, I do already have some I should be following up on. Since joining this group I've been thinking about that commitment and what it would be. Yesterday I decided half an hour after waking up is a good time for me to exercise, so that's my intention now. Wish me strength!

Hannah

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

I do, Hannah ... the mental and emotional strength to carry through with our intentions is a big part of succeeding. Physical movement is what I have to commit to, also.

I know I'll never again be "rail thin" like I was in my youth, really don't want to be, and actually don't believe that's deemed very attractive by those outside of the modeling/acting industry. Being at a weight that I can maintain and where I have more energy and flexibility is what matters to me.

Carol and Anne ... I'm also often gifted with sweet mocha drinks or candy bars or whatever from my loved one. I never cared much for sweets growing up. Food wasn't a reward or an emotional balm for me, thank goodness. But for many it is, and it makes it very hard when someone expresses love through gifts of chocolate! My BF and I have had a few brief discussions already about the cooking ... meat and potatoes guy he is, and he does the cooking. I shop with him and get lots of fresh vegetables ... then he cooks and it's meat and potatoes or meat and pasta again! This is the part we're really going to have to work on.

[Carol Clark]

Nice to see you, Barb!

Maybe I need to re-open Cooks Corner , and get some low-fat, lower carb recipes posted. My husband has diabetes, so we need to be more careful what we eat. We can't eat regular pasta anymore, just the wheat kind, which is actually good.

I'll try to post some recipes this weekend. Maybe there'll be something in there for all of us.

In the meantime, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all...
Carol

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

Thanks, Carol ... the recipes would be helpful :)

Yes HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my friends at CCS!