7 Pounds in 7 Weeks - Second Week Update!!

[bellebud]

The more the merrier! We can do this - for us, for those who love us, and for that trip coming up! Yay!


Ok - someone tell me how to kick the soda habit because I know, I just know, that it'll be the hardest to do.

I can eat salads. I can skip cookies. I can walk more. But dammit - that pepsi knows my name and is an evil temptress.


I did manage it while I was pregnant and nursing but fell off that wagon once she was weaned. Now I'm a 2-3 12oz can -a-day girl.

Tips, tricks, advice?

I'm not sure how much this would help, but my sil gave me this tip for our kids (who always want soda)... seltzer water w/ a splash of fruit juice (I actually like it w/ a splash of apple cider, or pomegranite juice). Try to get a healthy juice, not one w/ the added sugar, etc. I love soda, for the fizz in it, so this satisfies me.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Exercise - in the cold months I hardly do any at all. I have taken up karate again and I go 1 or 2 times per week (DD has archery practice that conflicts with karate sometimes) and that workout is for a fairly intense hour.

When it's warm enough I take the dog for walks - but just walking at a good, not fast, pace. At the moment I would say we get in 2 good walks like this per week - usually 45 minutes or so. The days are getting warmer here so that will probably increase closer to our trip.

That's really about it. I don't belong to a gym ($$). We do have some free weights at home but I never use them.


Food - I don't have a kitchen scale for portioning. I like the salad idea - usually eat more salads in the summer than the winter (better produce, cooler meal) but I can add that back in now instead of later.

I'll be honest by saying I would do better - especially for lunch - with premade meals (like lean cuisine stuff) because it gives specific proportions, is easy to fix and has veggies. I tend to reach for chips if left to my own.

Well, I'm not a personal trainer, nutritionist, doctor, etc. I have absolutely no training/education in these fields, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but...

About two years ago I started losing weight, I think it was mid-April 2009 (I didn't really mark the day on a calendar or anything). I started at 193.5 and size 16 clothes were pretty tight on me. By January 2010 I was at my goal of 120 and size 2 clothes were a little baggy on me. About a year later, I've mostly kept it off, I tend to hover between 123-127 and am still wearing size 2. I did it without a personal trainer, without weight watchers/Jenny Craig, etc., without a gym membership, without advice from a nutritionist...

What I did:

1. Measured and recorded EVERYTHING I ate. If you are serious about losing weight, think it's important for you to buy a kitchen scale. It's really important to really know how much you are eating. I know I was really shocked that what I thought was a reasonable amount of any given food, was actually considered 3 or more "portions"! I recorded everything I ate in on sparkpeople.com, but there are other sites out there where you can record your food.

2. Focused on eating mostly whole, unprocessed foods. I read something somewhere about "eating a rainbow every day" and that has really helped me ensure I am getting in plenty of fruits and vegetables. Greek Yogurt is a huge part of my diet. I buy Fage plain 0% (non fat) at Costco. If the taste is too much for you at first, try adding a little bit of honey or maple syrup, you can gradually decrease it (if you want) as you get used to it. Now, I love it plain, I think it's delicious! We also use it as a substitute for sour cream in recipes.

I LOVE my George Foreman grill! Makes it so easy to grill up a chicken breast to eat plain, or add to salads or whatever.

3. Excercize.
Since I started in the spring, I was able to get outside for excercize a lot. I would go for hikes in the woods, walks around the neighborhood, whatever I could! I also started some workout dvds with weights. The trainer's name is Jari Love and she has a series called "Get Ripped" and another called "Get Extremely Ripped". I love them, especially the original "Get ripped" series! I noticed you mentioned that you have a few weights, I know that some Jari Love DVDs are available on Netflix, or maybe your local library has them?

After I lost most of the weight, I started running. I read online about the "couch to 5k" program and tried that, kind of modified to my own needs. Before I knew it, I was running 3 miles, 3 days a week! A few months later I increased it to 5 miles...and then gradually increased it to 7 miles one day per week, 5 miles the other two...then 10 miles one day per week, 7 miles the other two...and then it got cold and I've been lucky to get in 1 run a week
But I have NEVER been a runner before. Seriously, back in school, when they'd have those physical fitness tests once per year and you'd have to run around the track, I was the girl that walked the entire time! I NEVER voluntarily ran! This is huge for me!

Anyway, since I'm not getting in as much running as I'd like, I'm supplementing with different cardio DVDS (I have a Tae bo one that I like) and I'm always checking out the On Demand Excercize Tv section to see if anything looks good. Lately I've been doing a few by Kendall Hogan. The ones on Excercize TV are about 30 minutes each, so I'll do two on my cardio days.
*eta Oh, I also have an elliptical in my basement that I'll use a few days a week when I can't run.

4. I rewarded myself. Each time I lost 10 pounds (about once per month), I let myself have either a Chick Fil A milkshake or a piece of Adam's Peanut Butter Fudge Ripple Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory (Yum!). It was great incentive for me.

It was hard, but very worth it. After I lost the weight, I had some old clothing that was way to big for me. One item was a size XL winter coat, and I decided to sell it on Craigslist. When I met with the woman buying my coat, she looked at me and said "So, how does someone like you come to have a size XL coat?!?!?!" That was one of the best things anyone has ever said to me!

Good Luck OP, and anyone else trying to lose weight!

 

[disney1990]

Try Atkins -- I have lost 14 pounds since January 1st. Never done Atkins before, but I am never hungry on this diet. www.atkins.com has some great tips, plus you can get an account and they will send you a free carb book, information on the diet and free Atkins bars.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Well, I'm not a personal trainer, nutritionist, doctor, etc. I have absolutely no training/education in these fields, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but...

I hope my story ends like your's! I was almost exactly at that weight a month ago when I finally decided that I was not going to just buy bigger clothes every time I had a baby. I have only had two days in the past month that I went significantly above my calorie target for the day (one of those days was yesterday!). I have also started eating Greek yogurt and adding more meat to my diet. When I first started logging my food, I knew I didn't eat a lot of protein, but I didn't know that I was only getting about 10% of what I should have been! Now I average about 75%, so I am very happy with that improvement. Exercise is something I need to focus on. I enjoy going to the gym in the evenings - it gives me 1-2 hours by myself and I need that. I also walk around the neighborhood with my kids in the stroller, and I would like to start doing more yoga at home (I used to go to yoga class several times a week in college and I loved it).

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

I'm 5'6" and hover around 117-121 in the winter, 115-118 in the summer..I've had 3 babies and gained about 60 pounds with each pregnancy and kicked my own rear to get it off each and every time.

I think a big thing is weighing yourself. I used to tell myself , "Oh--its all about how my clothes fit, the scale doesn't give a true measure of fitness".... There was however a direct coorelation to the amount of hard work I was doing and the scale... the better I eat and the more I work out (and I do lift a lot of weights), the lower the scale is.
Watch carbs. No sweets, nothing white---no white sugar, no white rice, white bread... Once you make a habit of being healthy, it'll work..I also do just about every class at the gym; Pilates, weight lifting, Zumba, boot camp, spinning....you name it, I do it! Walking alone won't do it---you need to change it up for big results.

 

[cybrkitn]

I have always weighed more than most women would at my size, so my weight goals are based upon clothing size instead of what some weight chart says I should be.

I'm the same way. Anything less than a size 12 petite for me is too small. A size 12 seems just about right and where I feel I should be.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

And for the first time in my life--I feel great in a bikini---AFTER kids

 

[cybrkitn]

For anyone who is diabetic or those watching their carb intake, you don't need to stay away from pasta. We switched to Dreamfields pasta and it's the best thing. It only has 5g of digestable carbs and doesn't have a big impact on DH's glucose levels. Regular pasta is loaded with a lot of carbs (usually over 40g carbs) so I'm glad there is a better alternative out there.

I'm even surprising DH tomorrow (I hope) with lasagna for dinner. I'm using Dreamfields lasagna, no sugar added pasta sauce, low fat ricotta and low fat mozzarella block cheese along with chopped meat and Italian sausage. He's been bugging me to make it for him for the longest time and now I can finally do it without it affecting his sugars too much.

Have I made anyone hungry yet

 

[Mrs. Darcy]

Try Atkins -- I have lost 14 pounds since January 1st. Never done Atkins before, but I am never hungry on this diet. www.atkins.com has some great tips, plus you can get an account and they will send you a free carb book, information on the diet and free Atkins bars.

7 lbs in 7 weeks is sooo easy on Atkins!! Keep in mind, you're not elimination carbs which we all need, you're just getting them from veggies instead of sugars/starches. If you don't have the sugars/starches in your body, your body has to burn up your body fat for energy! How great does that sound? And you'll feel great doing it after you've gotten all the sugar carbs out of your system.

I did this right before my wedding. My gown was a 6 but I went up to 8 and the gown was too snug around my waist. I immediately ate the Atkins way and lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks. And I was able to fit my wedding gown without having to have it altered again. I still do a modified Atkins to stay slim, very little sweets, and only one serving of the whites (bread,pasta,potato or rice) a day. The rest is meats and vegetables.

You can do it!!!!!!!!

 

[redlight]

You can do it! Slow and steady is great.

I've lost 40 pounds mainly from portion control (especially on the sweets and creams) and by exercising.

 

[mhsjax]

7 lbs in 7 weeks is sooo easy on Atkins!! Keep in mind, you're not elimination carbs which we all need, you're just getting them from veggies instead of sugars/starches. If you don't have the sugars/starches in your body, your body has to burn up your body fat for energy! How great does that sound? And you'll feel great doing it after you've gotten all the sugar carbs out of your system.

I did this right before my wedding. My gown was a 6 but I went up to 8 and the gown was too snug around my waist. I immediately ate the Atkins way and lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks. And I was able to fit my wedding gown without having to have it altered again. I still do a modified Atkins to stay slim, very little sweets, and only one serving of the whites (bread,pasta,potato or rice) a day. The rest is meats and vegetables.

You can do it!!!!!!!!

I love Atkins. I have a couple of eggs sometimes for breakfast and sometimes I have one of the drinks. Lunch us usually a salad or some lunch meat with some cucumbers on the side. Dinner is chicken or fish, as lots of veggies. The best thing is that you don't have to measure anything. Eating these foods, you will get full and stay full. If I have any type of flour carb what so ever, I am hungry in 30 minutes. So no you aren't eating just meat, people will tell you that is what Atkins is. It isn't, you can have plenty of veggies. In fact my Cardiologist actually told me to stay away from Weight Watchers, unless I could do only real food. too much of their stuff is processed junk. I know it works for some and it may for you, I stay hungry on weight watchers. I have seen people say that they can't even eat all their points. I am sorry, but if you can't eat all the points, then you must not be over weight, or you have a severe metabolic problem.

 

[Mrs. Darcy]

If I have any type of flour carb what so ever, I am hungry in 30 minutes. So no you aren't eating just meat, people will tell you that is what Atkins is. It isn't, you can have plenty of veggies.

Me, too! I don't just get hungry 30 min. later, I have uncontrollable hunger. This happens especially when I have citrus fruits. It spikes my blood sugar, causes my insulin to flow to lower the high sugar, and proceeds to make me feel like I'm starving and then I eat more sugar because I crave it (and not because i'm pregnant.)

 

[dreamin_disney]

i did atkins years ago. I lost 17 lbs but let me tell you i lost a lot of inches! I tried on a pair of pants that i couldnt get up my thigh so but the end of the 17 lbs those same pants were falling off me. I had to keep pulling them up. I had my BIL tell my MIL that I had lost a lot of weight he was shocked so it was drastic-lol! I had a co-worker ask me if i was melting away-lol!

I ended up dealing with a loss and fell off the wagon but I'm ready to start again.

dh came home today and said the guys at work want to lose weight so they are thinking of doing it as a group-lol! These are manly men so its funny-lol!

I told dh this would be perfect for both of us especially at dinner time

 

[Mixie]

I tried Adkins once, but with my thyroid problems (I think I forgot to mention that - I have hashimoto's) I crashed big time in just 3 days - started shaking. Hubby was scared.

Ok - I need to learn how to count calories and stuff, gonna check out the sites posted here - thanks for that.

I only had 1 soda yesterday - can't go cold turkey, tried it, failed at it before. I figure if I can drop it to just 1 a day for a week, then get some of those little ones (8oz instead of 12?) for a week, then drop to every other day, I can wean off the stuff.

Woke up with a wicked headache today. Lack of caffiene or this windy weather I just don't know.

Warm today - going to take the dog for a long walk. Good for her, good for me, and I'm gonna start breaking in my new sneakers!

 

[cepmom]

I love Atkins. I have a couple of eggs sometimes for breakfast and sometimes I have one of the drinks. Lunch us usually a salad or some lunch meat with some cucumbers on the side. Dinner is chicken or fish, as lots of veggies. The best thing is that you don't have to measure anything. Eating these foods, you will get full and stay full. If I have any type of flour carb what so ever, I am hungry in 30 minutes. So no you aren't eating just meat, people will tell you that is what Atkins is. It isn't, you can have plenty of veggies. In fact my Cardiologist actually told me to stay away from Weight Watchers, unless I could do only real food. too much of their stuff is processed junk. I know it works for some and it may for you, I stay hungry on weight watchers. I have seen people say that they can't even eat all their points. I am sorry, but if you can't eat all the points, then you must not be over weight, or you have a severe metabolic problem.

the nice thing about WW is you don't need to have any of their"processed junk" to succeed.

 

[MrsMinease]

You can do it!!!! My keys to success are having short and long term goals, and Weight Watchers on-line.

Here's my story.... I've been a WW lifetime member since 2002, but haven't seen my Lifetime Weight (132 lbs on my 5'4 frame) in over 3 years. When I delivered DS in August '08, I was about 200 lbs. When I stopped breast feeding after 10 months, I was down to about 155, and have been on and off of WW ever since. Back in January, I put on one of my fav pairs of pants and realized they were nearly bursting at the seams... so I refocused on WW again. Since Jan 4, I'm down 8.5 lbs!!!! In addition to WW, I'm also doing the Couch to 5K program and plan to run the Castaway Cay 5k on our upcoming cruise.

I love WW for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one for me is being able to eat whatever I want. Seriously... you can eat anything, you just need to account for it in your points. This keeps me from ever feeling like I'm depriving myself, or missing out when others are enjoying a glass of wine or an ice cream cone.

Good Luck wiht your loss! You can do it!!!

 

[MrsMinease]

One other tip for trying to get rid of soda... I love my Coca-cola! I miss it, but have taught myself to enjoy sparkling water (San Pelegrino is my fav, but Perier will do) with a dash oforange or lime. It still give me the carbonation I love, but without the sugar or caffine.

 

[MrsMinease]

In fact my Cardiologist actually told me to stay away from Weight Watchers, unless I could do only real food. too much of their stuff is processed junk. I know it works for some and it may for you, I stay hungry on weight watchers. I have seen people say that they can't even eat all their points. I am sorry, but if you can't eat all the points, then you must not be over weight, or you have a severe metabolic problem.

I have to wonder if your Cardiologist actually understands the program. While WW markets frozen food under their brand, I've never seen it directly recommended in the program. It's actually a very well balanced diet, and is even more so with their updated Points Plus Program.

I have to agree with you on one point... I don't get the people who can't eat all of their points either. I'm always at my limit, or over by a bit.

 

[mhsjax]

the nice thing about WW is you don't need to have any of their"processed junk" to succeed.

Yes, this is why I said that she advised it only if I didn't use it. She still doesn't like the fact that they make so much of it. Her opinion, not mine. but I will state that it doesn't work for me, well it will, but I am starving all the time. My mom loved it, but for me it doesn't work.

 

[mhsjax]

I have to wonder if your Cardiologist actually understands the program. While WW markets frozen food under their brand, I've never seen it directly recommended in the program. It's actually a very well balanced diet, and is even more so with their updated Points Plus Program.

I have to agree with you on one point... I don't get the people who can't eat all of their points either. I'm always at my limit, or over by a bit.

She does understand it, but because they make it and have their name on it, she doesn't agree with it. She advises eating only non processed food, and advised to stay away from all the FF stuff. Lie I said, it works for some, but not for me. I do understand that people love it, but for me, it doesn't work. I get way to HUNGRY. I am not very pleasant to be around when hungry.