7 Pounds in 7 Weeks - Second Week Update!!

[Conservative Hippie]

Yay! -2 lbs from last Friday! So a total of -2.4 since the 7 lbs in 7 weeks challenge began. Of course I can thank the stomach flu :-/

 

[Mixie]

I tell ya - one way to keep on track is going clothes shopping.

I had a $10 off a purchase of $10 or more from JC Penney that expires this weekend. Went out there looking for something to wear on the trip - shorts/shirt - and tried a few things on.

Ugh... felt fat, fat, fat...

Had to buy a pair of XL shorts.


ugh...

 

[Mixie]

This morning I was 150.6

Last weigh in was 152.8


I'm due to start my ... monthly ... in a couple days. Really tired right now.

Next few days will be hard to ignore the cravings. I always crave comfort foods and want to sleep more.

 

[MrsMinease]

Congrats on your loss so far!

 

[rchristiansen]

I'm off to go exercise in a bit --- But this is another goofy tip that probably won't work for most people. However, it works for me. I have exercise induced asthma, so I need to take a couple puffs from an inhaler before I exercise. However, if I take that inhaler and do not exercise, then I get shaky and jittery (where I can't type, write or focus). SO......my motivation is to take the inhaler --- that's the easy part, then I HAVE to exercise. I just took the puffs about 15 minutes ago, so I better get going!!


One more tip - get rid of any drinks in the house that lead to eating. For example, if I have a beer, even a light beer that's only 64 calories, I want chips or something salty. Wine, I want cheese or dark chocolate. I end up eating more calories than the drink I wanted to sip on an enjoy.


PS - good job on losing the 2 pounds this week!

 

[mom2cookies]

First Great job to those who have lost weight, Great job for those who haven't give up!

Thanks for all the tips.

i'm 5'4" 182 lbs. I ( along with my 3 sisters) are losing weight for our WDW trip. We started at the beginning of January. I've been cutting out my sugar ( not doing great at that) and carbs. Been working out on wii fit plus 50 minutes a day. That is 50 minutes more that last year. lol i haven't gained or lost yet. i'm healthy .. meaning i don't have any medical conditions.. so any ideas for me? SHakes, pills, etc are out of the question. High intensity workouts like running and jogging are not possible due to back injury as a teen.

 

[cybrkitn]

First Great job to those who have lost weight, Great job for those who haven't give up!

Thanks for all the tips.

i'm 5'4" 182 lbs. I ( along with my 3 sisters) are losing weight for our WDW trip. We started at the beginning of January. I've been cutting out my sugar ( not doing great at that) and carbs. Been working out on wii fit plus 50 minutes a day. That is 50 minutes more that last year. lol i haven't gained or lost yet. i'm healthy .. meaning i don't have any medical conditions.. so any ideas for me? SHakes, pills, etc are out of the question. High intensity workouts like running and jogging are not possible due to back injury as a teen.

I'm the same height and am losing for 2 reasons. Reason 1 - I was 188 and was just about to go into Plus sizes. Trying to find jeans, let alone pants, was near impossible. I also love the style that's "in" right now as it brings me back to being a teenager (I'm almost 40). I've never stopped loving those skinny jeans, lol.

Reason 2 - We have a WDW trip in December and I would like to weigh less than I do now.

Since this thread started, I was 174 (down from my 188 last summer). About a week and half ago I weighed myself and found I lost one pound. Last week, I weighd myself again and am down to 172. Two pounds lost ! I can now fit back into skinny jeans again !

ETA: Carbs are in practically everything we eat or drink and is very hard to take out. Here's what has been working for both DH and I. Portion control and balance. DH is diabetic, so we have been going by the American Diabetic Association's plan. It's also the same plan my doctor told me to do in the mid 1990's and I'm not diabetic. I've also used it when I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with DS8 (lost 30 lbs in 3 months ).


An example of dinner for us would consist of:

Chicken (small 1/4 chicken or half of a boneless breast)
3/4 cup of a starch (mashed potatoes, brown rice, Dreamfields pasta* or Stovetop stuffing)
1/2 cup of vegetables
Diet soda for DH
Unsweetened ice-tea (from the tea bag) or water for me

*Dreamfields pasta has just 5 diegestable carbs and is the only pasta that doesn't raise DH's sugar (aka glucose) levels.

Lunch for DH would consist of left-overs from the night before (he loves taking left-overs to work rather than spending the money out to eat) and a fruit.

For me, it normally consists of a sandwich on a Lender's bagel (less than 30 grams of carbs for one bagel) and fruit. I still drink regular soda, but I've cut my intake down to just 8 oz per day just to give me that extra boost of caffeine. Lunch is usually when I'll have the soda, unless I'm going out in the evening at which point I'll save it for then.

Breakfast for DH is usually 1 cup of Honeynut Cheerios, although he might start alternating between that and Special K's cinnamon and pecan cereal. He's insulin dependent, so when he wakes up in the morning his sugar levels are usually low (but not that low) where he needs to have a starch to help bring it up a bit.

Breakfast for me can vary. I may be in the mood to have an egg on a Lender's bagel (protein and starch) and a fruit along with unsweetened iced-tea or hot tea. Or I will feel like just having 2 waffles and a fruit or just a buttered Lender's bagel and a fruit.

 

[Christine]

First Great job to those who have lost weight, Great job for those who haven't give up!

Thanks for all the tips.

i'm 5'4" 182 lbs. I ( along with my 3 sisters) are losing weight for our WDW trip. We started at the beginning of January. I've been cutting out my sugar ( not doing great at that) and carbs. Been working out on wii fit plus 50 minutes a day. That is 50 minutes more that last year. lol i haven't gained or lost yet. i'm healthy .. meaning i don't have any medical conditions.. so any ideas for me? SHakes, pills, etc are out of the question. High intensity workouts like running and jogging are not possible due to back injury as a teen.

I started tracking my food in early January. I used SparkPeople. I found I was eating about 2200-2300 calories per day. When I *thought* I was cutting back, I got it down to around 1900. Not enough for me to lose weight (I was 5'7 1/2" and 152 lbs). SparkPeople indicated that I needed to eat between 1220 and 1550 calories for me to lose weight. It took me about 2 weeks of really tweaking before I got down under that 1550 level. Since that time, I have now lost 10 lbs. And let me tell you, when you really only have 10 lbs to lose, those are the hardest.

My first reaction to your post is, despite the fact that you think you are cutting, you really aren't cutting enough. At 182lbs at 5'4", you should see some decent weight loss if you get your calories down enough. So, off the bat, I think you are not.

For weight loss, diet is 85% and exercise is 15%. I really believe that. I can exercise like a nut and, unless I'm running marathons which I could never do, I don't lose weight without proper eating.

I have been exercising on my treadmill about 30-35 minutes for 4-5 nights a week. I alternate between a fast walk and a slow jog (and it's a really slow jog). I do feel that has helped.

I would suggest you start tracking everything you put in your mouth using either SparkPeople or MyFitnessPal. Very eye-opening.

 

[Mixie]

Been working out on wii fit plus 50 minutes a day. That is 50 minutes more that last year. lol i haven't gained or lost yet. i'm healthy .. meaning i don't have any medical conditions.. so any ideas for me? SHakes, pills, etc are out of the question. High intensity workouts like running and jogging are not possible due to back injury as a teen.

Do you have the yoga program? I've been doing yoga once a week at home (not on the Wii, we don't own one). I had forgotten how much I liked yoga.

 

[rchristiansen]

Yes, tracking is really important - I use livestrong.com/myplate, it's free. Calories add up fast!!! I aim for 1300 calories a day before exercise and fill up on fruits and veggies. It also tracks sodium which is SHOCKING how quickly that adds up, as well as cholesterol and fiber. You can track your fitness there too. That is motivation to exercise because then you get to eat more!

This weekend, even though I tracked, I still ate almost 2000 on Saturday and 1700 yesterday. I track every little bit I eat - livestrong also has a mobile app. So while I didn't meet my goal of 1300 calories each day over the weekend, because I knew I had to track it, I didn't end up eating 2500 calories, which is easily done on a weekend.

And elliptical or bike might be best for your workouts too if your back is bad - the elliptical is low impact. You need to get the heart rate up to burn fat. Another thing is you may be overestimating the number of calories you are burning. If your heart rate isn't up there, you might not be burning what you think.

Food tips:
Drink more water, or green tea. Fill up on protein and plan your meals each week.
Replace carbs with veggies at dinner - no more mashed potatoes, rice or regular pasta. Only little bits of it and it's always measured and whole wheat.

That's what works for me. I don't like weight watchers anymore, I used to do that, and while the actual scale number is going down slower now than when I did WW, by clothes fit TONS better and I feel better. WW doesn't focus on nutrition or fitness very much. WW also doesn't help you keep the weight off. Once your down you have a mini-maintenance program and then your pretty much on your own.

 

[cepmom]

Yes, tracking is really important - I use livestrong.com/myplate, it's free. Calories add up fast!!! I aim for 1300 calories a day before exercise and fill up on fruits and veggies. It also tracks sodium which is SHOCKING how quickly that adds up, as well as cholesterol and fiber. You can track your fitness there too. That is motivation to exercise because then you get to eat more!

This weekend, even though I tracked, I still ate almost 2000 on Saturday and 1700 yesterday. I track every little bit I eat - livestrong also has a mobile app. So while I didn't meet my goal of 1300 calories each day over the weekend, because I knew I had to track it, I didn't end up eating 2500 calories, which is easily done on a weekend.

And elliptical or bike might be best for your workouts too if your back is bad - the elliptical is low impact. You need to get the heart rate up to burn fat. Another thing is you may be overestimating the number of calories you are burning. If your heart rate isn't up there, you might not be burning what you think.

Food tips:
Drink more water, or green tea. Fill up on protein and plan your meals each week.
Replace carbs with veggies at dinner - no more mashed potatoes, rice or regular pasta. Only little bits of it and it's always measured and whole wheat.

That's what works for me. I don't like weight watchers anymore, I used to do that, and while the actual scale number is going down slower now than when I did WW, by clothes fit TONS better and I feel better. WW doesn't focus on nutrition or fitness very much. WW also doesn't help you keep the weight off. Once your down you have a mini-maintenance program and then your pretty much on your own.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with this part. WW does focus on nutrition and activity. And once you get to maintenance and make Lifetime you can still attend meetings for support...you are no way "on your own" unless one chooses to stop attending. WW teaches one how to eat for life, so I don't see how it doesn't help you to keep the weight off?

 

[rchristiansen]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with this part. WW does focus on nutrition and activity. And once you get to maintenance and make Lifetime you can still attend meetings for support...you are no way "on your own" unless one chooses to stop attending. WW teaches one how to eat for life, so I don't see how it doesn't help you to keep the weight off?

I actually am a lifetime member since 2001 and went to meetings for years. I felt, though that once I wanted to start focusing on actual nutrition (not just calories, fat and fiber) and fitness WW missed the mark. I also made a commitment to limiting processed foods and focusing on organic and WW doesn't really sing that song. They seem to really push their fake 1 point sugar foods and processed meals, and I didn't like that. I quit WW last summer.

Regarding fitness, they only gave you a pamphlet about how much to exercise and then, you only got a few points to eat that didn't equate to how many calories your burned. I'd work out on the elliptical for 30 minutes and burn 400 calories, but WW would say I only got 3 points. I was consistently starving on WW at that point. I would only lose weight when I went over my point total and made it impossible to track with WW's system.

It seemed that once I was lifetime they didn't have any meetings focusing on how to maintain, just how to lose the weight. They praised people that lost weight, but not the ones that kept it off. A majority of the folks there didn't exercise or if they did it was minimal so the meeting's exercise focus would be about how many steps you took in a day, not how much you sweat. I had a hard time maintaining and figuring out what to do. WW was all about getting to a "goal" weight, not really changing your lifestyle forever. (They say, that it's a lifestyle change, but there was a mentality that once you reached your goal you could "load up on food" again.LOL!) Now, my routine includes a tracking calories, fiber, sodium, cholesterol (and a bunch of vitamins) and fitness goal for each day, not a weight goal where I "stop." Sure, I have an idea of that I'd like to lose 7 pounds by spring break - but I won't "stop" when I get lose 7 more pounds, I'll just keep this up.

So back to the OP question of tips for weight loss - my biggest thing I have to say is commitment. Don't set a goal of a certain weight. Set a goal of "I'm eating healthy everyday and exercising regularly" for the rest of my life.

 

[cepmom]

I actually am a lifetime member since 2001 and went to meetings for years. I felt, though that once I wanted to start focusing on actual nutrition (not just calories, fat and fiber) and fitness WW missed the mark. I also made a commitment to limiting processed foods and focusing on organic and WW doesn't really sing that song. They seem to really push their fake 1 point sugar foods and processed meals, and I didn't like that. I quit WW last summer.

Regarding fitness, they only gave you a pamphlet about how much to exercise and then, you only got a few points to eat that didn't equate to how many calories your burned. I'd work out on the elliptical for 30 minutes and burn 400 calories, but WW would say I only got 3 points. I was consistently starving on WW at that point. I would only lose weight when I went over my point total and made it impossible to track with WW's system.

It seemed that once I was lifetime they didn't have any meetings focusing on how to maintain, just how to lose the weight. They praised people that lost weight, but not the ones that kept it off. A majority of the folks there didn't exercise or if they did it was minimal so the meeting's exercise focus would be about how many steps you took in a day, not how much you sweat. I had a hard time maintaining and figuring out what to do. WW was all about getting to a "goal" weight, not really changing your lifestyle forever. (They say, that it's a lifestyle change, but there was a mentality that once you reached your goal you could "load up on food" again.LOL!) Now, my routine includes a tracking calories, fiber, sodium, cholesterol (and a bunch of vitamins) and fitness goal for each day, not a weight goal where I "stop." Sure, I have an idea of that I'd like to lose 7 pounds by spring break - but I won't "stop" when I get lose 7 more pounds, I'll just keep this up.

So back to the OP question of tips for weight loss - my biggest thing I have to say is commitment. Don't set a goal of a certain weight. Set a goal of "I'm eating healthy everyday and exercising regularly" for the rest of my life.

also a Lifetime member since 2008 and an employee since 2009....so Im pretty familiar with how it works While things like fitness and nutrition were not drilled into your head before, it was always there in some form or another. The program has been changed somewhat and its no longer just calories fat and fiber but more looking at the total nutrients within those calories, because as we both know, not all calories are created equal.
If you felt like Lifetimers were not supported by meeting staff, then I feel like you were at a bad meeting. Just because WW didn't ultimately work for your needs, doesn't mean everything you proclaim above is true for the program as a whole.

 

[rchristiansen]

If you felt like Lifetimers were not supported by meeting staff, then I feel like you were at a bad meeting..

This will be my last comment on the topic - but I've been to probably 10 different meeting locations in 2 states and experienced the same message at all the meetings. I guess my point is, I wouldn't have had to keep trying to lose the weight over and over again if the WW system worked to maintain. They even make a point in the meetings about how many times have people "returned" to WW to re-lose the weight. You shouldn't have to "re-lose" it and my mindset is 100% different now.

 

[cepmom]

This will be my last comment on the topic - but I've been to probably 10 different meeting locations in 2 states and experienced the same message at all the meetings. I guess my point is, I wouldn't have had to keep trying to lose the weight over and over again if the WW system worked to maintain. They even make a point in the meetings about how many times have people "returned" to WW to re-lose the weight. You shouldn't have to "re-lose" it and my mindset is 100% different now.

my experience for the people that are returning to lose weight is that they stopped working the program and subsequently gained some weight back. The program only works if you work it...and maintenence is still working the program. If you found the program didn't work for you, then that's what you should say, instead of saying things that are not fact (WW doesn't focus on nutrition, exercise etc). And that is my last comment on the subject.

 

[rchristiansen]

my experience for the people that are returning to lose weight is that they stopped working the program and subsequently gained some weight back. The program only works if you work it...and maintenence is still working the program. If you found the program didn't work for you, then that's what you should say, instead of saying things that are not fact (WW doesn't focus on nutrition, exercise etc). And that is my last comment on the subject.

Ok I lied, it wasn't my last comment You are correct in saying that those who stopped the program and attending meetings gain weight back. Also I wasn't allowed to attend meetings when I was pregnant, so that was a big problem too.

I've learned, there is a flaw in the system, if long term, people don't stick with it. In 10 years, none of my friends or family have stuck with WW. I stuck it out the longest! It seems that WW doesn't encourage people to stay with the program to maintain. I had no incentive to attend meetings or discuss how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I needed something else.

 

[Mixie]

Major chocolate cravings. I'm due to 'start' any moment now. The next few days will be the hardest.

 

[cybrkitn]

I weighed myself this past Tuesday and found that I lost a 1/2 a pound LOVE IT!

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Week 3: I'm -1 from last week, -3.4 total since Valentine's Day! I definitely had some "help" from having a stomach bug for a few days. I need to focus on exercising more, and making sure I am eating often enough to not feel deprived.

 

[cybrkitn]

I need to focus on exercising more,

So do I. I've had so much going on these last few days that I haven't excersized in more than 3 days. However, I have been doing some early Spring cleaning down in our basement. So I guess going up and down the stairs several times kind of counts.

When the weather gets a bit warmer (probably starting next month) my 65 year old mom and I will start walking together. Which is great, b/c it gives me someone to talk to as I'm walking rather than just using my MP3 player.

You know, it feels so good to be able to fit back into regular size clothing again! I've lost about 16 pounds since last Summer and I still have another 20 or so to go.