how did you lose weight before cruise?

[Summer-Caitlin]

I am another one that really wants to lose weight. I too used to work in restaurants and walking all the time was great, I never gained, just lost. Years later got a desk job and the weight slowly increased. Now I am getting married in August at WDW, spending 3 weeks in Orlando, including the 3 night cruise so I need to lose weight. I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome so the doctors agree that it is much more difficult for me to lose the weight.
I am back at University studying Law and basically have a new life going, new part time job and everything. I'm only 26 and I feel so much older, apparently I don't look it though
Anyway, I too have started exercising in the morning. I do 30 min on my Elliptical trainer and 30 min at 7.00pm. I drink water throughout the day, unfortunately I sit most of the day. I am following the GI diet, I have so far lost quite a bit of weight on this diet and although I do cheat occasionally on the weekend, it doesn't alter my weight loss.

 

[THUNDERMOUNTAINMOMMA]

Heres a comment about drinks. Yes, drinking alot of water does seem to help. Alcohol, on the ther hand really slows down my weight loss! I really enjoy a coctail or glass of wine with dinner, but if I do have one, unfortunately my loss on the scale suffers!

 

[pppiglet]

Before our last cruise we went on low carb. DH lost 35lbs, DS (who was huge at 350lbs) lost 150lbs, and I lost 15lbs. I wasn't as big as them. Now as I am two years older and put that weight back on due to not exercising like I use to, it's harder to get off. And the big key is WILLPOWER. I seem to have lost mine. So now I have 2 months before the cruise to get it off again and I have the time to exercise since I'm between jobs. I'm hoping to get my willpower back again!

 

[perpetualplanner]

I'd like to commend you all on your effort and give an incentive tip. I've never been a huge exersizer but one day my DSis called and said her church was holding a 5K to raise money for their clinic (that's 3.1 miles). She wanted to enter so I agreed thinking I've got a few months 3 miles isn't bad. We did it and ever since every few months we enter another one. It keeps you going because you don't want to look foolish in front of your DSis (or other friend). So find a 5K (most consist of a LOT of walkers!!) and then find another - it really helps you stay motivated.

 

[kaseyC]

What has worked for me and I have successfully kept the weight off for the past 3 years is exercise and portion control. I love WW online because I am not into the meeting thing. So whenever, I feel I am slipping I reopen my WW online account and get back to counting points again. To me the points are not the important thing, it is logging in what I am eating making me more aware of my habits.

My other component is exercise. After my 3rd DD was born, I joined our local Gym. I purchased myself a 6 pack of personal training sessions to get back on track. I started with just 3 days a week at about 30 mins. Now I am at the gym 6 days a week. I take a variety of 60-90 min classes- Spin, Step, Body Pump and kick boxing as well as doing my own individual strength work.

In the past 3 years I have lost over 75lbs (back to my pre wedding size and weight) but more than that my body is well toned from the strength work. IMO, don't think of it as a diet or to lose a few pounds- commit yourself to a lifestyle change. I do not deny my self much of anything- everthing in moderation.

 

[Mean Queen]

What has worked for me and I have successfully kept the weight off for the past 3 years is exercise and portion control. I love WW online because I am not into the meeting thing. So whenever, I feel I am slipping I reopen my WW online account and get back to counting points again. To me the points are not the important thing, it is logging in what I am eating making me more aware of my habits.

I also do the WW online only. I don't do well with the meetings. I tend to do the opposite when someone tries to guilt me into behaving. I prefer to guilt myself.

 

[cseca]

I think everyone already said what I want to say...
The key is exercise (I swear on The FIRM videos) and watch what you eat.
I went from 187 to 122 to 140 and now to 125 (I'm only 5ft1) in these past 5 years.
Yes started as a yoyo diet.
I wanted to lose weight for my sister's wedding (I was the maid of honor).
I ate like a bird followed a weight loss group and of course lost the weight.
After the wedding was over, I couldn't control my eating because my motivation was wrong.

Then of course my weight went back up until I realized that I was sick and tired of being fat.

So I did something different now.
I exercise by myself, watch what I eat by myself.
Reteaching myself how to take goodcare of my body.

I found out that it takes longer to lose the extra 15lbs I packed on but I did it healthily. No crash diet, no 0 carb, no 0 sugar diet, no all protein diet, or packaged food diet.
Just plain ole exercise and healthy food habit (fruits, veggies, high fiber stuff).

Anyways, I'm rambling.
What I wanted to say is understand your motivation to lose weight and then follow your own schedule. It might be 10lbs/2 months, it might be 10lbs/5 months. Losing weight too fast is not healthy.
Measure yourself.
Not necessarily in lbs but in inches.
Some days you'll (OK, maybe it's just me...) feel like a big fat cow and when you measure youself you'll find that you're really not... LOL!!!

Be patient and baby steps.
It takes you years to develop your current eating habit.
It will take you sometime to retrain your brain to change it.
As long as you have the right motivation, you'll be able to lose the weight and keep it.
To me losing weight is 1/3 of the battle, the rest is learning how to keep it.

I wish you well on your weight loss journey...

 

[DisneyMomJen]

I also was the type of person who was very thin and could eat whatever and NEVER gain weight until.... I hit about 30.

 

[disneypoor]

Many of the previous posters have already said what I'd like to say, but I am a firm believer that if you stick to something it will work. I, too, was the skinny little thing that could eat whatever I wanted and never gain a pound. My sister, who has battled weight her whole life, always told me that she felt sorry for people like me. She told me once that there would come a day when I could no longer eat whatever I wanted and I wouldn't know what to do. Boy was she right!

About three years ago I decided that I would look at a friend's info on WW. I decided to do it on my own and had fantastic results! Eventually, I stopped sticking to it. Well, it took about 2 years for me to start gaining the weight back (which I thought was pretty good since I ate whatever I wanted ). So, this past January I decided I was going to do it again. I lost 10 pounds and then sortof reached a plateau. II'm in my mid-30's now. I was discouraged because last time the weight loss was so easy. Well, I added exercise (and I have always HATED exercising) to my program.

I have walked/jogged 3 miles every single day for the past almost five weeks. On the weekends, I go first thing in the morning so I can be done with it. On weekdays, I go as soon as I get off of work. I'm not going to lie, it hasn't been real easy. I have to go every single day. For me, if I don't, I'll start skipping and then quit. However, I'm not noticing weight loss as much as inches. I had measured myself when I started WW in January and the other day I decided to measure again. The inches that I've lost are amazing! Once you start seeing those results, there is no turning back! I'm actually starting to enjoy going for my walk/jog every day. It gives me a chance to wind down without being interrupted from anyone.

I wish you the best of luck! Just know that there are many of us who are or have been in the same boat as you are!

 

[zweihund]

I'd like to commend you all on your effort and give an incentive tip. I've never been a huge exersizer but one day my DSis called and said her church was holding a 5K to raise money for their clinic (that's 3.1 miles). She wanted to enter so I agreed thinking I've got a few months 3 miles isn't bad. We did it and ever since every few months we enter another one. It keeps you going because you don't want to look foolish in front of your DSis (or other friend). So find a 5K (most consist of a LOT of walkers!!) and then find another - it really helps you stay motivated.

I could not agree more.
It's very hard to start exercising and keep it up if there are no consequences other than NOT losing the weight. But if you set a goal, like completing a 5k in under 45 minutes, then you have to be able to maintain at least a brisk walking pace to accomplish it. To do that, you have to train.

You could always reach bigger too, and say complete a 10k or half marathon. You can walk any portion of it, or ALL of it for that matter. But it would give you not only a reason to exercise but the achievement of a lifetime.

A friend of mine is training for her second triathalon now. She lost at least 3 dress sizes just by training for her first one last year.

I do think WW is great too, because it teaches you how to pick and choose what you eat without telling you you can't have something. Because you CAN have a soda or a bagel.....you just have to monitor how frequently you do it and balance it with the "freebies" or low-point foods.

Best of luck to you! And if you can, enlist a buddy.

 

[Kimf]

I have lost about 8-10 pounds by increasing my excercise time from 30 minutes 5x/week, to about 40-45 minutes 5 x/week and I added 15 minutes of weight lifting 2x/week. Now, there is no way I can keep up this level of excercise (time!) on an ongoing basis, but figured I could for 6-8 weeks, which I have. I also cut out candy and my nightly bowl of ice cream (I am so bad!). The first week or so is hard, and then it gets easy to ignore that stuff. I also just tried to eat good during the week, like yogurt for breakfast, lean cuisines and veggies for lunch etc. I'm sure I will gain 1/2 the weight back on the cruise!

Good luck!

Kim

 

[emtmom]

I have found that what works best for me, is portion control. I don't deprive myself of anything, I just limit the amount that I have. I also don't eat after 7 pm. I try to get out for a 30 minute walk when I can--not always possible with an 8 month old, but it definitely makes a difference. Pushing the stroller around the neighborhood gives me a good work out without it feeling like a workout.
Whatever you end up trying, good luck!!

 

[hjensen]

I decided in January that enough was enough and joined Weight Watchers. I only joined on-line. I am not one to do weekly meetings and it is much cheaper. I have lost 20 lbs. since then!! I didnt think I could do it but once you start counting points it almost becomes second nature!!

 

[threeCsmom]

WOW - what great motivation you guys have been! It is nice to know that I am not the only one who struggles with this.

One thing I have not seen mentioned that has worked wonders for me is CURVES for women. It is a "girls" only work out/weight management facility. You work out at least 3x a week for 30 minutes on their equipment. It is great to get moving - but you also have the support of women who are doing the same thing. I can't believe the friendships that I have made by working out with different women of all ages and all walks of life. You get weighed and measured each month so you can track your progress - and it creates good accountablity for yourself. Cost is typically around $30 -35 a month. The only downside is that I started feeling and looking better and we ended up expecting another baby!

So...another round of getting bigger and bigger - had healthy baby - and was able to not miss a beat with Curves!

Again - ya'll are a great inspiration! Thank you and keep up the great work!

 

[solgent]

Several people have said they were skinny as young women. I never was. Never truly fat but never truly slim. Always the same 5/10/15/20 extra lbs, sometimes more, sometimes less.

Now I accept that I'm not going to get to my "dream" weight and I actually have to exert a fair amount of effort to stay at my "acceptable" weight (10 lbs more).

Here is my approach:

I hardly ever eat dessert, candy, cookies, cake, ice cream, etc. It's just not on my list. I put it out of my mind as something that I don't do. Just like, say, riding a motorcycle. Other people do it, but it's not for me. I find it is a LOT easier to eat no cookies than just one cookie.

I eat pretty much the same breakfast, same lunch every day. These are foods I like, that are healthy, that are filling, and I know it's not too much.

Drink lots of water. Also tea. At night I'll have a cup of decaf chai tea with milk. It's delicious and warm and feels very indulgent.

Select some items that you like that are low calorie to be "safe" snacks. Examples: apples, baby carrots, air-popped popcorn. Anytime you are hungry you can have as much of these things as you want. Or you can have whatever thing you are craving, but first you have to eat an apple/bowl of baby carrots/whatever and wait an hour. By that point for the most part you've lost interest, but if you haven't, fine. At least it wasn't an impulse snack.

Reward yourself other than with food. To the OP, find a way to get yourself onto the treadmill. Imagine you were trying to get your child to do something she didn't want. Maybe listen to music. Track how far you are walking. E.g., find out how many miles from your house to somewhere like Disneyworld, and see how long it takes you to walk that distance a little bit every day. Make up a system for yourself where if you do it X times in a week, you get some small reward, like a manicure or a magazine or download a new song or whatever. Or "pay" yourself by setting aside money each time you do it that you will use on your vacation. Think of this as something you are doing not to lose weight (although it will help) but for your health. Like brushing teeth. Maybe not the most fun part of the day but we do it. If it gets boring either switch to a different exercise or find a way to make it more enjoyable again.

It is all mostly a mind game. For example, people will have loads of reasons not to exercise: I'm tired, It's too hot, It's too cold, I have too much to do, I overate, so it's pointless. The way to "answer" these objections is to add the phrase "but I'm going to do it anyway" to the end of any excuse your mind can come up with. As you begin to conquer these excuses it gets a bit easier. You sort of start to accept that you're going to do it whether you feel like it or not, and you stop resisting so much.

 

[tynkerbell]

I lost 100 pounds before our cruise. We booked in Aug. 2005 and I started dieting 2 weeks later. I wanted to look good in all the cruise pictures.

What I did was began exercising. Started out doing only 5 minutes a day on a glider machine, it's all I could handle. I wrote down everything I ate and kept my calorie intake at around 1200-1500 daily. I averaged about 10 pounds a month and by our cruise in Dec. 2006 I was at my goal weight. I've been maintaining the loss ever since by continuing to workout and watching my calorie intake.

 

[meegster]

I agree - there isn't a trick, unfortunately. I've been learning and working with the Body For Life program - there's a book out and a website. I haven't had any major activity. Went from 160 to 145 when I was really dedicated. I bounce around 150 most of the time but I'm ok with that. But learning to make better eating choices for me is the hardest part so if I can try to eat clean most days and workout most days (they keep their workouts under 45 mins) then I can maintain. I also like the "FREE" day the program offers - so if I'm tempted to cheat or play a big night out, I can do it guilt free and just pick up back where I left off.

Cruising in 2 weeks and trying to keep it low to prep for the onslot!
Good luck!

 

[Thunderrd]

Everyone has mention exercise which I agree with. However the problem that I have and maybe others do to is I am unable to do many things because of surgery I had on both feet. I cannot run or do any other exercise that requires alot of stress on my feet. Also I am just getting over a stress fracture in my foot and don't want to do too much too soon and reinjure it. I'm thinking that maybe I can ride the stationary bike if I place my foot on the pedal so as to not put pressure where the fracture was. We have a treadmill but I don't think that would be good at the moment. I think that maybe the elliptical would be good as there is not alot of stress on the feet but I don't know as I've never done it for longer than a few mins. Any suggestions?

 

[meegster]

Thunderrd,
Swimming - great exercise and very low impact. Whether its swimming laps at the local recreation pool or joining in swim aerobics - that might be a great option for you. I haven't tried them myself but maybe pilates or yoga would work for you - maybe rent a video/dvd at your local store or check out a class.
Good luck and careful on those feet!

 

[eva]

Thunderrd, I have a Total Body Gym that I feel puts little pressure on the feet. Matter of fact, the only time I use my feet is when I do the squats with the foot platform. The rowing exercise I do on it really gets the blood pumping. It is great for cardio and building muscle. Woman normally have poor upper body strength. So this may be a good time to find something that will help you to burn calories and work on your upper body. If you go to a gym, try a rowing machine and do some free weights. If the problem is solely in the feet, you could still do most of the weight machines for the upper thigh and hamstring area too.