Okay ~ let's get serious! Let's lose weight together before Christmas/WDW trip!

[SandraC]

Hi, I worked hard losing 80 pounds three years ago. Now I am a fitness and yoga instructor and love it! BUT since having my second child, I can't shake my extra 10-15 lbs!

Today is the day! I am getting back to it! Exercise is not my problem EATING poorly is!

Who is on board? Let's get healthy weights together.

I just jumped on the scale at 144 lbs, I'd like to get back to 130 lbs. I was 122 lbs, but I was starving. 130 is good!

Let's go!

 

[grover]

Sandra- You can count me in! I eat healthy meals most of the time but very, very bad snacks! I also consume way to much pepsi-can't stand diet pop! My goal is to start drinking more water! I have also just started a new job and have noticed the last couple of weeks that my food and stress level are rising proportionately!!
Grover in Winnipeg

 

[kellyla]

Count me in too!I have a whole year before I go to Disney but I want to lose the weight over the winter.I have increased my water intake to at least 2 litres a day.I have given up my potato chips but I have picked up a nasty habit of chewing ice cubes to make up for the crunch(I make them bite sized cubes,how sad amI,hehehe)I am ready to lose the weight!

 

[madge62]

I'd love to join you all. I've got lots to lose, almost 70 lbs. ack, how did I end up with all that extra 'more of me to hug' stuff? Alas, I joined the gym in May but other than toning up a bit, it hasn't helped me much cause I've been eating far too well.
Now I've made my decision to re-join TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) a support/diet group and hopefully with exercise AND diet, I can get into my WDW/cruisewear. We're heading off in December 2002 for a week at WDW and a week on an RCCL cruise. I HAVE to fit into smaller clothes, I refuse to buy anymore unless they're a lot smaller!
Let's all try to minnie-size ourselves together!

Marjorie

 

[SandraC]

Hey Marjorie! I lost 80 lbs. in 8 months by just eating better, drinking water and exercising. I went from 210 lbs to 122 lbs (but that was tooooo small) I like 125 lbs. Had another baby and gained a bit back. I was 144 lbs when I originally posted, now I am 142 lbs, I was a good girl these past few days! My goal is about 130ish. I put on a lot of muscle, so I think 130 lbs will look like my old 124 lbs. I gotta get rid of the hips! Keep smiling and drinking water! EXCELLENT news about joining a gym! I work at several gyms and love it! Keep me posted! S

 

[DisDee]

Hi! I could use a little group support also! I need to lose about 60 lbs. I'm now on blood pressure meds andI know weight loss will help to control it. Lost about 6 already and my doc was very happy. I too joined a gym last spring, but need to actually go to see some results. Count me in your group-I love to hear about the success of others-it motivates me!!! Its a tough time of the year to try and gain control, but small "mini" goals should help. Much success to all of you!

 

[disneyjunkie]

Can I please join you guys??!! I need all the help I can get! I want to take off @50-60 pounds by next summer. I don't eat huge amounts of food, but I drink lots of cokes, pepsis, and snack often. I joined a gym last month, but I guess it's kinda hard to see any results when you don't GO to the gym.

I do walk often. I live 2 1/2 miles from work. I try to walk to work or walk home at least 3 times a week. I guesss that's a start.

 

[Limmer]

I just joined "Weight Watchers" 2 weeks ago and I have lost 3 1/2 lbs. Not a lot but at least I am not gaining. I have about 25 to go.

Grover, I also HATE diet pops. They are gross, but I love fizz. I just started drinking a Presidents Choice product which I now love. It is carbonated grapefruit juice. Club soda with lemon also gives me my fizz fix.

Just a little tip to everyone, I had no idea how many points (that is how WW works, everything has a point value) alcohol was. I recently went to a Christmas party with a buffet dinner and I stayed within my points for the day by skipping having a drink. I had a little of everything (yes, even cheesecake for dessert) and just stuck to water or club soda.

 

[SandraC]

Hi all! Nice to see so many people wanting to get healthy! Here is the diet I made up (it's just math really) to lose 80 pounds. It only took 8 months!

WATER
Drink at LEAST 64 ounces (8 x 8 oz. glasses) of water a day. I liked leaving my water in a 1.5 litre bottle on the counter. I find room temperature water easier to get down. You can also add lemon if you like.

You need to increase your water if: you are breastfeeding a baby, exercising, drinking alcohol or caffene. I try to drink 10 - 12 glasses per day (8 oz glasses).

EXERCISE
Pick something you like to do! I lost my first 50 lbs. on a treadmill that I put in the middle of my dinning room. It was right in the middle of everything ~ I had to use it! I got up to 30 minutes, then 60 minutes, but once I got to 60 minutes, it started to get boring and easy. So I cut back to 30 minutes, made it harder to do with inclines and speed and I added 30 minutes of weight lifting. Excellent combo! Now I teach 3 cardio classes a week and 6 yoga classes per week.

DIET
I counted calories to diet. Here is formula I used. I found it all over the place and it works!

Take these factors:
10 if you are inactive (no exercise)
13 if you are active (little exercise)
15 if you are very active (exercise cardio and toning 3+ times a week)

I'll use me as an example. I am now 142 lbs and I want to be 130 lbs. I am very active. So I take my weight 142 and multiply by my activity factor of 15.

142 X 15 = 2130 calories I can eat in one day to maintain my weight.
But I want to lose 1 pound a week. (More than 2 pounds a week can be excessive at this weight, higher weights will likely lose for weight faster then level off).

2130 calories per day x 7 days in a week = 14910 calories in a week to maintain my weight.

There are 3500 calories in one pound. So I need to either:
(a) increase my active 3500 calories per week or;
(b) decrease my food (calorie) intake 3500 calories per week.

Since I am doing way too many classes now, I chose to decrease my food calories.

14910 (my weekly maintaining calories) MINUS - 3500 calories in a lbs. = 11410 calories

11410 (calories in my week) DIVIDED by 7 days a week = 1630 calories I need to eat to LOSE ONE POUND in a week.

This formula needs revisiting as you lose weight.

You can find all sorts of COMMON SENSE dieting on the internet. If you don't want to decrease calories, you can increase activity. A low impact aerobics class burned around 300 - 400 calories, so if you add 3 classes in a week, you'll burn about 1000 calories, then you only need to decrease your caloric intake by 2500, instead of 3500, see it's just MATH!

WHAT TO EAT
I follow the CANADIAN FOOD GUIDE of:
2-4 servings of dairy (4 if you are preggy or nursing a baby) (watch out for high fat cheeses)
5-10 servings of fruits and veggies
2-3 meats and alternatives
6-12 breads, grains, rice etc.,.

OTHER POINTS

(1) STICK TO IT ~ avoid cheating, have cake on your birthday, but use common sense and moderation.
(2) Don't go under 1200 calories a day, your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to fat stores.
(3) Know that you are getting healthy and adding happy years onto your life.
(4) DRINK YOUR WATER ~ stop reading, get up and go get a glass of water RIGHT NOW!
(5) Welcome back! And enjoy your new Heathly life!

This works! I lost weight and it feels great. I put on the preggy weights, but it's going to come off. I'm back into the HEALTHY MODE!

YOU CAN DO THIS! WHEN YOU WANT TO CHEAT ~ GET ON THE COMPUTER, GO GET WATER, GO FOR A WALK! ANYTHING!

I'm here for you! Just think about how wonderful your Disney trip video and pictures are going to look! Think about going up to a buffet and no one looks at you. I know these feelings. I was 210 lbs and I love buffet but suffered the giggles and nasty looks.

YOU CAN DO THIS! xoxooxoxoxoxoxooxox Sandra

 

[louisaho]

is there any pill that i can take to lose weight faster? (i have heard from someone that there are some pills which allow you to only absorb 30% of oil instead of 100% when you eat, so eventually, you lose weight)

 

[Limmer]

Yes there are pills that do that. The way they do is to give you very bad diarrhea. This can cause serious and on going problems. This should only be done in the most extreme and life threatening cases. My aunt had to go to surgery for her heart and she was too heavy so her Dr. put her on it for a few weeks then took her off when surgery was possible. THIS IS VERY BAD FOR YOU AND IT IS NOT THE WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT.

 

[sammi]

Hi guys! Come on down to The Inspiration Board and start up with the WISH(We're Inspired To Stay Healthy) group down there. They are a really supportive group and every Monday we all weigh in and tell our success's or our failures....... but everyone is so nice.

I just started back up 3 weeks tomorrow with Weight Watchers'. I am a lifetime member having lost 86 and 1/2 lbs 9 years ago and since then have put all but 25 lbs back on. I am also a diabetic (type 2) with high cholesterol and blood pressure (on meds for all 3 problems) I have lost in 2 weeks a total of 5 lbs and want to really get back in shape and get my health back to what it should be.

Good luck to you all and please come visit the Inspiration Board for great tips and wonderful people!

 

[SandraC]

Thanks Sammi and congrats on your weight lose! We'd love to hear your success story!

I'm happy to see so many nice folks here to support each other.

To the gal from Montreal ~ diet pills are dumb. No apologies for my bluntness. There are no secrets to weight loss. No easy ways, if there were, we'd all be skinny. I outlined how I did it, it's common sense really.

To everyone else who wants to follow a common sense diet that they can follow the rest of there lives ~ HIP HIP HORRAY! We will do this together, we will get healthy, safely and happily.

BTW, today while shopping I heard a man yell, "CALL 911". Since I have CPR and First Aid certs, I ran over to help. A girl had fainted, by the time I got there, she was better. I asked her all the questions I was suppose to including when was the last time she ate. She answered yesterday afternoon, it was 1pm when I asked. 24 hours without food, gee, wonder why she fainted. COMMON SENSE!

Let's get those Florida bathing suits out and get fit for FLORIDA and DISNEY!

God Bless!

 

[Dumbo5]

Thanks for all the info SandraC. I need group support also.
Going to WDW in less than 3 weeks and did not get off the weight I had intended though.
But I do 20 mins of Pilates most mornings and 60 mins on treadmill most evenings. I do feel up to the trip as far as being fit.
After seeing this thread I have decided to give up all junk and sweet foods before we leave for WDW. I eat healthy but I use food as a destresser. I need alternatives to using food for comfort. Need suggestions of what works for everyone else.
I have about 35 lbs to lose.

 

[MikeJ]

A few years ago, with an impending mid-life crisis (I was 38 at the time ) and my weight approaching 270 lbs, I decided to act. Over the course of a year I went from 268 lbs to 212 lbs, and although I've strayed over the past few months (I'm back up to 225 ), here's what I changed to lose the weight. Much of what I'm going to say here echos Sandra's earlier post.

1) Copious amounts of water. I realize that "what goes in, must come out", and that it's much more of a nuisance for women than men, but I was drinking at least 12 8-oz glasses of water per day. It made a huge (no pun intended) difference.

2) Fruits and veggies. I usually have 4 pieces of fruit and at least one large salad (with minimal light/low fat dressing) daily.

3) Cut down on the fats. Peanut butter was a staple for me. I could easily go through a 1kg jar by myself over a 2-3 week period.

4) Cut back on the carbs. I went from 4-6 slices of bread plus potatoes or rice for supper to 2-3 slices per day. That's more than enough starch. In conjunction with #3 above, I've switched to having cereal for breakfast with 1/2 cup of bran sprinkled over the top. Good for the weight loss and potentially minimizing the potential for colon cancer.

5) Exercise. Doesn't have to be much - even just power walking for 30 minutes 3 times/week. I'm fortunate in that my workplace is right at the UWO campus in London, and I go over to make use of the campus recreation facilities over the lunch hour. Right now I'm pleasure skating, playing squash, or using the cardio room several times a week.

6) Don't get discouraged. I'd have a really good week, and gain half a pound. Then I'd say "oh, what's the use", splurge on the peanut butter, and promptly lose 2 pounds. Of course, when the peanut butter settled on my stomach several days later I'd put that two pounds back on and lament my non-existent willpower.

We're heading to WDW soon, and I hope to get back (or at least close) to my goal weight of 210 before we head out. Even if I can lose 8-10 pounds I'll consider it a success. Unfortunately, for me weight control is an ongoing thing and it only takes a couple of weeks of self-indulgence to undo 6 months of really good work.

- Mike

 

[SandraC]

I slipped! I went to a cookie exchange party last night. I did really really really good until after dinner tonight. I had a lovely big salad and thought I would have ONE cookie! I ate several. The good news is I have 4 classes tonight, one this morning (cardio), yoga in the afternoon. I have another yoga in about an hour and a step class at 8:20pm. I'm back at it. I slipped but I counted the calories, just pushing my limit. WHEW! I am motivated by the great stories I've been hearing! THANKS! WE CAN DO IT!

 

[Dumbo5]

Yeah, I got through all of yesterday with no sweets. There were times I was tempted but knowing I was supported here got me through those times.
SandraC - how do you go about counting your calories? Do you keep a food diary? I'd like to use your method even before my upcoming trip.

 

[PoohBWV]

Hi guys. I've made up my mind to join you all. I want to lose 25 pounds that have gradually crept on over the years. I am 38 and I find that as forty approaches, I really want to get back in shape. (Can you say mid-life crisis?) I really believe in drinking lots of water and have started already. Did really well yesterday and maybe with all of your inspiration, I won't be as tempted to cheat.

 

[SandraC]

Hi D5, I have a little book with calories to just about everything, and fat grams too. Most food have calories listed. You can use the internet too. At this point, I've memorized the calories to just about everything. GOOD LUCK! Still nibbling at cookies, but I'll stop now and get water1 THX

 

[CJK]

Thanks Sandra for all the great information. I counsel people for weight loss and I concur with everything you said! I also stress PORTION CONTROL. I don't even use the word "diet" anymore because I think people should realistically try to eat in such a way, that they can continue it for the rest of their lives. Not ever having treats or snacks is not realistic to me. Balance and portion control are what's important. If you deprive yourself completely, you may binge! I love the idea that we're all here for each other. Won't we all look great in our pictures with Mickey????