Weight Loss for your trip?

[pooh2001]

THANK YOU to this board and Thank You BOXER....
What I will do ....

GET UP at 5:30 AM and walk the tread mill in the playroom ,away from the family, for 30 minutes each day

I vow to drink more water (can it be Crystal Light at times ?)

I will peel a carrot or wash an apple to eat for an afternoon snack

We leave in June for our next adventure - I have 8 weeks to loose 10 pounds.
I will see if my plan works.

I do not eat chips, candy or drink soda.
I will stay away from ice cream.

 

[wrldpossibility]

I saw your post and after reading through the responses, I thought I'd add my 2 cents. You've already taken a great first step (at least it was key to me), which is to publicly state that you're losing weight. I'm a very private person (and a bit proud) so when I decided to lose weight, I told everyone I knew, and then I felt I HAD to follow through with it. Silly when I think about it now, but it worked!

I lost 45 pounds in 4 months, and have kept it all off for another 4 months now. The system that worked for me was Nutrisystem. I know you said that type of diet (like WW) didn't work for you, but since no one else mentioned it, I thought I would throw it out there. The cost stopped me for a long time, but in the end, it motivated me, because I had to justify the expense. If I was going to pay for this, I was going to make sure it worked. I also needed something that took ALL the control away from me. The advice you're getting to cut portion size and carbs, etc. is RIGHT ON, but cooking for the rest of my family, and having lots of other food in the house, I couldn't do it on my own like that. I had to have something that told me EXACTLY what I can eat. And it worked.

I was worried too that I would gain it back when I stopped eating their food, but the plan really taught me what a normal portion size is, and in the 4 months I was doing it, I eliminated a lot of my sweet cravings. So I've been able to eat healthy amounts after I reached my goal, but I no longer consider myself "dieting". I don't deny myself dessert, etc, I just eat much less than I used to. I also drink tons of water and exercise 4 times a week. Exercise is KEY.

Good luck! I had been trying on my own to lose weight for a long time, but I had never fully commited to it. Once you commit 100%, you WILL lose it!

 

[SnackyStacky]

this method of losing weight has been proven time-and-time again? If you got sick like that, it probably had to do more with your blood sugar than the method itself not working.

My blood sugar levels are healthy. I'm not questioning the method. I'm saying that I personally disagree with this method being "the one single best thing" because it didn't work for me. Losing weight is like buying clothing. It's all personal, and you have to find what fits for you. Doing anything before eating breakfast simply doesn't work for me.

I've personally witnessed people losing inches off their waist in a month by this method. As for the weight watchers (as you did), that is simply calorie/carb manipulation, and you could have done that on your own for free (so long as you like to cook and maintain a healthy diet).

I'm only guessing here that you're not familiar with the Weight Watchers program. If you were, you wouldn't have made this comment. Weight Watchers is NOT a caloric/carbohydrate manipulation. There's so much more to the program than the food. Weight Watchers incorporates:

• healthier food choices
• portion control
• mental well-being
• physical activity
• group support

I'm going to let this go now because the original poster has already stated that Weight Watchers didn't work for her. But I just wanted to correct some misinformation.

Diets by themselves will only work minimally----you still need to expend calories via excerise.

Here again, losing weight is all very personal. That's what studies show, but it doesn't mean that it's ALWAYS the case. I didn't have an exercise regimen in losing my weight. It's only in maintaining that I've had to worry about exercise. I lost all of my weight through diet only.

 

[jbbt]

I found the treadmill to be boring, but I LOVED readin the DIS, so I combined the two! Before our last trip to Disney, I would only allow myself to read trip reports while on the treadmill. I could easily do 45 minutes on the treadmill this way AND justify time spent reading the DIS!!

 

[DIS FANATIC]

The last time I visited WDW was in 2001. Since then I have lost over 100 pounds! It took my about 9 months to lose the weight. I have kept it off for about 2 years now. I cannot tell you the difference it has obviously made in my life. I did it on the low-carb (Atkins) diet. It really worked for me. I agree that it is a life style change but well worth it. It wasn't easy because my favorite food is pasta. Now that I am at my goal weight I treat myself every once and a while to pasta but I always weigh every week to keep track of my weight. You can get all kinds of information on line about the low-carb diet. It is worth trying. I was very overweight and had almost gotten to the point where I had given up on ever losing weight. I did the diet as a "new year's resolution"/bet with my husband to see who could lose more. I never imagined it would work. We leave for Disney in 22 days and I can't wait to enjoy myself like I never could before! Good Luck!

 

[wdwdavem]

The one single-best thing anyone can do to lose 'fat' (notice not weight, that is different), is to work out FIRST THING in the morning without eating breakfast. Your body was accustom to burning fat all night, so when working out in the AM, your body attacks the fat stores immediatley.

I've seen excellent transformations in people just by doing this alone. Work up to about 45min of cardio (light-to-medium cardio) for best results.

I was going to say the exact same thing.

Also drink lots of water, and don't try to cut back too far on your food intake (except for sweets). Just try to use portion control.

As stated above exercise is the best thing.

 

[kaysmommie]

I saw your post and after reading through the responses, I thought I'd add my 2 cents. You've already taken a great first step (at least it was key to me), which is to publicly state that you're losing weight. I'm a very private person (and a bit proud) so when I decided to lose weight, I told everyone I knew, and then I felt I HAD to follow through with it. Silly when I think about it now, but it worked!

I lost 45 pounds in 4 months, and have kept it all off for another 4 months now. The system that worked for me was Nutrisystem. I know you said that type of diet (like WW) didn't work for you, but since no one else mentioned it, I thought I would throw it out there. The cost stopped me for a long time, but in the end, it motivated me, because I had to justify the expense. If I was going to pay for this, I was going to make sure it worked. I also needed something that took ALL the control away from me. The advice you're getting to cut portion size and carbs, etc. is RIGHT ON, but cooking for the rest of my family, and having lots of other food in the house, I couldn't do it on my own like that. I had to have something that told me EXACTLY what I can eat. And it worked.

I was worried too that I would gain it back when I stopped eating their food, but the plan really taught me what a normal portion size is, and in the 4 months I was doing it, I eliminated a lot of my sweet cravings. So I've been able to eat healthy amounts after I reached my goal, but I no longer consider myself "dieting". I don't deny myself dessert, etc, I just eat much less than I used to. I also drink tons of water and exercise 4 times a week. Exercise is KEY.

Good luck! I had been trying on my own to lose weight for a long time, but I had never fully commited to it. Once you commit 100%, you WILL lose it!

Did you do the Nutri System Nourish program? I tried it but alot of the food was yucky. Some of it was fine, if I could have sent back and exchange the stuff I couldn't eat the nit might have worked. In 2 weeks I lost 6 lbs. I need to lose 20 Lbs. still. Walking around disney with even 20 lbs. extra doesn't feel too good on the knees. Maybe i should try it again.

 

[Simba22]

My dad was diagnosed with Diabetes last year and has since lost about 50lbs by simply cutting out junk food. The only cereal he eats is Special K Red Berries or cheerios...he has switched to 1% milk, and does not eat any type of "snack" except for ice cream. His doctor's recommended dropping chips, pretzels, cookies, soda, & beer (among others) and he said that it, suprisingly, wasn't as hard as he thought it would be.

My sister cut soda out of her diet a couple of years ago, and within 3 months lost 10 lbs. She discovered that by not drinking soda, she wasn't having cravings for chips and pretzels which were her favorite snacks.

My step-dad just recently lost 36 lbs and 10 inches off of his waist (in a 3 month period!) by reducing portion size, cutting beer and soda out of his diet, and making sure to eat a big healthy breakfast....that has cut down on his urge to snack throughout the day until lunch.

Good luck - I've been trying to drop a few lbs myself - so far it hasn't happened but I'm trying!

 

[disneynewbee]

I also have become the official picture taker on vacations because I don't want to look at pictures of myself. On our last trip to disney there was 1 picture of me. I would love to have more pics of me and my children. On Easter I decided to let my sister take a picture of me. I looked horrible just as I had expected but seeing it there in the picture has motivated me to do something about it. So I wanted to say thanks to all who posted replys here, I'm sure I'll find some of them helpful to me. Boxer I would like to try your idea about exercising before breakfast is the treadmill an ok exercise for that? That and the bike are the 2 exercises I actually enjoy. Also what would you suggest for breakfast after doing the 45 min of exercise? Thanks in advance.

 

[maccalovah]

The one single-best thing anyone can do to lose 'fat' (notice not weight, that is different), is to work out FIRST THING in the morning without eating breakfast. Your body was accustom to burning fat all night, so when working out in the AM, your body attacks the fat stores immediatley.

I've seen excellent transformations in people just by doing this alone. Work up to about 45min of cardio (light-to-medium cardio) for best results.

i just wanted to vouch for this method and tell you all that it does work for me. i find i lose much more weight when i make the effort to exercise first thing in the morning, and besides that, working out first thing has the added benefit of making you feel much more energized for the rest of the day. you'd be amazed how great you feel (physically AND mentally) by getting up and getting your workout in, first thing.

thanks for the tip, boxer- if you have anymore, i'd love to hear them!

sarah

 

[joshsmom]

I have gradually gained weight over the past 15 years and am the heaviest I have ever been. I looked into the Gylcemic Index/Glycemic Load (googled it) and started exchanging bad carbs for good carbs this past Monday. In four days I have lost 5 1/2 pounds without feeling at all hungry. I know this pace will not continue, but it has been a HUGE boost to my motivation to continue!!!

Best of luck to you--I know it's VERY difficult. But you can do it!!

 

[CarolA]

i just wanted to vouch for this method and tell you all that it does work for me. i find i lose much more weight when i make the effort to exercise first thing in the morning, and besides that, working out first thing has the added benefit of making you feel much more energized for the rest of the day. you'd be amazed how great you feel (physically AND mentally) by getting up and getting your workout in, first thing.

thanks for the tip, boxer- if you have anymore, i'd love to hear them!

sarah

While this method may work for those of us who have a tendency towards LOW blood sugar it's a sure fire way to visit the ER! So you need to know your body. I must eat something half an hour before a work out or I go too low.....

 

[Luv4Disney]

I've been to WDW 3 times so far. The first time was back in October '93 for our honeymoon. While I was a bit overweight, I was fine walking around all day with minimal blisters and such. The second time was in May of '01. I had gained quite a bit of weight since '93 and it was a struggle to walk all around all day (I had blisters so bad, the whole bottom of both my feet were one complete blister, no lie) By the 4th/5th day, I ended up having to rent one of those electric wheelchair things. While it was nice not having to walk on those miserable feet, I felt I ruined the vacation for my hubby and two boys. Then we went again in June '05 with my family, my SIL's family and my MIL & her husband. My MIL had to rent one due to a hip replacement and she rented me one also, knowing I would need one by the end of the day.

Okay....now after that long-winded explanation, we are planning a trip in October '07. That gives me a year & a half to lose weight before we go. Granted, I'm not trying to lose weight just for Disney (even though I'm sure it'll be a great incentive) but I really need to lose a "bunch" of weight for my health. Plus we're going on our first cruise this year, and I'll really like to lose some before we leave (August)

I've done Weight Watchers, Richard Simmons, etc and nothing seems to work. What are some of your tried and true methods of taking some extra pounds off? Thanks for listening.

First off, have an awesome time on your cruise, however you will eat a lot! (Trust me, I went on my first cruise in November and one night I had 3 desserts! Bad I know!)

Second, I find it hard to exclude things that I want to eat. It makes me crave and I just wind up blowing it. So, I merely portion control. It helped me lose 10 pounds in a month, which may not sound like that much, but I have a hard time losing weight. I cut out all regular soda out of my diet and switch it for diet soda, iced tea, etc. So far, I've kept the weight off that I lost for last years trip. With all the walking I did in Disney, it was easy to "cheat" and not gain anything back. Portion control is the way for me.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

My body type is slim but I did gain 15 pounds when I turned 40. I started having acupuncture for a medical problem a couple of years ago and the excess weight just melted off over a couple of months. I felt so good with the acupuncture that I was no longer having the food cravings I used to have.

The type of acupuncture I've had is Five Element acupuncture, not TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). It's an ancient style of acupuncture that focuses on underlying causes of illness rather on symptoms.

Warmest wishes on your road to good health (and to Disney! )!

 

[boxer]

not sure why I can't post a 'quote', but in response to CarolA: if you have trouble with early-morning workouts (low blood sugar), the easy way around that (usually) is to have a protein-based snack about 1/2 hour before you workout.

 

[boxer]

i just wanted to vouch for this method and tell you all that it does work for me. i find i lose much more weight when i make the effort to exercise first thing in the morning, and besides that, working out first thing has the added benefit of making you feel much more energized for the rest of the day. you'd be amazed how great you feel (physically AND mentally) by getting up and getting your workout in, first thing.

thanks for the tip, boxer- if you have anymore, i'd love to hear them!

sarah

As I stated to one person via PM, keep in mind that to properly burn 'fat' you must have oxygen........so a good reference point is to make sure you can 'talk' while your doing your cardio---if your huffing and puffing, then you are burning calories (which is obviously fine also), but your not attacking the fat stores themselves for fuel. A good workout for fat burning is the elliptical for 25-40 minutes set at a nice resistance, but comfortable.

Another thing to keep in mind is to eat 5-6 small meals a day (not sure if this has been said yet).........eat your carbs in your 'early' meals, and make sure you have a protein in every meal as your 'base' food. Stay away from 'starchy' carbs, and opt for whole grains instead. If your carb-sensitive, this alone will cut out 3-5 pounds of water.

Finally, I am a BIG proponent of working out also to lose weight. Do a circuit-type training routine (whole body) with minimal rest between the sets (45sec max). Keep your reps between 15-20, and only lift 3x a week (or less depending on your body's recovery rate).

After all you women lose this weight, you must send me some sexy bikini pics so I can audit your progress!!!!!!!!! LOL.

Good luck.

 

[wrldpossibility]

Did you do the Nutri System Nourish program? I tried it but alot of the food was yucky. Some of it was fine, if I could have sent back and exchange the stuff I couldn't eat the nit might have worked. In 2 weeks I lost 6 lbs. I need to lose 20 Lbs. still. Walking around disney with even 20 lbs. extra doesn't feel too good on the knees. Maybe i should try it again.

Yeah, I did the Nurish program, and yes, the food was yucky! I thnk that's what helped me lose weight so quickly...after eating a certain meal a few times, I was so sick of it, I'd only choke down half of it! There were some things that were ok though. Offhand, I remember thinking the pizza and the cereals were pretty ok. The muffins were terrible! I thought the pasta salad was ok. That' just off the top of my head. I definitely couldn't do it for months and months. That also motivated me to be serious about it and get it over with!

If you saw some success, I'd try it again. Just don't let the ads fool you...the food is tollerable, but it's definitely "diet" food and not great!

 

[mickeymousemom]

i just wanted to vouch for this method and tell you all that it does work for me. i find i lose much more weight when i make the effort to exercise first thing in the morning, and besides that, working out first thing has the added benefit of making you feel much more energized for the rest of the day. you'd be amazed how great you feel (physically AND mentally) by getting up and getting your workout in, first thing.

thanks for the tip, boxer- if you have anymore, i'd love to hear them!

sarah

I also agree with this. DH and I worked together a few years ago to lose weight. We learned from Bill Phillips that exercising before you eat is the best thing. We would wake up, drink a bottle of water before exercising, take a bottle of water with us while walking, then come home and eat a hearty healthy breakfast about 30 minutes later. By the time you eat, the exercising has boosted your metabolism and you'll burn more calories. Also remember to eat several small meals a day. Eating a small meal or snack every 2-3 hours keeps your body burning the calories like it should. Think of your body as a fireplace and healthy food as the wood. If you let the fire die down, it won't burn calories as easily...if you keep adding to the fire, the fire has no chance to die down! Good luck and just go do it!

 

[Cookie Princess]

I eat healthy 6 days a week and have 1 SPLURGE day where I can eat whatever I want. It is easier to skip the goodies the remainder of the week if I know I can eat them on Saturday. It gives me something to look forward to. I also signed up to run in a road race (YIKES) this summer. That is giving me motivation to exercise. If you can't run, you can sign-up for some walk-a-thons that raise money for charities. Start preparing slowly months ahead of time. The goal is just to finish, not to break records. GOOD LUCK!

 

[MeggP]

Why are there so many diets? i think it's because there are so many different types of people. What works for one won't work for another. I spent time thinking about what I did differrently when I was thin and what had changed. I also thought about what I could handle in terms of change. I cut out sugar and white flour which eliminates a lot of junk. I counted calories--it's amazing how many calories can be in something! I walked every chance I could. While waiting on my kids I would walk instead of sitting in the car. I found that as I exercised more I lost interest in sugar. If i felt the need for eating I went to do something else ...keeping busy with my garden kept me out of the kitchen munching! I lost 60 lbs.

Check out a bunch of books from the library and chances are you will find a combination of ideas that will work for you.

One other thing---I found since I counted calories I didn't want to "waste' any so I found it easy to avoid junk during the day so I could have a decent meal at lunch and dinner.

MeggP