Help Me Lose The Lbs!!!

[missmari]

I've entered a challenge....

if I lose 30-50lbs by December...I win a trip to Europe (paid for by my fam) free of charge to me, I won't pay a cent!!! I guess its their way to encourage me haha....and it has!! so....in reward if I lose 30-50lbs, I go on this trip without paying a dime...and my girlfriend is tagging along (of course no one has to know about that now);)

so I need some support....

it's not easy to lose the weight, but so easy to gain it I tell ya *sigh*

but definitely doable!!!

ciao ciao amigos...europe here I come!:cool:

[u-dog]

I've lost 46 pounds since January 1, 2007. I am going to quit the day before Thanksgiving. My goal is 60 pounds but I'm on course to lose more like 80+.

I'm an old fashioned kind of guy and I do it the old fashioned way.

3500 calories = 1 pound. Eat 3500 fewer calories than you burn and lose a pound. Eat 3500 MORE and you gain.

You have about 26 weeks before the end of the year. Two pounds a week isthe ABSOLUTELY MAX. The bigger you are the easier it is to lose 2 pounds a week. Thats what I did in Jan-Apr. As I've lost weight and am not carrying around so many pounds my weight loss has slowed down to more like 1 lb per week.

If you start RIGHT NOW you can probably do it. You can expect to lose 8-10 pounds in the first two weeks but this is just a change in fluid retention caused by a change in diet and it is probably different for women than men. However, weight is weight and if you don't go back to high fat, high sodium foods the water weight won't come back so its all good. Plus it gives you a morale boost. Just understand that you can't keep it up at the rate.

I am a large man. In January I was a large fat man. You are a woman and its harder for woman. I would COUNT on 1 pound a week at most. Depending on your size and YOUR ACTIVITY LEVEL it could be more or less. You might want to talk to your family and share this information with them so that you are all sure that your goal is healthful and realistic. What will happen if you miss the goal by 2 pounds?

Other piece is: Physical activity. If you are going to succeed with this you are going to need to join the "Y" or a private gym. YMCA's usually have trainers who will help you set up a program. Some of them will be women and its probably best for you to work with a woman. Figure on AT LEAST THREE work-outs per week with AT LEAST 30 minutes of Cardio/fat burning exercise. I like the recumbant stationary bike because I can do it and read or watch the TV. I also lift weights as does my wife. This is great for warding off bone-density loss as you age. especially for women.

anyway. Thats what has worked for me. I have a young female friend in College who has been my companion in this pursuit. She has been doing pretty much the same as me and while she has lost fewer pounds she has lost a greater percentage of her body weight than I have.

Good Luck

[tdogg]

Oh yeah, weight loss and working out. Me too, only I don't get to go to Europe. :( But, I'll be healthier and look great! :D

I agree with u-dog. You gotta eat less and work out more. That's the basic math. I throw in some meal replacement shakes, vitamins and supplements to help me have more energy to work out (don't forget to have a little protein before and replenish afterwards). Easier said then done, for me.

Now, if I can get someone to kidnap me, force on my work out clothes, drive me to the gym and make me get on the elliptical, I can get that first visit back out of the way and be on my way!

The hardest thing is to start, but as a very wise man said, a journey starts with a single step. So, I'm skipping the ice cream for lunch.

[tdogg]

I meant to say

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT - WAY TO GO!

:D:rainbow::weee::good::magic::award::love:

[u-dog]

Involve your physician. He/She may have diet suggestions, menus, fast food calorie charts. This is particularly important if you are very large and particularly out of shape. He/She will have opinions about how you do your exercise regimin. ALSO, if you are heavy you may want to stay away from high impact exercises like running (or even walking) you want to avoid future knee replacement if possible.

Also, tell friends what you are doing and what is at stake!!! Could your girlfriend stand to lose a few? Do it together! give your friends permission to remind you about your goal.

VERY IMPORTANT: Keep a food journal and record EVERYTHING THAT GOES INTO YOUR MOUTH !!!! This is most important at the beginning. Later, you will have a better handle on what things "cost" and you can do it in your head but as you begin you need to write it down. DON'T SKIP THIS!!

The Internet is your friend. Used to be you needed a little book of calorie counts to do this. Now you can just Google "Calories in peanut butter" and find out how much it is.

You have to count sauces and dressings too! a tablespoon or two of dressing can be 200 calories. I've been trying to stay between 1500 and 1800 calories per day. a woman is likely going to want to aim for 1300 to 1500.

THINK OF THIS AS A PERMANENT LIFESTYLE CHANGE and not temporary. Find ways to be creative.

I find that I can eat a high protein, stick with you breakfast for 350-400 calories. If I can keep lunch under 600 I have 800 to play with for dinner.

I have built a half cup of ice cream every evening into my plan -- lowfat ice cream... thats about 120-150 calories. This is important to me because it gives me something to look forward to every day and I don't feel deprived. Build rewards into your plan.

Fast food is NOT your friend !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Exceptions:

1 McDonalds egg McMuffin 325 calories NO POTATOES. cup of black coffee and/or orange juice (just drink half of it.. the whole thing is more than you need) -- lasts me to lunch.

2. Subway has six different six inch subs that with baked lays or light chips or sliced apples (a new product) come in under 500 calories. Very filling for lunch.

3. Arby's medium roast beek sandwich with NO SAUCE is about 450 cal. that lasts me to supper.


FAST FOOD IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. Hardee's big bacon burger (not its real name) is almost 1400 calories. Thats pretty much your whole day. ALL of the Fast food franchises have nutritional info if you ask for it. Also they have it on line. You will be amazed at how bad that stuff is for you.


SNACKS: When you are first starting and before your stomach has shrunk you will get hungry between meals. nabisco has "100 calorie packs" of cookies and crackers. these are VERY HELPFUL. I don't use them as much now because I don't get as hungry between as I did at first.

Starbucks. a tall non-fat latte is a good choice at 120 calories. in the summer a tall low-fat coffee or mocha frappachino is very refreshing at about 150 calories. Star bucks food? stay away! its all a disaster. a scone is about 500 calories and it gets worse from there. Just becuase it says "low fat" doesn't mean its not fattening.


Ok

Best of luck and all blessings!!!

[u-dog]

I meant to say

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR

ACCOMPLISHMENT - WAY TO GO!


:D:rainbow::weee::good::magic::award::love:

Thanks T !! Us Dawgs gotta stick together!!!

[missmari]

thanks guys!!

I'm definitely taking all these things into account!!!

appreciate the support! and congrats on ur weight loss sucess!!!!!!!!!! I'm jealous...for right now hehehe:rolleyes: but I'll be there with you soon!!!:cool:

I've so far lost 5lbs..its a start..and I have a trainer to help boost me in the beginning and then is letting me go the rest of the way solo...

My goal is 160lbs...

thanks again!

[ladyinred]

I'd say eat more protein to help with cravings, but don't follow a real rigid ,inflexible diet, how I lost weight before,was allow for those sugar cravings within moderation, like eating a ice cream cone every once in a while, also I gave my self permision to go off my diet but to not overeat. Working out will also help with weightloss and toning muscle.

I would not go on starvation diets, they are self defeating, usually my dieting was a 1500 calories intake with vitamins and supplements like calcium, but stength training will increase muscle and burn fat.(Later on I had to increase my calorie intake because I had developed the muscle to burn fat, and was thin and a size 7/8 at 145)

Water aerobics is excellent as well. Rapid weight loss can be dangerous and from my own experience can cause you to overeat and gain back twice the weight.

I still say you can enjoy food without deprivation, have a couple slices of pizza (I would usually eat a whole pizza being overweight) After losing weight, I think it is essential to evaluate your eating habits and stick to the moderation theme and allow for those times when you do binge but not see yourself as a failure either and just get backon the ol' wagon again. I wish good luck, I know it isn't easy.

I would not focus so much on the scale as inches. it may at times seem slow and like your weight isn't budging especially when you are doing weight training because muscle tends to be heavier than fat but you are losing weight. If you decide to do weight training start slowly and do not overdo. Have a program that is realistic for you.Perhaps 30 minutes to start and increaing work out as endurance builds. Baby steps at first.When I first started out a trainer told me to do thirty minutes on a bike and I found I could not do it, I started at 10 minutes and even built up to twenty(gradually). Listen to your own body.

[ladyinred]

How effective is weight training, well actually I could eat up to 4000 calories(After I lost weight, but I worked out over two hours 4-5 times a week, which I would not recommend now, being older and now have come to learn that that is probably too extreme . even for younger people.I personally will say it is probably safer to stick within an hour or under if you are in the advanced stages.Avoid extremes,lol

[u-dog]

Lady makes a good point. Some people do better with pounds some people do better with inches and sizes.

If you opt for pounds... weigh yourself only Once per week and always at teh same time of day. I started with first thing in the morning after I went to the bathroom (a pints a pound the world around!!:D) and before eating or dressing. Another good time is right after working out (you can sweat an entire pint you know) Its all tricks of course but they can help you stay motivated. Invest in a decent scale. with a cheapo one you can get a 3 or 4 pound swing from one time to the next that has nothing to do with weight.

[ladyinred]

Here is another factor gaining weight alot of times has nothing to do with lack of willpower, there may be certain things that help trigger overeating, like stress and other emotions. You might want to keep a journal of your emotions to see if they help trigger overeating, in the past food was confort, or I would overeat when I was depressed or sad.

I also often wonder why many times we crave sweets ,and wonder if stress doesn't play a big factor in that, I read where certain amino acids like L-tryptophan help produce a calming affect and it is found to be in certain foods. That is one of the reason why vitamins and supplements would help

.Losing weight more slowly is safer, because I do believe really low calorie diets , where you feel like you are starving actually put stress on the body and make you overeat alot later on.(possibly to compensate for the starved feeling and lack of nutrients in low calorie diets that your body is not getting) In dieting aim for the more nutritious foods you might want a can of pop every so often &there is nothing wrong it, but you will have to count that as calories, and we all know cokesdon't have alot of nutritional value. Drinking herbal teas with antioxidants may help too. I hope at least some of my advice helps.

[Zerbie]

Whoo hoo! Congrats mari on your resolve!

And excuse me while I address Udog - WAAAHOOOOO!!!!! That is phenomenal!! Congratulations! Dave, I had no idea you were involved in such an undertaking while we were chatting. I'm so proud of you!!!

Okay, Mari I'm back:

I'm glad you've got a trainer. That's important in the beginning, and depending on personality style, it might always be important.

Both healthy eating AND movement are indispensible. You will not succeed without both in place. You need to start learning about what your body can handle, your current fitness level, any injuries or conditions you need to plan around, etc.

Your trainer probably has you doing both cardio AND strength training. Both of these are important. Strength training is especially important for females. Make sure even if you are not using weights, that you are doing some bodyweight exercises. The traditional old warhorses like push ups are traditional for a reason. They're tough to do and they build stamina, strength, and grace.

RE: snacking, I totally recommend that you eat raw vegetables for snacks instead of anything packaged (like cookies or chips or pretzels). Raw vegetables are full of fiber, which means they will help you feel full, but they are very low in calories. You will get way tired of eating them before you exceed your calorie allotment. So eat as many raw veggies as you want. When I say raw, I mean no dips (those things have calories and fats.) Develop an appreciation for the sweetness in a raw carrot.

Learn about nutrition and macro-nutrient ratios. Make sure every meal contains a lean protein, a complex carbohydrate, and a small amount of healthy fat. Olive oil is a healthy fat but it's WAY high in calories. Just a tablespoon contains, I believe, somewhere in the range of 100 calories. So as Udog said, definitely watch the salad dressings, etc.

When you cook, if you fry (better to bake, grill, or steam), use a fat free cooking spray. Heck, I use fat free cooking spray to coat the baking pan.

Well, that's a start. There's tons of info out there, so read up. Make a plan. Experiment with new recipes. Load up on the nutritional content and the fiber. Greens are your friend! Load up on vegetables and lean proteins. Snack on low fat string cheese and apples. Eat fruit for dessert.

Here's a good sweet dessert that's really low/no fat:

Slice a peach or nectarine into bite size pieces.
Rinse fresh berries (your choice of berry)
Place them over a cup of fat free cottage cheese.
Drizzle with a tablespoon of honey.

Enjoy!

[Zerbie]

Lady makes a good point. Some people do better with pounds some people do better with inches and sizes.

If you opt for pounds... weigh yourself only Once per week and always at teh same time of day. I started with first thing in the morning after I went to the bathroom (a pints a pound the world around!!:D) and before eating or dressing. Another good time is right after working out (you can sweat an entire pint you know) Its all tricks of course but they can help you stay motivated. Invest in a decent scale. with a cheapo one you can get a 3 or 4 pound swing from one time to the next that has nothing to do with weight.

If you do watch the scale like this, remember that your body will fluctuate naturally even as you're getting healthier. Remember that some of us "gain" up to 5 pounds before the menstrual period. So don't get discouraged at your body's natural fluctuations.

[u-dog]

If you do watch the scale like this, remember that your body will fluctuate naturally even as you're getting healthier. Remember that some of us "gain" up to 5 pounds before the menstrual period. So don't get discouraged at your body's natural fluctuations.

good point, Zerb, not being a woman and being married to a menopausal woman I had not thought of that! Drinking lots and lots of water can lower the water weight swing thing considerably by lowering your bodies electrolytes over all. drinking fluids actually LOWERS your water weight rather than raising it.

[ladyinred]

That is something I would never have considered before,Zerbie, I eat like a horse when I'm on my cycle...Gimmmmmme the candy, the bread,gimme lasagna,lol But I also think you are right about water.

[sjbouza]

The more you eat the less you will eat. Yea it sounds funny but it is true, but not in the sense you think.

What you want to do is eat 5 to 6 small meals everyday. Eat about every 3 hours. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. The snacks should be 100 to 120 calories MAX. You meals try to keep around 400 to 500 calories MAX. What this helps do is to regulate your insulin levels. If you keep your insulin at proper levels you will do two things. One you will help prevent cravings and two your body will shed pounds. Oh yes, dont eat anything past 9pm.

As far as what you eat, you can eat pretty much anything you want. However, limit the refined sugars to a minimum. In other words the sweets are a semi no no, just dont go crazy. The snacks can be a protein shake or one of those 100 calorie packs they have out now, or even some popcorn (w/o butter sorry try some chili powder on it for flavor). You just dont want you body to go into a starvation mode. More about that later. Keep your meals balanced, keep the carbs down and the proteins up. Drink LOTS of water. Stay away from pop/soda, even the diet, it really messes with your metabolism and insulin levels. When you have a meal try to eat fresh veggies and a good lean protein like chicken or fish. Even some cuts of beef, just make sure they are lean cuts ie...sirloin steak. Just lightly boil the veggies, but if you can steam them that is much better. You can have things like pizza and pasta just keep the portions down. If you can find it use spagetti squash instead of pasta. You will be surprised, it tastes better than pasta, well to me at least. Plus it is better for you. If you cant stick with the whole wheat pastas.

Basically, what it is boiling down to is lowering your calorie intake without starving your body. When you starve your body, ie eat less or nothing at all, your body goes into what is called "starvation mode". Your insulin levels drop drematically and you get really lathargic. You know the feeling when in the middle of the day you just feel like crap because you havent eaten, that is "starvation mode". Now what happens is your body is thinking, "I am not getting any food, what am I going to do? I need food to survive. How am I going to live without food?" So the next time you eat you tend to over eat or indulge. Even if you dont over eat your body will store more of the food that you eat as fat, just in case you "starve" it again. It needs energy from somewhere, so it is going to store it for future use. That is the problem with all the eat less diets, that is why they dont work.

You can actually eat less than what you do and not force your body into a "starvation mode" by eating the 6 smaller meals each day. Of course, exercise is a must. Even if it is walking for 30 minutes a day. Something is better than nothing. One thing that someone else suggested is to consult a doctor, that is a very good idea.

Those are my 2 cents. I hope that I explained myself well enough, If not feel free to either post here or PM me with your questions. I have been doing the weight loss thing for quite awhile. This is what I have found that works best for me. My advice is stay away from those diet pills and crap, It is just a bunch of junk. If it really worked they would run it by the FDA or have real studies to back it up. Good luck to you.

[ladyinred]

"What you want to do is eat 5 to 6 small meals everyday. Eat about every 3 hours. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. The snacks should be 100 to 120 calories MAX. You meals try to keep around 400 to 500 calories MAX. What this helps do is to regulate your insulin levels. If you keep your insulin at proper levels you will do two things. One you will help prevent cravings and two your body will shed pounds. Oh yes, dont eat anything past 9pm. "

This would probably also be excellent nutritional advice for a diabetic as well. I have to agree with you on the insulin levels. They probably do play a huge role in regulating cravings. Good advice.

[sjbouza]

"What you want to do is eat 5 to 6 small meals everyday. Eat about every 3 hours. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. The snacks should be 100 to 120 calories MAX. You meals try to keep around 400 to 500 calories MAX. What this helps do is to regulate your insulin levels. If you keep your insulin at proper levels you will do two things. One you will help prevent cravings and two your body will shed pounds. Oh yes, dont eat anything past 9pm. "

This would probably also be excellent nutritional advice for a diabetic as well. I have to agree with you on the insulin levels. They probably do play a huge role in regulating cravings. Good advice.

Thanks, and it is funny that you should say that. Pretty much what I have written is primarily for diabetics. My family is full of them and I have done some research on the "diabetic diets". Yes, insulin does play a very vital role in cravings, you are correct in that. I am not diabetic, but have the chance to be. So I have sort of formulated my own little "lifet" by stealing some of the ideas from the diabetic diets. As I said, it works for me. I have been able to lose an average of 1 to 2 pounds a week, in total I have lost about 27 pounds. Only about 60 more to go and I will be happy.

[u-dog]

We should go into business! We are, collectively, really smart.

The Soulforce Diet: Lose those pounds NONVIOLENTLY
;)

[ladyinred]

Yeah, I agree with you u-dog. But what would we call our new business venture?

[tdogg]

Thanks T !! Us Dawgs gotta stick together!!!

U-bet! It's a dawg eat dawg world out there U! :eek:

Definitely stay away from anything carbinated, even the diet sodas. Bad stuff, bloating, fluid retention, etc.

Drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water p/day. So, if you weigh 200#, you would drink 100oz of water per day. The general rule is 64oz, but that is the absolute minimum. Again, easier said than done!

A great snack you aren't allergic to nuts - raw almonds. About 10 or 15 will take away the munchies, contain Omega 3 oils and high-protein/no carbs. When I do a cleanse day, I'll use those to keep me going through the day, and it makes me feel like I'm eating something.

Another tip - get a GOOD scale that WORKS. I am a weigher, bad habit from years of yoyo diets. However, I find when I do not weigh for a length of time, my weight will creep up (out of mind, out of my mind with eating). My scale is a piece of crap. I can weight one second and give it time to reset, then weigh again and it's a 5 pound difference. No way can I gain or lose 5# in less than 5 minutes.

Oh well...Perhaps this will be what gets me motivated to finally get back to the gym (it's that first visit blues!!!).

How about:

The Soulforce LifeNutrition Plan - for a lifetime of health!

Too long - anyone else??

[Zerbie]

UOh well...Perhaps this will be what gets me motivated to finally get back to the gym (it's that first visit blues!!!).

??

Tdogg - You get out there and GO! Get In That Gym!

You'll be so happy you went, you will walk out GLOWING!!!

Thanks for motivating me. I'm off! :D

[missmari]

HAHA

WOW YOU GUYS SOUND LIKE PROFESSIONALS!!!:cool:

AWESOME AWESOME ADVICE, I AM WRITING IT ALL DOWN!!!

UNFORTUNATELY, MY GIRLFRIEND IS IN THE ARMY :'( AND SHE'LL LOSE ENOUGH POUNDS THERE AS IT IS, SO SHE WON'T BE ABLE TO WORKOUT WITH ME ...SHE'LL BE BACK THIS NOVEMBER...I MISS HER TO DEATH!!!:'(

BUT...GETTING BACK TO THE LBS...I DEFINITELY WILL LOSE THEM, AND I'M NOT ONLY DOING THIS FOR MYSELF IN RESPECTS TO MY HEALTH, BUT ALSO, SO MY GIRLFRIEND AND I CAN ENJOY A LAVISH TRIP TO EUROPE TOGETHER!! YAY! AFTER SO LONG OF NOT SEEING EACH OTHER, THIS WILL BE A MUCH NEEDED TREAT!!

I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT GUYS! THANKS A BUNCH!

missmari :cool:

[ladyinred]

And you even have all of us as a team cheerleading you on and giving you advice to help you with successful weight loss. And you will look back and see that it was all worth it and of course be in Europe grinning ear to ear.:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[u-dog]

Use this thread to report in on our progress. Several of us are engaged in major weight loss/shape up projects. We could encourage each other and celebrate each others milestones!

I lost 2 1/2 pounds in the last 36 hours of being sick !!! :eek: I don't recommend it :sick:

[Zerbie]

Use this thread to report in on our progress. Several of us are engaged in major weight loss/shape up projects. We could encourage each other and celebrate each others milestones!

I lost 2 1/2 pounds in the last 36 hours of being sick !!! :eek: I don't recommend it :sick:

Oh so you ARE sick? You poor baby!

Gastroenteritis? That is bad stuff. Lose muscle, lose strength.

Be careful recovering - take your time getting back into activity. If you resume too soon, you could catch other illnesses - a weakened digestive tract weakens immunity.

Probiotics as soon as you're well.

As for reporting on everyone's progress, I thought about starting a separate thread for it yesterday: but I went to the gym instead. ;) I'll start one now, and see if people post here, or there. But it would be fun to have a thread just for sharing our plans/goals/success.

Here goes.

[BrentRichards]

Yeah, I agree with you u-dog. But what would we call our new business venture?

"Gay-Away the Pounds" Weight Loss Systems?