Fitness, weight managment, getting healthy

[rhiandmoi]

So, a coworker just straight out told me that I've gained weight. His huge lack of class or tact aside, it's true. I don't actually know how much I weigh because I'm not into scales and do not own one, but my pants are too tight.

Tonight, I'll be hitting the pool for aqua aerobics, and I'll aim to do that 2-3 nights a week. And the weather is getting nicer here, so I'll be able to walk at lunch.

Food wise, I'll be upping my veggie intake. And only eating when I'm hungry. Somehow I've developed the bad habit of eating because I'm bored. So that's my game plan.

[Natalie]

Yeah, I've been getting increasingly irritated with my weakassness and generally being out of shape. I'm not overweight per se, but there's definitely more fat and less muscle than I would like. Plus my body has the lovely habit of storing all the fat in one place rather than distributing it evenly around my body. I could have pleasant curves. Instead I look pregnant.

I've been taking yoga, which is nice, but I don't think it's doing enough to tone the two areas that I'm very self-conscious about - my stomach and my arms. If anyone had home exercise advice for those two areas, I'd love to hear it. I'm not joining a gym right now. Aside from the fact that I can't afford it I'm at a way self-conscious place in my life and I can't take the pressure.

My bf has the same "eating even when not hungry" issue. Something that helps him is not eating in front of the TV or computer. It's too easy to ignore the full feeling. He also eats too fast (years of cooking professionally) and that's worse when he's watching TV. We have started to have sit down breakfasts as well as sit down dinner.

[Hastings]

I would very much recommend Callanetics, Natalie.
You can buy books or DVDs for you to do at home, and I've found it to be really effective.

I am trying to eat more healthily (actually helped by my lack of money), and work out at least once a week, plus trying to walk more, generally.

[GalateaDancer]

If you don't have physical issues that would make high-impact aerobics a problem, I can't say enough good things about Zumba. I've been taking two classes a week at my local YMCA for the past year or so. It's so much fun, and if you do it at a fairly high intensity you can burn 500-700 calories in a one hour class.

[juniper]

For Christmas, my mother gifted me a gym membership, and is also paying for a personal trainer for both of us. This way we have company, and a partner, and someone to tell us to get off our tushie when we just don't want to go.

It's pricey to do the personal trainer route, so my suggestion is actually working with a partner. Of course, if it's feasible, I'm actually having a lot more fun with the trainer than I ever did working out on my own. She keeps us doing new things, so we're not bored, and she knows what we need to do better than we do.

juniper

[Algae]

We joined the local YMCA recently, but was haphazard about going. However, I wanted to go and I really needed to lose at least 20 pounds, but more like 35*. So, I came up with a system that works for me: Fitness 101.

I'm looking at this as a semester long class. I started by reading my textbook - The new South Beach Diet book, since we'd had success on South Beach in the past (before pregnancy). I need to attend class twice a week (go to the gym) for at least 45 minutes. Every Sunday, I get a pop quiz - weighing myself - and once a month, my husband and I compare our weight loss and whichever one wins (we have a formula, since he loses weight easier than me) gets to choose the activity that weekend (I won for January - we went to the Zoo).

Now, the idea is to keep up with this plan through April - the typical college semester I'm used to. I'm hoping that by then, I'll be in the habit of going to the gym and making healthy food choices that it'll be easy to maintain these habits.

*As of last Saturday, I'd lost 17 pounds, so I'm halfway there!

[Magdalene]

I've been working on the weight loss, and I'm frustrated. Sometimes clothes are far too loose, and I look in the mirror and think I'm losing weight, then I'll see a picture of myself and be thinking that I haven't lost a thing.

The last time I lost a lot of weight, it came off easier--it look awhile because of the amount I had to lose, but it was coming off steadily. I'd almost swear that's not happening this time around.

Magdalene

[mags]

I spent the last year losing around 60 lbs. I didn't exercise (bad knees from carrying around that extra weight makes it so any real exercise will be followed by several days of hobbling around the house), I counted calories.

I went to an online calculator, put in my height, weight, age, and activity level (sedentary, it requires something like 3 20-minute workouts a week to be considered "moderate activity"), and found how many calories a body my size uses each day. Then, subtracted 500 calories a day from that, limited my intake to that amount (by keeping track of everything I eat in a food journal), and since 3500 calories equals a pound, I started losing a pound a week. As time went on, I had to keep reducing periodically, because smaller bodies use less calories.

Counting calories worked better for me than anything I've ever tried before, because there is no mystery about it. There are a lot of ideas I had about food: which are good, which are bad; which are high calorie, which are not. Keeping track of my food and looking up the calories online or on the boxes helped disabuse me of many of those notions. Plus, I allowed myself to eat anything I wanted, as long as I kept under my daily calories. If I wanted to spend all my calories on cookies one day, I could (not that I did, because as you learn more, you start to realize what things are worth the calories for the enjoyment you get from them).

Portion control is a very important part. I depended a lot on the widely available 100-calorie packs, especially in the beginning, to start giving me a better idea of how I could have my snack cravings satisfied just as well with a smaller amount. The other day I was measuring out 100 calories of potato chips (I finally got a kitchen scale, it adds so much more clarity to how much I'm eating, because it's hard to measure a half cup of something like chips), and when I looked at the result in the bowl, I knew that a year ago, I entirely would not have thought that was an adequate portion. I really am satisfied with it now, it is enough to take care of the craving without turning into a binge.

Even if you decide to start exercising to lose weight, I highly advise keeping a notebook of what you eat and how many calories, whether you limit those calories or not. It will open your eyes.

I feel like all of my life previous to last year, if you compare calories to money, I have been buying things I didn't know the price of, out of a bank account I didn't know the balance on. It is hard to make intelligent decisions in such a situation. Calorie information is so available now, though, it is relatively simple to learn your balance and the prices. It was entirely worth it to me, I am only sorry I didn't do this years ago.

[GalateaDancer]

You can also use sites like FitDay or The Daily Plate to track food intake and exercise.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Last September I had to go on a low-cholesterol diet (I think of it as having to give up pizza and potato chips). It wasn't anywhere near as hard as I thought it would be--I'm not craving the things I can't have anymore.

Maybe it was easier because I started improving my eating habits after my mother died. At any rate, it hasn't been too bad.

I'm also officially training for my next 1/2 marathon in June (instead of just walking a lot before hand). When I started the program I figured out that this new 1/2 will be my 8th. I do at least 2 a year.

I know where my extra calories are coming from, though (beer), and my NYR is to watch those more carefully and cut back on them.

Seaboe

[Loyhargil]

I've finally been getting on the bandwagon myself. I've made an effort to incorporate exercise since just after Christmas, and recently I've also started modifying my diet to deal with some blood sugar issues. Weight's been coming off as a happy result.

Ya know, I keep blaming my baby for excess "baby weight." But he's nearly a year old now. Do I have to stop blaming him now?

[Mr. Furious]

I've started a very aggressive weight loss program to get back to a healthy weight. I already know how to maintain my weight (I simply let it get away from me for far too long), so I'll be able to transition into a more normal eating mode once the weight comes off.

My food schedule, at least for right now is:

8AM: Slim-Fast shake
10AM: 100 Calorie Pack (savory)
12PM: Slim-Fast shake
3PM: 100 Calorie Pack (sweet)
5PM: Light supper (example - last night I had a tin of chicken with salsa on a tortilla, which was about 330 calories total)

I think I might switch out the morning shake with an egg next week. We get our eggs from the farmer's market (and from a farmer we trust), so I know they're as natural as can be.

Weekends are going to be an issue, because we're not home most of the day. I'll figure something out, though.

As for exercise, I'm hitting the Wii Fit hard. Today, I did 1 session of Basic Step, 2 sessions of Advanced Step, 10 minutes of Free Step, and two sessions of Advanced Hula Hoop (or is it Super Hula Hoop?) I'll probably do another 30-40 minutes tonight.

I am very serious about this.

[Aud 1]

Now is not the time for me to lose weight since I'm just a bit pregnant (7 weeks) (That still feels weird to type.) I can't let these cravings get the best of me and I really do need to get some exercise.

I had a plan to join the Y and sneak in some time before I pick up DD at daycare but between my DH's work travel schedule and me being flipping exhausted at the end of my work day I don't see that happening this trimester. As it gets warmer I'm going to take walks during my lunch break.

Last summer I lost weight basically just walking and trying to eat less. It can work.

[Natalie]

Juniper, I envy your personal trainer. That's something I've wanted to do for a while.

Something I know the bf is looking forward to is biking season. It's warm here right now, but the weather is still too fickle to get the bikes out of storage. Hopefully it won't be too much longer. We both noticed a big difference last summer when we were commuting almost entirely by bike.

[Mr. Billion]

Originally Posted by rhiandmoi

So, a coworker just straight out told me that I've gained weight. His huge lack of class or tact aside, it's true. I don't actually know how much I weigh because I'm not into scales and do not own one, but my pants are too tight.

Tonight, I'll be hitting the pool for aqua aerobics, and I'll aim to do that 2-3 nights a week. And the weather is getting nicer here, so I'll be able to walk at lunch.

Food wise, I'll be upping my veggie intake. And only eating when I'm hungry. Somehow I've developed the bad habit of eating because I'm bored. So that's my game plan.

Good luck! Definitely get a scale so you can keep track of the change in weight.

[CherryPie]

After seeing this thread the other day, I've been inspired to actually do something constructive to lose weight instead of just ignoring it and hoping it'll go away . I've registered at The Daily Plate (Thanks Galatea Dancer!) so I can keep track of what I'm eating and I'm going to try and get some exercise when the weather picks up a bit (Call me weird but three inches of snow makes me want to hibernate ).

Good luck to everybody trying to lose weight!

CherryPie

[rhiandmoi]

Originally Posted by Mr. Billion

Good luck! Definitely get a scale so you can keep track of the change in weight.

There's a scale at the Y, so I'll use that if I get really interested in my weight. I know that many weight loss experts disagree with me, but I do not believe that anything good comes from keeping a scale in your home. So I will not have one. I feel like I don't need to know how much I weigh to know that my pants do or do not fit.

In related topics, I think I want an iPhone. I think I would do a lot more meal tracking and what not if I had one. Plus I found out you can use Google Docs on it, which would be handy for my shopping lists, and then I could get rid of my stupid work phone.

[Deep Blue]

I have been complaining about needing to lose weight for about 3 years now, and haven't been able to stick with anything for longer than a week or so.

I'm having a hard time finding time to do any exercising at all. I get up very early and drop my youngest off at daycare so I can take my son to school. I have to use my lunch hour everyday to pick my son up at school and take him home, then go back to work for the remainder of the day. I get home from work at 5:30 and start dinner as soon as I walk through the door. After dinner, it's homework. By the time that's done, it's after 8pm, and I'm completly worn out.

My company is running a weight loss contest, with the biggest loser (by %, not actuall amount of weight lost) gets $100. I've enrolled in it for some motivation and accountability, as you have to weigh in every week.

I'm keeping a food journal, and really watching what I eat, but would love to find a way to get some exercising in, too. Anyone have any sugestions?

[Banrion]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue

II'm keeping a food journal, and really watching what I eat, but would love to find a way to get some exercising in, too. Anyone have any sugestions?

So far all I can figure out is to open a worm hole. I have a similarly hectic schedule. I get up at 4:00am to get on a train so that I can be to work for 7:00am. I work 7-3:30, usually taking no more than 10-15 mins for lunch, get back on a train and get home at 5:30. Make dinner, eat, shower then I have to be in bed by 9:00pm to make my 4:00am wake up. Now that I am done with school for a while, I think I may join the Y and try to get motivated enough to show up at some of the 7:00am classes on the weekends.

[Lainie]

Early last year, I cut back on the fat content in my diet and lost about 10 pounds over a couple of months. Then I fell off the wagon, and had gained it all back by October. But my doctor put me on Adderall for ADD, and I have since lost about 7 pounds without really trying. In addition to the wonderful things it does for my focus and productivity, Adderall virtually eliminates my emotional eating by making the physical process of eating less enjoyable. I still enjoy the food I do eat, but I don't eat just to be eating anymore, if you know what I mean. My portion sizes are smaller, too, for a similar reason -- I'm stopping when I've had enough, not continuing to eat because there's more food available.