Posts by lessin08

I use to say I was making a lifestyle change, but too many people thought that I was "coming out" as a lesbian... lol.  So, I use diet in the vernacular. I understand what I mean. I am making a change for life.

I skimmed through, but may have missed a few things. i do not think that this was mentioned...

THE COST OF FOOD AND RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION. Are two of the primary causes of obesity... especially in less affluent communities. I actually studied this in school so hear me out.

We live in cities that make it nearly impossible to walk anywhere. The store is miles... not blocks away. Our jobs are hours, not minutes away. As such we have engineered a society that makes us more mobile... but not physically mobile... technologically mobile. When is the last time you walked to the store...? How long is your commute?

The cheapest and most convenient food, is the worst for us, and is more readily available than the healthier food... not to mention it is packaged to fit our "tech mobile lives... hence the drive through. When is the last time you saw a walk up window?

Grocery store chains avoid less affluent areas, but fast food joints abound. The ratio in some poor areas is 3 to 1... or even 3 to 0. Yes... some neighborhoods do not have anything more than a convenience store... emphasis on "convenience". It is a social problem and an individual problem. We need to take personal responsibility, but we also need to take social responsibility for the problem.

Thank you for this post. I so needed it. I just asked my dietician this week if i was developing an eating disorder, or an unatural relationship with food. I do everything you guys do... and that makes me feel better than i am not alone in my insanity.

The "20 minute rule". Okay... so you eat, and afterward you are still feeling hungry. But, rather than eat more of whatever you sit for 20 minutes, and drink water... if the hungry feeling passes you stop eating. If it does not... you can eat more, but only if you quickly recalculate your totals to make sure you do not go over.

The "blue bag rule". I can only eat what is in my "blue bag" ... as I pack my lunch, dinner and snacks for the whole day. I actually get excited when i see the blue bag... I guess it is like dogs... when you open the dog food bag.

You will actually not eat anything you do not know the caloric value of.

You check the website of every restaurant for the nutritional and caloric values of their menu. You will not eat there if they do not have one. Or, you make the manager take the nutritional information plaque off the wall, so you can see it before you order, and then chastise him for not having it in a hand out form. [ i actually did this.]

You take a 1/2 and 1/4 measuring cups to family functions... so you can be sure to control your portions.

You freak if you do not exercise more than 5 days a week.

The insanity goes on...

I'm Adrianne age 32 5'4".

sw: 227.4

cw: 198.2

gw: 140

My goal is to reach 190lbs by July 1st. So the closer I can get to that in the next four weeks... the better.

I have come to love the compliments. As... I am doing this alone [with the exception of you lovely people here] it is all the encouragement I get. The only problem is that I do hate it when people ask for #. It is great to tell them I have lost 28lbs, but embarrassing to admit that i still weigh 199. I get the "OMG she is/was a fat cow look" ... or the ever sympathetic... "you do not even look it." comments.

Sure I would like to join. Do I just post my results to this thread every Friday? I am never sure how these things work.

Thank you for the congrats...

I realized that I still have not mastered eating out. I also learned that I have not mastered family functions either. I did manage to eat a Red Robin Cheesburger last week, with fries... and stay on target. I just ordered a plain burger w/ out mayonaise, and relish, and only ate one serving of fries. However, I had checked the website before I went out...so I had a good idea how many calories i was getting. The problem is the impromtu stuff... last minute... that I can not plan for. Additionally, I have been unsuccessful at getting my family to work with me on my weight loss... as such every family function has a tone of food that even in moderation... will put me way over. Since our family functions usually run several hours... it is hard. I have tried not eating before... and tried eating before... the results are the same. No matter how little I eat... I am over. it is just the type of foods that are served. Weekends... and cooking for my family are other triggers. It is really hard to stay on target... when you have three kids and a husband to cook for... and they are not always interested in eating what I eat. Just curious what others were doing... and how they made it work.

That is amazing... polpot... 86lbs in 5 months! I am in awe. You go girl. Here I thought my 28lbs in 4 months was good. I choke on your dust honey... lol.

I tried the weekly thing... but, I have a tendency to obsess... so my short term goals are usually monthly. month beginning to month end.

I am using the DASH diet too. I have hypertension. My main weight loss goal is to get off of medication. My blood pressure yesterday was 100/68 the lowest it has ever been... on medication. I just got my dosage reduced. The DASH diet is really easy... I found that I was already making many of the choices on it already. However, I do struggle with keeping my sodium intake lower. I work two jobs... and therefore often use prepacked things to help make up my lunch and dinner. My dietician has helped me make better choices in the prepackaged department. Health Choice... is really low in sodium. There cafe steamers are to die for. I was really suprised at how good they taste.

 I saw other links here, but you can also try Kaiser Permanente's Health Encyclopedia... at www.kp.org. I do not think you have to be a member to access the health information.

Hope this helps...

I started with a walking DVD... in front of the TV. I did it for a month... and lost about 8lbs... however, I coupled that with calorie counting and restricting my caloric intake. After the first month... I added a cardio kick boxing type routine; also on DVD. Now that the weather is better... I walk outside. The DVD came with a CD that converted the workout for outdoor use. I walk 3 miles a day... and about another 2 miles, just walking around for daily work.  I have lost a total of 22lbs since January 5th. However, I have been at a plateau for the last 3 weeks...

A lot of people think that walking in front of the TV is "weird"... i do not think it is any weirder that a treadmill... hell, you walk to nowhere on that. it has worked for me... hang in there.

Where do you think I can get that Walden DVD? On-line? Bookstore? Because of time I can not take a class...but a DVD would be great. I went to a class once years ago, and quit, because I could not do the poses and there were few modifications. I will definitely try the DVD.