Posts by gpm55

Do you mean 52 lbs. since May 6th, 2009

OR

Do you mean 52 lbs. since May 2006??

Here's a little pat on the back from me too!

Your post was very well said.  The weight loss journey is also a journey to well being.  Certainly I fall off the wagon from time to time, but for the most part I actually enjoy my new healthy food diet.

Instead of dwelling on what we can't have, it does help to concentrate on how good healthy foods taste - especially when exercising portion control.  It's nice to actually feel real hunger and then enjoy a healthy meal.

It feels good not to be stuffed when going to bed at night.

1. getting rid of the big belly and having a flat stomach again

2. getting rid of the love handles on my hips

3. getting slimmer legs again so pantyhose fit.

4. being able to wear my rings comfortably again

5. being able to wear the necklaces again that now won't fit my big neck

6. being able to get a certain haircut I admire when my face looks slimmer

7. being able to buy boots (which I now can't because my calves are too big)

8. being more comfortable in an airplane seat

9. buying new sexy underwear

10. not being the fattest one in the room

11. having more energy and stamina

I just re-read your post and  noticed something:  you are eating sugar free products.

Sugarfree products always make me feel really hungry!

I read an article awhile ago which basically boiled down to: when your body tastes the sweet taste, it instinctively looks for the calories.  When it doesn't find any, it triggers hunger pangs.  So indirectly sugarfree foods actually cause weight gain because they trigger hunger pangs.

So the article said.  Anyway, I gave up diet beverages etc. and feel much more satisfied drinking water or carbonated water than I felt when drinking diet sodas.

Maybe you should try leaving out the sugarfree stuff for awhile to see if that helps.

I'm 56 andd have gone from 130 to 284 lbs in my adult life.

Currently I'm at 237.

Point is, when the realization finally hits you that you weight unacceptably too much, there is no use in hiding.  Start to do something about it.

Yes, people will notice you gained weight.  They will also notice when you lose weight.

I have been pleasantly surprised at the compliments I have received and at the people I have received them from.

Don't hide.

Also, I agree with purchasing a few outfits that fit your current weight.  Nothing makes us look fatter than too tight clothes.

I found out that white breads, rolls, cakes, refined sugars, chocolate are my "triggers".  They seem to turn on my appetite switch and make me insatiably hungry.

When I eliminate these trigger foods from my diet I find it fairly easy to "eat clean" and the pounds slowly but surely drop off, especially if you watch your caloric intake and get at least a little moderate exercise.

You need to find out what your triggers are.  There's no need to starve yourself.  You can find lots of healthy low calorie foods and after a short while, perhaps just a few weeks, you will start to feel so much better, and it will get easier and easier from week to week to stick with the healthy eating plan.

Go to college.

As far as weight loss is concerned, you don't have to go all out.  Just start making small lifestyle changes, like religiously taking a small 15 minute walk after dinner, like exercising some portion control, like substituting just one healthy low cal snack a day for a high fat high cal snack.

Small changes over time ... will result in healthy weight loss.

Also eating well fuels your body so that you feel better, learn better etc. etc.

Just my 5 cents worth ............

From Thanksgiving to New Year I gained 16 lbs!

Since 1/1/2009 I've lost 8 of those lbs.  That went fast.  Was probably bloat/water retention.

But the last 8 are going to go much slower.  Will probably take a month to get rid of them at least!

We're all in the same boat!

Possible? Maybe.  Depending on lots of factors ... but even if you lose 20 lbs. in 3 months (which is totally possible) it will make a huge change for the better, right?

My first month I lost 19 lbs. eating healthy.  Then it slowed down more and more each month.  Of course I started at 284 lbs and am down 56 lbs. in 11 months - had actually gotten this far about 6 months in, but have been not losing for past 5 months (company, vacations etc), and in fact gained 9 lbs. over Holidays, of which I have again dropped 4 lbs.

So losing the lbs. is only part of the equation.  Maintaining will be something we have to dedicate ourselves to for the rest of our lives.

Good luck to you.

Congratulations!  You look wonderful!

From your entry I see that you feel great, too.  That's just as important as looking great.

It's interesting to read that you have wholeheartedly embraced the lifestyle change and that you now cannot imagine living any other way. 

I'm a little over halfway toward losing 114 lbs. and you are an inspiration to me.  I'm sure many others will get a morale booster from your story.

I have noticed the same phenomenon in Germany.

1.) Many eat a hearty breadfast: wholegrain bread and cold cuts and cheeses. The whole grains metabolize better than our white bread and they are full until lunch, not forever snacking on candy bars, donuts or other junk food.

2.) In Germany lunch is the big meal of the day: meats, veggies & potatoes

3.) in the evenings they have a sandwich, kind of like breakfast.

4.) they walk a lot and many ride bicycles as transportation. 

5.) going for a walk is actually a social activity, so when they go to a cafe for coffee and cake, odds are they've been walking and windowshopping for better than an hour first (or afterwards)

When these same people come here and life our lifestyle, guess what?  Many of them gain plenty of vacation pounds!

I do believe that eating hearty with good nutritional values works better than lots of our high cal, high fat, high sugar stuff.

Dillard's & Macy's have nice plus size depts.  I prefer Dillard's.  They have great sales, too.  Anyway,  Polo Ralph Lauren comes in womens plus sizes up to 24 and often feature nice cottons and cotton blends.  Even silk blouses etc.  Also Ann Klein, Jones New York are great brands available in plus size.  As well as LizClaiborne,  Adrianna Pappell has exquisite dressy dresses.

I looked at your pictures.  Are you sure you didn't accidentally label them incorrectly?  The 287 lbs picture looks thinner than the 212 lbs picture.

?????

I've had plantar faciitis.  Had extensive medical treatments, which didn't do much for me (incl. 3 months of physical therapy).

Then I just rested my feet and after about 6 months is subsided.

Recently (this Spring) it flared up again and I bought a pair of MBT shoes. Walking only 1-2 blocks a day it improved vastly the very first week I started wearing the shoes.  Within 3 weeks, it was GONE.

Then a friend of mine in Germany also developed PF and her Dr. didn't help her.  I told her about the shoes, and they helped her as well.

No guarantees, but if nothing else helps, try the shoes. (They're expensive: around $ 240 for a pair of the sandals, but they're cheaper than the Dr. was)

I don't like to waste food either. However portion control needs to be a major factor in our lifestyle change (in addition of course to making nutritionally wise choices).

So if you have cooked too much, put a portion aside for the next day.

In a restaurant, eat a predetermined amount and take the rest home for the next day.

Restaurant food is almost always more calorie dense than what I prepare at home, so I may not have much of a calorie deficit (if any) when dining out even when bringing food home.  But by eating only a portion of your meal you may have reduced your caloric intake to a maintenance level for that day.  That's not nearly as bad as going well over limit and needing days to make up for it.