2 lbs at a time - a new approach - aka, the "babysteppers" group

I lost 35 lbs in 2007. Kept it off until my wedding day.

I have gained 10 lbs at least since September 2008 (my lowest weigh in ever was on my wedding day, then I stopped dieting entirely).

Thinking I am going to/need to lose 10 lbs now is not helping. I am still gaining and feeling bad about myself. I have stopped working out entirely. I have no motivation. I am unable to keep will power in control. I need to think differently - otherwise I know I will gain ALL the weight back.

So, now I am going to take Baby Steps again ... like I did when I first started dieting when I joined CC - less expectations for myself.

Instead view it as a life-style change and not as a painful "I must get skinny ASAP" thing.

So, I WILL lose 2 lbs in the next month or so.

And then, if that works I will decide what if anything I want to do from there. I am going to start by grocery shopping today and getting back into eating the good stuff.  Start taking the stairs at work. Baby steps back into a more healthful ME.

Who is with me?? Any other baby steppers?

I am with you.  I have gained 30+ pounds since December of 2007.  Back then I was riding my bicycle to work, jogging every night, and doing an ab routine and some push-ups and pull-ups.  I got stuck in a rut and started to turn to food to feel better.  I would eat whole packages of raw chocolate cookie dough (boy were they delicious), sometimes several a week.  I finally decided that I was tired of my gut and that I was going to do something about it.

I am like you and am taking baby steps to start back out.  Now I take my 4mo old sons for walks around a lake, but I put him in a carrier that is attached to my chest for added weight.  We go out for about 45mins 2 or 3 times a week and on the other days I am using Wii Fit to get my excercise.

My biggest change though would have to be my diet.  I have made a concious effort to eat healthier, but I have not cut out all of the stuff I love.  I am also viewing this as a lifestyle change and less of a diet.  I have reduced the amount of food I bring to work for lunch to reduce temptation to finish it all, I have started eating more meals per day, but less food each time and most importantly I haven't eliminated all of my favorites.  Just the other night my wife and I ordered a large pizza and I ate over half of it, but I could do this because I had been watching my calories on CC and knew that I wasn't going to be too much over my daily goal and that my calorie expenditure for the day was already much higher than my intake.  I woke up the next morning and had still lost 0.4lb from my previous weight! I considered myself lucky on that one, but really it had to do with me watching myself on all the other days and only 'cheating' once in awhile.

I am slowly working to to reach my short term goals in hopes of reaching my long term goal of losing 50lbs.

So far I have lost 5.4lbs and am keeping it off.

That's crazy that i ran into this blog.. because today when i was setting off to hit the track and walk a couple miles for my 1st time.. i just kept telling myself baby steps.. =) ive gained 45 pounds since getting clean off of drugs in November.. i also quit smoking 5 days ago so i could start focusing on a healthier way of life.. my motto is "what's next?? CAN'T STOP ME" it just keeps me motivated.. anyways thanks for making me smile good luck

I hear you.  Same (pretty much) story here with different numbers.  From April 2007 to 2008 I lost over 35 lbs.  Being just short of my goal I decided to maintain for a while then lose more down to goal.  Come summer and fall 2008 my stress levels jumped 100 fold and I began to "treat" myself which resulted in a regain of over 20lbs....sigh

I started my baby steps about 3 weeks ago an am down about 2.5 lbs and feel alot better.

Yay for baby steps! 

strawberryrice, I love the "what's next/can't stop me" motto!! Thanks for passing it on, I will use it!

jitsrotu, sounds like we have a lot in common, needing to make smaller more realistic changes rather than the whole gamut at once. At least that's how I lost the weight the first time around! Congras on your WL already, amazing work.

I just went to the market with the hubs and bought a whole bunch of good stuff, and yes some bad stuff too, but I have to keep it real!

Baby steps, folks, baby steps.

rufus, congrats on being 2.5 down already, that is motivating for me to hear!!

When I lost weight the first time around I was under no impression that I could do it, so each pound lost was like a huge success. Now that I *know* I can lose weight successfully I am getting easily disappointed because my expectations are higher - then the failure leads to more eating, less self control - vicious cycle. So this is a lifestyle change in my expectations and approach.

Let's see what happens! I am psyched!

I'm in too! Like you, I've gained about 10 lbs since being married about 18 mos ago... I've lost 3lbs so far, and am thinking "just 2 more", then I'll do 2 more, etc.  I've kept up my fitness routine the whole time, but have also been indulging in just a little too much good food and wine just a little too often.

To help get myself started I am in a "Biggest Loser" type contest with some co-workers, and even as the smallest participant, I was the Biggest Loser last week - so there's added pressure not to put it all back on for this week's weigh in!

BTW - I still do the "20 Minute Cardio Blast" that nycgirl posted probably over two years ago on here (I think it was you, I should say!) from time to time - it's still a butt-kicking awesome at home workout!  I'm so glad I saved it!

Best of luck to all of us! Let's keep each other motivated!

With 100 lbs too lose, looking at the big picture is just... disheartening.

I found myself last year in a place that was way too scale emphasized, and didn't care much about health. Then I remembered that 'dieting' is what got me here in the first place. I started making small changes that had minimal effects on my weight: drinking more water, eating more veggies: one thing at a time until they were habits. Then I made the final change to not eat processed sugar or white flour (more generally, to not eat things that had no nutritional benefit for my body), and the weight began to come off.

I use CC to check my calories about once a week.

Everyday I wake up with the goal of having a 'healthy' day.

Baby steps are in : )

Thanks for the feedback everyone ... Yes, let's do this.

Today I brought my lunch to work - a healthy lunch. And had a great healthy breakfast (never my problem area anyway). Dinner is planned as well. I am not counting per se, just trying to get back into it!

How is everyone's baby steps Monday?

hi nycgirl; hope all is well.  My babysteps today was cutting out most of the mayo on my tuna.  I also took the stairs out of penn station instead of the escalator!!

Doing good, brought all kinds of good healthy food to work, Zuccini, Grapefruit, Almonds for snacks. Tofu, Spanish Brown Rice, and Veggies for lunch. Then after work 30 minutes on ellipitical and 20 on treadmill.  

strawberryrice: Keep up the great work! AWESOME motto! I love it!

Great job, everyone.

vanessa1031, I use low-fat mayo and it tastes great and is only 15 cals per tablespoon. I also sometimes use Dijonnaise for my tuna instead of mayo. 5 cals per tablespoon.

cjrmack, good going with the stairs and snacks. I am snacking on the cherries I brought as we speak!

Ok, so what's on the agenda for my babysteppers today? I am bringing my lunch to work again (not very satisfying but I have to do it!) and also will try to walk to the train station after work, instead of taking subway.

I am going for another walk around the lake with my son.  I have a heart rate monitor that I use to track my proress and am burning 500 calories with each walk! makes me feel less guilty for eating foods I like.

i find it harder to eat right on my day off, but I am making it work.

Wow, 500 cals froma  walk, sounds amazing! What HR monitor are you using, maybe I should get one!

I had a great day too, had a banana and delicious portion of pineapple. I also had a super healthy lunch (even with the two slices of cheese). I made a scrumptious dinner too, and cannot wait to eat it (in about 10 minutes!!).

Good luck babysteppers!

Made some banana bread today and added chocolate chips per kid's request. Then I made some muffins with less oil, less sugar and no chips for me!  (looking forward to breakfast tomorrow.)

Sounds like a delicious breakfast rufus!

I am a little down in the dumps as I had my worst weigh-in ever (well ok not ever but since I lost my initial 35 lbs) this morning. Now I am up 12 lbs since my wedding day 9 months ago. What's frightening is 5 lbs were in the past 2 months. I know I cannot let it get to me because I only made changes to my diet 2 days ago and overall, I am still well in the minus column ... but still ...

That's ok, though, I am plugging along and have a healthy lunch planned for today, and had a delicious breakfast of cheerios ... yay!

I would love to join this group, I was on a three week plateau recently and I think I finally broke through it, but my weight loss has been rather slow and so I get frustrated and down on myself. baby steps are the way to go!

I feel your pain nycgirl. My first week I lost like 6 lbs, the next week I had gained back 2. Now I'm determined to only weigh once a month so that I don't get down about fluctuations. Don't worry, you're doing it right, and when those 2 days add up to 10, then 30, and on, you'll see it all come back off.

Today I walked/jogged a mile in 17 minutes. I'm not winning any races, but it's 3 minutes faster than a month ago : )

my heart rate monitor is a polar f6. i picked it up in january for $100. it was pricey, but i love seeing the results of my exercise. today i went for another walk with my son. it was 50 minutes long and i burned 621 calories.  i love spending so much time with my son and it is good for me too.