Needing someone who has 50lbs or more to lose

Hi I am 47 yr old mother with 2 grown boys and a 5 yr old boy.  I am diabetic and now 95 lbs overweight.   Wanting someone to share their ups and downs with.  Needing support and willing to give support back.  Right now I am going through the hungry all the time stage.  Anyone else dealing with that?  Let's chat maybe we can forget about being hungry for a while.

I am 31 with 4 kids (13,12,9,7) and my dad. I am 180 and need to be 130. I am always hungry b/c my job is very boring and there is nothing to do but sit and type all day.

I would be more than happy to chat. I am currently doing South Beach and it seems to be working. I lost 1 lb already which is more than I lost with just counting calories.

Are you on a specific diet?

I am 31 with 4 kids (13,12,9,7).

I am 180 and need to be 130.

I would be more than happy to chat with you

Hi pgm,

Right now I am on a 1500 calorie diet.  My doctor wants me on a 1000 to 800 calorie diet and I am finding that one to restrictive.  I am 232 right now and I have to be 130 lbs also.  I understand about the job thing.  I am a cafeteria manager for a school district and right now I am on a break.  But when school starts up I am hoping that I won't start back sliding.  Thanks for the reply!!

What kind of diet are you on?

I am 46 and also have around 95 pounds to lose.  I added you to my friends, feel free to do the same if you would like.  I don't post in the forums much but am trying to journal more.

Hi, I am 54 with two grown daughters and two teenaged stepdaughters.  I started at 205 and am now around 182.  I still have about 50 pounds to loose to reach my goal.  I left the hungry all the time phase behind a quite while back.  Now I am simply used to eating less.  I am not sure what I am going to do when I finally have to eat normally again, but that isn't going to be a problem for a long time yet.

May I suggest finding some low calorie stuff, carrots or celery maybe, to snack on when you feel hungry?  That helped me a lot.  It is not good to be hungry.  You almost always get tired of it and pig out eventually.  Take a good look at your diet and try to find places where you can fit more protein and fiber in to keep you feeling full.

Feel free to add me as a friend.  I like to chat.  Good luck on your new lifestyle.

Vicky, I would find a new doctor.   I mean seriously, is he just trying to force you into binging and feeling guilty?  

Right now Im at about 186.  I need to get down to 130 but I would be happy with 135.   Hubby is at 311 and needs to get down to about 220.   So I have been studing what to do to help him out.   Hubby got fat by  not eating enough.  If you try to eat that few of calories your going to end up getting yourself into the same postion hubby is in now.   I would follow the recomendations of the tools on this website and ask questions of the experts here rather than listen to someone who wants you to starve yourself to death.  

You might want to consider looking over Dr. Oz's diet book, You on a Diet.  To be honest, if I could get the people in this house to eat onions, peppers and fresh fish, I would be all over it.  Besides just the diet, it has some interesting info about how our bodies work that apparently, your doctor hasn't gotten caught up on yet. 

You know what, I would get the book and tell your doctor to read it.  LOL  Yeah that would go over well.  

Good luck trying to lose the weight.  Feel free to drop me a line anytime.  I would be happy to chat with you.

Oh I guess I should also add that Im the mother of 6.  4 girls (ages 15,14,8,7)  2 boys (ages 11,6) 

I second what ladykelien said.  I would look for a new dr.  800-1000 calories is very unhealthy. 

That is a low amount, but I have heard of doc's saying that amount before.  No idea.  But, was going to say that the first 1-2 weeks was the worst with being hungry.  And then one day (after I got used to being really hungry) I realized that I wasn't hungry all the time anymore!  I still get hungry at certain times, but not like that first week or so.

Good luck!

Hi Vickie 6417 and others,

I am 47, mother of two teenaged boys. I weigh 193 and want to get back to about 140. I managed at that weight for many years. I have lost more weight before on restrictive diets and I have eventually gained it back plus some more. Diets of 800 to 1000 calories a day are so bad for me. It changes my metabolism and makes me so hungry, physically and emotionally. 

About 10 months ago, I lost 10 pounds just by adding some walking back into my life and quitting a stressful situation. About 2 months ago, I did the 5 Factor diet and lost 6 more pounds at about 1,500 calories a day. I could feel myself getting crazy about food, so I let off to see what would happen. I naturally increased my activity as I was increasing my fitness level. I maintained my weight loss over that time. Now, I am back to trying to decrease my calories to 1,500 again to see if I can lose some more weight.

My mantra is "slow and steady wins the race". I consider myself the tortoise as I am slower than many.  My only competition for weight loss will be myself. I want to improve my chances of avoiding heart disease. I don't want to be crippled by arthritis in my hips or feet. So, I will keep moving and try to find a sensible way to eat.  

I wish you luck and look forward to chatting with you and others here aobut our progress.

Hey, I'm 23 ,no kids. I'm sitting at 293 today. I've always been overweight, so I guess you don't seem to notice it as much. It just gradually creeps up on you, til one day you go to the bathroom, step on the scale, and say HOLY CRAP!!!! so yeah. My goal is to get down to 150. I work out minimum 3 times a week, and I watch my calorie, fat, carbohydrate and protein intake. I can't say if its really working yet, cuz I haven't been doing it that long. I have a food journal (on paper) where I record exactly how much food I eat. Are you drinking 8 glasses of water a day. That helps me when I'm getting hungry. You ca also get low cal protein shakes that help to fill you up, but don't weigh you down with calories. I'm new to this site, so it'll be good to have someone to chat with, and share ideas with, get support etc. Drop me a line anytime. Rach

Hi everyone that replied,

 

Thanks so much for the encouraging words.  I just wanted to let you know I think the reason my doctor was telling me that, and I think I should say that he wasn't telling me to do the 800-1000 calorie diet, he was just suggesting it.  I believe he was telling me to try that instead of doing something like the lap band.  I read somewhere that you can do your own lap band without going through the surgery by reducing your calorie intake drastically, but as a diabetic I don't think that would be good, but he told me that people that have done the lap band and were diabetic are no longer diabetic.  There may be something in that, but right now I think I will stick to a 1200 calorie diet for now. 

Again thanks again  all of you and I am adding you all to my buddies list.

Vicky

Hi, 31 and started the medi fast diet which includes 4-100 calorie appettite shakes and one lean and green mel, whicj i ususally have a grilled chicken salad, I started on May 9th, 2008  at 313, the highest ever, i have high blood pressure and i dont want to die at an early age, i have 2 kids  a girl who will be 11 and a boy who will be 6...to date i am currently 283 pounds, it is a hard diet to only eat about 800 a day but i see its working and i really have no major side affects... i visit my doctor 1 a week to weigh in and pick up my week supply of shakes and it is 52 dollars a week, not bad cause i would prbably spend more money then that if i werent on this diet...lol really want to get to 150 then ill be happy

I'd like to get in on this group as well. I started at 209 and was at 204.5 this morning. According to this site, my goal should be 139, but I think that's kinda unrealistic for me. If I could get to 150, I'd be a pretty happy camper.

I'm 52 with two grown kid and one grandchild. I've struggled with weight since having my first kid really. I weight more now than I did right before I delivered my last kid! =:-O

I'm very encouraged by the tools here. I'm very sedentary at work and at home, but I do get out to exercise. My biggest downfall is not keeping tabs on what I eat. I love the "Eat" meter and the "Burn" meter. What a cool, visual way to keep me from eating more than I burn. I usually log in before I leave for work to update my weight and if I have time, I will read some of the forum to get myself inspired. I love to hear about people who have fought this battle and won.

I hope I can be as supportive as all the others here. I do have a question: Is there a way to mark this thread so that I can find it again?

Original Post by vicky6147:

Hi everyone that replied,

 

Thanks so much for the encouraging words.  I just wanted to let you know I think the reason my doctor was telling me that, and I think I should say that he wasn't telling me to do the 800-1000 calorie diet, he was just suggesting it.  I believe he was telling me to try that instead of doing something like the lap band.  I read somewhere that you can do your own lap band without going through the surgery by reducing your calorie intake drastically, but as a diabetic I don't think that would be good, but he told me that people that have done the lap band and were diabetic are no longer diabetic.  There may be something in that, but right now I think I will stick to a 1200 calorie diet for now. 

Again thanks again  all of you and I am adding you all to my buddies list.

Vicky

 I had watched a show (60 minutes?) that reported on this. Every person that was diabetic that had lap band or the other one (what's it called?) immediately was NOT diabetic anymore. In other countries they have approved this surgery for diabetics that are not obese, but in this country surgery is only approved of for the severely obese. That is not to say that everyone should run out and have surgery. I believe if your health, your life, is in jeopardy then you should be able to take that risk. But if you have the time do it the slow and sure way. Lose a little at a time and educate yourself fully on nutrition and health along the way.

Fringe, I can see that as a possiblity.  Some of the things, I have been reading suggest a direct corrilation between the stomach and how the body manages sugar.   Apparently their are chemicals in the brain that are suppose to tell us when we are hungry and when we are no longer hungry based upon our sugar levels.  But, those can be overridden by a chemical in our stomachs called Gherlin.  Gherlin likes to be fed.  It likes sugar and it can fight the other chemicals in your body off well enough that you end up unbalancing your system and making yourself diabetic.   So its easy to see how lap band could  be like putting a leash on your Gherlin until you could get the rest of the chemicals back into balance. 

But, the fact remains it is a major surgery, your only going to lose about 60 percent of the weight  you need to lose and it doesn't teach you how to eat right it just stops you from wanting to eat.   Other options might take longer but, unless your diabietes is completely out of control, and no medication in the world seems to be helping, I think lap band would be a bit extream.  There are ways to do that without the lap band or starving yourself to death.

I paid the price for my starvation.   I was 16 and didn't know any better.  I started walking 5 miles a day and lived off one balognia and cheese sandwich and a three or four cans of Mt. Dew a day.  Besides the walking, I went to school in an old building built in the 50's it was three stories tall, the only elevator could only be used if you were disabled and there were 6 other buildings spread out over two blocks, one of which was 2 stories tall.  So on top of my walking I was killing myself trying to just get to class everyday.   I went from 160 to 130 in 6 months time.  

I know most people would love that.  I did too at the time,  What I don't love, is the anemia, and a-rythemia I developed toward the end of my not eating well.   I still have to be careful when I exercise or I run the risk of passing out.  My heart will skip a half beat about every 3 beats on any given day.  but, when I exercise that can come up to as high as a full beat ever 3 beats.   It hurts like you wouldn't believe and makes it very difficult to breath. 

Though my bad eating and fast weight loss weren't the sole reasons for my problems they were a large part of it and made life very hard on me at different times.   1200 calories seems reasonable. But, I know from experiance that can be almost as hard as the 800 calorie diet.  

Vicky, you can always try zizagging your calories.   One day eat 800 the next eat 1200 then eat 1500 then 1000 then 1300 and so on and so forth.   That way you have days when you are doing what your doctor says, and at least one day a week you can eat at your favorite restraunt or something to treat yourself.   I think you will find yourself amazed at how fast the weight comes off when your body doesn't think your trying to starve it to death.

 

 

 

Hi Vicky,  I'm 27 years old and have Polycycstic Ovarian Disease.  I currently weigh 228 pounds... I started at 235.  I've lost 7 pounds in about 2 and half weeks.  I am counting my calories... no more than 1400 a day.  Plus my husband and I are going to the gym every day when we get up.  I jog on the elliptical machine about 25-30 minutes.  I totally understand about feeling hungry... it's like the less you try to eat the more you want to.  I am not diabetic, but I am on Metformin for my insulin levels due to the PCOD.  When I was in college I got up to about 250-275... I'm not really sure how much I weighed because I totally avoided the scale.  My motivation for losing weight is to have children... because right now I can't.  When I get frustrated or don't feel like exercising... that's what I think about.  It helps to have a reason for wanting to lose the weight.

Just from experience... counting calories and exercise have worked the best for me.  I've tried Atkins, South Beach, the Mayo Clinic diet.  I even developed an eating disorder... went several months without eating.  Lost a lot of weight on all of the "diets" but gained it all back once I started eating like I was before.  For me... counting calories and exercise is a way of life... I can still have pizza or whatever else I want... just in moderation.  And if I eat too many calories... I have to exercise more.

Anyway, I don't know if anything I said helped, but I do understand what you are dealing with and would love to talk to you some more.  It always helps to have people who understand and support you when you are trying to lose weight. 

Hi I am 43 with 3 girls (20, 16 and 7)  I started at 231 now at 229 after a week with just counting calories, this site says I need to eat 1650, which is good, as you lose weight you have to eat less, so I guess when I lose 50 it will probably go down to about 1400 cals, but no woman should go under 1200 cals a day.  I would try for around 1600-1700 cals a day.  Eat six small meals a day it helps to curb the hunger.  Good luck.  We have alot of work ahead of us.

hi vicky... as you know i am in the same boat, but have yet to start... your progress is an inspiration and i know one day i will follow... keep up the great work!!!

Hi vicky, I'm 36 and have 90 pounds to go.  I'm down 40+ pounds from my highest weight, and am still plugging along.  I do 1400-1500 cals a day, with 3 meals and 2 snacks to keep my blood sugar pretty even (I'm pre-diabetic).  I exercise moderately (walk 45 minutes 3 days a week and do some light weight training), and it is a a struggle but working.  :)

My best advice to you is NOT to go down to 800-1000 cals but to settle in a bit higher and spread your calories out more and eat 5-6 times a day to keep the blood sugar more stable.  And, have faith in yourself, don't panic or get discouraged if you "goof" or "slip up" every now and then, and keep coming back to this site to let people know how you're doing.  It makes getting healthier more fun--even social--while allowing me to give and get support for others who are in the same boat.  :D

Hang in there, and let us know how you're doing, OK?  Every positive change you make in diet and exercise will help in the long run! 

Good luck!

PS--there are others with diabetes on this site who can probably also help answer some of your questions, so maybe post something to with that in the title, if you'd like their support.