Posts by bonnysaxon

Hey Krischabs:

Start slow and keep your expections low.  Open your mind to possibilities and pretend you've never tried to change your eating patterns until now.  Don't bring past failures to today's efforts.

Pick one unhealthy habit to change.  For me it was stop drinking soda.  I don't drink diet or regular or anything.  Even stopped drinking the carbonated water.  Once that wasn't a challenge anymore, I started on the carbs.  Stopped eating spaghetti and started with the shiritake (yeah, I've had them before . ..) and spaghetti squash.  Adding layers of different vegetables began another phase.  As these changes changed me, I kept them up.  Now I'm working on increasing my physical activities.  I'm going to see if I can join the Y to swim and will probably make it to the gym to get on the recumbent bike a few times this week.  My goal is to be able to walk up stairs using both legs.  I can do two or three, but I know I can do better.

I'm really happy you've made a jump over your last hurdle.  Shiritaki noodles are ok, but for me they are a bit 'chewy.'  But they do help with the whole 'gotta have spaghetti' thing, don't they?

I've held my own the last few months - up 2 and down 2, so I'm getting back in the game.  Want to lose 30 pounds to hit my next goal; and if I can get there by beginning of July I'm going to San Diego.  I have a friend there whose been bugging me to visit - but I won't fly because I don't fit in the seats (and currently don't have the money).  So will work on both problems and see where it takes me.

I'm glad I didn't know any girl scouts this year. . .

Two things I have learned recently - that muscle weighs more than fat, so how fit you are and how your clothes fit are better indicators about how you are doing.  Second, good food choices make the difference between losing consistently or not losing at all.  These include watching your sodium intake (stay away from gatoraid and drinks like that) and keeping track of how much fat you eat.  If you are very physically active, you need a little more fat in your diet to use up your fat-soluable vitamins.  Not eating enough can also keep weight on.  As Mr. Ripley used to say 'believe it, or not...'

A trick that worked for me is that in order to have anything at the restaurant outside of my 'healthy' foods; I have to measure it out and write it down in a log.  You'd be surprised how many times you'll pass up a nibble of this or a nosh of that if you have to write it down!  It becomes a hassle very quickly.  It will also help you keep track of all those nibbles and noshes.  It's quite easy to pick a piece of bacon up or whatever, but the calories can add up quickly and you'll never know what you've eaten. 

Yes, you will indeed be there.  I've gone from size 32 to a 24.  And I am determined to get to an eighteen by end of January.  I've been walking and walking.  My friend, who has lost over 150 pounds said the single best exercise she's done is simple.  Walk.  :)

Chili; green giant vegetables for one - broccoli and cheese; fat free sour cream topped with tiny bit of shredded cheese and a sprinkle of bacon bits.  Garlic & onion powders and a little milk mixed in; progresso soup (a thick one) spooned over and heated; basically anything you'd put on pasta you can put on a potato.

When I feel a craving come on - which has been happening more lately for some reason - I try to figure out where it's coming from.  Actually slow down and think about it.  Am I hungry?  Am I tired?  Is the craving because I'm low on some vital nutrient?  Am I feeling nostalgic for a flavor experience?  If I decide that the craving needs to be addressed, then I'll be very deliberate about it.  Measure and count and log it.  Make it a very deliberate act, rather than impulsive.

Original Post by carolsdaughter:

Hi everyone!

I'm new and this is my first post. I am currently 337lbs and want to get down to about 170-175lbs.  Im 5'10" and have large frame. 

Like many of you I have tried quite a few ways to lose weight and have had some successes at doing so, the problem was I could not keep it off! I started looking on the internet for a support board with people who had been through what I've been through and that brought me here.  This is a very difficult journey and I wanted to associate with those of like-mind for support and motivation!

Here's my plan:

I will start doing some light cardio next week along with stretching and some light resistance training using body weight or bands while emphasizing form. After a few weeks of doing that, I'll ramp up the cardio and slowly transition into weights and a more differentiated lifting schedule. I hope in 4-6 weeks I'll be ready to start my P90X. I'll be weighing in on Monday's. 

I'm glad I found this thread and I hope to chat with you guys soon!

 I'm really excited to see you're arrival on CC.  I weigh on Thursdays, which gives me a Friday to whoop it up and the rest of the week to fix it! 

You seem to have a decent plan in place.  But what is P90X?  I've seen it on other posts, but didn't want to seem stupid.  But I've been around enough to realize it doesn't matter if I am stupid!  ~giggle~

Things that have alway helped me in restaurants and picnics are:

1) Don't treat every restaurant meal like it's your last.  When I was a kid, we never went out to dinner - so when I go out now, it feels like a really special treat.  Except we go out 2 or 3 time a month now.  It's hard not to order all kinds of different things because of the 'special occasion.' 

2) Don't be afraid to ask 'what's in this?'  If a potato salad has full-fat mayo, cheese, bacon, etc - perhaps you should not eat it?  If a salad has a fat-free dressing - perhaps you can have seconds?  Eat the hamburger without cheese or a bun.  (I like to have a salad and cut the hot hamburger over the top.  The hot and cold together are yummy.)  Ditto with the restaurants - have all butter, cream, dressings, etc on the side. Find out if items are cooked in oil - see if they can prepare items with less (or no) oil.  Don't know if you don't ask.

3)  Most people know about the 'take half' home with you - but most places will let you order half portions (often for a little less money.)  That way, if you've saved up enough calories to have pasta, you don't have more of it in the fridge - tempting you away from moderation.

4)  Split what you are ordering with a friend.  Sometimes  my husband and I actually want to eat the same thing - so we'll order one meal and split it.  We'll each have a salad bar (when available) and then split the dinner.  Works well because I can give my hubby more of it.  He's skinny.   

Even though you are trying to change your lifestyle, eating out doesn't always have to be a calorie nightmare.  Be aware of your portions, start with salad and vegetables and eat any carbs last.  A light soup before dinner will make you feel fuller too.   It's all trial and error - or trial and success!

I'm betting that your loss is due entirely through your efforts and not those of you're pepper pill. 

 I did look at the study statistics that the manufacturer cited to prove the product was 'effective.'  The 4 studies involved a total of 34 people and no one was using the product for longer than 2 weeks.  In the land of real science, kids, this means absolutely nothing.  If you don't have a double-blind study with substantially more participants, there is no way you can get usable data.  You can manipulate the numbers to prove anything you want.  The samples are too small.

And as everyone around here will tell you - don't do something to lose weight that you can't continue, because once you stop doing, the weight will come back.  That's why diets don't work.  Changes have to be permanent.

And E-Bay as a venue for anything sucks.  It's a place for theives and frauds to hid behind the internet, take your money and run. Heck, they don't even have to run.  All they have to do is change their e-mail address and a whole row of suckers lines up again.