Getting started....AGAIN

I have started many diets, Atkins, Weight Watchers, counting calories, counting fat, counting carbs, counting bites....you name it.  The only times I have ever honestly lost weight was on Weight Watchers.  After the birth of my first son, I gained 60+ pounds and I joined WW and it came off pretty easy...but I was younger.  I re joined WW over the years with temporary success...10-15 pounds off then all back on then some. 

My husband could stand to lose about 15 pounds, but no one would consider him overweight.  My oldest son plays football, looks at food labels, eats healthy and is amazing looking.  My youngest son, 9, was always "chubby" but everyone thought it was "cute".  He is in third grade now and is packing on the pounds and it bothers his dad and I.  My husband says that we need to do something about it.  He eats out of boredom, he lacks exercise and always thinks of his next meal.  I try to help him and tell him to eat better and that he is getting too heavy.  He then proceeds to tell me that he hasn't seen me on any "fashion magazine lately".....I know you think what a smart mouth, but honestly...how can a parent teach a child to do something when they have the same problem themselves?  Its like having a cigarette hanging out of your mouth smoking up, while you tell someone else the hazards of smoking and why they shouldn't.

So today, Oct 19, my son and I are starting our new life.  We are going to eat more healthy and I am going to follow my WW points and he and I will be "journaling" every thing we eat. We also have a trail behind our house to walk on. He said that he will do it if I do.  I dont want him to get any bigger because we all know how cruel kids can be, and I want my kids to be proud of me.  It wont be easy, but I have more than me to be success for this time.

You will be seeing posts from me regularly and you will probably say, "oh NO! not her again", but it helps me to stay on track to share my journey...most my friends and family wont really care, they are all fit and love me just as I am, but the problem is I don't love me as I am, and if you cant love yourself, what good is that?  God gave me one one body and I will try to save it.

Thanks for reading this and take care!

Rose

Good Morning Rose & I applaud you on getting back on track and helping your son as well.  I too have a son who is in the third grade and is 8 years old.  He is also on the "cute side of chubby" - he is stocky and strong as an ox but I am also very concerned about his weight as he is at 90 pounds and always hungry and always snacking.  Thankfully he is getting ready to start basketball in a couple of weeks but I still worry about him.  I totally get where you are coming from and I too like to journal a lot.  Your right, it does help when you know that you are not alone.  I wish you the best of luck with you and your son and I hope to read about your successes very soon. 

Rose, I'm happy to see your journey. Maybe I can learn something from it. I, too, am on a journey. You can comment on mine, and I will be happy to comment or give suggestions on yours. In the meantime, I'm going away from the house for a few weeks (it's called a vacation -- not that I want to go, but I'm going...) and so may not be able to tap into a computer for a while. Best to you on your journey! I have lost and gained most of my life. Finally, when I got to my high of 230, I went on a diet. I lost about 60 pounds, but then I stopped weighing myself, got frustrated because I wasn't losing any more weight, was not satisfied and gave up for a while. Next time I weighed myself I saw I had gained about 35 pounds back -- not all of it, fortunately, but enough. Now I'm on my way back down but it's sticking like molasses. The change, though, that i'm making is eating 'right.' If I can ... it's hard ... but worth the effort. I'm having one problem, though, and that's finding something low cal and satisfying to crunch on or eat at night. Nighttime eating is my big downfall and I have a problem -- I don't like to suffer, LOL!

Rose,

I know exactly how you feel.  I have 4 daughters.  They all have a hard time with their weight.  Right now 2 are within 15lbs of their goal weight and the other 2 are about 50lbs over.  I am about 90lbs over.  YIKES!  I keep nagging at them to try and lose before it gets too far out of hand.  BUT I need to get my weight under control.  I am a serious yo-yo dieter.  I gain 75lbs like it's nothing and then work and work to lose it.  I have been on every diet like Atkins, low carb, low fat, high protein, etc and got help from a nutrionist, got diet pills from a doctor, went to weight watchers, etc.  I would lose 50 or 60 lbs and see my goal weight ahead and promise not to gain it back but then I would gain it plus some.  Now I'm at my heaviest and reached an age where the weight is affecting my health and is harder to lose.  SOOOOO I'm on here to get started again! 

I hope to keep seeing posts from you.

Disney

wow...you sound like me.  Are you my age?  I will be 50 next year.  You know how hard it is to tell your kid that he needs to lose weight when you are overweight?  Thats why I try to lead by example.  The problem with me is that I eat healthy most of the time, I just eat TOO much of the good stuff...I know that sounds weird, but I am not a chocolate-cheeseburger-greasy fried chicken-donut kind of eater.  Instead of eating 1 eggbeater serving...I eat 3, instead of 1 piece of wheat toast, I can eat 4 slices....I have a big appetite. but I know that when you eat less your stomach shrinks...no such luck.  I am hungry all the time.  I have tried the pills, the Atkins(which was a waste of time) WW, TV dinner diet, slim fast, you name it...and I am always starting on MONDAY and I never let it stick.  Someone told me last week that they would be more concerned with activity level/exercise than they would our eating.  A youth pastor at church said if we would just burn off more than we eat, we would lose....I have Osteo arthritis....I have trouble walking  a block!  Exercise?  The only thing I can handle is Pilaties and that even hurts, but I try to do it.  I am about 90-100 lbs overweight also but I am SOLID.  No one would guess thats my weight, but I am bigger than my friends, and my family.  My Mother in law and sister in law are thin, and for the last 2o years I always felt left out that I never looked that good, but I have tried, but the older I get, the more difficult it is and my motivation is at the lowest I ever had.  I too, lost 70 pounds after the birth of my first son....then gained it all back and then some....I guess I am waiting for that big cure they find and waiting for it to interrupt my program to say they just found an instant cure for extra weight...isnt going to happen, but I manage to keep on keeping on.  I get depressed about it because I just cant make it stick, but I am doing everything I can so my son does not grow up overweight.  I loved my mom, she's passed away, but she always used food as a symbol of her "love"...I know she meant well, but I find myself doing that with my kids....a special occasion, a cold weekend, a good grade, a holiday....I use all those excuses, I celebrate everything with food, just like she did and I repeat the cycle...but I try to make it healthier stuff, but it makes me sad that I have become my mother-who by the way, was never overweight, nor my dad, nor my brother....she must have loved me the best!!!  Anyway....sorry to babble...its a constant ball and chain in my life and I try every day to improve my life and my family's....some days are better than others.

Yes Rose!..... we are very much alike.  I am 47.  I always start a diet on Monday, too....LOL ..... and then the next Monday and then the Monday when I get back from vacation and then the Monday after the holiday weekend, even New Years I wait til the first Monday of the year.  LOL  This time I saw this site on a Tuesday, so I thought, "well, try something new... the Monday thing isn't working".  I have a huge problem with serving sizes.  Today is my second day to record my food intake.  I got a B on the nutritional value but went way over on my calorie intake.... No surprise there.  I have some arthritis type health issues that keep me from exercising but I am not totally inactive.  I'm moving but not enough to burn what I'm eating.  I'm very solid and carry my weight pretty well.  My girls carry their weight even better then I do.  I have a grandson who is 7.  He was a good weight for his height until this year.  He has gained 30lbs.  YIKES!  His mom is the heaviest of my girls.  I have tried to talk to her about his weight, but she just says it's baby fat.  BUT he got it a little late to be baby fat.  I hope if I can start losing the whole family with join me.  2 of my girls only need to lose about 15 lbs so I hate to say anything but I don't want to see them struggling when it's 75lbs.  I'm always saying WE need to all lose and they agree but it doesn't seem to happen.  We also celebrate with food.  I have a huge family.  We get together just too eat.  Whenever a neice, nephew or one of my kids graduates, has a birthday, or whatever, a few attend the graduation and everyone else meets at mom's to eat.  It really is crazy the amount of food we make.  Even though someone always says, "let's not make so much this time" or "let's keep it lite with some fruit and a vegetable plate" it never fails the mac and cheese shows up, too.  I'm glad I found this site.  I hope I can make it work this time.  I am going on a trip all next weekend.  So I am already making excuses not to diet this week and just wait until I get back.  I told myself that I won't have fun on this trip if I'm watching everything I eat.  LOL I know it's a learned behavior.  I just have to make a life style change but that is so hard to do. We will see.  Sorry... I'm a rambler!

wow...I feel like I am reading a note written by me!  You guys sound like us!  I am Italian, so having people over and eating is just a normal part of my heritage.  I even wrote an essay about my grandmother and going to her house every Sunday to "stuff" our faces and eat all day...and if you weren't eating, someone would take your temp and then my grandma would be insulted thinking you didn't like her food....wish we lived close, maybe we could have walked together or joined some class....I live in St. Louis.

I know our weight isnt going to drop off us like it did when we were 20 or 30, at least not for me, but I have changed the way I eat-since I joined calorie count, I register everything I eat, good or bad, then I decide what I will give up for something else that is high in calories or fat.  Like the other day, I wanted a sandwich, but didnt want my miracle whip light, I wanted Helmanns, and thats loaded, but I ate less that day and gave up pasta that everybody else had.  You have to pick and choose and I believe like WW says, you can have ANYTHING, you just have to count it and have it in moderation, and I know its not a good thing to do, but the other day, I went through Mcdonalds to get JUST A COFFEE and an egg McMuffin, which isnt the lowest breakfast to have, but its the lowest breakfast sandwich in fast food..anyway, I wasn't thinking and I got a late start...so I went thru, ordered a #6-but told then "just the sandwich" because I didn't want the hash brown.  When I got my bag and on the road, I opened up my sack and guess what I had in it?  A BIG MAC!!!!!!!  I was cussing them out and saying what the heck when I realized it wasn't their fault, I had ordered off the lunch menu and # 6 sandwich is a Big Mac!  Did I eat it?  You bet and I went home and counted it and whatever points and calories I had left, I used but gave most of them up for that sandwich and to be honest with you...it wasn't worth the calories AT ALL.  I starved that night going to bed, but I had to "Pay".  Some days, I register what I eat, but blow it and know it, and just repeat Scarlett Ohara's words..."tomorrow is another day"!

I am just curious, what state do you live in?  I will leave you alone for now, I have to clean and do some wash before everybody gets home.  Maybe we can be each other's support.  I had a friend go with me at WW.  I thought this would be great...first week, I lost 10 pounds, 2nd week, 7, and I was going on my 3rd and we were both doing great...she stopped going, then was cheating, and then she completely stop going and I wasn't too far behind her.  I knew I didn't need her, but it helped, because she was doing it also and I knew whatever I did she would tell her hubby who was my best friend's brother, so I knew I had to be successful!!  It all ended...I was so disappointed in myself.

Okay...take care and let me know your progress....good luck in your journey.

Rose Oh My Gosh!  I almost said in my last post..... "since we have so much in common you must be Italian, too."  But then I had second thoughts that I may offend someone.....LOL..... by suggesting that because my Italian family has to celebrate with food that all Italian families do.... LOL  But you do understand!!  Yes, I am Italian, too!  This is too funny. 

I'm in Birmingham, Alabama.  You may be just what I need to see this through this time.

As long as we are confusing, my daily calorie goal is 1200. Yesterday I had 1800.  Today, I just picked up my 12 year old from school and we went to Sonic.  I got the smallest sundae they make.  And I came back and logged it in.  That little sundae pushed me over to 1202...... YIKES!  I'm going to try not to eat the rest of the day.  I know that's not good but, I have had my calories for today.