weight loss journey

[Tinaa]

I have been on weight watchers since Dec. 20, 2010. I have lost 5% of my body weight. I still have a long way to go but I'm pretty happy with my progress so far. I get up and go to water aerobics three days a week and I swim laps 2 days a week. I am up to .68 miles in thirty minutes. I am working on the goal of one mile in thirty minutes.

My last checkup my doctor got on me, big time, about my weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure. I have six months to get it together or he's going to put me on meds for cholesterol.

Has anyone made these major life changes AND been able to keep it up? It is easy for a few months. Does good health become a habit?

I do realize that I will have to exercise for the rest of my life.

[adapa]

I have been on weight watchers since Dec. 20, 2010. I have lost 5% of my body weight. I still have a long way to go but I'm pretty happy with my progress so far. I get up and go to water aerobics three days a week and I swim laps 2 days a week. I am up to .68 miles in thirty minutes. I am working on the goal of one mile in thirty minutes.

My last checkup my doctor got on me, big time, about my weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure. I have six months to get it together or he's going to put me on meds for cholesterol.

Has anyone made these major life changes AND been able to keep it up? It is easy for a few months. Does good health become a habit?

I do realize that I will have to exercise for the rest of my life.

It sounds like you have a good program going there.

Although I have never had a problem with cholesterol etc., I can say that it definitely gets easier. In fact, the reason why I have been staying in shape for over 26 years is because it becomes downright enjoyable. However, once it becomes enjoyable, you will have to resist the tendency to over train (a problem in many fitness centers).

Overall, it is definitely worth it. Although I was in good shape during high school, I am in better shape now and I love the sense of well being.

Keep it up on both the exercise and the nutrition, don't over train, and you will start enjoying it too.

Also, I almost forgot to add that you are better off using a measuring tape than a scale to monitor your progress.

[grapes]

Also, I almost forgot to add that you are better off using a measuring tape than a scale to monitor your progress.

The idea being that you are bound to increase muscle mass, which adds weight but it is a desireable increase. If you lose weight without increasing muscle mass, you're probably in trouble--increasing muscle tends to increase your metabolism, which makes it easier to keep the fat mass off, and it makes it easier to exercise.

Still, in most cases, especially those cases where the physician has gotten involved, a scale is a useful tool.

[Swift]

Has anyone made these major life changes AND been able to keep it up? It is easy for a few months. Does good health become a habit?

I've been doing the 10,000 Step-a-day exercise program since 2003. I can't say it has helped me lose weight, but I am in better shape and I enjoy doing it. I think that is the key, finding something that works for you.

[grapes]

You're doing 10,000 steps, one per day? You'll be finished in 2030!

[Swift]

You're doing 10,000 steps, one per day? You'll be finished in 2030!

Yes, but they are very big steps.

[Tensor]

I have been on weight watchers since Dec. 20, 2010. I have lost 5% of my body weight. I still have a long way to go but I'm pretty happy with my progress so far. I get up and go to water aerobics three days a week and I swim laps 2 days a week. I am up to .68 miles in thirty minutes. I am working on the goal of one mile in thirty minutes.

My last checkup my doctor got on me, big time, about my weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure. I have six months to get it together or he's going to put me on meds for cholesterol.

Has anyone made these major life changes AND been able to keep it up? It is easy for a few months. Does good health become a habit?

I do realize that I will have to exercise for the rest of my life.

Tinna, my wife has been with Weight Watchers since November of 2008. She's lost 83 lbs and has 20 more to go (according to her). That came when her doctor put her on pills for and then insulin for type II diabetes. Since losing the weight, she has been taken off her pills and insulin and has also been taken off her high blood pressure medication. She does aerobic exercise five times a week. She has also made changes in our diet. I'm quite easy as I will eat just about anything that you put in front of me. She was rather picky. She has changed her diet (and in the process changed mine). She's been at it for a bit over two years and I would say she gets more into it all the time. So I would say, yes, it does become a habit.
Her goal it to become an employee of WW. A byproduct of her health endeavors has been a weight loss on me. I was about 40 lbs overweight (mostly due to medications) but have gotten back down to where I should be, around 180.

[cosmocrazy]

Tinna, I think you have had good advice so far, Adapa made some good points and it would be worth listening to them. The bottom line with weight loss is calorie control, simply put the more calories you burn than you consume per day will result in weight loss. Now an average woman for example requires around 2000 calories per day (dependent on Height body frame size, weight and activity this value would need to be adjusted). So to lose weight gradually and healthily it would be advisable to reduce calorie intake by around 25% to 75% of your recommended daily intake requirements. Now add exercise into the equation and you can increase your intake but still maintain weight loss. The next key is to make sure that the calorie intake is of quality and balanced nutrients i.e the right amount of carbs, protein, fats, natural sugars, vitamins & minerals. If you talk to a good dietitian they can advise you on a diet that suits your needs which will allow you to lose the weight you require and then maintain that desired level without spending your life down the gym and worrying about what you eat. But remember as it has been mentioned weight loss is only the first step body form and fat percentage ratios are far more important and easier on the eye than what the scales tell you!

The simple answer to your OP is "food management, with regular moderate exercise"

[novaderrik]

i found a really good way to lose weight a couple of years ago- i got a job that required me to do a lot of physical exertion and didn't leave me a lot of time to sit around and eat before or after work.
i lost 25 pounds in the first month at that job.

[eugenek]

WW is great! My advice is to track everything you put in your mouth. When I fell off the wagon a few times, failure to track my food was the harbinger. Only later did I realize it. Weight Watchers has a nice online food tracker. Try not to miss WW meetings. I found they refreshed my focus. Sometimes, there's pretty good information shared as well.

In your exercise routine add resistance training a few times a week. The more muscle mass you have the more calories your body consumes to maintain them. It's a nice long term investment.

If you drink soda that has sugar. Stop. It is evil.

[Buttercup]

Congratulations.

I dropped 2 clothing sizes in the past 3 years, though I'll admit it wasn't due to calorie counting or a low-carb diet but rather to intense private-life hardships. But some good came out of all that bad.

During that time I mostly wasn't hungry, though realized I still needed good nutrition...so as a result, my eating habits improved a lot. I use Pam spray, will opt for fresh fruit instead of hash browns at a restaurant, only eat until I'm *just* feeling satisfied, etc.

Am now mostly vegetarian due to meat intolerance.

So due to circumstances out of my control, I'm better off and much healthier now than I was 6 years ago.

[Tinaa]

I count every point. I don't skip my workouts either. I was doing some resistance training but I really, really hated it. I talked to a trainer and she said that swimming is a form of resistance training. I also do resistance training during the water aerobic classes. She said I should lift weights but it won't kill me if I just keep swimming. I may want to do some lifting when I need to start toning more. I have noticed that my clothes are getting loose and it is easier to swim my laps. I lost another 3 lbs this week; makes 16 pounds so far. I suppose I can get a trainer to measure me at my gym.

It has been kind of fun. I like trying new recipes and creating new ones. Challenging myself to swim just two more laps. My boss and his wife have even joined me on-line. I can't do the meetings. I just don't care for people enough to do that. I'd have to be nice and listen to others.

I never had a problem with cholesterol until this last checkup. It was on the high side of normal which is apparently too high for my doctor. I do have high blood pressure so I would like to get off of those.

I drink one diet soda a day at work and none on the weekends. I drink unsweetened green tea or water. I have found that eating healthy is more expensive. I'm going to start hitting the farmers market again.

[HenrikOlsen]

For me, weight control happens naturally as long as I don't have anyone telling me when to every day. For the last 25 or so years, every time I was made to have three meals a day I gained weight, which I promptly lost again when I got back to eating only when I remember to feel hungry.

[eugenek]

Great job on the weight loss so far.

Below is a website geared toward women. A bit of it, such as the eating articles, apply equally to men and women. My wife found it helpful during our weight loss journey.

http://www.stumptuous.com/

[Fazor]

I have found that eating healthy is more expensive. I'm going to start hitting the farmers market again.

I suppose that depends on more expensive than what? We had been bad about getting take-out/drive-through for lunch every day during the week. We'd also go out to eat at least 2 or 3 times a week for dinner. That was expensive.

We got good about bringing our own lunches everyday, and not going out to eat that often for dinner, and it saved a lot of money and was healthier. But for the last few years, we still weren't eating healthy.

Back in November I started counting calories. Not necessarily dieting; just keeping track of what I was eating. Tough I did have a target number of calories (fuzzy target, as it's often hard to know exactly how many calories you're taking in anyway.) This lead to replacing a lot of foods with more healthy versions. I still don't think I spend more on food, but it's certainly not cheaper. The biggest problem is, the cost of groceries has drastically increased. Particularly produce.

I think it's funny going into "when I was growing up" stories, since I'm only 28, but seriously, my first job was working at a grocery store, and a gallon of milk was $0.98, and same for a dozen eggs. Now each cost above $3 here, which is a heck of an increase. And it all adds up.

[Buttercup]

I suppose that depends on more expensive than what?

Yeah.

Will say that since only my husband eats meat regularly (and he's sometimes willing to skip meat altogether once or twice per week), and we're eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, our grocery bill has basically been halved. We spend only roughly $70 per month on groceries. It'd be even less if I could give up Diet Pepsi.

[eugenek]

We spend only roughly $70 per month on groceries. It'd be even less if I could give up Diet Pepsi.

Is that $70 in US dollars? Are you an elite coupon warrior? What do you eat? My wife and I spend about $600 at the grocery store each month.

[Fazor]

Me and Tara weigh in at anywhere from $80-120 a week, depending on if we need dog food or laundry soap or whatever. And we really don't buy that much stuff. Lots of spagetti dinners (can make two-to-three dinners on about $8 worth of pasta, sauce, and fresh veggies for in the sauce.) It just always finds a way to add up.

[Tinaa]

I really need to add more fish to my new way of eating. I've never been a big fish eater - except for deep fried catfish. I love shrimp, lobster and crab. I have eaten some grilled fish - not sure what kind it was though - and liked it. Share with me some healthy fish recipes. Remember I am cooking for a meat and potatoes kind of guy and a mother-in-law with serious cholesterol issues. And I'm not real big on oven frying.

[Tinaa]

I spend well over a hundred dollars every week. If I need dog and cat food add another forty plus. I feed four people and occasionally double that when the kids come by. My pantry and freezer are the also the "grocery store" for the kids when they've run out of check before they've run out of month. If I make up a weekly menu I spend less than if I'm trying to make it up as I shop.

[Fazor]

If I make up a weekly menu I spend less than if I'm trying to make it up as I shop.

That's advice I'd give to anyone. We spent twice as much before we started making a list. We're still bad about picking up a few things that we didn't like (and thus don't really need) but just walking down the aisle is just asking for trouble, because EVERYTHING looks like something you just have to have.

[Tensor]

I really need to add more fish to my new way of eating. I've never been a big fish eater - except for deep fried catfish. I love shrimp, lobster and crab. I have eaten some grilled fish - not sure what kind it was though - and liked it. Share with me some healthy fish recipes. Remember I am cooking for a meat and potatoes kind of guy and a mother-in-law with serious cholesterol issues. And I'm not real big on oven frying.

One of our favorites is salmon, Sweet potatoes and vegetable. It's rather easy. Bake the sweet potatoes (for about an hour, depending on the size), broil the salmon fillets (until flaky, about 5-6 minutes, again depending on the size). Both the potatoes and fish should be backed and broiled on baking sheets lined with aluminum foil to ease clean up. Steam the vegetables and make up some Bearnaise sauce (buy a packet) for the salmon and asparagus, some brown sugar and cinnamon for the sweet potato. Even our daughters, who hated fish when they were growing up, loved this dinner.

[Tensor]

Lots of spagetti dinners (can make two-to-three dinners on about $8 worth of pasta, sauce, and fresh veggies for in the sauce.).

We did that a lot when we were younger. However, as we got older my wife started having problems with diabetes and had to watch her starch intake. As a result, we've had to cut back on spaghetti, even if we do use wheat pasta now. She is no longer having problems with her blood sugar, but she still watches her starch intake.

[HenrikOlsen]

I really need to add more fish to my new way of eating. I've never been a big fish eater - except for deep fried catfish. I love shrimp, lobster and crab. I have eaten some grilled fish - not sure what kind it was though - and liked it. Share with me some healthy fish recipes. Remember I am cooking for a meat and potatoes kind of guy and a mother-in-law with serious cholesterol issues. And I'm not real big on oven frying.

Get them hooked on sushi

[IsaacKuo]

Share with me some healthy fish recipes.

Not really a recipe, but you could see if you like smoked salmon on toast (I like it with rye bread or pumpernickel).

One method of making catfish fillets which I think is absolutely delicious is to simply microwave them with lots of salt, pepper, and soy sauce. My wife thinks it is horrible and it makes the entire kitchen smell like fish. She doesn't like any sort of "fishy" flavor. But me? I love it; I think it enhances the flavor. To me, it's almost as good as pan frying the catfish but without the extra fat/calories (and much less effort).

My wife prefers to bake salmon in aluminum foil until all of the fishy flavor is removed. The result, to me, is very bland.

[BigDon]

Tinaa, I had to quit moving furniture when a medication I was taking caused me to gain almost 150 pounds in nine months. The doctor prescribing the medication didn't seem as nearly concerned about the weight gain as I liked and when I finally got e-fricking-normous I told the doc goodbye, kiss my

Took me two years to get back down to where the mean ol' Doņas, riding herd on the teenage girls after school lets out, blush when I smile and tip my hat at *them*. (Makes my day when I can make an old battleship* transform briefly into a high school girl again. )





*A lot of these old gals pack some major guns!

[Fazor]

Has anyone made these major life changes AND been able to keep it up? It is easy for a few months. Does good health become a habit?

I do realize that I will have to exercise for the rest of my life.

I just saw this part of the OP. I've noticed that the change in my eating habits has (more or less) stuck around. For two months I was riding my stationary bike at least 10 miles (about an hour) a day, but that's gone by the wayside. I keep telling myself "I'm going to start again, right when I get home from work!" but by the time I get home, I'm lazying-out and crashing on the couch.

If I was just eating like I am now, but still working at my last job, I'd be a twig. But that's the worst part of my current employment; it involves sitting at a desk 8 hours a day. I get up and move around as much as possible, but it's not nearly enough.

[BigDon]

I just saw this part of the OP. I've noticed that the change in my eating habits has (more or less) stuck around. For two months I was riding my stationary bike at least 10 miles (about an hour) a day, but that's gone by the wayside. I keep telling myself "I'm going to start again, right when I get home from work!" but by the time I get home, I'm lazying-out and crashing on the couch.

If I was just eating like I am now, but still working at my last job, I'd be a twig. But that's the worst part of my current employment; it involves sitting at a desk 8 hours a day. I get up and move around as much as possible, but it's not nearly enough.

That's because your still married.

As a bachelor who's tired of being one, I have to draw their attention long enough so they can see past this mug of mine. Though fortunately women almost never marry a man because he has a pretty face.

[Fazor]

Technically, since they no longer recognize common-law, I'm not married. But yeah, I'm not out looking either. Fortunately for me; Tara's either got low standards or bad vision.

My recent focus on weight-loss is more aimed at getting in good enough shape to be able to play soccer this season, when summer rolls around. Lost 20. Currently holding steady. But have 20-30 more to lose.

[Barabino]

I'm 38 yo, 5.7", I weight 265 lbs. :-(

On april, I should go into a sort of rehab clinic for fat people :-(

Exercise can be fun, but I hate that I will no longer be free to eat what I whim:
I'll have to account for everything I put in :-(

35 gr pasta
no salt
no oil

everyday very simplistic meals = everyday the same stuff !

...sounds like living death to me :-(