The War on Weight

[Maria]

Have you ever struggled with your weight?? I do!! All my life, in order to be thin as a stick I had to exercise and I barely ate. In my early 40s that was it! Maybe I lost the willpower because foods that I never touched in my thinner days, I eat now   Exercising has come to a complete stop now. Ever since 1998 I had Sciatica and was diagnosed with 5 degenerative discs in my back and any type of exercise that is done will aggravate my condition. I tried some yoga but my back was so bad that I had to go back and forth to the Chiropractor 3 or 4 times a week   So this is out of the question again!!

Somedays I give up and say "Oh well" and then some days I tell myself that I need to get motivated and change my eating patterns. I find it very hard to get in to it!!I start the morning  fine but  when the  afternoon comes,  I always end up eating the wrong food!!

Have you had struggles with weight at any point? Did you overcome them? If so, how? Or are you still struggling with it??

[LISA]

I really envy those who can say,"Oh I can eat anything I want and NEVER put on weight" BAH! Weight is always an issue. I was always fuller and more voluptuous as a young girl. I reached my full height and JUST about my full bra size by the time I hit Grade 5...yes, 10 years old! Now put me in a room with other girls who looked like they were 7 years old, and you can bet I stood out! Of course that made me all conscious because I always felt like I was the fat one-even though I was shaped like a woman and had some puppy fat. For me, the issue started when I was really young and I took it out on myself. Through highschool I tried diets here and there, lasted on them, lost the weight but then went back up again. I would resort to chocolate bars, chips and pop when I was stressed out-then I would be all chubby...and upset that I got chubby!

To lose the weight I would try the newest diets-and exercise. In the past few years, I just STOPPED all that crap and decided to start drinking more water, eat smaller and less, and cut out the junk food so that I wasn't relying on it every night. As the years went by, I then lost about 30 pounds gradually. I lost more weight without the dieting an exercise ironically...

Now I have to be careful because I have become rather used to the pop (in lieu of water which is SO annoying to drink!) and the chocolates..and Christmas is coming around the corner which means MORE FOOD!! OY

I find that the minute I start allowing myself to drink pop, I can easily become addicted to it. And then my body hates me for it, I get puffy and break out quite a bit. I have had some big breakouts all over my face which I attributed to the full moon (lol) and then my monthly...but those are gone and my breakouts aren't healing. Then I realized that it is all the sugar that is going in me and my body is probably developing a reaction to it.

OY!

So for me, personally, in order to maintain good weight I have to drink water every day, eat smaller, snack less and always have some sort of veggies...and then I don't crave anything or go overboard. Working out doesn't do much for me, but I am sure it helps somehow! lol

I guess I should start that tomorrow...err...today!

[Lynn]

I've always been thin and never had to worry about weight....until...I GOT MARRIED!!!
So never get married and stay thin! (just kidding)

I'd like to lose some weight cause now I do have a weight issue problem. I'm not really that big..but losing 10-15Ibs. would make me healthier and feel better about myself, too! I need to be more motivated to exercise more. I love walking and bicycling but, in this weather it's a pretty hard thing to do! So, I do get out for the occassional walk, but that's about it!

Spring weather...where are you?

[LISA]

Oh great, I am not even married...lovely! lol I also hear the same thing about having the first kid-there was a segment of Meryl Streep being on Oprah (because I got the Oprah dvd set and LOVE it), and she said she STILL hasn't lost the weight from her baby...22 years ago!! haha..I have seen lots of ladies fight the battle after their first baby, then their 2nd..then their 10th..haha it never changes. Of course, you could be like Victoria Beckham (posh spice) and be STICK thin after your kids...I dunno, that whole, "I run around my kids all day long" excuse for being skinny is DEFINITELY an excuse...give ME a kid to run around and all that will happen to me is that I will be tired..lol

[*Alicia*]

I have been battling with weight all of my life and it's been a real struggle 

All I know is that I was underweight when I was born and my parents having to force feed me when I was little (don't take my word for it because I don't know how correct I am) soon enough I started gaining weight and I eventually became heavy - not because of food but because of my genetic disposition I think.

I know I was so small as a baby that I had to wear doll's clothes (no joke) because regular clothes didn't fit me yet.

As a result of my chubbiness I have been picked on by peers and that was really bad and it made me very self concious of myself

I am a concious eater and watch what I consume but my biggest weakness is pop and I need to cut that from my diet.

[Russ]

Weight's always been a weird one for me. I was never, ever anywhere near thin, but my current weight is about the closest I've come to overweight. So far absolutely no one believes how much I weigh - having been kindalmost overweight all my life, I've learned to carry it well. Hell, for 3 or 4 years my diet consisted almost solely of Doritos and Coke, with occasional forays into Ichiban and Kraft Dinner! Didn't gain a pound, didn't excercise, and maintaned a constant 215 to 225. I have no explanation, but before I hit my 20's, I could eat 2 foot-long subs from Subway and still have room for a drink and bag of chips without feeling particularly full. Damn, I miss those days sometimes.

Not too long ago (about 2 years now) I lost 15 pounds in 5 days just from depression alone. I wasn't hungry, wasn't thirsty, and had time to do a lot of walking (Bellingham is a pretty neat city, by the way). I didn't suffer any ill effects from the sudden drop from 220 to 205, and to be honest, once I got my head straightened out, I felt better about my body than I had in years.

Then I started eating real food a year ago, and packed 35 pounds onto my 6'1 frame. I still carry it well, no one believes I'm 240, but I feel it every moment of every day. But I'm approaching the lower end of risky territory, and that's where the war begins.

My plan is to be under 200 pounds by summertime. And fit. I haven't excercised a day in my life since I was about 10 years old, and while I'm actually pretty damn strong under my insulation layer, I don't have a great deal of endurance (also complicated by 15 years of smoking). That means diet changes, excercise, and I gotta cut out the shortbread cookies after new year's! I wanna be able to wear a bathing suit and look down and actually see the waistband without holding my breath. I want to put my socks on normally instead of leaning back to get my belly out of the way. I want to wear pants without looking like a potato balanced on a pair of sausages. I want to tan, dammit!

Anyhow, my war on weight starts now

[Sharon]

It's been a struggle for me too...

My wieght is a wierd weight. I am struggling a lot with cellulite, and that's not the easiest thing to get rid of when it comes to weight  . Another funny thing about me, is that once I start working out with weights, just like for everybody else I gain muscle weight, which is normal. But I keep getting confused about how much I really weigh in pounds...so I'm going to throw my bathroom scale out my bathroom window  !

When I was out today I picked up a cleanse cure, to detox my system. It's helped me in the past, and I usually do this about twice a year. It cleanses the liver, pancreas, kidneys and intestine, to improve the digestive system. I'm also going to to be cutting out pop and lots of other things out of my diet (I won't exaggerate though), to improve things. I also got a new exercise video today (this has to be the 267th time that I take that New Years' resolution of commiting to lose weight and watch it from then on lol  !)

I borrowed a book from my library a while back by Nicole Ronsard, a french beautician who was established in New York for a good number of years. In her book she spoke about processed foods...and how they are a major enemy to weight. She recommended that fruits and vegetables be eaten fresh, never from a can. Canned vegetables have added sodium, which accounts for bloating and canned fruits have added sugar, which then transforms into fat. Even things like TV dinners, many of which are labelled as being "low in fat" also have high amounts of sodium. So sometimes the foods we think are healthy have hidden facts.

When I was training at Curves last summer, one of the trainers told me that elimination of the "white stuff", like cream, salt, sugar, white bread, pasta, with the exception of low fat milk and yogurt, can help for weight loss.

Things to think about.

[*Alicia*]

I used to love White bread but have totally cut it from my diet all together, I love buying in whole wheat or multigrain when it comes to bread. 

[Sharon]

I used to love White bread but have totally cut it from my diet all together, I love buying in whole wheat or multigrain when it comes to bread. 

So do I, I found this great 8-cereal variety at Costco that is simply delicious. At Health Tree, where I buy organic foods, they have the same kind of bread only in a pita. I tried it before, and I will be getting some more.

[Sandy]

   Okay I really have to lose some weight! Got weighed at the doctors and I'm up to 200 pounds.
I never, ever had a problem with weight when I was younger, but the minute I turned 50, everything has been going down hill. So now I have to find a good diet and exercise plan to get my weight down so I won't look like the Good Year Blimp. I am only 5 foot tall, so you can imagine what I'm beginning to look like. I asked the doctor what kind of diet was good, but he never really gave me much confidence in dieting. He told me he was on the south beach diet, but when I asked him about how it would effect my blood pressure etc, because it sound like all the food they tell you to eat is bad for your heart He, The doctor, wouldn't even disscuss it. We only have this one doctor in town and another one in Vermilion at this time, so I can't even change doctors right now.    As far as exercise, with my neck so darn sore, it is hard for me to exercise. I ride my bike all over, but it doesn't seem to be helping me loose weight.
I also have decided it's time to change my eating habits. I usually don't eat a thing until supper, and then by 9 pm I am hungry or sometimes it just for something to do, so I start snacking. I have decided to start eating a small breakfast and lunch and even a small supper, and not snacking at night (which is gonna be hard) to see if that helps.
Any ideas ladies. There isn't much here as far as weight watchers or fittness clubs. I am going to have to tough it out by myself.

[Amethyst]

Hey, Sandy, one suggestion I have is definitely to eat meals throughout the day.  If you don't eat until 9:00 at night, your body goes into "starvation mode" (back to the days when we were hunters and gatherers and famines were common).  Then it holds onto as many calories as it can and slows your metabolism WAY down.

Whatever you're eating, small doses throughout the day is definitely better.

When I lost a bunch of weight, I didn't go on any special diets.  The thing I started doing though was reading labels.  If something has 20 g of fat per serving, stay away!!

Also, you will probably need to add some exercise.  The bike riding is great, but you need to kick it up a notch from what you're currently doing if you want to see changes.

A couple things to note.  Some kind of weight training / muscle work is important.  The more muscle you have the more calories you burn.  Plus it makes you more toned.  However, you should only do this every second day.  Weight training actually causes small tears in the muscle.  This is a good thing, because that off day gives it a chance to re-build which makes it stronger.

Also, cardio is important.  You can't "spot reduce" fat.  (In other words, situps may tone your abs but if there's a layer of fat on top, you won't notice it.)

Probably the simplest way is to just increase the time and intensity of what you're doing.  If you're currently biking for 30 minutes a day, kick it up to 45 and increase your speed slightly.  The best (easiest too!) tip I ever heard about exercise intensity came, I think, from Oprah's trainer.  When you're working out, you should be ABLE to talk but really not WANT to.

Good luck!!

~Michelle

[Sandy]

Thanks Michelle.

[LISA]

Sandy, weight IS such a struggle for many people isn't it?? I have to say that I lost 30 pounds in two years surprisingly without dieting OR exericsing-yep, and trust me I don't lose weight easily but I sure can gain it!! What I did was start making changes to my lifestyle-I tend to love eating at night as well-there is something about snacking at 9:30 which makes my day more complete! lol Oprah has always said that a person should NEVER eat past 7:00 pm-easy for to say since she goes to bed at like 10:00. I think you should stop eating anything at least 4 hours before bedtime. Also, eat the things that you never like-I am not a veggie lover at all but have tried to find ways to eat salad (with light dressing and NO cheese) and eat more grains. Stuff you get in cereals is loaded with sugars.

Try starting your day with a high fiber all bran cereal-throw a banana or some other kind of fruit in the mix. Then try eating food which is lighter and cuts down on the greasy stuff-there are SO many hidden calories in everything. If you eat a sandwhich in the day, be sure to fill it with salads and broccoli sprouts-and don't have anything starchy that night.

If I eat pasta one day (I use rice pasta now), I will not eat a sandwhich that day and vice versa. At night, if you want to snack, try popped corn with butter and seasoning salt (not tooooo much)-or have some pita chips close by. If that doesn't do it, have some almond or cashew butter on a rice cake or cracker-that sometimes eases the pain as well.

Weight loss tends to start with food loss first-THEN the working out happens. I remember having to work out so much and be on diets and I could never reach my target weight. The minute I started forgetting about the scale, drinking water (SO important) and making better choices, I naturally lost the weight-and for me that was a shock.

Now I am on my health plan because I could feel the old habits coming back again-I strongly swear by the Dr. Terry Willard programs that you can get online! For me not to crave chocolate at ALL in the past 3 weeks is a pure miracle!!

[Amethyst]

Yes, quitting eating four hours before bed is a GREAT idea.  Once you're sleeping, your body isn't using many calories, so it makes a lot of sense.

And if you're feeling hungry, try taking a drink of water.  Sometimes that's enough to make your stomach feel "full" rather than a snack.

Not that snacks are bad.  Smaller meals throughout the day are good.  But snacking on those little chocolate eggs all day as you work is NOT good.  (Which is what I've been doing, so better put a stop to THAT!   )

~Michelle

[Lynn]

I'd like to lose about 30 pounds. It's really hard to do.

I TRY not to eat anything after 5:30 p.m. The word is TRY...I'm not always successful.  (I agree Michelle, drinking water is a great idea to do in the evening when you want to snack. It does give you a full feeling.)

I eat in the morning a muffin or slice of toast or sometimes nothing. Lunch time, I have a light lunch. Supper is where I really tend to gorge and overstuff myself.

I NEED to get more exercise!!! When the weather is nicer, I plan on( and want to stick to) a daily walking routine (preferably after supper) and also do more biking.

But, the biggest thing, is watching what and how much we eat!