weight loss and management

[tooelegirl]

Anyone out there struggle with this issue? I have been over-weight for about 10 years, and it's time to get it off. I have had 5 hernia operations due to c-sections and then complicated by the weight, and I don't want anymore!!! I am currently trying the "11 day diet" and that has been working for me, but I realize that once I quit that, I'm going to gain it all back. I need something that I can do for the rest of my life. I hear too many things that are very confusing. Too much protein is bad for you; too many carbohydrates are bad for you; don't eat white flour, rice, or pasta; dairy products are bad for you. What are we supposed to do? I know that weight watchers is good, but I don't have the money that they require per month. I just really need some help. I know that I am an emotional eater, I love to eat!!!! What plans have worked for you? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

in weight loss misery

[MsMagnolia]

I have found that im my life "diets" do not work for me. I have to look at things as a lifestyle change in order for them to become a habit. One thing that really works for me is to eat a huge breakfast (about 1/3 of my daily caloric intake) and then several small meals until dinner. I don't eat after 6:30 pm either. I look at labels and try to avoid like the plague "high fructose corn syrup" and "monosodium glutimate". I also drink lots of water and juice only occasionally. One more thing.. i give myself leeway when i do mess up.. i don't kick myself and tell myself I am have completely ruined things. It has made a huge difference in my life. I feel more healthy and I have tons more energy.

Hope this helps

[Aphrodite]

I am not overweight and never have been, so if you feel I am the wrong person to give advice I acompletely understand.

I agree with Ms Magnolia-Diets dont work. You need to decide, 'I am going to change my eating habits permanently, and for the better as I want to be healthy'. Its better to look at losing weight as a lifestyle choice than a temporary 'diet' where u will most likely put the weight back on again.

I'll try and clear up some of your confusions about food and give some advice.

1)White pasts, bread, flour etc is not BAD for you. However, eating these types of carbs will convert into glucose in your body. Glucose, or sugar, will give you a 'quick fix' of energy and feeling full only to dip later making you feel like you have no energy and in all likelihood, hungry. Therefore you tend to eat more. The Better carbs are the wholmeal types and things like wholgrains, as they give a slow release energy throughout the day, keeping you fuller for longer. These are things like oats, wholemeal pasta, millet, quinoa and wholemeal bread.

2) Get your five portions of fruit and veg a day. Its easier than you think. A bowl of porridge for breakfast with a chopped banana on top and a glass of fresh fruit juice (counts as one portion) is 2 portions before you've left the house. The porridge is slow release so that lot will keep you going well until lunchtime. If you are used to eating a lot, you may feel hungry at first while your stomach adjusts toless food. Once it realises thats it, you will stop feeling hungry. Also, if you are focusing on getting your portions, you are more likely to eat healthier, as say fish and chips for dinner includes no portions of fruit or veg, so you may think, well perhaps Ill have fresh fish instead and potatoes and salad, theres a portion....do you see what Im saying?

3) Do not buy processed or pre-packaged food. Its just so much safer to avoid them as it is very hard to interpret all the information on a packet. Eat fresh foods, and if you can, make dinners from scratch with fresh ingredients (I do this in the week and have a rest at weekends-it can be time consuming but its so worth it).

4) Plan in advance how you will eat. Dont go to the supermarket on an empty stomach as you are more likely to grab something unhealthy whilst there. Take a healthy packed lunch to work and NO money so you arent tempted to buy anything else like a chocolate bar (I do this too as my will power used to be appauling-Im better now tho as Ive trained my mind!!!!)

5) Vegetables should make up half your plate, carbs a quarter and protein a quarter. Protein you need, but not too much as it will make you put on weight as in proteins such as meat there is saturated fats. Likewise with dairy. Have it, you need it, but dont overdo it.

6) Dont weigh yourself too often as you will get obsessed over what you may interpret as nothing happening. Your body and metabolism will start to change and it needs time to settle down-so one week you may lose a lot, another week nothing. Do it maybe once a fortnight.

7) Have healthy snacks in the house like dried fruit, unsalted nuts and fruit. Dont buy biscuits or crisps even if its for the kids as the temptation will be too great. They too can learn to eat healthily.

8) Dont deny yourself everything nice or you will fail. Allow yourself treats every so often like a saturday or have a pudding with your sunday meal. Then at least you have things to look forward to.

I hope this is useful, this is what I do, and I maintain a healthy weight doing so. I also walk everwhere and do a cardio and resistance workout DVD 3 times a week. Start slowly though as you will have a better chance of success. Start with your food and take more walks. Then up it a bit each week. I hope this works for you. Good luck!!!

Aph xx

[pushka]

Aphrodite has just given you, perhaps, the best advice you could get anywhere!!

Last year I joined a free online website for diet/exercise,

Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople

While I was following their suggested menu plans, which were designed according to your lifestyle/current health etc. for instance different dietary needs such as vegetarian, and were designed so that you received the correct % of fats, carbs, sugars etc. I did lose quite a bit of weight. There are exercises which you can print off and do at home, there are daily emails you can receive with encouraging articles, there's a message board and a place to mark your progress not only in lbs lost but in inches lost too...this is definitely a lifestyle altering website rather than a quick fix...try it, I'm sure you'll like it :)

The only reason I didn't stay with that website was because I'm in the UK and couldn't always find the foods that were listed because they were aimed at a USA audience, also some of the measurements from the US are different from the UK. I've recently joined the Rosemary Conley Diet and Exercise online website, which I do pay for, it has many of the same features as Spark People and approaches diet in the same way too..I've only been on it a few weeks, and have lost 7lbs up to now, but I hadn't been following the meal plans correctly all the time, due to the stress of having work done on my house for the past 6 weeks, and I wasn't exercising. I've now joined a gym, been twice this week, and intend to go 3 times a week to begin with, and to increase to adding more exercise/walking on other days of the week as I begin to get back into shape.

One thing I must stress is appreciate every 1lb that you lose in weight...it all counts :)

Good Luck, let us know how you get on..

[Optimistic_Trish]

The two above posters pretty much gave you all the information you need, the only possible thing I can add is that I found to lose my weight I had to occupy myself with hobbies and things to do. NO more sitting around watching tv. Go for walks, ride bikes, go to the park with the kids, anything active and anything that keeps you from the kitchen is good!!!

Best of luck,

Trish

[djschroeder]

I recommend you to read the China Study and DC 89 it has helped us to lose weight and to stay healthy.

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health (Paperback)

by T. Colin Campbell (Author), Thomas M. Campbell II (Author), John Robbins (Foreword), Howard Lyman (Preface) "THE PUBLIC'S HUNGER for nutrition information never ceases to amaze me, even after devoting my entire working life to conducting experimental research into nutrition and..." (more)

Key Phrases: Health Study, United States, New York (more...)

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[Aphrodite]

Aphrodite has just given you, perhaps, the best advice you could get anywhere!!

Thanks pushka. I like to think Im learning something useful at uni! Plus u cant fit into those rave outfits and last till 6am if ur unfit and unhealthy. A great incentive if ever there was one!!!!

[pushka]

LOL Aphro..raves!! :)

[Aphrodite]

LOL Aphro..raves!! :)

Haha I certainly do!!!

[pushka]

I used to do a mean headbang when I was 17, but now I just softly sway :)

[pam]

The two above posters pretty much gave you all the information you need, the only possible thing I can add is that I found to lose my weight I had to occupy myself with hobbies and things to do. NO more sitting around watching tv. Go for walks, ride bikes, go to the park with the kids, anything active and anything that keeps you from the kitchen is good!!!

Best of luck,

Trish

Doesn't this also mean no sitting around in front of the computer responding to posts?

[tooelegirl]

lol that made my day!!! Thank you

[StrawberryFields]

Another thing I have found to be very helpful is getting enough good sleep. Sleep is when our body repairs it's self and I have noticed a drop in sizes since I have been takeing better care of myself and getting GOOD REST.

[Moksha]

Try doing occasional figure eights with your computer mouse. It is excellent exercise.

[WANDERER]

To change my eating habits I just bought a cheap book with a nutritional index for food and did the energy/nutritional calculations myself with a menu plan. I was actually eating more in quantity...but the right foods.

The knowledge that I gained from doing that has lasted.

[StrawberryFields]

Drink mostly water and a lot of it.:)

[pushka]

The great suggestions just keep flowing!

Moksha...figure of 8 with the mouse! ROFL!! :)

[pam]

I have the best exercising tool at home. It's a little block of wood. You place it in the middle of the floor then walk around it a couple of times. You have now "walked around the block twice." It's awesome and great exercise.

[Bookmeister]

I tried all of the diets, exercise programs, hypnosis, attempted lifestyle changes, and so forth and nothing worked. In sheer desperation, and because I didn't want to spend what was left of my life sitting in a chair waiting to die, I looked in gastric bypass surgery.

There's lots of various requirements to qualify for this surgery (weight, other health problems, prior surgeries, etc.) but it can't hurt for you to look up a couple of bariatric surgery websites and gain some information.

If that doesn't work, the only other thing I know of is what everyone else has said...eat less and better, and do more physical stuff.

[Canuck Mormon]

I have the best exercising tool at home. It's a little block of wood. You place it in the middle of the floor then walk around it a couple of times. You have now "walked around the block twice." It's awesome and great exercise.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!:lol:

I'll have to mention that one to my wife.

"Did you excersice today dear?"

"Yep, I wlaked around the block twice :lol:"

[skalenfehl]

In my experience, regardless of what level of fitness one is in, regular exercise will forever be the real "magic pill" that produces an efficient metabolism (coupled with proper nutrition), gives you an endorphin high, a natural "good mood/conquer the world feeling, combats chronic diseases (heart disease, osteoporosis, strengthens the heart and the lungs, promotes better sleep, and all around energizes you for daily tasks and even improves physical intimacy for you married couples.

The best time to get your cardio/aerobic exercise is in the morning when you wake up just before breakfast. Depending on your level of fitness, anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour of HIIT cardio will cause your body to metabolize stored energy (body fat) as opposed to the food you just recently ate. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts at this time (before breakfast) produce optimal metabolizing effects causing your body to actively burn calories throughout the day, even if you do nothing but sit around the rest of the day. HIIT workouts consist of alternating between slow, moderate and high intensity exercises for a prescribed period of time (20, 30, 40, mins. etc).

If you can't exercise in the morning before breakfast, find your ideal time of day to work out and do not eat two hours before your workout so that you burn/metabolize stored energy (body fat) as opposed to the food you just ate. Some people eat shortly before a workout, but all that does is burn the food you just ate. You want to burn body fat, not metabolize the food you just ate.

Understanding how the human body functions and the nutritional requirements it needs to meet the physical demands of one's daily activities (sedentary vs. extremely active) is key to knowing what to feed it and how much. Smaller meals (5-6) spread throughout the day will improve your metabolism and not cause you to load your stomach with more food than it needs, causing it to shrink to/remain in it's natural size. There are combinations of servings that serve to optimize metabolism (mixing proteins with carbs, etc). Eating your ideal servings of fruits, veggies and good fats (nuts, olives, avocado, etc) is also essential for properly fueling your body. Treat your body like the finely tuned machine that it should be.

So pick your favorite exercise, whether it's starting out as walking for beginners or for you more advanced athletes, get down with HIIT workouts such as burpees, running/walking stadiums or hills, various plyometrics exercises, etc and start getting in shape. Remember that fitness is a way of life. It is a journey, not a destination. Once you arrive there's still infinite room for improvement and maintenance, just like strengthening your testimony. Here's one of my favorite exercises that I like incorporating in my HIIT workouts (I work out an hour each day). I like doing 100 of these (4 sets of 25).

Burpees

[pam]

Hehe Skal. You go right ahead and do your "burpees." Do a few for me too will ya?

[Truegrits]

I looked in gastric bypass surgery.

There are a couple of members in my Ward that had the 'band' procedure done, and one had the by-pass surgery. All are doing great, and are very happy with the results. They all struggled years without success. There are a lot of options out there, I guess one just needs to find what works for them?

[skalenfehl]

Some people's chemistry (gladular) may be out of kilter, causing them to carry excess body fat. Seeing your doctor is the first and foremost step in determining your ability to metabolize fat. Regardless, weight loss is not the only benefit produced from regular exercise as I mentioned above.

Pam, I'll do some extras for you.