Well, Mr. X's topic on his weight loss struggles prompted many to say that they would benefit from a thread where we can share our struggles, or victories, and our encouragement for one another, so that together we can reach our goals! Well here is that thread! Everyone's goals and purposes for their fitness journey are different, so if we want to take part in this, why don't we first share a bit about our story and what we're trying to achieve. I'm chubby. Let's start there. I'm not what people might perceive as extremely overweight, but I'm definitely chubby and my doctor would probably say I should lose 20 (30?) pounds to get to the weight that I am "technically" supposed to be at for my height. I don't think I want to be where the doctors say I should be. I would be REALLY thin...and I don't think I want that. In the past I've decided that I was uncomfortable with my weight, and gotten into exercise and calorie counting. It's proven to be effective in losing weight, but not really a lifestyle I enjoy. So I eventually stopped and gained some of the weight back, although not all of it. I do however want to be in shape, and heart healthy. So recently I decided that I wanted to get back to working out, to be in shape, but that I wasn't going to change much of my diet. I'd make some better choices here and there, but for the most part, I was comfortable with my weight (180), and I figured if I can work out so that I can be active and healthy, while eating the way I like without GAINING weight, then boom; that's my goal. So I joined Planet Fitness (a very affordable gym so that if I'm not real consistent I'm not wasting too much money) and started working out 5 days a week for about an hour. 30 minutes of cardio, and 30 minutes of weight training. Turns out, it's working just as I planned! I'm getting in shape, seeing progress in what I'm able to do with both cardio and weights, and I'm eating the way I like and staying the same weight! Awesome! BUT....my perspective is changing. After 6 weeks of being very faithful in the gym, I'm no longer seeing that 180 when I step on the scale as a victory. I'm going "really?? I bust my butt 5 days a week in the gym and have NOTHING to show for it??". (I do have my heart health and what not, but...) So now I guess I'm wanting to see some pounds come off. I'm wanting some of the muscle I'm building to start showing through my chub. So now I've started changing how I eat. I'm not calorie counting, and not doing any specific diet. Just making a lot better choices about what I eat and snack on, and looking to cut down on carbs quite a bit. This is the 4th day I'm doing the "diet", and I'll tell you it's hard. Sometimes not eating the way I like to eat makes me grumpy. This is the dilemma I often come to; is it better to be thinner and unhappy, or chubby and happy?? There has got to be a happy medium. That's my goal. To find the balance of eating pretty well, exercising regularly and staying fit, while not having to completely forsake EVERYTHING I love to eat (and drink....I do love my booze too), thus making me a sad, sad man. So that's my goal; find that balance, slim down and tone up, while still being able to eat and drink the way I like to a little more than just a "cheat meal" a month. I'd like weekends to be a bit more free in regards to diet. Not over indulging and undoing all the progress I made during the week. Just less strict, I guess.
I'll join the weight loss team here. I'm in the same kind of boat as @FKA_familyguy I'm not overweight but I'm not at the "ideal" weight either. I do enjoy food very much, and have kind of forgotten what a true serving size is supposed to look like. I am currently doing Nutrisystem to get on track with some better eating habits without having to think about it too much, but I hope to be done with it by the end of June with a stronger base in serving sizes and such. I feel like I'm cheating a bit by doing so, but I had tried everything else with no progress. Dieting does make me cranky because I watch co-workers and family members eating all of the yummy stuff that I want to have while I'm crunching on a stupid celery stick. I'm trying to work out 3 times a week doing a 9Round workout. I LOVE this workout, but I just have difficulty getting out the door to go do it...LOL! I feel great afterwards, so I just try to keep that in mind as I'm dragging my feet to change into my workout gear after I get home from work. Doesn't always work, but at least I try...hehe! I agree that there should be some happy medium when it comes to weight and fitness. I'm open to any suggestions that anybody is willing to throw out my way. Good luck to everybody that is on the weight loss/fitness train too...it's not easy, but it is always worth it in the long run for you and your loved ones.
Love this line! Good luck with your goals! If you're crunching on a stupid celery stick while others are eating yummy stuff, sounds like you're doing a good job practicing self control!
Yeah...I've gotten down that nice glare and resigned sigh as I eat the healthy stuff while watching others too. I think the other thing that makes weight loss difficult for me is I am around a bunch of people that tell me that I don't need to lose any weight. I am the smallest one at work (both in height and weight), but they aren't the ones that realize that my pants aren't quite fitting the way that they used to.
I do not have time to share my story and I really want to. For now I am very excited as I was 139 on Tuesday, 138.4 yesterday and 138.6 this AM. This is the first time I have stayed under 140 for more than a day in years!! My goal right now is not a number but rather for our daughter to exclaim, "Oh My God!!" when she sees us in July. That is such a struggle. We (my hubby and I) feel so good after a workout; especially if we do it 3 times a week. But it is just too _____ easy to talk each other out of going. We are working on encouraging rather than enabling each other. I hear that too. I'm like, "Sorry I am not 100 pounds overweight! I want to nip it before it gets that bad!!" *And please, do not be offended if you are very overweight. Just please understand that I am struggling too.* I will fill in more later as I have time. I will also try to get Rod to get back on here as I think he could use the support too. This is us at our worst. He is down about 20 now and I am down 10.
Oh, and I am only 5'2" so I should weigh in the 120's. Haven't seen the 2 on the scale for over 10 years.
Congrats @iamsally!! It is tough to lose weight and just as tough to maintain that loss. I'm looking forward to hitting that 140 benchmark soon. You and I are about the same height so our goals are very similar. I'm going to attempt to get down to 125, but I think I will be most comfortable around 130ish. I just want to prove to myself that I can get to that "ideal" and then get to my comfy spot so I can enjoy some of my fav foods w/out feeling too guilty. Keep up the great work!
Oh me! I want to join!!! I gained almost 50lbs when I was pregnant. And now at 6 month postpartum I have about 5lbs to to until I'm how much I weighed at my very first doctors appointment and I'd ideally like to lose a total of 10lbs bringing me to my personal goal weight of 125. Plus I really want to firm up my tummy too. I plan to take walks and eat healthier. My last few months in LA was a LOT of fast food because of a new baby and my husband's crazy work schedule. I don't want to give up ALL delicious foods... I just want to make smarter and healthier choices MOST of the time... Especially now that my daughter is starting solids. I want to set a good example!
Wow @Tiggirl you're doing great so far!! What has been your secret when it comes to your weight loss? Everybody is different, so the more suggestions we throw out to each other the better!
Ok....I'll jump in here. I want to lose about 50 lbs. I feel the only way I can do it is to turn into a diet zombie-the anti-walking dead, where I don't eat anything. I need motivation to exercise and to stop drinking. I'm afraid to get on the scale, but I need to do it. I like to think, if I can get motivated and in the zone, then by Thanksgiving, I could be at my ideal weight. Then, I'll just have to struggle thru the holidays trying to maintain.
It is so much harder with age. Before I turned 50 all I had to do was cut out some junk food and in a few weeks I would be down 10 pounds. The past few years it seems like the less I eat; the more I gain. And it is so much harder to avoid the ice cream. For the past 10 years all I can do is lose a few pounds only to have it hop right back on. So I came up with a modified version of my anorexic diet. (My unhealthy relationship with food goes way back. I used to make big vats of soup containing nothing but *free* vegetables. I could lose 5 pounds in 3 days on that!) DO NOT TRY IT. I NEARLY KILLED MYSELF. But, I am making big vats of vegetable soup. Rod takes a pint jar of it for his lunch as do I. We have an egg or meat or yogurt and nuts for breakfast. Then we have a big bowl of the soup, and you would not believe how creative I have become, with meat or beans sometimes wild rice added. We have bread on occasion. Last night I made it into chop suey and I have made it a chili or a chowder. Anything to keep from getting bored with it and to make sure we get all of our nutrients. We usually have a small pudding or cookie or piece of dark chocolate and a glass of red wine for a snack. We only eat what we call *real* food. That is, no artificial sweeteners, no soda at all, no processed meats and no fast food. We grow most of our own food and I can vegetables and fruit to get us through the year. We mostly only have to buy fresh vegetables. The pounds have not melted off either like we thought they would. But we are losing slowly which we know is best. Oh yeah, did I fail to mention that I have a husband who will eat pretty much anything I cook and who likes his veggies? In fact, he is the one who got me to eat fresh veggies many yeas ago. We were maintaining pretty well at our current weights so we are hoping that once we get down; the maintenance will not be so hard. Just do what we were doing before and keeping a close eye on ourselves and each other.
@PNWTigger I can't lie... Most of the weight loss is due to breast feeding... I know that clearly isn't the answer for everyone. I try to walk when I can and I often carry around a 15lb baby everywhere I go, so I kind of lift weights. LOL!
I remember that. The summer of '81, not only was I nursing a new baby but that was the year we got a pool. I was having to eat candy bars and ice cream to stay over 100 pounds. Those were the days
Cool thread. I found a pretty decent exercise regime in the form of hour long bike rides a couple of years ago, and that was more than partially responsible for my recent weight loss. As for the more recent weight gain, one of the things I did when I fell off the wagon was to go just about a full month (in December) of no exercise at all, and that coupled with holiday eating put me on a bad path. Since then, I have managed to get back to the exercise on a fairly regular basis, but the overeating is overpowering the exercise. On the bright side, obviously I haven't gained as much as I otherwise would have, since I'm burning several thousand calories a week (shows you how much I'm eating though - ugh!). Plus, I'm keeping relatively strong so when I *do* get the eating back under control, I'll already have the other half of the battle handled in the form of my cycling routine. <---off to bike another 11 miles. Wish me luck!
Oops...I just realized my claim of burning "several thousand calories a week" is greatly exaggerated. I'm probably burning something like fifteen hundred if I'm lucky.
The motto of my journey has been "slow and steady wins the race". I'm 5'2 1/2" and my top weight more than a decade ago was 170. I weighed in this morning and I was at the bottom of my goal-weight range of 135-130. I also say my weight loss is a side effect of getting my cholesterol and general blood chemistry numbers in good shape. Over that span of time, I've slowly made changes in small increments at a time. It's been more than a year since I had a TV dinner from the freezer section of the fridge and I've become a semi-professional at avoiding all the junk-food at my office. I do my best to get in 10,000 steps a day, either walking on a treadmill, or somewhere else (not Disneyland anymore), making better food choices in restaurants, and being as vigilant at possible. Tools that have helped me get past a plateau are the food tracking app LoseIt! and having a Fitbit. The most important thing for anyone looking to make a change is the fact that they are doing FOR THEMSELVES. If you try to do it for someone else, because they ask, or you want their attention, it has less of a chance of sticking.
I'm in decent shape, but I really like eating bad food so it's always a struggle for me. I do a pretty good job of avoiding unhealthy snacks and cooking at home most of the time, but my meals typically aren't especially healthy I know better than to trust myself to just go to the gym X-number of days a week, since there's always an excuse not to, so I've found that running works best for me. I'm basically in an eternal state of training for my next race, which means that I have a clearly-defined plan for when I need to workout and what I need to do. I got started through the Disney races, but I've also found a lot of great local options and the running community is very supportive of everyone, regardless of their pace or experience We're getting into summer, which is always one of the toughest times of year for me. With various weekend trips, it's a struggle to find time for a long run, and the hot weather makes training miserable. My next race isn't until Labor Day, so I have a while before I really need to pick up the training, but I'm trying to be vigilant about getting 2-3 shorter runs in each week
It's too bad that I'm allergic to running (unless I'm being chased that is) because my dog would LOVE it. I walk around the dog park while she romps and plays to burn off her energy after I go to my gym.
