Making a positive change

[FireAngel]

Since I normally post the bad shit going on in my life I figured I change things up a bit. I've recently made a decision about my life and taking control of it. I've started the Weight Watcher's program again.

This time I'm not paying for meetings (because let's face it, I'm broke 90% of the time), but I have the point system available to me from a previous membership. This program has worked well for me in the past, and I'm really serious this time about losing weight so I figure, go with a sure thing.

I've dragged my fiance into doing it with me for moral support (and for his own health because he's let himself go a bit too), and we've been following the program for four days now. I'm actually really excited about this, and I think he is getting more into it too as time goes by.

We haven't started exercising yet because we have yet to be able to come up with a schedule where we can go to the gym in our apartment complex together. I would like some advice in this department before we get started, however.

My parents follow and recommend an alternating weight and cardio schedule where they do aerobics every other day with weight lifting on the days in between. There are a lot of different theories, if you will, out there about how long, how often, etc is best or most effective. What has been your experience to be the most effective exercise routine?

Also, I'm about to add Hydroxycut to my weight loss plan again, but I heard some bad experiences from a coworker. I've taken it before and never experienced the issues she spoke of. Has anyone else taken the product? And have you experienced any issues with it?

Thanks ahead of time for your help.

[Kitten225]

I am not any help with the above questions but wanted to say congrats and good luck!

[Killerbean]

What a coincidence... I read this on cnn.com earlier today (http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/02/14/weightloss.tracey.wygal/index.html)

[Shamiaqua]

I started the 2006 year at 185lbs, and wearing a size 12. My wedding was that August. I walked for an hour 5 days a week, and really watched the quality of food that I was eating. I didn't count calories, or follow a perscribed 'diet'. What I did do was eat food that was not bad for me. No fast food, less coffee, no sodas, more water and more home cooked meals (not from a bag in the freezer) I also didn't do any weight training, but for toning, it would probably be best to include it.

By August, I had lost 45lbs and was a size 6. I had a walking partner that worked close to me, so walking on my lunch break was very easy, and somewhat of a 'social' occasion. It didn't feel like working out, and we felt so much better when we both got back to work.

I'm back now to about 170, and a size 8 (depending on the pants). I don't have my walking partner anymore, and my husband isn't in the best shape either... But our new apartment has a small gym in the rec center, and I try to drag him with me a few times a week. I hope to get back under 150, and a size 6... that was fun.

Good luck!

[FireAngel]

Update: It's been a week since I started the Weight Watcher's program, and I stepped on the scale today. I dropped four pounds already! Woot! Kind of scares me that one week of diet change alone made me lose that many pounds already. Makes me realize just how much fast food I was eating. :eek:

[steelasp]

Weight watchers is bullshit. If you are really serious about losing weight, just try to eat healthier. MY dad got a book, and subsequently bought me a copy of the same book. It's called: YOU, on a diet. It explains body chemistry, and talks about what foods satiate your hunger, and which foods just make you want to eat more. There is no magic bullet. If you really want to loose weight, just don't eat so fucking much, and get more exercise. It makes all the difference. When I had a job that kept me physically active, I just naturally settled at a weight 100 lbs. less than what I weigh when I'm being a lazy fuck.(like now) getting some exercise, and being active, is way more important than what you eat, when it comes to weight. working out is a great idea, but shitcan the weight watchers, and just try to eat more healthy. Companies like weight watchers want your money. if you loose the weight easily, you're not going to feel the need to pay them anymore. Do you really think it's ion their best interest to give you food that is really going to get you thin? Don't make your life aboput dieting... sure, you might loose the weight, but as soon as you stop the diet, you'll be even heavier than you were within a few weeks. Just try to eat healthy, and be more active. Stay away from soda, and other drinks that have high fructose corn syrup. The best natural sugars are things like sucrose, and agave nectar. Stay away from anything that has bleached flour in it. You want whole wheat flour. There's a whole bunch of other things, but trusting that a company like weight watchers is going to help you.... believe me: weight watchers is only going to help you until the day you stop paying for it, then you're going to balloon up instantly. The diet is designed that way, such that when you get off it, your metabolism slows down. Unless you plan on staying on weight watchers for the rest of your life, get out now.

As for your question about working out... for me personally, trying to make a workout schedule is useless. the only way I can get exercise and stay in shape, is by either having a job that is physically demanding, or having a leisure activity that is physically demanding. This is why I am taking up kiteboarding. I can't fucking stand going to a gym on a schedule, and working out just for the sake of working out. I want to feel like I'm accomplishing something, or I want to be having a blast.

[Bathory]

Workout schedules are impossible if you have a life. I tried creating one, and with work, school, and baby, it seemed impossible until something dawned on me: my child is an exercise machine. At almost 9 months old, he's heavy enough to be considered weight lifting (25lbs) and still at that age where he loves to be thrown around and held.

My new exercise routine?
-Baby pushups- holding him over me and raising him up and down. Not as easy as it sounds when you're doing it as reps and laughing at the same time.
-Dancing- he finds it hilarious when I sing and dance around the living room, so this covers my cardio plus keeps him entertained.
-Walking- he's trying so hard to walk but can't do it without holding my hands, so I walk him all around the house at random times during the day.

This might seem stupid but it's actually fun, plus I'm spending time with my little man while burning a few calories.



Maybe you need to find some mundane activity and turn it into exercise. :)

[FireAngel]

Weight watchers is bullshit. If you are really serious about losing weight, just try to eat healthier. MY dad got a book, and subsequently bought me a copy of the same book. It's called: YOU, on a diet. It explains body chemistry, and talks about what foods satiate your hunger, and which foods just make you want to eat more. There is no magic bullet. If you really want to loose weight, just don't eat so fucking much, and get more exercise. It makes all the difference. When I had a job that kept me physically active, I just naturally settled at a weight 100 lbs. less than what I weigh when I'm being a lazy fuck.(like now) getting some exercise, and being active, is way more important than what you eat, when it comes to weight. working out is a great idea, but shitcan the weight watchers, and just try to eat more healthy. Companies like weight watchers want your money. if you loose the weight easily, you're not going to feel the need to pay them anymore. Do you really think it's ion their best interest to give you food that is really going to get you thin? Don't make your life aboput dieting... sure, you might loose the weight, but as soon as you stop the diet, you'll be even heavier than you were within a few weeks. Just try to eat healthy, and be more active. Stay away from soda, and other drinks that have high fructose corn syrup. The best natural sugars are things like sucrose, and agave nectar. Stay away from anything that has bleached flour in it. You want whole wheat flour. There's a whole bunch of other things, but trusting that a company like weight watchers is going to help you.... believe me: weight watchers is only going to help you until the day you stop paying for it, then you're going to balloon up instantly. The diet is designed that way, such that when you get off it, your metabolism slows down. Unless you plan on staying on weight watchers for the rest of your life, get out now.

As for your question about working out... for me personally, trying to make a workout schedule is useless. the only way I can get exercise and stay in shape, is by either having a job that is physically demanding, or having a leisure activity that is physically demanding. This is why I am taking up kiteboarding. I can't fucking stand going to a gym on a schedule, and working out just for the sake of working out. I want to feel like I'm accomplishing something, or I want to be having a blast.

Well, considering the fact that as I said in my original post I've been in the Weight Watcher's program before and it WORKED FOR ME, I don't think it's bullshit. And as I believe I also said, we did NOT actually join the program this time. We're just following the point system. So, I get the effectiveness without having to pay the money. And I've lost four pounds in a week with just diet change alone, so yeah, what you eat does make a difference. Not as much as exercise is going to make, but some.

Bathory, makes me wish I had a baby around the house (not one that was mine though, just one to babysit every day) :tongue: I know that there's all sorts of exercises experts recommend that you can do while just sitting around doing nothing. My life's not really all that hectic right now, surprisingly (knock on wood). And my parents' have provided wonderful examples of how a busy life can still incorporate a regular workout schedule. Of course, with me working overnights I don't see myself working out before dawn like they do. So, I guess for now I can just start using work and some of the stuff I have to do there as a calorie burner.

Thanks to all of you for the advice and support. :hug2:

[steelasp]

Well, considering the fact that as I said in my original post I've been in the Weight Watcher's program before and it WORKED FOR ME, I don't think it's bullshit. \

But if you're going back in, that obviously means the weight came back.

I rest my case.

[FireAngel]

But if you're going back in, that obviously means the weight came back.

I rest my case.

I've started using the point system again because I stopped using it when I went to college and overate constantly due to depression, boredom, etc. It had nothing to do with Weight Watchers. Weight gain has to do with the person who gains the weight, not the program or diet they follow or don't follow. The Weight Watchers point system teaches portioning and healthy eating, which is what you were talking about, so how is it bullshit? Yeah, the company wants money. Everybody wants money. But the way I'm doing it I get the ideals and learn what I'm supposed to learn without giving them any money. And it's working.

[steelasp]

Alright, before I make myself sound like any more of an asshole,(like that's possible, right?) let me congratulate you for making a decision to initiate positive change in your life. It takes guts, to admit you need it, and it takes a strong will to stick to it. I wish you the best in your efforts to slim down and be a healthier, happier, more attractive person.

What I was trying, and failing, to say earlier, is that actively dieting makes people miserable, and that's why people fall back into their old habits, and puff back up. I'm suggesting a healthier lifestyle, instead of a diet. Weight watchers may work, but their system is still based on counting calories, and consciously dieting.

As I was growing up, I watched my mother battle her weight problem. constantly. She tried every diet out there, including weight watchers, and she just did the yo-yo thing. It made her miserable, and bitchy, which made me and my father miserable. She finally settled on the Atkins diet, which worked for her for a long time. It worked because, once she was on the diet, she stopped craving carbs, and she didn't have to think about it like dieting. She didn't have to think about what she could or could not eat, or how much. Unfortunately, it's not very good for a person in the long run. My dad went on it too, partly to support her, and partly because he was starting to get a bit pudgy as he got older. Now, they're having trouble getting life insurance, because they both have high blood pressure and cholesterol.

The key to being thin is not in dieting. You shouldn't have to worry about how much you eat.. If you're eating right, and getting the things your body is lacking, you won't be hungry all the time, and you don't have to think about it. My problem with "weight watchers" is right in the name. If you're paying attention to how much you weigh all the time, then you have deeper lifestyle issues you have to address. Weight watchers has you count calories, so what happens at the end of the day, you're at your limit, but you're still hungry? then you're just going to get miserable because you're hungry, or you're going to cheat, and get miserable because you couldn't stick to it.

Also, exercise ends up being a lot more important than diet. going for a walk, or a bike ride first thing in the morning will get your heart rate and metabolism up, and it will stay up all day. You'll have more energy, you'll feel better, and you'll burn fat. everyone is different in this respect, but for me, I can't just exercise for the sake of exercise. It's got to be something I enjoy, or I have to feel like I'm acomplishing something.

To sum up, if you eat healthier foods, and find an exercise plan that works for you, you won't have to think about dieting, you'll just find yourself in better shape. Relevant example from my recent life: When I get the munchies, I can go through a bag of corn chips and still be hungry. But if I have a small handful of pumpkin seeds, It satisfies my snacking impulse almost immediately. How many calories in a bag of chips? 1400. how many calories in a handful of pumpkin seeds? 200. The pumpkin seeds have a bunch of goodness that your body needs, while the corn chips have a bunch of crap that makes your body chemistry go haywire, and confuses your hunger impulse. Think about what you're eating instead of how much you're eating, and you'll be happier, and thinner.

Good luck, and post pics when you get hawt.

[BrackishWater]

How did I know this would be a weight loss thing just by reading the thread title?

It never ceases to amaze me how something like going on a diet is considered a monumental lifestyle change in this country. No offense to you though, FireAngel. You're only as fat as you feel, or at least as fat as that tasteful Swedish bathroom scale says you are. And if the scale gives you a number you don't like, just toss the bastard into the street. Its your constitutional right to do so.

Fat is an awful adjective anyway, amigo. I prefer "well-fed", or "never hungry".

Good luck, and post pics when you get hawt.

/thread :thumbsup:

[FireAngel]

How did I know this would be a weight loss thing just by reading the thread title?

It never ceases to amaze me how something like going on a diet is considered a monumental lifestyle change in this country. No offense to you though, FireAngel. You're only as fat as you feel, or at least as fat as that tasteful Swedish bathroom scale says you are. And if the scale gives you a number you don't like, just toss the bastard into the street. Its your constitutional right to do so.

Fat is an awful adjective anyway, amigo. I prefer "well-fed", or "never hungry".



/thread :thumbsup:

It's a health thing for me. The extra weight has led to a lot of my depression because my body isn't in the best shape it could be. I believe if you're happy the way you are then good for you, and stay that way. I'm not happy with it, so I'm changing it.

[dustinzgirl]

I'm glad you are doing something you can be proud of. I thought you were beautiful just the way you are anyways. But, I like women with some meat on thier bones.

I would rather you not add any wieght loss pill or mix to your foods. These are not healthy ways. First, you should also realize that everyone has a different body size. Being healthy is not always being thin.

Please do not use hydroxycut or anything you buy on the shelf at the store for wieght loss. These are not natural nor good for you in the long run.

Teas are especially good for you, replace soda with tea. I do this and while I don't lose wieght, I don't gain it either. Teas also have lots of vitamins. There are many herbal teas and herbal salads you can get that will help you keep the weight off. Coconut oil, natural, not hydrogenised, is also very good for you. See if there is a small, real all natural herbal store (not GNC), most of those will have a guru type person that will help you find good herbs for wieght loss and direct you to healthy eating resources.

When you cook, use either virgin olive or coconut instead of regular oils. Eat lots of real greens, like spinach and leafy green salads, not iceberg. Eat fresh fruit instead of canned fruit, if you must get canned get no syrup/sugar added. Don't cut meat out of your diet, but keep it down to one serving of meat a day, esp chicken or fish, less beef and less pork.

If part of your problem, like me, is that you have a huge sweet tooth and love potato chips, replace salty junkfood like chips with no fat croutons, and replace candy with dried fruit. I did this, and while my kids think I suck for it, I think we are doing much better now.

Basically, the best way to loose wieght is to make small changes to your diet.

AS for working out, I chase after kids and walk to the store. I hate hi impact aerobics and lifting wieghts bores the shit out of me. My excersize is chasing after kids and dogs. I have tried to join the gym with my grandma and do the excersizes but I can't STAND it. It feels like I'm waiting in line all the time and there just isn't anything to do but the same thing over and over again. It bores the shit out of me. I'd much rather go hunting or hiking or bike riding or four wheeling or just go play in the creek. But then again, I have no fucking attention span, either.

PS: Brack, my scale always says 000...I kept that one. The otherones I broke. with a hammer.

[FireAngel]

Dg, thank you for the advice. I like the idea of replacing soda, although I really haven't had an issue with giving up soda since I can still have diet (me looks around fearfully for Bitch). I really hate tea, though. I'm a coffee drinker if I drink anything like that. Though I do love Lipton's bottled diet green tea with citrus. Would that work?

[53V3N]

Kudos to yudos, FireAngel.

I love you for who you are. If you're happy, I'm happy.

When I was traveling with a group of Vietnamese monks, I saw two people having a discussion after one of the talks our teacher had given. One of the two people in the conversation was somewhat large in stature, and the other was slight of build.

As I meditated on the teachings I had just received, I watched the inter-action between those two and it wasn't long before the smaller person broke down, started crying and hugged the larger individual, holding onto them like someone drowning might cling to a rock for survival.

It was at that moment that I realised and understood that we are all the way we are for reasons that are likely beyond our scope of vision. As strong as I am, I don't believe that I would have provided the same feeling of stability to that person had life chosen me to be their support.

Nothing can trump that which you believe and I would certainly encourage you to follow that which makes you happy. My post is only an offer to remind you to breathe along the way.

:kcheek:

[MentorX]

Dg, thank you for the advice. I like the idea of replacing soda, although I really haven't had an issue with giving up soda since I can still have diet (me looks around fearfully for Bitch). I really hate tea, though. I'm a coffee drinker if I drink anything like that. Though I do love Lipton's bottled diet green tea with citrus. Would that work?
Yes Angel, DG gave very good advice. Here's a little info about diet soda.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050613/drink-more-diet-soda-gain-more-weight

[FireAngel]

Yes Angel, DG gave very good advice. Here's a little info about diet soda.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050613/drink-more-diet-soda-gain-more-weight

You just killed me.

Edit: 53V3N, I'll have to spread some rep around before I can give it to you again. :(

[Shamiaqua]

Yes Angel, DG gave very good advice. Here's a little info about diet soda.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050613/drink-more-diet-soda-gain-more-weight

For this reason alone, if I feel like breaking my diet for a soda, I drink regular. Diet soda's scare the crap out of me, and aspartame gives me really bad migranes. Too bad they use it in almost every diet soda...

[Brain Spout]

The diet soda = weight gain study is pretty flawed. All it shows is a correlation between people who are overweight and people who drink diet soda, which could mean that diet soda causes you to gain weight, or it could just mean that people that are overweight are trying to cut Calories.

Fowler is quick to note that a study of this kind does not prove that diet soda causes obesity. More likely, she says, it shows that something linked to diet soda drinking is also linked to obesity.

"One possible part of the explanation is that people who see they are beginning to gain weight may be more likely to switch from regular to diet soda," Fowler suggests. "But despite their switching, their weight may continue to grow for other reasons. So diet soft-drink use is a marker for overweight and obesity."

"People think they can just fool the body. But maybe the body isn't fooled," she says. "If you are not giving your body those calories you promised it, maybe your body will retaliate by wanting more calories. Some soft drink studies do suggest that diet drinks stimulate appetite."

I guess that's a subjective thing, if you see yourself being more hungry after drinking diet soda than you normally are. In my experience I think it has the opposite effect, if you can cut out soda all together that's obviously the best approach, but in terms of weight gain I still think the extra Calories in regular make regular soda cause more weight gain.

[dustinzgirl]

You just killed me.

Edit: 53V3N, I'll have to spread some rep around before I can give it to you again. :(

I'm glad someone warned you about diet soda.

Think of it like this...diet soda is made from carbonated water. That means added carbs. Your body turns carbs into sugar unless you excersize a shitload. So, they are not really better. I don't like bottled teas at ALL they taste like ass and have wierd shit added to them. I make fresh tea every day. It takes like five minutes. Then I poor it into my own water bottles for when I have to go somewhere and keep those in the fridgerator. Plus, teabags (stfu, boys) are like, really cheap..you can get 20 for two dollars of the expensive herbal tea. That makes like 5 quarts depending on how strong you like your tea. One bottle of lipton is two dollars and what, 15 ounces? So uneconomical.

[PiercedPsycho]

Dropping soda alone from your diet, without dropping anything else, can cause you to lose about 15-20 pounds.

There is a diet program my mother did twice that is effective, because although it costs you money, there is a very specific regimen. You start out consuming only liquids for about 6 months, and then slowly you are allowed to eat portioned food. Part of the program is figuring out why you were eating the way you were, and figuring out ways to work past it, and developing a coping mechanism whenever you felt like you HAD to have regular food.

She did it twice because the first time she never developed a coping mechanism. She's been on it the past year and she's done so much better.

Me, I know I'm going to have to lose some weight after I give birth in July, but I've decided on a form of exercise that would not only be fun, but would add to my relationship with my fiance. I'm going to learn to pole dance. Not for anyone, just for him. I've heard it's good exercise, not too stressful, it tones the body, and I need to become more flexible anyway. I've never been good at working out for the sake of working out, so I figured the best thing to do would be to pick up an activity that will give me a workout AND I can use it elsewhere in my life.

Try taking a walk outside for an hour or so with your hubby....it's good exercise, it's not too stressful on your body, and as you get more used to it, you can up your walking speed.

[steelasp]

I'm glad someone warned you about diet soda.

Think of it like this...diet soda is made from carbonated water. That means added carbs. Your body turns carbs into sugar unless you excersize a shitload.

DG.... carbon dioxide != carbohydrate. Diet sodas are bad because of all the chemicals in them. Carbonated water has no calories. Read the label on a bottle of Perrier. It's just water with carbon dioxide disolved in it. :tard: