<p>:) we are all so sweet and supportive aren’t we!???</p>
<p>So today we went to the running store and after a good hour walked out with a new pair of running (or walking or jogging or whatever!) shoes! The guy took SO much time - he looked at my feet are, watched me walk with each pair of shoes, had me try favorite pairs on their treadmill - his advice and knowledge was worth paying more for a pair of tennis shoes then I have ever paid before! He also showed me a set of exercises to strengthen my arches. He noted that my left ankle is a little swollen so I may take it easy for a few days (just walk) then start back I. With my new groovy shoes! </p>
<p>The idea of an exercise program also gives me more I centime to at just a little better. I enjoy food and will never be a crazy healthy ether but am more motivated to make some better choices and to keep exercising portion control.</p>
<p>MyLB…try jogging slowly while keeping your feet under your body. It’s almost a feeling as if your feet are behind you. Try to visualize it as you go. It forces you to take smaller steps which makes for less pressure on your knees and hips. The same is true for walking. Take shorter strides which automatically make you walk faster. You may feel as if you’re falling forward but you won’t. Think about it…if you take long strides, throwing your feet out in front of you and landing heel first…the shock of the impact goes straight up to you knees/hips. If you keep your feet underneath you, you can’t land heel first.</p>
<p>When I started my weight loss journey in early spring of 2011, my right knee was always stiff/ achy. Jogging was out of the question. My S1 (a military officer/fitness freak) told me about the walking/jogging with your feet under your body technique. It really worked for me. For the first four to six months I concentrated on walking more/faster and keeping my feet under me.</p>
<p>Then I started little intervals of jogging during my walks. Very gradually I worked up to more jogging/less walking. It took me seven or eight months to work up to just jogging. </p>
<p>Now I jog 14 miles/week…3.5 miles/every other day. I’m pretty slow but if feels good and my knees don’t hurt. </p>
<p>Sorry this was so long but just wanted to offer encouragement to “Those who are about to Jog”. Keep trying. You’ll get there.</p>
<p>Hi!
I went away this weekend (third one in a row and am going away again next weekend). I’m hoping when i get on the scale, I won’t be up. This 17 day diet has me moving to the next phase this week but i think I might try to stay on phase one this week because of a somewhat indulgent weekend with friends.
Welcome Pugnkate! And congrats, Marilyn!!!</p>
<p>Isn’t this the truth!! So much easier to control your diet when you’re eating at home. I also had previously vetted lunches at certain restaurants that met my caloric parameters. Now that I am on maintenance mode, I eat out more and choose things that are more calorific than I would have eaten 6 months ago. But I do keep an eye on my weight–I know that I need to be more strict and particular if I stray too far away from maintenance weight.</p>
<p>EPTR–maintenance is HARDER than I had thought, psychologically. When you’re losing weight, you’re feeling up. But you really don’t get as psyched up by staying the same weight.</p>
<p>Look forward to a new and improved you,EPTR. I’ve been at my target weight (with the usual fluctuations) for almost a year now. I’ve gotten rid of all of my larger clothes. So now when I consider eating something I know isn’t good for me, I think of those jeans in the closet that are five sizes smaller than the old ones that used to hang there. I really like those small jeans!</p>
<p>When people ask me if I’m still 'dieting", I tell them “no”. I think you have to look at it as a life style change that will give you a happier/healthier life and then remind yourself that the benefits of that change are worth so much more than than a few moments pleasure of eating junk.</p>
<p>@PackMom----that "keeping your feet under the body is fantastic advice! So many advances in exercise physiology have come out of the military—I’ve never thought about running that way but that’s excellent knowledge to have! Rained all day here today—tried twice to get out of the house to walk but then came a downpour. Heading to the basement to hit that treadmill. . .</p>
<p>I love to eat out (it can a diner, nothing fancy required!) but I can already see how much easier it will be to control what I’m eating by eating at home. I mean, I know what I put in egg salad but I suspect the reason it takes so much better at my favorite lunch joint is due to the extra fat. </p>
<p>The Weight Watchers App has a lot of restaurants on it but even better are the websites you can google. They have every restaurant and every thing on the menus. I looked up Panera and I could not believe what detailed info I could get for free on-line. </p>
<p>I have got to get moving. That really is going to be a big hurdle for me but I know the key is to start small, so I’m going to try that.</p>
<p>"I love to eat out (it can a diner, nothing fancy required!) but I can already see how much easier it will be to control what I’m eating by eating at home. "
-This is very very true. I believe that eating at home is one of the most important points in overall health maitenance (not just weight). I feel lucky that I do not like to eat out at all, just way too lazy to go somewhere. We go out, but very rarely, primarily when kids are visiting or we are visiting them. However, we are in huge overeating mode at all inclusive resort while on vacation. I always gain at least 7 lbs. Food is sooo good, there is no point to even try to restrict yourself. However, when we come back home and start consuming our regular food, the weight goes down.
Best wishes. Your commitment will pay off!</p>
<p>i jumped off the wagon in complete discouragement last year or so, but started up again. When I had my physical, I told my doctor that I wanted to go on the “Hollywood 48 hour” diet that involves fasting for two days and drinking this juice in place of meals, though one can drink as much water as well. He was against it but wehn pressed, agreed that I was not going to drop dead from doing this. I read all of the precautions and warnings and decided to take the chance. I have tried any number of diets and exercises and they do nothing. I’ve even gained weight on them. My theory is that my mechanism is on hold and will not do anything in terms of losing weight without a drastic jump start. </p>
<p>So I did it for a weekend, and, yes, I lost 3 lbs. I had nalf meals–just regularly but half my usual portions for the rest of the week, and maintained that loss, though I did not lose any more… I then went on it for another two days during the week (that weekend was tough with all of the temptations with a lot of people and events) and lost another 2 lbs. So I’m five lbs down now. And will do this two more times, hoping to get another 3 lb by the end of Novermber, and then two more times for another two lbs. Ten lbs down is start and then I will look at some other diets. I have no problems staying on diets but they don’t work.</p>
<p>As for exercise, I’ve been just doing the stairs. I can now go up and down the stairs 10 times very quickly in about 2 minutes. When I started, after the fifth go, I was slowing down tremendously. I’m going for 20 twenty times in 5 minutes twice a day.</p>
<p>I’ve found that the LIvestrong site info seems to fit me pretty well. Because I am sedentary and small, taking off 15-20 lbs is very difficult. According the site, I need to go down to 400 calories a day to lose any weight and that is about the count of this Punch that I’ve been taking. </p>
<p>I do love to eat and enjoy food so much. I’m a good cook and cook regularly, so the temptations are here even at home. Just came back from Trader Joe’s this weekend, and oh, the goodies we have. I wish I could eat 2000 calories a day with impunity like I was once able to do. </p>
<p>I just may not need new winter pants this year!</p>
<p>Love that perspective Jym - darn scale!!! ^^^ :)</p>
<p>We don’t eat out or “carry out” often - maybe once a week if that. And I’ll admit when I DO eat out I often will and want to choose something that’s not on the low calorie scale - even many of the designer salads are truly calorie full once you add up all the ingredients and dressing. However, I feel I can afford this splurge as long as it isn’t a regular occurance AND often I will only eat 1/2 the meal. Example: my 15 year old D and I went to Olive Garden this weekend. To the table come the FREE breadsticks and salad! I had two plates of the salad w/dressing and only 1/2 a breadstick (really, IMO their breadsticks not all that great). I ordered the shrimp mezzaluna and ate half the serving. Yes, it did have a cream sauce. But I think a boatload of salad (without any high calorie additions - I don’t even eat their stale croutons!), a 1/2 a breadstick and half of the meal was not so over the top. </p>
<p>Now, if I do this 3 times a week we’ve got a problem, but we don’t. My other way to manage is if we order take out - like Chinese- I make sure I grab some raw veggies or fruit or quick cook up some easy veggie at home to add to my plate of take out. Helps to fill me up and still have my General Tso!!!</p>
<p>I recently saw two photos, each showing the same number of calories. One was (if I recall correctly) a cheeseburger, fries, drink, something like that. The other showed about 5 plates full of delicious and colorful veggie and fruit dishes, salads, pilafs, etc. The point was you can have so much MORE food and not feel deprived if you eat properly.</p>
<p>I think old-style “diets” limited people to tiny portions of the wrong foods. They looked pitiful on the plate and made people feel bad that they were dieting. If you eat mostly plant-based, unprocessed foods, you can have a much happier mealtime experience. :)</p>
<p>Speaking of which, last night I made an arugula salad with pear and pistachios in it. Lemon-honey dressing. It was SOOOOOOOO yummy and my H and S loved it as well. The rest of the meal was leftover meat and potatoes, and there wasn’t an overabundance (barely enough for a meal) but that salad made everyone happy. :)</p>
<p>Even just looking at the color on your plate is very telling. If your plate is colorful, it’s likely to be more healthy - if it’s all varying shades of white/tan/brown , it is likely starch/bad carb filled.</p>
<p>My “discovery” is that calories from different foods are not the same. I am saying that 100 calories from junk food is not the same as 100 of fruit. Not for my body at least. I do not restrict myself consuming fruits at all. I have to make a note in my head when I have sweets. so that I am not surprised at scale. Scale is always right, scale is a friend, no a foe, scale will point you in a right direction. Say hello to your scale every day, it will smile back! I read several articles about permanent weight loss. The central point is that it is not possble without going on scale every day. The fact is that our natural feedback system has been interrupted, broken, we cannot rely on it. We consume many foods that are not natural for our body to consume, so body’s feedback is inaccurate, we cannot rely on it any more. Scale provides an accurate reliable feedback and there is no reason to go into major depression because of numbers, just consider these numbers next day or after you are back from vacation.</p>
but if feels good and my knees don’t hurt. </p>