Weight Loss for Dummies

Protein works for me - I literally crave it in the morning. A low sugar carb along with it. My typical breakfast (and I’m eating it right now!) - a soft cooked egg, whole milk plain yogurt with fresh fruit and a generous sprinkle of homemade granola.

Anybody here???
I finally broke the plateau, but its still very slow this time. 5 lbs down in 3 weeks. And over the holidays. Still plodding along.

I’m here! (I’m always here.)

Good job, jym! I’m just relieved that I didn’t gain weight - not the holidays per se, but DS was visiting for eight days and we wanted to make sure he was well fed! And of course I had to try out the new toasting forks for s’mores at the fire pit. But luckily we did a lot of activities that involved walking so that probably helped.

Blood sugar numbers are high so new doctor is starting me on a new med. I am very much inspired to get my weight down and my exercise up and hopefully get the numbers down and off the new med by summer. I did it before; I can do it again!

I have some limited time right now. Had a number of holiday bumps including a credit card compromised (heard from fraud alert and nipped w/o much fraud - very low level), a DD having a single car wreck with one of our good cars, driving too fast for conditions, etc. Both under control now.

As soon as we returned home from OOS, I bought up a lot of fresh veggies and have been very good on the caloric intake. Not started much on exercise. Have to get through the mail.

H will begin weight loss 1/1.

Joining your ranks in 2 days. :slight_smile: Started exercising this fall but have not seriously tackled the caloric intake side of things. Feeling great about the exercise but time to get serious about dropping some weight. Happy New Year and here’s to keeping resolutions in '16.

I managed to lose my wallet the day before Christmas, someone tried to go to town the day after. Went to the gym this morning up near my Mom’s and listened to the regulars complain about the big influx of guests! The scale in the women’s locker room was apparently telling everyone they’d lost ten pounds, so I figured it was probably not worth weighing myself. Last year between two respiratory illnesses that dragged on forever and breaking a toe, I did not do as well on the exercise front as I hoped. For me, at least, exercise is the only thing that keeps me from gaining weight. My diet is pretty good. (Except between Christmas and New Year’s when I channel my Aunt Dorothy and make tons of cookies. - Luckily other people are snarfing them down even faster than I am.)

Oh my, everyone! So sorry about illnesses and financial breaches and wallet losses, etc.
I took major liberties yesterday, so will avoid the scale today. Will try to eat carefully at a party we are going to shortly.

@jym626 : I don’t consider 5 pounds in three weeks slow! I consider it a big deal to lose 5 pounds in three months. So IMHO, you’re doing really well. I keep telling myself that losing weight slowly will make it easier to keep it off once I get there… Three-and-a-half YEARS to lose 56 pounds (20 pounds of that in 2015)… Hoping to lose the last 8 in the next six months.

So many of you have done so well, I’m really impressed. I am not consistent with my healthy eating and exercise. Although, until the fall, I had been consistent for about a year. Then I had to have a hysterectomy due to uterine cancer and I have been eating terribly and unable to exercise until recently. I have no idea if my sudden menopause has had an impact since I’ve been eating so much!

I REALLY don’t want a recurrence of cancer, so I’m using the new year as an opportunity to pull myself together.

I am planning to reduce animal products and increase vegetables in my diet. I am going to try eating vegan for 4 days a week, and keeping red meat to an occasional treat.

I have returned to Bikram yoga, which felt great, and will get back to my exercise DVDs and maybe even the gym.

I plan to check in here regularly, hoping that helps keep me on track.

Happy New Year!

I ate kale for the first time at dinner last night at a resort restaurant. OK, it came with balsamic vinegar dressing and candied walnuts but it’s a start! (Don’t ask about the rest of my courses. On a “bright” note, I had tummy upset most of the day so ate little else before we went out.)

Welcome, GCmom! Take care of your health, for sure!!
I ate too much at a party today too, but will definitely get back on track tonight. No weighing in for me for a few days…

I’m the biggest dummie imaginable when it comes to this subject. I have struggled to lose 20 lbs. since June 16. I have 50 to go. It’s always and perpetually a struggle. It’s now for my health’s sake, has nothing to do with how I look. I do NOT want to develop diabetes. I joined a gym in October when I retired and the recruiter was surprised at my reasons for joining…I need to get stronger and have more stamina for the last third of my life. Most people say to lose weight, of course. Anyway, I push myself every single time to go there, every time. I am praying that it becomes a habit that I look forward to. How long does it take for that to kick in? I am contracted to a trainer for one year and it’s an obligation, an appointment so I must go. I am still trying to decide if Zumba vs. bike/eliptical is the way I want to do cardio. I struggle. The struggle is real. :smiley:

VaBluebird,

Going to the gym for me is partly social. I see familiar faces in the classes I attend. If I’m early, doing elliptical or stairs, I’m usually next to a friend and chatting.

I’ve been impressed by a newish member. She comes to the gym most mornings and evenings, for classes. She is warm and friendly. Besides Pilates, she also does body pump and Zumba. She probably knows more people than I do after all these years. I can see her body getting toned and trimmer, but we never discuss that.

Marilyn- Kale- you’re a real Californian now.
I’m also still here. I need to motivate myself to move more. Diet isn’t bad but I could eat more vegetables. I resisted a sweet urge on New Yrs Eve to make the chocolate chip cookies in another thread. I know I would be the one who would eat most of them, I have little to no sweets in my house.
VaVluebird- I applaud you on hiring the trainer.
I thank all of you for being here. Wishing all of us a healthy new year.

I found this chart which some of you might find to be useful in helping you reach your fitness goals.
http://pulptastic.com/24-must-see-diagrams-will-make-eating-healthy-super-easy/

I don’t think it’s a good idea to make waffle+peanut butter+blueberries a regular part of your diet.

In case you missed michael pollan’s.PBS show In Defense of Food, here is link to full episode.
I’m motivated …
http://www.pbs.org/show/in-defense-of-food/

I am here. First two days of the year and I am on track with exercise. Need to lose 5-10 pounds, as I have been very lazy this fall/winter. I am going to focus on exercising at least once a day for 30 days. I will be mixing it up with cross country skiing, treadmill walks while watching Netfix, and some Sevens from my iPad app. After a week of daily exercise I usually naturally shift to healthier eating and more veggies.

H at 6’3" has a weight goal of 23 lbs to lose. When he did that before, it took him 4 months.

I am eating a lot of fresh ‘free’ veggies; have fresh lemon wedge in my water.

One thing that sometimes helps me quiet the stomach is a tic-tac.

Anything that works! Sending cyper encouragement all your way! And @jym626 I would be thrilled with your results!

I picked up the Dec 14, 2015 issue of Woman’s World at the store (Valerie Bertinelli is on the cover with a green sweater). Two page feature of a gal Jen who lost 129 lbs. Says she was using a university plan - intermittent fasting, where you only have 500 calories every other day. I imagine she cut calories/fat/carbs on the ‘regular’ days. Lady lost 129 lb from size 30s to 12s. Yes the gal Jen Stewart is now 129 lbs slimmer…down from 300 lb. She must be pretty tall to be size 12. She said she hit a plateau between 90 and 100 lb weight loss - it took her 6 months to break through that plateau. So my plateau when I had lost 10 lbs from where I am now is NOTHING compared to her plateau! She was on weight-watchers at age 8, so definitely had issues with eating. They gave sample low cal day 1, 2, 3. She was over 50, and it says she had also had poly-cystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal condition that can inhibit fat loss. The article sited U of IL Krista Varady PhD an ‘intermittent fasting expert’…

Anyone see where Oprah bought 10% of the corporate Weight Watchers? She had a one page article in the Jan/Feb WW magazine - she has a WW coach. Started last June.

My plateau was between 80 and 90 lbs. I also have PCOS, and it has been a lifelong struggle. My cardiologist has recommended that I go on WW because I have regained 20. I am struggling with that – I have done all of this on my own and branching out to eat a wide variety of food is a major part of what has caused me to backslide. There are simply some foods I.Cannot.Eat. If the taste stays out of my brain I can avoid that food. There seems to be no happy medium for me.

SOSC, yeah, if she lost 129, she’d be at 171. When I got to that weight (and I’m 5’8"), I was wearing a 14/16, depending on the cut. I will never be a size 12 because I carry everything in my middle. I’ve been that way since I was 11 yo.