actually, i probably shoulda thought about this BEFORE i went on vacation. i ate and drank like a gros cochon down there, and am totally paying the price. went for my physical, where doc announced i am 12 pounds heavier than i was 2 years ago.

and man is it showing. not gigging doesn't help, either. at least lugging gear kept me somewhat trim.

so now i have to really chill for the holidays. i haven't done a stitch of exercise since late august. so it's back to that. other strategies i'll be implementing:

drinking less
this is a biggie. not that i'm a total lush, but i do enjoy a cocktail or three, especially when the weather gets colder. i'll be putting this strategy into play come our company x-mas bash, where most everyone is known to walk out of with 2 or 3 lampshades on their head.

drinking more water
i like water, but when it gets cold i have to force myself to drink it. and i don't like to drink it before a meal, coz then...well then i can't pig out!

eat more veggies
i eat lots of salads as it is, but when faced with a large buffet with lots of pasta and bread yummies, i have little control. my attempt to cut back on white flour and sugar, while somewhat successful, is not quite automatic yet.

talk more
this is not a problem for me.

eat smaller portions
well, duh. i can eat smaller portions...7 of 'em.

exercise more
does raising my beer stein to my lips count as exercise?

eat slower
this is also not a problem for me. most people find me incredibly annoying to eat din-din with, coz i eat ridiculously slow. however, this has never translated into eating less for me. just my food is colder by the time i'm done with it.

skip dessert
are they ^%&*^$^%) crazy???!!!


well, surely i'll have more luck in some areas than others. but i've really gotta work this effort. as my doc said, 'you're just too dang short to be this weight.'



waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!


may your days be merry...and light.

lol.

i actually contemplated getting a fat wardrobe last week, coz i am just bustin' out of my clothes. couldn't get myself to do it.

current strategy is to undo the first button on my jeans, choose bigger shirts, and wear stretchy skirts.

none of these is making me feel particularly proud.

If so, I live only 10 minutes from the Mall of America....Come on out!  You should see all the "large sizes" walking there in the morning. If you like people watching that's a sight to behold. They're going to make it even bigger so they can have more room and add more "larger" size clothing stores.  

exac-a-tactly. i figure it's better to walk around uncomfortable for a few weeks, as a reminder that i am tipping the scales, than to feel more physically comfortable in a jumper while my bum grows bigger.

i dragged myself into the gym last nite. it was pretty sad; i only did 7/10 of a mile on the treadmill. felt tired, and i had to keep my inhaler at the ready. however, i did not lose any strength on the weights. did the same #of reps and same weight as i did months ago. i actually increased 10 lbs. on the lat pull-downs. that was rewarding.


totally. i don't even keep a scale in the house anymore. it turns into a nasty obsession, and there's too much variation. but when i did lose weight little over half a year ago, i experienced the same thing. it was so nice to slip more easily into jeans, or see myself looking slimmer and more refreshed. i have to remind myself of that feeling more often. it's good feedback.

also been walking the 24 blocks to work. kind of at a leisurely pace, though. but it's better than nothing.

i'm going to start keeping an exercise journal. it's a good way to document your progress and see where you sabotage yourself.

y'know, none of this was an issue 20 years ago. i think that's the most aggravating thing of all. i still basically feel and act 20, why can't i look it? feh!

eh. at least i'm wiser.

Here's some suggestions ...

Stop eating so much.
Stop drinking so much (non-water).
Get some exercise.
Turn the TV off.

 

Well here's what I've done over the last 5 1/2 months:

Ate less.
Ate smaller more frequent meals
Added more salads, fruits and vegetables to my regular eating. (Keep in mind I'm a total carnivore)
Started eating much less white bread, white pasta, etc.
Ate wheatless bread (Ezekiel....) and wheat pasta
RARELY have typical fast food (Although in So. Cal we have 'healthier' fast food like Baja Fresh and Sharkey's mexican food).
Have gone (and still go) to the gym 3-4 times a week without fail. Never less than 3. (If I absolutely can't make it due to time, I run or do exercizes in my backyard.)
Park further from stores
Took the stairs (at least down) at malls and parking structures.
At work I'll do some pushups once or twice a day.


I didn't give up desserts or red meat although I monitor both carefully. Poultry/fish and fruit based desserts instead of hamburgers and chocolate mostly.
I'm not spending 2 hours every time I go to the gym (average about 70 minutes total time). Nor am I killing myself with uber-manly weightlifting or 1/2 day long , leg numbing cardio.

The appoach I took is to just get some overall basic changes going in all of the areas and then improve a little in the exercize area over time.

Guess what? LOTSA people noticed. I didn't say a word and I would continually be surprised (and still am) running into people I haven't seen for a while and them asking if I've lost weight. That's for 15 pounds off of a 220 pound body. Probably some muscle add/fat burnoff in that equation but that's the basic result so far. It's happened slowly - but it's happened. I do NOT intend to stop.

Making any changes can be preventative and help go the other direction.

Heck I'm single and want to give whoever I marry a nice wedding present - that we both can enjoy.


Jim

I consulted my Doctor, at her request, and was sent to the Hospital diatary department for a workable diet. AS far as I was concerned there is no such animal. She kept saying I should weigh waht ever I ate and not go over a particular size portion.I told her if I have to weigh it, I wouldn't bother eating it. It wasn't worth the time adn energy. I went home and started to modify what I ate. No whole grains, sugar, cheese, cream, etc. I went to diet wheat bread, sugar sub, fat free cheese, skim milk, and other assorted foods. After several months it became a way of life. It doesn't effect my family at all, I lost the weight and kept it off and every body seems happy with results.I walk more instead of riding, use the stairs, drink about 64oz, of water daily and learned to count the flowers on the walls in our bathroom.My intake of food has become smaller,since I not as hungry as I was before and I expect to get through four Xmas parties in the next three weeks with our Loins Club with out putting on any additional weight.Long story, short ending. No pain,no gain.

4 letters ... FAST

(works for me -  )

Just the mention of the word "holidays" makes me gain weight I believe, haha. The thing is that I've already lost 60 pounds, literally worked my ass off, and view the holidays as my chance to take it easy on the clean-eating for a while.

My biggest problem was that I was drinking my calories...I'd be drinking 3-4 cans of Pepsi, orange juice, milk, etc. Even though OJ and milk are good for you they still contain more calories than a glass of water or a diet beverage of some sort. And I'm not an alcohol drinker anyway so I didn't have to worry about that part. So once I converted to water I started noticing a difference. Then I cut out white flour (white bread, pasta), then things like margarine, and eventually all I was eating was chicken breast, steak, fish, protein shakes, whole wheat bread products and water. So my diet was a high protein, moderate carbs, low fat. Got to the YMCA 4-5 times a week...sometimes just cardio, sometimes resistance training (weights). I ended up gaining about 10 lbs. of muscle, and losing roughly 60 lbs. of fat.

Looking back now, I stil can't believe that I did it because if I tried it again I surely wouldn't be able to do it. I can tell you one thing, it's probably the best thing I've done. I feel sooo much better now than I did 2-3 years ago. Even come back to my hometown (which is where I am now for Christmas break), people still keep saying that I've lost more weight, even though I definitely did not.

amazingly...i didn't! [well, if you ate like a gros cochon, that is]

i don't think i lost any weight, but i definitely didn't gain. i was amazed at my moderation. actually, i didn't even really have the holiday food/sweets cravings. too tired. i was very temperate at the company holiday party, mainly because i was wearing ridiculously high heels and my feet hurt so bad, i knew i couldn't dance, and to dance with work people, it helps to be tipsy. i had 4 drinks over 7 hours and spent a good portion of the night propped up on a table, looking glamorous. [bonus: i didn't come out looking as whack as everyone else did in the pictures].

i felt myself nibbling too much on the x-mas cheesecake two days after x-mas, so i took one final spoonful and threw the rest out. sure, people are starving in africa, but cheesecake isn't gonna help them, anyway.

so i feel pretty good. i've been walking, i definitely burned calories cleaning the apt.,and we went bowling one day. but tonight, we kick it up a notch in the gym. i am actually looking forward to it. couch potatodum only goes so far...

[but did anyone else watch the twilight zone marathon on new years day? AWESOME!!!]

Smogg, you rock! 7 hours looking glamorous!
I'm impressed. I could only manage maybe 15 minutes... and that would be on a good night! Lol!

dresh -- that's fantastic!! you've made sensible changes that have yielded great results. bravo all around!

i have lost a little weight; maybe 4 pounds. i need to step it up, though. i still can't get into a good groove for the gym. it's best if i get it out of the way first thing, but it's so crowded then i can't concentrate. i prefer going late at nite when no one's around and the bad dance music is turned off.

and byronand...ha, ha. i don't think i looked so glam by nite's end. more like a retired madame with a lite buzz on. i had on my mom's mink jacket from 1959, and since my feet were so on fire, i hobdobbled along the street an inch at a time, clutching the jacket for 'balance.' i actually asked a police officer if he'd carry me to the end of the block so i could grab a cab. he did not oblige, but got a real chuckle nonetheless.

where's tony when i need him?

Good for you both!! Me, I'm stuck in a rut--I blame a wonderful recipe from my mother in law, for these little chocolate hazelnut cookies...

But that's great Dfresh!! 15# in a month is great!! Once the snow goes away so I can walk and ride, then I can ramp up the exercise. Altho stomping thru the snow several times a day to get everyone fed does get my heartrate up plenty.
 Keep up the good work! And post some before/after pix, huh? Now that you notice a big difference in how you feel, that will be the best motivator to keep the weight off.

robyn

As of yesterday's weigh-in, I'm down 20 pounds.  That's 8.58% of total body weight.  Still leading the contest with persons in 2nd place at 5.16% and 3rd at 4.83%.  Jackpot is now at $278 (down after on person was "let go" at work, and the participants voted to give her the $20 back).  If people don't lose weight each week they have to pay in $1,  and $1 for each pound gained.  Contest ends April 2.

I'm not excercising as much as I was.  I guess I'm feeling comfortable out in the front.  Haven't done much strength training as of late, only jogging- about 2 miles, 5-6 days/wk.  Thats taking about 19 minutes for me right now. 

I play sometimes with a female singer who's been slimming down lately.  She claims that she's made no changes in her diet or lifestyle except to run every day.  I don't know how far she's running, but she's dropped a LOT of weight, and is really looking svelte lately.

I'm down about 20 pounds since my heart attack and surgery, most of it lost in the first couple of weeks, when I didn't feel like cooking or eating.  I've kept it off with moderate amounts of exercise and by watching what and how much I eat.  I'd still like to drop another 10, but it's been tough.