Dieting Club: 50 - 100 Lbs Community

well sam
the goal is to eat as healthy as possable an occasional hershy kiss or small scoop icecream isn;t going to ruin your health. just make sure there is a lot of time between these indulgences,,
maybe once a week for me my attachment to icecrem was a huge problem, I had to make a deal with myself that if I stayed on plan a whole month I could have the scoop of icecream but only at an ice cream shoppe ..I still will not buy it in the grocery store...too easy for me to over do the indulgence..
I had this awareness that I could do something to change my health situation a cronic asthmatic and I had Macular degeneration too ..the macular degeneration was my main reason to improve my health...because I read about how high fat diets was the cause of it ...along with smoking I didn;t smoke so it had to be my high fat diet that caused it... well long story short I went on a nutrition quest in 2003 lost 97ish pounds after a couple of years on plan my life long struggle with asthma went away i haven;t needed medicine for the last 3 years..
my eyes are fairly stable no miracle cure yet..maybe my body decided the breatheing was more important /and fixed the asthma... so if I stay on plan maybe it will fix my eyes too ..
Hugs Judy:)

Sam,

I have about the same reasons as Judy to stay healthy. How I look it is if I do over eat all I am doing is destroying myself slowly. I certainly don't want to leave this earth no younger than I have to and I want to be there for my son. I want to have the energy to keep up with him. I don't want to have to take medications to stay live for like heart disease and diabetes, which is side effects of being over weight. For one thing I can't afford it. I would rather be healthy any day and that's what got me to stop binge and over eating. Yes it is nice have a little treat but not every day like Judy said. This may not help you but this is what works for me.

Amber

also sam I use this board or exchange to keep my journey in the front and center of my mind ,,, thats how I keep my focus ..
Hugs Judy:)

Hi
I agree with my friends above that health should be a number one reason but i also did it(or still doing it) because i was miserable with the way i looked. I know what you mean -accepting nothing but the best from yourself. I was like that-had to have straight a, had to have that office with the window and had to look perfect. But it was all driving me insane to maintain that image! So here i am unemloyed, overweight but I like myself better and I am very happy that i can stop to pretend and what i am doing-losing weight, exercising,dieting -I am doing for myself! And it is ok to cheat once in a while. All of us need little brake here and there to keep our sanity:) Us girls are so fortunate that we can use our PMS as an excuse:)))) I keep exercising and if i happen to cheat one day-i will still exercise that day and day after and will be able to burn those extra calorie. So you dont have to accept the best only,second best is great too-we aren't robots:) enjoy scoop of icecream with your son once in a while-it will be a good memory one day. I keep watching myself with what i eat and exercise for over an hour every day except sunday, if i slip once in a while I just get back on track-important-not to drive yourself crazy!
Mia in NY

For me, the smaller I get the better I feel physically and emotionally. I think for me, the feeling better about myself is the best part. Being ridiculed about my weight is what got me started on this journey. I remember even saying that I knew I was overweight, but I was NOT obese. Talk about denial. Now that I'm at a healthy weight, it's fantastic how much more energy I have, how much more flexible I am, and how much better I feel about myself. That's what keeps me going.

Thanks so much everyone!! This forum is really helping me to celebrate the little changes along the way. I read Dr. Peeke's blog on the Diet Exchange about the 'weekend' and that's my goal for this weekend. To keep eating healthy and exercise saturday and sunday.
I'll check in on Sunday night!

I always tell myself, "nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels." Seems to work for me, because it's true. So far, I've lost 20lbs in 7 weeks, and I feel 100% better.

Congrats! keep it up.

Amber

Sounds like you are on the right track for you.

Little changes do add up. You will get the support you need here. It won't be easy, but it sure feels good to hav those victories. Like when you don't give into cravings and when it eventually shows your hard work on the scale.

Hang in here. Share your stories. AND don't beat yourself up if you get sidetracked. That was my AH-HA moment, when I realized that oh this was going to be something I was going to have to stick to for LIFE. I REALLY don't want to do this again. So, that means I need to make small changes I can live with.

I have gradually added onto my exercise. I have revised my eating habits. Not overnite. Had my share of relapses...but saw that others were having struggles, also. Got the support here I needed.

I have lost 20 lbs. since Jan.'10. I'm sure I could have lost it faster, but then I would not be doing the "life" changes that I need to make it stay gone.

I actually think the exercise for the past 5 mos. have trimmed my body more than 20 lbs. I am fitting into clothes that I wore when I was 30 lbs less.

Like Pallzy said, when you get smaller, you feel better physically and emotionally. I really think this is as much a mental process as a body one. That's why it is important to get emotional support from these boards.

Believe me no one willunderstand your struggle like the people here.

Barb

I love that saying..."nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels", I have a friend that is having a hard time with self-indulgence no matter what I say to her so I am going to text that to her so that she can use it as her mantra! thanks

When I wanted that ice cream nothing could stop me. I started on a treadmill and lifting light weights.(I have fibromyalgia) I would keep a chart with the calories I burned after each workout right in my face on the refrigerator next to the ice and water dispenser. On the bottom of the chart I wrote 2 cups ice cream-600 calories. That would be the least I would eat. If the ice cream wasn't there I would eat 10 of my husband's oatmeal cookies that he had 2 of with his coffee. I would go to the fridge and see my charts and fill a glass with ice and water and have as many as I could until the craving stopped. Something about an hour workout and killing it with 2 cups of ice cream helped . No more ice cream in the house. I am not able to take a little bit..I have an addiction to sugar My husband has his cookies at work. I was never really more than 10 lbs.over my ideal weight. But my stomach was obnoxious. Now my stomach is so much better and the water drinking I've continued after every workout. My skin also has improved, more glowing and fresh looking..

Hi ya'll, I'm new here. What has helped me get on track with my health and weight is that defining moment when all of a sudden my BP started elevating, I didn't have as much energy and over the last 25 years I had 5 kids, gained 100 pounds, got divorced, and not liking the way I looked I decided to get serious. I had my last child at 40 and knew that I wanted to be around to watch him and my grandchildren grow up. I work as a food sevice manager in a school, and am a part time asst manager at a pizza place at night.The first thing I did was stop eating at work unless it was fruit, yogurt etc.. Not pizza, or school lunches:) The next thing I did was due to a 20% pay cut I had to let my lawn guy go( I have 5 acres) and started doing the mowing and weedeating myself. A whole lot less time spent in front of the television. Also due to the pay cut I had less to spend on food and had to pack as much nutritional punch into my food budget as I could. I still have a 14 and 6 year old at home and want to make sure there are healthy budget friendly choices at home. I also quit buying icecream, chips etc and going out for ice cream is a treat about once a week. We eat more homemade popcorn, fruit, homemade muffins made with whole grains and fruit. I do a lot of smoothies or sorbets, especially with fruit I'm about to have to throw away. We also have incorporated more beans like lentils and pintos and replaced meat a couple times a week. It hasn't been easy on the kids but I told them we had developed a lot of bad habits over the years and in the long run this is best for all of us. Just making these changes has resulted in a 15 pound weight loss for myself over the last month. I'm more concerned with portion control than the kids but they aren't dealing with the weight issues that I am. I feel better knowing they are eating more nutritionally complete meals and snacks. My son has been able to be off his Miralax for a couple weeks now and I know it was because he wasn't getting enough fiber in his diet. So I guess for me seeing so much positive come out of a few changes is what helps me to be stronger than what I have been, and allowing ourselves to splurge, usually once a week. I also love to cook so we've been having fun coming up with new recipes and ideas for healthier snacks and meals. I made the kids homemade caramel corn with orange juice and blackstrap molasses and some brown sugar, no butter. They loved it.

Thank you for this quote, 2galsmom! I plan to print it out and put it on my fridge..."nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels". I believe seeing that every time I'm near food in the kitchen will really help. I just today found this blog and I appreciate every one of you so much. I have fibromyalgia and am really having a struggle with belly fat. I really despise how I look. I am struggling with exercising in that if I do very much exercise one day, it throws me back with pain and fatigue so that I have to wait several days to exercise again. I need so badly to learn to gage myself to just a little, then a little more, then a little more, etc. On days when I feel good, I just want to dive in. Does anyone else have this problem? I really lose patience with this and I get discouraged. I want to lose weight!

I am new to the site....evenings after dinner are the worst! I am trying, though!