Some help: How I went from 175 lbs. to 115

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
And back up to 125 :smile: but, hey, I won't let it get beyond that!!! :smile: I'm not sure this will work for everyone, but since weight loss is a big topic here, I thought I'd tell what I did.

1/ I saw a Nutritionist who explained that fad diets don't work (I'd been doing Atkins with mixed up/down results and, the bottom line, my cholestral leaped). I set my calorie limit.

2/ I decided I couldn't do eight plain glasses of water a day--yuk. I would buy bottles of Splenda, calorie free flavored water and drink them. I don't think it hurt me. Even calorie free soda was taboo. Salt abounds. For some reason, I don't lose much when I drink even Diet Pepsi. I never drink sugared soda!

3/Cut out ALL sugar in favor of Splenda. No, it doesn't taste that good, but you get used to it. After a week I no longer craved sugar anyways. It was amazing. That made it easy to pass up cake, candy, pasta, and other carbohydrates that are high calorie. I used Splenda for everything.

4/I truly don't think you can lose if you don't work out too. and nobody hates to work out more than me. At the onset, I worked out at the YMCA gym an hour a day. I HATED IT, but I hated the way I looked and felt even more. Now I do 45 minutes most days. I do skip a day now and then, but I didn't skip many days at first.

5/ Stayed out of restaurants and fast food places. I can go now and not order.

6/I weighed myself every single day. I know you're not supposed to, but it helped me. If I saw I'd gained any weight (and it happened seldom), I'd REALLY watch it that day. I still weight myself every day. I find that when I DON'T, that is when my weight spirals out of control because I don't pay attention to it.

As the weight started rolling off and especially when people did double takes and asked, "Is that really you?" it was easier to do it. I wish I knew how to post pictures. I'd show a before/after picture. It's like somebody stuck a pin in me and deflated me...lol. And for 53, I'm in amazing health. All my statistic, including cholesterol, are really good. I run up and down the stairs with no hands like a twenty year old. I have no diabetes or annoying illnesses that pop up after forty. I feel twenty-five. I look young too.

Hope these little tidbits helped. And don't think you "can't" give up chocolate or sweets. Anyone can. After a few days you stop craving it.
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Thanks MWM - that's exactly the message that I needed this morning...

I too used to believe it was bad to weigh myself each day, but I feel like I stay on track better when I do.

I am going to really really try to give up sugar today. I already use splenda in my coffee, in fact, I am so used to the taste that I don't like it with sugar. But I eat sugary crap all the time. Thanks again.
 

Sue C

Active Member
Does Splenda have Nutrasweet in it? I read that Nutrasweet changes brain waves, and I sure don't need that. I have a seizure disorder on top of MS!!

p.s. Thanks for the inspiration this morning!!
Sue
 
Sue C, Splenda doesn't have Nutrasweet in it. I can't use Nutrasweet - it makes me really sick. Splenda is the only artificial sweetner I have found that I can tolerate. It doesn't leave a nasty aftertaste like other artificial sweetners do. It is supposed to be made from sugar, how, I don't know... WFEN
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
MWM

Good sound advice. One has to focus on healthier, not "dieting".

Until I did that, I really didn't get anywhere, or at least not for long. And I found that if I even sort of thought of it as "dieting" I craved everything I really shouldn't eat 10xs worse than ever. Especially sweets, and I'm not a big sweets fan.

I've crept back up too. Partly because it's winter, and more so cuz I'm holding a ton more water than normal. I'm really having the watch my foods now that the kidney's are really getting bad.

Splenda was my savior. lol I actually love the stuff. And it's the only sweetner I can tolerate in coffee or cereal. (a big deal for me) I drink iced tea with Spenda in it, but am going to try your water combo and see if it tastes good to me. Thanks for the tip! I'm supposed to drink water. Mostly all water. But it gets really old fast.

And you're right about exercise. I hate to exercise. And when I started, well I'm not exactly the healthiest person, so I had to be careful. So I started walking the dogs. Or they started walking me. (all my dogs pull on the leash til they tire lol ) We started out at just 2 blocks. Worked our way up to 4 miles a day. If I thought I couldn't go on, the dogs just would pull me along. lmao I dropped weight, my chubby Molly dog dropped weight. And my dogs thought I was the most wonderful master in the world! :smile:

I think the trick to exercise is finding something you LIKE to do. It's easier to stick to it. I had a doctor tell me once that people don't realize how many calories you burn up just doing routine housework every day, or working in the yard or garden. The trick was to do it with gusto and little or no breaks. lol (I discovered he was right, and was surprised at how many breaks I normally took doing that stuff)
 

Kathy813

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I lost 10 pounds on Weight Watchers five years ago by religiously counting points. I have to admit that I didn't exercise at all. I do walk a lot at school, though.

Keeping a journal was the answer for me. I also weighed each and every day. I still do and for the most part have kept it all off.

~Kathy
 
Midwest Mom, Way To Go!!! You deserve to be very proud of yourself!!! It is so hard to keep weight off permanently!!! I agree with you - I don't think fad diets work in the long run... Do you still really hate to exercise??? WFEN
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I have an advantage though. I was always thin until (drumroll) Paxil. So it was maybe easier to lose the weight. BUT...I really do make sure I have no sugar. It really puts weight on you--it's not a productive carbohydrate, like broccoli or Yogurt (I have lots of Splenda based Yougurt) plus oatmeal. I also think exercise is mandatory, and, if you're over 40, I truly believe you make your life richer and yourself younger with exercise. Also, I don't smoke, but I think smoking plus overweight is the biggest health risk to people over 40. I"m not sure even exercise can overcome smoking and obesity, so I'm a pest and try to get people to quit...lol. My hub finally did! Back to the weight, I work out 45 min. a day. I hate every single minute of it :smile: but I do it. I counter the horrific time by reading and sometimes even editing my books. You haven't lived until you've tried writing on a treadmill :smile:
 
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