We all need to lose some serious weight

[Copabanana]

I think once a week weighing is also good. I do better with daily for a variety of reasons. We are each different.

I agree with Nomad, about all of it.

I cannot weigh daily. If I do I go nuts. I lose heart if I gain a few ounces, or do not lose; I weigh myself, 25 times a day, etc. But if I do not weigh I deceive myself. I am coming to the idea that weighing once a week for me is the most desirable. It is the trend that makes sense.

There are experts that recommend weighing several times a week at a specific time of day and taking an average of say, three weights to determine an average for that week. Because it is true, weight varies for all kinds of reasons, not only because of fat loss.

I am so heartened that I am losing weight. It makes such a difference to my self-esteem and hope for the future. I know this should be focused upon healthfulness and longevity. But it is so much more for me. I want to feel proud of myself, vital and active, and in control, to the extent I am able.

With just this week, seeing downward progress, I am thinking of returning to Brasil to dance. It has been 5 years. Dancing besides loved ones, was the most important thing to me. More than my career.

CB. I hope that you are feeling the incentive and confidence that you will find a way that works.

 

[JaneBetty]

I am doing intermittent fasting. The variation that works for me (or I hope it does) is the 5/2 where two days a week you radically lower your caloric intake, in my case, to less than 600 calories a day.

Copa, I started intermittent dieting in January, and it works for me too! I was going to recommend this method, and you beat me to it : )

I fast twice a week for a 24 hour period, drinking only black coffee, water with lemon juice, and a little chicken broth (it's pretty salty, so I don't drink too much). I make sure to stop eating around 7pm the evening before, and I break the fast at 7pm on the "fast" day, so I am able to look forward to the evening meal.

It's an oddly spiritual experience to avoid eating for a 24 hour period, and I have found after almost a month of eating this way that I have a better attitude towards meal preparation. I was raised a Catholic, and a diet that involves sacrifice seems to work for my personality.

I'm more interested in cooking the day after a fast. My husband is generally supportive of what I am doing, though in the beginning, he called my fasting days "black days," because he enjoys thinking about food, shopping for food, cooking and eating together. He is also thin, and has never struggled with his weight!

I also found my old Fitbit, plugged it in, and was glad it still worked as it motivates me to move around more during the day.

I have lost five pounds so far this month, and though that seems like a small amount of progress, I will continue fasting, because I eat what I like on non-fasting days, and I don't have to obsess about calories on a daily basis.

 

[Jabberwockey]

I have lost five pounds so far this month, and though that seems like a small amount of progress

No such thing as a "small" amount of progress. Progress is progress. One thing to keep in mind with all of this is that, just like with ANY type of addiction or lifestyle change, setbacks WILL occur. We just have to put our heads down and plow through it.

Ok, should probably explain that. When I was in the military, the forced marches were rough for me. Several people kept telling me to keep my eyes on the prize, in other words keep looking towards where we were going so you would get the feeling of making progress. As these marches were rarely less than 10 miles this never worked for me because I couldn't see the finish line. What worked for me was looking down at my feet and focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Ten miles seemed too much but one more step was doable. Kind of went into robot mode where all I focused on was my feet and the feet of the person in front of me. So now when I feel like I cant keep doing it, metaphorically speaking, I put my head down and focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Woke up exhausted this morning. I haven't been sleeping well because I'm worried about a friend who had a kidney removed on Tuesday. So when I woke up this morning feeling like I had barely slept at all I had to force myself to get on the elliptical. Once I got going my mantra was "Just for a minute". I was tired and sore and my heart wasn't in it but I could do it for just one more minute. After a couple of minutes it became "Just till the end of this song" which got me through my currently meager excuse for a workout.

And thanks to everyone for the congrats on quitting smoking! It may or may not last this time but for now, I'm not doing it.

 

[Copabanana]

Its a lifestyle change.

Jabber. I smoked in my early as a very young woman and quit very young, too. I went to a group at Kaiser Permanente, a large health care system where I lived. The group leader said lifestyle change, for smoking too, was everything.

To the extent that the first 6 weeks of the group was preparation to quit! We switched brands. If we were menthol we stopped that. We would stop smoking in the morning. We identified every trigger to smoke or companion to smoking and we broke those links. This extended to friendships and recreational activities. If we went to bars and drank, we stopped going to bars; we distanced ourselves from our companions who did. It was brutal, but the only way.

For many years I still wanted to smoke, but I knew if I took one puff I would be a goner (I loved to smoke. I loved menthol. I still do. Almost 40 years later if I think about how it feels to smoke, I want to. Still. Just as you found the strategy to keep marching one step at a time, that discipline is in you with smoking, too. You control whether a cigarette gets into your hand. You control whether you raise it to your lips.

My mother smoked her whole life and stopped in her early 60's. A trigger for her was coffee drinking. She never again had a cup of coffee. She switched to tea.

It may or may not last this time but for now, I'm not doing it.

You see, it is about consciousness, and following through. From everything I know about you Jabber you are in the 99th percentile in each trait.

Even though I smoked only a short time, I have mild Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) now. (I wrote in another post about the air purifier I bought for my bedroom. Just taking a deep, clean breath of air, feels to me to a greatest of gifts.) I took so much for granted.

stop eating around 7pm the evening before, and I break the fast at 7pm on the "fast" day

Hi tandemandme.

I only started this in earnest last week. (I did it a few days maybe 6 or 8 months ago, but could not sustain it. I think I tried to be too ambitious.) There are so many versions. This time I tried to stay under 600 calories each day, ignoring the time of day I ate. I admire Dr. Jason Fung whose videos and articles are on the internet. when I reviewed his work I realized that I was depriving myself of the health benefits, and actually doing Caloric Restriction, not intermittent fasting.

Like you are doing, Dr. Fung espouses the idea that the important thing is the fasting, the dedicated space of time without food. He talks about the health benefits far beyond weight loss. Yesterday I tried it: it was not so hard.

If I can drink coffee and tea, I find it pretty easy to fast for 16 to 20 hours a day. (I do not think I could do it for 24, like you do.) I drink milk and Splenda in my coffee and tea. Dr. Fung, reluctantly, does allow milk in coffee because he says it greatly improves compliance. (Honestly. Eliminating the milk in coffee is something I do not believe I could do. It is crazy what we get attached to.) But I am having a hard time in letting go of the Splenda, even though I know it is unhealthy, over and above the metabolic consequences.

I am encouraged (and happy for you) you are doing so well. I am no physician but I would think the moderate way you are fasting would only have long-term and short-term benefits. Dr. Fung says that this regimen mimics the way our ancestors, the cavemen, lived and ate.

A grazing-type diet, punctuated by large meals never gives our system a rest, and floods our bodies constantly with hormones. It helps me that the science makes sense to me.

It is very helpful to me that you posted about your experience. Than you.

 

[Lil]

Okay...so...I hadn't chimed in on this thread because I really didn't know what to say. Like Jabber, I do appreciate the kudos on the quitting smoking. I can't say I don't want a cigarette, but I'm not having one and that's good. Actually we quit last January and stayed quit for 9+ months, began again at the end of September when our son took off for Colorado, and quit again a week before Thanksgiving. It's not the first time we've quit...we quit for 8 years once and started again...idiots. lol I used to be that person who could bum a smoke and not want one for a month...not any more though...now they make me start craving. And we quit cold-turkey each time. No pills or gum, though I always have tried to taper off. Still, we never smoked much. 1/2 pack a day.

I have to admit, the weight/diet/exercise thing has me disheartened and frustrated. There was a time...not so terribly long ago...less than 10 years...that Jabber and I lost a LOT of weight. I lost 100 lbs. It took me two years. Oh the first 70 came off in the first year, about half that without even exercising, but after that I struggled for every ounce. It took me a full 12 months to lose the last 30 and, notwithstanding the fact that I was still about 8 lbs from being "overweight" instead of "obese", my brain said,"You're done! Congratulations! You can relax now!"

And relax we did. I relaxed my way 80 lbs up the scale. But Hey! It's not the full 100, right? I'm still a whole 20 lbs from my highest weight ever - which, at 5'10" tall...just isn't a whole lot.

So...here I am again and I'm TIRED. I haven't even started on this weight loss thing again and I'm already tired of it. You see...while I remember how much better I felt back then; I remember how hard it was too. I remember that the only thing that worked was literally watching everything and obsessing about it, writing everything down, planning in advance. I thought about food all the time. When I wasn't writing down what I just ate, I was thinking about what I eating and when I wasn't eating or writing I was thinking about what I was going to cook to eat. It was exhausting. I just wanted to STOP THINKING ABOUT IT. But then, I never started thinking about it again.

Right now, I'm just worrying about what to cook and eat. I'm admittedly not making great choices all the time. But, at least we're planning in advance what to cook and therefore we're eating out less and making somewhat better choices. I don't know if I have the energy to do more right now. But I have to...because otherwise, I'm going to die. It's that simple. I'm only 7 years younger than my mother was when she had bypass surgery and never woke up. I take Lipitor for high cholesterol. I take Metformin for pre-diabetes. I take THREE blood pressure medications. How can I know that my weight is actually killing me and be so apathetic about changing it?

@Californiablonde I suspect that your daughter is like me. I don't think she really doesn't care if she dies from fat. I think she sees it as too hard to do anything about. I think she's intimidated by the amount of weight she needs to lose - clearly 100 lbs plus. This is a frightening, overwhelming amount of weight. I'm struggling with that myself, obviously. I did before too, but I overcame it and lost it. The best advice I have for your daughter and you is one day at a time. One change at a time. Don't buy junk. I don't care how much your kids - or you - want frozen pizza or chicken nuggets or ice cream. Learn to substitute. Substitution is one of the simplist and easiest things to do. Don't buy full fat cheese...buy 2%. Don't buy soda. Buy Mio and put in water. If you really, really want pizza - thin crust veggie or Canadian bacon or chicken or ham is much less fattening than thick crust and sausage. READ LABELS. And mostly, set TINY goals. It's seems impossible to lose 100 lbs, but 10 lbs isn't that hard. You just have to lose 10 lbs. Then do that 10 times. Make it seem doable to her.

Funny lecture after what I just said, huh? But true. Believe me, I know everything about HOW to lose weight. I just got tired of doing it. But I have to get back to that myself. 10 lbs at a time.

 

[Jabberwockey]

To the extent that the first 6 weeks of the group was preparation to quit! We switched brands. If we were menthol we stopped that. We would stop smoking in the morning. We identified every trigger to smoke or companion to smoking and we broke those links. This extended to friendships and recreational activities. If we went to bars and drank, we stopped going to bars; we distanced ourselves from our companions who did. It was brutal, but the only way.

That sounds a bit harsh. I've never had to distance myself from friends who smoke. Then again, you've been quit for 40 years and I've been quit for 2 months...this time. Although I will say that each time I dealt with a trigger when quitting, it makes it easier to deal with the situation while quit. Being around smokers doesn't bother me any more than being in a bar makes me want a cigarette. My main triggers at this point are being tired and long car rides.

Like you are doing, Dr. Fung espouses the idea that the important thing is the fasting, the dedicated space of time without food. He talks about the health benefits far beyond weight loss. Yesterday I tried it: it was not so hard.

If I can drink coffee and tea, I find it pretty easy to fast for 16 to 20 hours a day. (I do not think I could do it for 24, like you do.)

Yeah, not so much on the fasting here. Lil gets outright cranky when she goes too long without food. We've never tested her blood sugar at that point but I'd bet money that it was too low. As for me, drinking on an empty stomach first makes me nauseous then hungry. Someone mentioned earlier about the benefits of the Vegan thing. Enjoy but that isn't for me. I long ago embraced my inner carnivore and we are on VERY good terms! The way I see it, our bodies were designed to consume both meat and vegetables so see no point in trying something like that. I have no problem with other people doing it, whatever works for you, but I passed the point of being able to give up meat probably before I hit double digits on my age. I grew up on a farm.

Dr. Fung says that this regimen mimics the way our ancestors, the cavemen, lived and ate.

You might want to be cautious with this logic. It may well mimic the way our ancestors ate but our lifestyles certainly don't mimic the way they lived. Look at it this way, you cant eat like an athlete training for a completion without the training regimen that goes along with it our you will pack on the pounds. I read an article somewhere about the routine Hugh Jackman was on for the last Wolverine movie to get into shape. He was eating in the neighborhood of a 5000 calorie diet with the focus being on lean meats like chicken breasts and working out for 5 or 6 hours a day. Actually, he said he was eating so much that he had trouble choking it down but the trainer insisted it was necessary. One thing we need to remember about all of this is that our bodies are engines and engines require fuel! We all have different metabolisms and react differently to too much or too little food. Know your body and adjust as you're doing this.

Below is an article I found comparing the fasting type diets versus eating six smaller meals throughout the day. Each has their positives and negatives. It was an interesting read.

http://health.usnews.com/health-new...-small-meals-a-day-whats-best-for-weight-loss

 

[Jabberwockey]

So...here I am again and I'm TIRED. I haven't even started on this weight loss thing again and I'm already tired of it. You see...while I remember how much better I felt back then; I remember how hard it was too.

Yeah, its annoying to me as well. But that's why I'm using myfitness pal and not trying to stress too much over it. I think that as long as we get a reasonable handle on how much we eat and work out more it will be ok. Hell, even if I don't loose any weight but drop a couple of inches from my waist that will be a win!! There will be good days and bad. Yesterday was bad. I consumed more calories with two items, a pint of ice cream and a mc double, than many people let themselves eat in a day. But I'll adjust and keep plugging on. Like they say, it took years to put this weight on so its only reasonable that it will take years to take it off!

 

[Copabanana]

Every single thing I say needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I know myself: I jump on bandwagons uncritically. That needs to be stated right up front.

Lil gets outright cranky when she goes too long without food.

I am like Lil. But the thing is this intermittent fasting makes me feel more stable, in equilibrium. I think my blood sugar must spike due to dietary reasons. What I said in an earlier post about recognizing that eating a small piece of salmon stabilized and satisfying my cravings, must be related to this.

obsessing about it, writing everything down, planning in advance. I thought about food all the time

This is why the intermittent fasting seems to work psychologically better for me. I can just forget about food. (I mean, not really, but because I have chosen that it is out of the question, I seem to be letting it go--for right now, at least.

As far as the smoking goes, M smokes. It is not likely that you would consider distancing yourself from Lil, nor she, with you, to conquer an addiction. So, I agree, it is extreme. At that point I was in my mid twenties. There was not much I could not change, so I did.

I don't know what to say about the risks of intermittent fasting. I am just as preoccupied by the risks of fat. I am overweight, maybe 10 percent below the normal cut off. But even still, my cholesterol is sky high. And my self-esteem because of the overweight is low, which translates into every part of my life.

Intermittent fasting is an age-old practice. Not just for the cavemen or for health reasons, but nearly every major religion incorporates some sort of fasting into ritual and practice. Without paying attention to it, all of us fast every day, really, when we breakfast, or break-fast. Intermittent fasting only extends that window to the extent we choose. A 16 hour fast, by not eating breakfast until 10 am and finishing dinner at 6 pm, appears to work for many people, both to restore health and lose weight. My grandmother ate like this her whole adult life and she never bat an eye. She did not see it as intermittent fasting, but it was.

Now, I admit I am trying to be more extreme, because I want to jump start the process. This extremism seems part of my personality, but it is not necessary. I admit that.

 

[BusynMember]

Try the awesome new Simply Filling weight watchers diet alternative. You dont even have to count points...ypu just eat fr a ratherblong list of acceptable foods and still lose weight.

I gained after my accident when so couldn't work out. Exercising is always mandatory to lose weight and good health.

 

[Lil]

I started intermittent dieting in January, and it works for me too!

Like you are doing, Dr. Fung espouses the idea that the important thing is the fasting, the dedicated space of time without food. He talks about the health benefits far beyond weight loss. Yesterday I tried it: it was not so hard.

One of Jabber's sisters has lost a LOT of weight doing intermittent fasting. She eats something like 500 calories some day and then 1700 the rest. (That's totally a guess.) So I guess it works. But, I can't imagine doing that really. In college, one of the many fad diets was fasting every other day. Literally, water or diet soda but zero calories. Unlike most fad diets, it worked. But most like most fad diets, once you went back to normal eating, you gained. We weren't learning how not to overeat you see...still eating what made us fat in the first place on our non-fasting days.

Yeah, not so much on the fasting here. Lil gets outright cranky when she goes too long without food. We've never tested her blood sugar at that point but I'd bet money that it was too low.

Big time. As I've said, I'm taking Metformin because I've been told I'm pre-diabetic. I was on it 3 months, was tested again and there was no change at all. I have another check up in a couple months. They say Metformin will help you lose weight. I've gained. But that is what it is. Even though my sugar has never been high before this...I think I've always had problems with it being low. Even when I was in my 20's, my old boss after a long trip to court once told someone, "You have to feed Lil. She get's mean if she's hungry!" In the last several years though, its gotten worse. If I go too long without eating, I actually get shaky to the point that I have trouble putting a key in a lock. It's a scary feeling, so I watch that pretty close.

When it comes to eating like our ancestors...that only goes so far. After all, our ancestors worked hard all day so they ate a ton of calories. Copa isn't at all wrong that eating like a cave man - meaning cut out all processed food, not eating raw meat and berries - is a good thing. But I like to eat like my ancestors - my hard-working farmer ancestors - which unfortunately includes a lot of bacon and gravy and biscuits. LOL

The thing I liked best about WW was that you literally could eat whatever you wanted - so long as you counted it. If you wanted cake, eat cake. You might not be able to eat anything for dinner but lettuce, so you have to plan ahead, but it's doable. You have to plan ahead. WW really DID teach you how to eat, how to change your eating lifestyle. But we stopped living that new life and went back to the old one.

Exercising is always mandatory to lose weight and good health.

Yep. And I hate it more than you can possibly imagine.

 

[Jabberwockey]

Every single thing I say needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I know myself: I jump on bandwagons uncritically. That needs to be stated right up front.

I wasn't criticizing Copa, just stating my personal point of view on it. I'm a firm believer that its all in the math, burn more calories than you consume to lose weight and burn as many as you consume to maintain. Obviously its not quite that simple. If I consumed 2000 calories a day in ice cream and nothing else, even if I'm doing the exercise, I still wont be healthy.

 

[Jabberwockey]

But I like to eat like my ancestors - my hard-working farmer ancestors - which unfortunately includes a lot of bacon and gravy and biscuits. LOL

Hehehehe!!! Preach it!! LOL!

 

[Copabanana]

One of Jabber's sisters has lost a LOT of weight doing intermittent fasting.

Lil. This was the first time I had heard of intermittent fasting, when you posted about your sister in law. I had not remembered this. Than you.

Lil. What about doing the 16 hour version, where your first meal is at say, 10 am when you begin your feeding window, and finishing dinner by 6 pm, and not eating after dinner? Could you envision something like this?

The thing I liked best about WW was that you literally could eat whatever you wanted - so long as you counted it

The Weightwatcher system changed in 2015 I think. Many people hated it. I tried it. I ate almost nothing. I was allowed say 24 points. I ate 50. Eating nothing. They have changed the system so you are penalized by poor choices. Greatly. You are steered to eat only healthy foods, so really anymore you cannot eat what you want.

After that is when I went to eating 9 cups of salad a day, a whole bag of Costco Salad. I threw out half the dressing. I gained 2.5 pounds in a couple of weeks. Forget it.

It all goes back to what works. And I agree with Jabber: what works in the short run is not necessarily in one's long term interests. Witness: we got fat by poor short-term choices. For 2 years I went to a nutritionist each month. I lost 7 pounds a year. On her system, I lost zero. I ate less than she recommended. And still, a half pound a month? Give me a break.

I may not be doing the smartest thing now, but I see change. I see the possibility of change. I am 10 percent above the healthy range for my height. I am 20 percent from my goal weight. I am going to do this.

 

[AppleCori]

Hey Lil,

We coined the term "hangry" in honor of one of my older daughters. (Hungry/angry)

We tried out "crankgry" but it didn't sound as good....

 

[AppleCori]

What works for me is simply this: eat less, eat healthy foods, drink lots of water, and exercise.

No magic bullets for me.

 

[Copabanana]

I wasn't criticizing Copa, just stating my personal point of view on it.

Jabber. I did not take it is critical. Not one bit. I know who I am. I cop to it.

Jabber. You are practical; a realist, I think. Why not look at Dr. Jason Fung's work. He is a nephrologist. I think you would find the science interesting.

 

[Jabberwockey]

I will Copa, just can't do it at work. I'm pushing it being on here.

 

[Lil]

Hehehehe!!! Preach it!! LOL!

Obviously, my husband feels the same way. We are definitely two of a kind.

Lil. What about doing the 16 hour version, where your first meal is at say, 10 am when you begin your feeding window, and finishing dinner by 6 pm, and not eating after dinner? Could you envision something like this?

I don't know. I definitely need to not eat so late, so probably could stop, but not necessarily by 6, because I don't even get home by 6 a lot of nights. I think the 16 hour stretch might be a bit too long. I don't know. It's not like I've never slept to noon and not eaten after all.

They have changed the system so you are penalized by poor choices. Greatly. You are steered to eat only healthy foods, so really anymore you cannot eat what you want.

Well they just lost a possible customer. The best part of WW was the "everything in moderation" philosophy. The fact that there was nothing "forbidden" kept you from feeling deprived. You could go to a birthday party. You could go out for pizza. You just had to plan.

We coined the term "hangry" in honor of one of my older daughters. (Hungry/angry)

Pity you didn't trademark that. You could have made some money now that it's used all the time. lol

 

[Jabberwockey]

The best part of WW was the "everything in moderation" philosophy.

Remember when they limited the effects of fiber on points? When people were sprinkling the shake on fiber onto ice cream to lower its point value? Probably the same thing here, too many idiots thinking they can eat fast food all the time and get their bulk by eating a ton of lettuce. When this DOESN'T let them lose weight, they blame the plan not their own actions. I acknowledge that I eat entirely too much ice cream. I will never give it up, but I do also acknowledge that I cant eat it all the time. Everything (within reason, which is what SO MANY tend to forget) in moderation.

 

[RN0441]

I started WW January 3. I then had four days of a horrible flu bug.

Today I weighed myself and have lost 7# to date. I feel really happy that some weight has come off. I've been following the diet pretty closely but try to eat things I like that have FLAVOR or else I just can't do it. For dinner I'll have a chicken breast, a hamburger patty or steak for example and salad or low point veggie mix. Fruits and veggies are zero points and you can eat til you bust. The dressing counts but there are great dressings now that are less points. I've eaten veggie pizza. I drink wine and vodka and lemonade. I have some cookies that I eat for my chocolate fix and I keep Hershey kisses in the fridge for the same reason.

I sit at a desk all day. I have found a walking buddy and we walk 1-2 miles a few days a week during lunch. It takes 30-40 minutes. We walk in the cold also. If it's too cold we walk in the parking garage. I also walk 8 flights of stairs a few times on the off days or as much as I can.

It's hard to lose weight as we age but once you get on a roll it gets easier.