March/April weight loss thread

[Veronica]

I think that I'm also scared. My mother is morbidly obese and was smaller than me at my age. (My dad is a stick). I'm afraid that I'm going to end up like her.

Sorry for the big blobs of thoughts.. I'm just scared and need somebody to hug me and offer to help me with this.

You do not have to look like your mother. My mother and two of my sisters are overweight. One is probably obese. My third sister was over 300 pounds when she got tongue cancer. She's now a healthy weight. Not being able to eat solid food for over a year probably added ten years to her life.

I do not look like any of them. But it takes work. No one can do that work for you. People can support you, but no one can do the work for you. It took me a long time to figure that out. For years I tried to get my husband to police my food. It caused a bit of stress in our marriage. Eventually he said he wasn't going to do that anymore. I've always worked out, but I love to eat. Nine years ago I weighed 180 pounds. I lost thirty pounds in 4 months when I took charge of my eating.

It's not easy. In the last nine years I've been as low as 148 and as high as 158. I'm currently revamping my food intake again because I want to drop some body fat. There are things I want to eat or drink that aren't in the plan. It's not easy. There are habits that are hard to break.

Hi my name is Veronica and it's been two weeks since I've had a Red Bull.

The mind is an amazing thing. Start with writing down what you eat and analyzing it. It can be eye opening, particularly if you eat a lot of fast food. You can lose weight, but it won't be easy and it will take time. Sometimes visualizing helps. I keep the image in my head of a gallon jug full of fat. That's what I want to get rid of. It's disgusting, but it keeps me from eating a lot of junk and gets me working out more.

You can take charge. Good luck!

Veronica

[SAMbike]

I hear your frustration and fear and understand... I'll add the following two suggestions:
- Try a program like FitDay where you actually record all of the food you eat - it is an eye opening experience and makes me much more conscious of what I eat because I know I will record it. Ok, somedays I don't, especially on days when I eat m&m or a dove bar and really don't want to see the total, but then I get back to it... it's a gradual process and let's you see how much you are actually in control of what you eat
- Try putting notes to yourself in different places - for example, in the drawer where we keep the granola bars I have a note to myself that says "how about a piece of fruit instead?" I can't then be mindless about grabbing it, I have to think and consider my options. I'm not locked in to the options, just make myself think about them

I hope this helps!!!

One other thing - for those of you in the mid-atlantic DC area, the current issue of Spokes magazine has an excellent article by Nancy Clark talking about The Biggest Loser - I wish I could find it online... it's the kind of article that is good to read, and re-read periodically.

[Susan Otcenas]

Polly,

Please know that all of us here are very supportive of what you're trying to do! Having this group to lean on - a group who knows that it's a daily struggle - has been a big comfort for me.

Now, because this is text, and we are not two gals chatting together on the sofa, what I'm about to write may come across as unfeeling or unsympathetic, which is NOT my intent. Please understand that! Here goes...

No one can do this for you but you. All of the challenges you've had/have are part of who/what you are, but they don't have to control your life. YOU control how you choose to move through the world, what you put in your mouth, and what you decide to expend your energy on.

It is NOT easy. In fact, it's d@mn hard. Every single day, I make very deliberate and conscious decisions about every single thing I eat. I record everything - if I don't I'm only lying to myself, and what's the point of that? Not recording it doesn't mean I didn't eat it. Much like Veronica, I visualize the consequences of my eating choices all the time. "If I eat *that*, I'll have pleasure for 5 minutes, but will expend an hour on the treadmill to burn it off. Hhhmm, is it worth it?" Sometimes, yes, it IS worth it. Other times, no, that scoop of ice cream is not worth the effort required to burn it off and suddenly I just don't want it anymore.

Your mother, your ex, your car accident, your school schedule... At the point at which you are deciding "eat this or not?", none of those people/things are standing these beside you making you DO anything. It's just you and you alone. You have only yourself to fall back on. You have only yourself to be accountable to right at that moment. If losing weight, or eating more healthily is something that is important to you, you must find it *within yourself* to make the appropriate decision at that moment.

Making time for exercise is the same way. You must choose to prioritize it in your life. You have to be doing it for yourself, not because someone else wants you to, or cracks the whip for you.

It's very very very hard for me to drag my tired butt out of bed at 5 or 5:30 every morning to get my workouts in. But my life is such that that is the only time I have for it. I've decided my health and well-being are important enough to me that I'm prioritizing it. I'm prioritizing ME.

Sure, my yard looks like crap, and I should clean the bathroom more often than I do, and I really need to organize my home office, and I have a stack of mail that needs to be attended to... But something had to give, and I decided that those are things that I had to sacrifice in order to prioritize ME.
Because I'm worth it, dang it.

You need to decide that you are worth it. It makes every decision afterwards so much simpler.

I'm worth it.

YOU are worth it. Believe in yourself.

If we were sitting together on my sofa right now, I'd give you a big huge hug.

Susan

[channlluv]

Can we make that a group hug?

As one who has struggled with weight since childhood, and today am 100+ lbs overweight, I know very well what you're going through, too. It's a daily series of decisions. Some days I do better than others.

Since I found cycling, I have such a brighter view of myself, I can't even tell you. I have a better body image now than I did when I was 25 and my then-husband was asking me daily how much I weighed...over 150? Bad girl. No dessert for you. I'm not kidding. I understand about the abusive boyfriend.

It's been a really long road, I have to tell you. If only I'd been on wheels the whole time.

I'm checking in on the weight loss a day early because I'm traveling to Florida today and may not have Internet access tomorrow...


241!!!

Roxy

[jobob]

Oh dear, I've fallen way behind on all this. You'd best count me out for the time being.

BTW, I've enjoyed all the posts from the last couple of weeks.

Here's a group hug:



Best wishes on your goals!

Cheers, - Jo.

[minn]

Susan, your post was incredible. Thank you for sharing your insight. Perfect example of why online forums are wonderful- great words can reach more people!

Weighed in today- 133.5 Will have to be extra conscious of what I eat as I travel home for a holiday (and not just any holiday, one filled with TONS of easter candy).

[Mistie]

146 lbs! Back down this week.

[txred9876]

258.8!

Finally at the 25 pound loss mark!!

Tina