weight loss support?

[Thistle]

I absolutely agree!

A year and a half ago I started eating healthy (no diet-just a complete lifestyle change). Six meals a day, vitamins, and a lot of water. I began exercising (at home, I cannot afford a gym membership) every single day and shed over 60+ inches. My family has been very supportive and I have become increasingly active. I went from a size 20 to my current size 6.
I am now focusing on building more lean muscle and toning.

That is so inspiring. And that's how i feel, i dont want to diet, i want to eat healthy food and exercise every day. I feel inspired by seeing others here who want to do it too. Thank god for bike riding - it's the one form of exercise i love

If anyone has any tips for overcoming the need to stuff unhealthy food in my mouth everytime someone upsets me i'd really appreciate it - i know it's cos i dont have the courage to tell them how i really feel . i'm definitely an emotional eater no doubt about that.

But having read other people's posts, i'm inspired to make a start on eating healthy again.

[pooks]

I'm a lifetime member of WW but I never felt "great" on that program.

Years later my husband wanted to do the Zone Diet because so many people at work had raved about it. There were some extreme results -- one woman who had been diagnosed with MS, was on the appropriate drugs, was having to take a nap or rest twice a day at work, etc. went on it, lost weight that she'd been carrying since she was a teenager, and ended up off all meds, and (as my husband said) so "cheerful and high energy she's disgusting." A guy who was a runner ran his fastest time ever -- and he was in his 40s, a time when people aren't expected to be doing that.

So we went on it, loved it, and I did lose a lot of weight and felt good. But like most things, after a couple of years we started wanting the white breads and pastas again "for variety," and eased back into our old habits. (With the Zone, you give up "bad carbs/high glycemic" and eat lots of "good carbs/low glycemic" -- so you're still eating lots of veggies, fruits, etc., but give up most starches.)

Thing is, I felt great on that diet, or way of eating. Sigh. It just seems as if any "change" is destined to fail for me, because eventually I'm going to slide back into bad habits.

Anyway, what I'm really interested in personally is more the "good healthy food and exercise" that some of you have mentioned, rather than a specific diet. I think I'll always be aware of limiting starches and emphasizing good fruits and veggies, though. A lot of the Zone just made sense to me, even though I didn't stick to it.

One thing I found helpful though was to figure out a few good meals and snacks that I liked, and make sure I could always fall back on them in a pinch. When first starting the Zone I was told "don't make it complicated -- pick out a few meals and repeat them a few times if you want, to get into it."

I think that's what I need to do now. Figure out a few meals I really like, buy the right food to prepare them, and just stick to them for a week so I'm not thinking about food all the time.

That's the worst part of any "diet" for me -- I end up thinking about food all the time, because I'm constantly worrying about what we're going to eat, planning it in my head, etc!

[pooks]

We are eating healthy (not following any "diets", WW or otherwise) and biking at least 5 nights a week for a minimum of 10 miles each time. Sometimes 15miles if time allows.

In 2 months I have lost 26 pounds and 1 & 1/2 pants size.

This is very inspirational! I realize you aren't doing a true "diet" but what do you consider "eating healthy?" Are you doing things like using Splenda, limiting fats, etc? Or just sticking to basic foods, and eating smaller portions?

Or not thinking about any of those things -- just making sure you've got healthy food?

I guess what I'm wondering is, even though you say you're not dieting, do you do some basic things like portion control?

A year and a half ago I started eating healthy (no diet-just a complete lifestyle change). Six meals a day, vitamins, and a lot of water.

Same questions! Eating healthy means so many different things!

Here's a question (if you don't mind me asking). What would y'all consider an easy, typical lunch that you eat as part of your "eating healthy?"

[latelatebloomer]

theav - good thread! I tell my trainer that I'm going to write a book about my fitness journey called "Melting an Iceberg" because it's been both so full of learning experiences and SO slow. I may well have lost 100 lbs by year's end - a journey of about 5 years from when I first walked into a YMCA - and I'll always be, as my husband so sweetly said recently, applelicious. I focus on achieving ever-ascending fitness goals, and let the weight loss happen as a by-product, because if I focus on weight loss, I make myself absolutely miserable.( I was a chubby kid, and the adults around me made it THE topic of my life starting at about age 7.) It'd probably be faster if I did WW, but after a huge weight drop in the '80's doing Nutrisystem for a year - and then an even huge-r weight return - I can't stand the idea of "diets", groups, etc. I have worked with a nutritionist and would like to get back to keeping a food journal. It does help to keep the awareness up. DH can eat all dang day, so I have to be careful about just "joining in" to be sociable.

I have cut down on emotional eating, first of all by not having the junk foods of choice in the house. If I want to drown my sorrows in a pint of Ben & Jerry's, I gotta drive to a store first. Also, a pair of helpful questions that I think I might have picked up from Oprah some time back -

1)What am I feeling?
2)What do I need?

Exercise keeps me on a much more even keel emotionally. Besides cycling, I do yoga and weightlifting. I couldn't tell you how long it's been since I had one of those depressive periods where I lost myself in re-reading old novels and downing ice cream or chips. Even writing this, I think, really, I used to do that? - when it used to be common practice.
Now my emotional boost comes from riding down a great new road, or...well, this week at work, when I was picking a karaoke tune to do with my brain-injury clients, a VERY attractive younger coworker suggested "Bootylicious" and when I looked at him in shock, he smiled and said "did I say that out loud?"

I'll take that memory over a big bowl of buttered popcorn any day.

[Bikingmomof3]

Same questions! Eating healthy means so many different things!

Here's a question (if you don't mind me asking). What would y'all consider an easy, typical lunch that you eat as part of your "eating healthy?"

Here was my meal today-I have yet to have snack 3.

I also drink 32 ounces of water with each meal and I take a multivitamin

Breakfast: Yogurt and Egg Beaters with Morningstar Breakfast Patty
Snack: handful of almonds (unsalted)
Lunch: 2 slices organic whole wheat bread with Boarshead low sodum turkey breast (2 oz), 1 slice of Boarshead Natural, no sodium added Swiss cheese, and tomato. Salad with 1 tbsp craisins, and 1 tablespoon almond accents, and 1/2 a cucumber.
Snack: protein pudding (sugar free pudding made with 2 cups ff milf, and 2 scoops whey protein powder-makes 4 servings)
Dinner: 3 ounces grilled chicken, baked potato with 1 tbsp ff sour cream, 1 cup steamed broccoli
Snack 3: 1/2 cup frozen yogurt

Does that help?

[Dogmama]

Eating healthy means so many different things!

Here's a question (if you don't mind me asking). What would y'all consider an easy, typical lunch that you eat as part of your "eating healthy?"

BikingMom's lunch sounded good. And it would be transportable - I take my lunch and snacks to work. I always plan a protein snack in the afternoon because it helps blunt end-of-day carb cravings.

I also like to make tuna with ff mayo & pickle relish & an apple for lunch. Sometimes I'll make a chicken salad & I'll have several days of lunches.

It is important that each meal have a nice amount of protein. It helps stabilize blood sugar and helps rebuild muscle.

[Triskeliongirl]

I am finding this thread really useful. It would be great if Susan could make it a regular forum sub-topic. I battled my weight all my life, and like many of you, having kids totally exacerbated it all. I did lose 50 lbs after having my kids with WW and became a lifetime member, but it didn't work for me over the long haul. I should add that when I lost the weight with WW I was also marathon training and not eating anything extra. I nearly passed out when I ran my marathon, got hypothermic, etc. I have good healthy food and exercise habits. While I have had issues with emotional eating in the passed, I am in good control of that. My problem is that I have a *very slow* metabolism so even if I follow WW to the T I won't lose (I do take thyroid meds and have my hypothroidism in good control). I bike to work daily (16 miles) an do long club rides on the weekends (~50 miles each). I do eat just enough on the bike to not bonk, and I practice portion control, but I have trouble to eat as little as my body seems to require to lose weight. I have thought of going back to WW, but if I eat my activity points I don't lose, and if I don't I bonk. I liked reading cyling mom 's food diary. I wonder if it would help for us to see both food and exercise diaries for those who are losing and maybe for those who aren't. I have also shyed away from WW because going to a meeting often means not exercising (i.e. driving instead of biking to work, missing a club ride, etc.), and I'm not sure I get that much from them. I know how to eat healthy, it just doesn't seem to work for me.

[CyclChyk]

This is very inspirational! I realize you aren't doing a true "diet" but what do you consider "eating healthy?" Are you doing things like using Splenda, limiting fats, etc? Or just sticking to basic foods, and eating smaller portions?

Sadly ,I have cut out alcohol (I used to have at leat 1-2 glasses wine each nite); no more frappachinos from Starbucks; no more glazed donuts. Just fish, chicken, green veggies; no more pasta (GOD I miss pasta); only whole grain bread; no more cheese.................... Initially finding snack foods that satisfied me was soooooo hard.... but now that I have been at this for a couple months, I find I actually crave fish for supper instead of Domino's.... fajitas without the tortilla rather than chinese takeout......... granola bars rather than Blizzards..........Subway for lunch instead of Micky D's....Promise fat free butter instead of Country Crock... sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes....

I am also doing the "6 meals" theory - 3 main meals with 3 snacks....... Occasionally I have cravings. Tonite I had a jumbo Texas margarita with my fajitas....I will have to push out an extra 2-3 miles on the bike tomorrow to make up for it. But I so enjoy biking now and seeing the weight come off is so motivating.

And yeh, smaller portions helps.

[run it, ride it]

Breakfast: 1 cup Vector cereal with 1 cup So Nice Original soy milk and one small banana sliced on top.

Snack: 1 scoop whey protein powder in 1 cup water

Snack: two clementines, apple, and fat free yogourt cup (Bio-Best.. only one I can find without gelatin)

lunch: low-fat meatless burger on two slices whole wheat bread with mushroom sliced on top and about 2cm^2 of mozza cheese. Possibly also a cookie someone at work has tempted me with. Mmm, cookies...

Dinner: 1 cup sliced veggies (but NO ONIONS) with 1 cup whole wheat spaghetti, 3cm^2 mozza cheese and 1tbsp pesto.

Snack: 1 piece of whole wheat bread with 1tsp low-sugar jam, 1 cup light hot chocolate.

I'm not sure how to eat any healthier than that--I actually had trouble in the past not getting ENOUGH fat in my diet. I'm not losing weight anytime quick, and believe me I work a hard 8 hours of labour (go through about 3L of water a day), bike 25km, groom a white horse and ride him hard.... I feel like I need so much more food, and I'm hungry ALL the time, but if I eat more than a little bit my stomach is in agony and I won't digest for hours and hours--right, and the weight piles on like nothing else.

[pooks]

I am finding this thread really useful. It would be great if Susan could make it a regular forum sub-topic.

YES! So we could subdivide into different discussions!

Pooks

[pooks]

Sadly ,I have cut out alcohol (I used to have at leat 1-2 glasses wine each nite)

The theory behind the Zone Diet is to keep your insulin levels constant all day, which means doing as others have mentioned, having smaller meals and snacks several times a day, including a small snack just before bedtime.

Since the zone is about "balancing" protein, carbs and fats, rather than going "low" this or "high" that -- you eat equal units of protein, carb and fat every time.

My favorite Zone bedtime snack was 4 oz. of wine, one ounce of low fat cheese, and a couple of olives. If I used regular cheese, I skipped the olives!

[pooks]

Reading everyone's meals is very helpful. What I see consistently is nobody is pigging out on high calorie foods, even if they're considered healthy foods. So "eating healthy" also seems to mean "eating in moderation" and cutting back in calories to those of you who are losing weight. I guess that goes without saying, but believe me, there are so many different points of view about what "healthy" means, I just had to ask!

[HipGnosis6]

I lost 40 lbs by eating a fixed menu for about six months. It was boring, boring boring....

Breakfast: 1/2 bagel, toasted and spread with light whipped cream cheese, 6 oz glass of OJ

Snack: 2 oz box of raisins

Lunch: Lean Quisine entree, diet Coke

Snack: String cheese or fat free Fudgecicle

Dinner: 4-6 oz chicken or fish lightly seasoned (never fried or with cream-based sauces), steamed vegetables

Sundays I'd "treat" myself to a nice breakfast - 2 eggs, scrambled, a sausage patty or 3 small links, a toaster hash-brown.

I tried to drink at least 2 quarts of water a day and limited myself to no more than 2 coffees or sodas.

Like I said, this was boring as sin and I couldn't stay on the diet any longer than I did. I also had a good deal of weight loss eating regularly but doing really heavy workouts (I was training to box!), but what I could do at 22 don't feel I could repeat at 31.

[ChickieBabe]

What do you all suggest would be a good way for me to "eat smarter"?

I am a grad student who has a meal plan but no kitchen (only microwave and small fridge). I know that not having junk food in my room is good, and I avoid that as best I can. All the suggested meals I've seen consist more of things I would have to make than meals I could buy or get in the dining hall.

Trying to work off the undergrad weight gain.

[Veronica]

...I also had a good deal of weight loss eating regularly but doing really heavy workouts (I was training to box!), but what I could do at 22 don't feel I could repeat at 31.

Sure you could! I was coming up on 35 when I decided to lose weight and lost 30 pounds.

For me the best weight loss program/maintenance is to get lots of regular exercise. Ideally, I like to do two workouts a day, 45 min to 90 min. each, M- Th. It rarely happens. But that's always the goal.


Today's menu:
Breakfast:Yogurt with ceral
some coffee with whole milk
a glass of organic OJ
Snack:string cheese
a peach
Lunch:a homemade romaine lettuce salad with cheese, 1 and a half slices of bacon, croutons, various veggies, two and a half tablespoons of dressing, a homemade chocolate chip cookie
Snack: a Red Bull, small bag of Cheetos
Dinner: most likely, grilled steak and some rice

V.