Obesity and addiction

[thekarens]

I am 42, 5'3 and currently weigh 153. 6 months ago I weighed 200 lbs. My two biggest problems is that food has always been a "reward" for me. If we're celebrating it involved food. If I needed comfort it involved food.......etc etc. You ge the picture. The other big issue for me is I am naturally a couch potato. I hate mornings, love late nights and all of my passions involve sedentary activities, books, tech...........

Now my partner is someone who is very active, but since we've been together 12 years she had put on quite a few pounds herself. In the last 6 months she's dropped down to 130lb (she's 5'4) and I'm still plugging away. I was very dilligent for 6 months on going to the gym, but I've gotten bored stiff, which is what lead me into researching bikes. I do love the outdoors and nature. We're big time into birding, so I thought a bike might kick start my interest with the combo of nature and exercise.

I do still struggle with wanting to use food as a reward/comfort. I imagine I always will. For me it's a daily decision on what I want more, health or fitness.

[goldfinch]

So I admit I read MOST but not all of the posts or even did that "scanning" of some posts, but this thread interested me like others...

So almost 8 years ago I was 140 pounds...but I stand only 4'10". My partner was over 200. We started cycling and did weight watchers. We both lost "most" of the weight we wanted to. I struggled with the last 5-10 pound and then over time have gained a bit more. So I still struggle with 10 or more pounds to lose. My partner has gained back almost all.

So I still run (as you know from the running thread), I still cycle...but I know I can do the "distance" so my training is ALWAYS sporadic. Almost 2 years ago I became a vegetarian. Partly for health, mostly for the animals. (I always wanted to be a vegetarian but I really was a steak eater!).

My struggles:
I like (LOVE) food.
I like (LOVE) the social aspect of food...eating out with friends
I still struggle with creating a healthy diet without meat/poultry/fish and not "carb out"
I am too tired at the end of the day to fix food
I get bored with the same thing
It's easier to pick up something
I LOVE beer and wine
I HATE doing weight training
I am too tired after work to exercise (and would rather have a glass of wine)

I know these sound like excuses and there are answers/solutions to all the above.
I also know I have done more than many women my age: cycling trips, century rides, 1/2 marathons, a full marathon...but I still struggle with nutrition and weight AND consistent training. And anyone that knows me would not consider me inactive or lazy....but I always thought is I wrote a book the title would be "Inside this athlete is a couch potato trying to take over". That is how I feel.
I DON'T want to work this hard to get fit, stay fit and lose weight. Thus I am still struggling. I think there is part of me that just doesn't want to work that hard at it, thus the list of reasons (or obstacles or excuses) listed above.

(BTW, I am built JUST like my grandmother, very short, stocky/chunky and the tiniest shoe size!)



K

You are my size!

So, is the 10 pounds that significant? Are you healthy? Could it be that you are beating yourself up too much?

[shootingstar]

Have to congratulate those who lost a significant amount of weight...and most of us who still have our little alert inner button on monitoring our daily food intake.

I haven't yet tracked on a daily basis what I eat..but I do think about vaguely each day what I do eat. It doesn't mean it's right though. I wish I didn't have to think about it even in a lazy way, but the reality is that even healthy to semi-healthy daily eating does mean thinking a bit about how a meal tastes, how it looks (portion wise, what it is), and when to eat.

The best ways for me not to go crazy is:
*Never stock sugar, white rice, candies, cookies, chips at home in the pantry.
*Eat before 7:00 pm ( I used to eat past 8:00 pm just bad. I ate less but I GAINED weight.)
*Stock fridge with a wide variety of fresh fruits (at least 2-3 different types) and veggies. Always. This is a challenge during very cold winter weeks.
*Don't buy any processed, tv dinners. (Not hard for me, since I grew up in a family where we couldn't afford to buy them.)

I went to my lst bbq when I saw my family....who haven't seen me for 12 months. Ate hamburgers only 3 times in the past 3 months. And all of this at social functions outside of home. I probably won't eat a hamburger until 8 months later. We've never been interested in preparing hamburgers at home.

But yes, I love perogies, sausage....(gourmet stuff or bratwurst) at times.

[Dogmama]

The best ways for me not to go crazy is:
*Never stock sugar, white rice, candies, cookies, chips at home in the pantry.
*Eat before 7:00 pm ( I used to eat past 8:00 pm just bad. I ate less but I GAINED weight.)
*Stock fridge with a wide variety of fresh fruits (at least 2-3 different types) and veggies. Always. This is a challenge during very cold winter weeks.
*Don't buy any processed, tv dinners. (Not hard for me, since I grew up in a family where we couldn't afford to buy them.)

I think those are great suggestions. If it isn't in the house, it won't end up in your mouth!

Processed foods, even Luna bars, etc., are weight gainers for me. Even if the calorie count for the day is the same (I'm guessing because I don't count) - those seem to add weight. I do NOT believe that a calorie is a calorie.

[indigoiis]

I think - and this is just a theory - that esp. those who get into cycling as adults (or running, or some other sport that shows such extreme & immediate improvement in health within a couple of years) that we are the TYPES who tend to be all-or-nothings, in-or-outs (as in, "I'm IN"), and like to set big goals and accomplish big things. I notice on this board that we are all pretty much achievement oriented.

Which is why I think it is easy to focus only on big gains or losses and forget about the little victories, the little good things that happen, that happen only in balance when we are doing something we love.

The body is not an exact science. I am one of those women who, as I age, pack on the saddlebags, eat like a horse, and then obsess about it. But I really think we need to think about food differently. We need to be mindful, but we also need to remember the joy in a great meal or a loaf of baked bread or that beer after a ride (I'm not a drinker, but I know what that is - that relief of cool goodness...) I think if we think creatively rather than critically about our bodies we might find we're pretty okay. It gets us where we want to go. We can move these bikes and stand up occasionally and attack a hill. I mean, come on. That's pretty awesome. It sucks that culturally we are so brainwashed about food and weight (I admit I am very bad about snap judgements when it comes to obesity) and if only we could brainwash ourselves into thinking about our bodies as really amazing, maybe some of our food issues would disappear. Maybe.

Our body is always sending messages because it's smart. I know I misinterpret those messages all the time (hunger vs. thirst, vs. loneliness/frustration/boredom/OCD... whatever.)

[katluvr]

You are my size!

So, is the 10 pounds that significant? Are you healthy? Could it be that you are beating yourself up too much?

No, my BMI is on the "high end" and went clothes shopping yesterday, mirrors don't lie. I am UP a few pounds and clothes are tight. I can/will make some changes.

I guess my point is MOSTLY I know what I need to do. I also DO more than some (exercise and try to eat healthy). Just acknowledging it is HARD and that am am the way am I partly due to genetics/body type but also because of my choices. Like most/some people I would love for it to be "easy" or find the one "pill" or one "thing" that fixes (simplifies) it all.

So what I think I really need is a in home personal chef and trainer!
(and personal shopper and house cleaner, etc)