Looking for Newbies with a large amt of weight to lose..

[Tuckervill]

Way to go! I'm down just 30 lbs in a little more than a year, but it's all good. I'm having a bit of trouble with motivation currently. It's pervasive in every aspect of my life, actually. I went on a cruise in January, thought it would help get some perspective, but it's been worse. The weather has not helped at all. I'm needing a large block of sunshine. When it's nasty I can barely get out of bed. I'm probably depressed but I can't tell if it's just the season or a serious depression. Ah well. I'll figure something out.

I'm going to go back and look at my posts earlier in this thread. Could be good, could be bad.

Karen

[Grog]

Welcome to TE Idealmuse, I hope you find more inspiration here.

[Idealmuse]

Thanks Grog... I'm going to need the Bike help I think... And clothing help I need to pick out some gear!

Tuck - I hear you on the motivation thing. I struggle with that too not so much with the exercise lately but other aspects of my life. Luckily as far as eating I record that online so it keeps me in check. I aim for as close to 1000 calorie deficit I can per day. BTW if your really serious you think it might possibly be depression Wellbutrin has really helped me which in turn has helped the weight loss also. You might just be in a seasonal funk though lots of people get that.

[Melalvai]

Like Kathy above I've lost just under 90lbs but the difference there is I'm not yet done. I still need to lose about 65lbs more. I know 100 sounds like a lot, but if you just take it a small bit at a time it's not so bad. I went from size 26 (Tight!) to mostly 16's now. (I'm 214 and 5'5) I haven't weighed this little for 15 years.

Wow. You are an inspiration! I've never been much overweight myself, but I really admire people who can do that.

[Jen-Jen]

Hi All- I too am a large woman, who needs to shed pounds. When I was in high school I was a weight lifter and I kept most of my weight undercontrol with track, volleyball and softball. But, I got older and I excercise less and less. I put on 100 lbs. I weighed in at 237.

Obesty is a large problem in my family. I was then diagnosed with polycycstic ovaries which slows down your metabolism and increases your sugar. It also slows down or wipes out your monthly cycle, making it hard for me to conceive a child. I then took another blow 2 yeas ago when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I wanted to cry when Dr. Taylor told me that I was going to have to live with this for the rest of my life. I didn't cry, instead I chose to join my husband and change my life with excercise, again.

Much like you I completed my first metric century last year at the OHR. (One Helluva Ride). I have not lost all my weight, but I am happy and proud that I have started and weight in at 212, now.

This year I am going to complete a full century and I am very excited about that!

Hope to see you all on the road.

Jen

[tulip]

It's wonderful to hear your success stories. I was always a bit heavy--maybe 15-20 lbs, not a huge deal but enough to make me feel bad about myself. A couple of years ago, I dropped it. I got down to where I feel and look great and it has made a huge difference. I did it by eating MORE--more fruit and protein and veggies. I stopped drinking coffee (which meant triple grande whole-milk lattes every day) and I stopped eating the cakes that 4Bucks calls muffins. That in itself was probably close to 1000 calories, and I did it every day. Even though I was commuting on my bike 28 miles every day, I was eating whatever I had burned off before I even got to the office.

Keep up the good work. It's nice to know that we can change ourselves, that we are not powerless.

[Tuckervill]

Props to Jen. Keep it up, girl!

Karen

[salsabike]

Tuckervill, have you considered investing in one of those lights used to treat Seasonal Affective Depression? Something to think about.

[teigyr]

Tuckervill, Salsa might be right. When I first moved to WA I would always go out to run and ride. I figured I liked rain (coming from Calif, I had no idea what I got myself in to!) and didn't mind cooler weather. My activity started becoming less frequent though the change was so subtle, I didn't recognize it. Before I knew it, I just wanted to sleep all the time.

What worked for me was forcing myself to get out. I'm stubborn and if I have a goal (weekly mileage or weekly workouts), I will make sure I accomplish it or else I feel like a failure. It's a mixed blessing because it gets me out but I quite often feel like a failure

Take care of yourself and I'm glad you are recognizing it for what it is. Hopefully it will either go away (in which case you'll know it's winter) or you'll be able to treat it.

Oh and since moving up to here, I gained maybe 25 lbs? It hasn't gone away yet. It needs to.

[Tuckervill]

I should get one of those lights, and I've thought so for many years. Just about the time I can't take it anymore, February ends and the sun comes out. This has been the grayest winter in recent memory. Living in the South, you'd think I wouldn't have a problem with getting enough light...I sat in the sun for hours on Tuesday...but maybe I do.

I have a history of depression (started with postpartum with my last child). I have been on and off anti-depressants since then, the last time being while my son was in Iraq. Today, I forced myself to go to the 8 am boot camp since I didn't get up in time for the 6 am and I almost cried all the way through it. So, I went straight to my doctor's office and they called me in some happy pills. Just admitting I need them again is tough.

One more week of February! Thanks for the encouragement!

Karen

[Tuckervill]

I found this on the Calorie King website. Weight loss success stories! Here's one about cycling:

http://www.theweighwewere.com/Read-W...ries/5086.html

Karen

[withm]

I found this on the Calorie King website. Weight loss success stories! Here's one about cycling:

http://www.theweighwewere.com/Read-W...ries/5086.html

Karen

LOL. He's in my bike club but I don't know him.

[wackyjacky1]

I feel like this thread was made just for me!

I need to lose about 50 lbs. I recently got a hybrid bike (Trek 7.2 FX WSD) so I can reacquaint myself with how it feels to be on a bicycle. Boy, am I out of shape! I just turned 45 and can tell that my body is changing -- and not for the better. Even though my job is very physical, I feel I have lost strength. For sure I don't have the stamina I used to have even just a couple of years ago.

It's baby steps for me for right now -- I'm starting off riding just a few miles a day, and will try to increase it bit by bit.

I think my biggest problem motivation-wise is the fact that I don't ever seem to lose much weight when I exercise. I feel better -- healthier -- but the weight just doesn't come off. So I tend to get discouraged and fall off the exercise wagon.

[Tuckervill]

Baby steps is right!

I didn't do well until I started logging everything I ate on Sparkpeople (but I've switched to Calorie King). Put dot coms after both of those and you have their websites.

Usually when you increase your exercise, you increase your hunger, too. That's okay--as long as you know exactly what you're eating, try to make it the good stuff, and don't overdo it.

I've noticed recently that I don't get worn out from an hour at boot camp anymore (I mean, I don't feel draggy and need a nap). That took about 4 months to get past--I suppose my body has finally adjusted. Which means I'll probably hit a plateau with with my weight loss. Which means I'll have to take another baby step. I'll be adding back cycling on my off days as soon as it's warm enough.

But definitely take it slow, make changes a little at a time instead of all at once. Bob Green always says he wants you to start moving before you address your diet, but it wouldn't hurt to start logging everything you eat right now.

Welcome to the forum!

Karen

[wackyjacky1]

Thank you so much for the welcome and the words of encouragement! I'm going to check out those websites you mentioned.

I noticed a little bit of improvement on my ride today, as far as my stamina and being able to get up a couple of little hills without thinking I might keel over, so perhaps there's hope for me.