I'm not Jo, Gemme, but, yes, the HCG diet works so well because you only consume 500 calories a day. Most of that is super high protein foods (100 grams a day) so you build muscle at the same time you shed the weight. There is a new form of it with the sublingual drops and 1,000 calories a day that I have also heard good things about.

I have never been an advocate of pill diets, or even "diets" in general, but this one has worked miracles for people who have struggled their whole lives. And, it seems VERY safe...which I can't say for many diets out there. If you are too large to manage a work out regimen, then this diet helps you lose enough initial weight so that you can begin exercising effectively.

I'll admit that I was TOTALLY freaked out when my best friend started it. In fact, I got really upset until I did some research on my own. The thing you have to remember is this is NOT a diet for someone who wants to shed a couple of unwanted pounds. The target audience is the morbidly obese. My BF can spend two hours + on the elliptical a day, jog 5 miles, and eat healthy and not lose a single pound. He is just a big guy. But, he also has an enlarged heart so it is detrimental to his health that he lose 30-50lbs. And now he is actually making progress AND he isn't starving. The key is all the protein you are consuming. No dairy, No sugar, and very few carbs. Once you wean off the carbs your body starts to consume all the extra fat you have stored.

Right...me too. Once you lose 30-50lbs and begin incorporating more exercise you can up your calories. Again, I am so NOT recommending this to anyone. I have just seen first hand that it is working really well for my BF. :)

I get occasional emails from LiveStrong and I got this one a few minutes ago. For those who use trainers or are considering getting one and/or go to a gym, I think this might be helpful.

Does the Gym Make You Fail?

When I was 13 years old I had my first experience with a personal trainer. Some might think I was too young for one-on-one training and what I needed was to spend more time running outside and less time grabbing seconds (and thirds) of my mom’s Rice Krispie treats. At the time, I was a playing a lot of tennis and my body was routinely failing me. I wanted to improve, so naturally a trainer seemed like a good solution.

It was one the best decisions I ever made as a young athlete. That summer I became faster, stronger, and a better tennis player. Unfortunately, I was also terribly lazy, quit working out, and abandoned non-sports activity for several years.

Despite my early success and many other great experiences, today’s training situation is in need of a complete overhaul if people are to become healthier.

I’ve said many times that I don’t believe in excuses. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to take care of your health, eat better, and make your way to the gym. That has not changed. Hold yourself accountable, look in the mirror, and ask yourself, “Do I care about myself?” And then follow up with, “Am I doing all I can to make myself healthy?”

If you start there every day, you’ll probably do a better job of motivating yourself to stay active and eat well.

But I also know that finding the will to exercise is not innate to most people. And eating bad foods is something that is programmed into the social fabric of our society. Those are not excuses; it’s reality. And in order to overcome those hurdles, we need help and support. Some of that can come from family and friends, but the gym is supposed to be one of the arms of support, and for the most part, it is failing miserably.

I travel and visit gyms in every state and while it genuinely hurts to say this, most facilities are bad. That’s not to say all trainers are bad. There are some incredible facilities with great staffs. And there are some bad facilities with talented trainers. But on the whole, the training business needs to change their model and become better at what they do. I’m optimistic that change can occur because many of the failures are due to a lack of effort. Take these three examples:


Distracted Trainers
If I see one more trainer playing on an iPod or talking to other people while a client is training I might have to take action. When you are training a client—especially when they are paying you good money—all of your attention should be on them. You should be watching their form, keeping them mentally focused, and letting them know that you care about their success.


Lack of Personalization
Let’s be honest: Diet is extremely important to any results you’ll see. And it’s true that many people sabotage their hard work in the gym with poor eating habits. But there is a method and madness behind training as well. A fat loss program and a muscle-building program are not the same. And yet, many trainers will design their workouts that way. It shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how to program a workout.

Listen—I am not the training expert. I am a translator who has worked with some of the smartest minds in the industry and learn from their rules, mistakes, and lessons. There is a very specific science to creating a workout and the design is determined by your goals, your strengths, and your weaknesses. Anyone who tells you otherwise—and that is many trainers—is giving you the wrong idea and is someone you can’t trust.


No Fundamental System
While personalization is important, it can go too far. Consider this the bootcamp paradox—where every workout is different and creates the "feeling" that what you're doing is correct. As I mentioned before, good workouts have a design. And great trainers have a belief system that influences how they create programs. That’s what allows you to build success; you find a plan and strategic approach that works and then adjust based on the needs on the client. Those trainers who don’t understand why they are picking exercises and don’t know why they are structured a certain way are just as dangerous as those who prescribe the exact same program for everyone, regardless of goals. When looking for a good trainer, you should ask questions about the design. Even if you don’t know much about fitness, you can usually tell if someone is talking confidently about a topic or just spewing BS.


Lack of Continuing Education
This is one of the biggest problems in the industry. Many trainers will earn their certification and then just focus on training clients. The training part is good—great trainers are born in the trenches, working day in and day out with clients. But just like any other business, nothing in the fitness and health industry is static. Every day a trainer should be working to become smarter and better. And the way to do that is to learn from other experts, read books, and attends seminars. If I’m a client, I’m asking trainers how many seminars they attend per year or how many books they read. If they’re not trying to get better at their job, why should you put your faith in them?


The Real Issue
Those problems can be solved easily. But the biggest change has to come from an overall approach to the gym experience. Fitness and health facilities have forgotten one simple factor: That their clients are real people. These people—YOU—are coming to them out of need. You want to get back in shape, feel healthier, and see results. And yet, there’s a lack of customer service that is the fundamental attribute of any good business. Fitness is a huge industry, but it’s poorly run because it’s not designed to take care of the consumer.


Just think about how many people switch gyms. Or never work with trainers because of lack of results or steep prices or inflexibility. Most gyms—not all—have one goal: Get you in and sign you up at a “reduced” rate. After that, most gyms forget about you. They’ve roped you in to a long-term deal and now your results and happiness are secondary. Inevitably, this is why many people don’t like the gym—because there is a lack of attention to the consumer beyond the point of payment.

Alwyn Cosgrove, a very talented trainer and owner of Results Fitness—one of the most successful gyms in the country—built his facility the right way. He realized that training was a business that started with clients. I've heard Cosgrove mention the book Peak (by Chip Conley) as a good read on how to build a successful business. The book addresses the three tiers of customer service. The first is your fundamental needs. In gym speak, this means having a space, equipment, and the option to receive personal training. Maybe there are more bells and whistles, but that’s just the foundation of a good gym. And yet that’s where most facilities stop.

The second tier is meeting desires. That is, what do you want to achieve? And what are the barriers that stand in your way? A good facility will cater to those preferences.

The final step: Address unrecognized needs. This last step is what defines the cream of the crop.

Let’s be honest: Few gyms take this approach to creating an experience that considers you. And while I don’t blame gyms for the country’s health struggles, they don’t do enough to reverse the trend. To prove the point, I reached out on Twitter and asked users if they are happy with their gym.

The results: 87% of respondents said they were unhappy.

Think about that. That’s a bad sign when the majority of people who are responding are probably those who enjoy activity and will go to the gym regardless of the experience.

What about the rest of the people? What about those who struggle every day to pull themselves out of bed or drive themselves to work out after a long day of work?

These people need the gym to become a place of fun. A place they can trust. A place that is worth their money.

At any favorite hangout—whether restaurants, bars, coffee shops—people attend because of the experience. Fitness should be no different. And yet the business routinely drops the ball.

There isn’t a quick fix to this. I’m calling out all the fitness facilities to make a stand and improve their customer service. Get back to focusing on the client and providing services that will make them comfortable; Hiring a staff that cares about their own success as trainers and the success of their clients.

There is a fight going on for improved health, and we need everyone in the industry on board and helping the cause.

We’ll do our part at LIVESTRONG.COM to provide the information and guidance that will help you build confidence and knowledge. It should enable you to eat healthier and even take exercise into your own hands.

But at the end of the day, we still need gyms to play their part. It’s time for them to acknowledge their faults and step up to the challenge.

- Adam Bornstein


Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/blog/blog/...#ixzz1nhDGAkq7

Thank you Pinkie for the lovely segue into what I wanted to say :)

Jo, I am soooooo glad you're here, and also so glad that you're taking the steps you need to in order to be healthier.

The HCG diet, like most of those kinds of things, scares me a little....because of what Pinkie said above....it doesn't address the underlying reasons why we are heavier than is healthy for us now. That usually boils down to our relationship with food, and the amount of movement we put into our daily lives.

Having said that, I remember reading in a different thread that this was a jumpstart for you, and that you were looking forward to being able to get into the gym and be more active....and that is an awesome goal.

I'm glad you're doing this under medical supervision....just please be super careful. We want you to stick around and be healthier! :)

I know that, for me, the biggest changes had to be how I approached food....that it's fuel for my body....not a salve for my hurt feelings or loneliness or a distraction from my stress. The other biggie for me, that I'm finally addressing successfully, is simply being more active and adding exercise in as a regular part of my life. My 3 times a week trips to Curves may not make me a super athlete, but they are changing how I feel and how I look.....and I'm sure they'll be impacting my next set of lab results too!

Anyway....hugs to you all. I LOVE this thread, and the support we all give each other here. And I LOVE that more and more of the community is saying "hey, I want to be healthier" and is coming to join us. Awesome stuff! :)

OH...and BRAVO KELT!!! I know that we have all struggled with maintaining the weight we have lost....and you are rocking it. I am SO proud of you and the steps you've taken to change your life. :clap:

Hey Jo

Thanks for the shout out, I appreciate it.

I think we all owe you a debt of gratitude for not only creating and maintaining this thread, but also for keeping the focus on healthy.

I know I had more than a few dark days during the loss phase, and that coming in here was the bright spot that kept me on track and accountable.

Thank you

:formalbow:

I put my call out of "Welcome Jo"!! Congrats on taking your health as seriously as you are. Pain was one of the reasons I started on my journey.

I wanted to chime in a bit with regard to PinkieLee's post, as it touched what I have been working through lately on my own weight loss journey. I have, like many of us here, tried unsuccessfully to lose weight before. I always focused on 'the food'. The reason this time is successful is because I focused on "myself". I had a CRUSHING week last week. I thought for sure I had broken my last freaking plateau. Not only did I not break through it... I gained weight. How the hell was that possible?? I still do not know. But, I went back to square one of my behaviour modification therapy manual and rechecked all of the triggers. It was an eye opener for me to realize I had been emotionally triggered and apparently went blind to my own behaviours.

I was sssssssoooo mad and upset with myself. I just cried. But, doing the above helped me tremendously. So, in order to test myself, I walked right back into my emotional trigger situation and voila.... no trigger. No "forgot" to write that down - behaviour. No, twisting of my own thoughts. No.. all the others things I did to myself. Get my brain involved. If my brain is not involved, my emotional eating runs amok.

It isn't that I am fat, it is however that I am changing (apparently never ending changing) my unhealthy thinking. Each day is another day to exercise my healthy thinking. Six months ago I would not even have picked up on this whisper of a trigger. Six weeks ago I knew something was up, but was unable to really grasp it. Today, I feel empowered again.

So, wish me luck for weigh in on Friday. I don't think I will have broken my plateau this week, but by next Friday... I will be past my last plateau. I will not be beat anymore. I know we have all said this to ourselves, but this time, I really mean it. I am not going to be beat by my past anymore. I live here. In the present. With all my scars.

Just sending out love and compassion. Wishing all my fellow weight walkers a week without the internal critical voice.

I absolutely, totally, 100% get this...and think it's fantastic that you're taking the plunge to be healthy. I hear you on the scary, uncomfortable, oh my god my body is falling apart thing....I've been there.

And I also totally understand on the catch 22 of needing exercise but needing to be more fit to get the exercise to be fit! It's the reason my Mobia is a piece of sculpture in my bedroom at the moment....it's simply too hard for me yet.

Working out at Curves is like my version of what you're doing....doing what I CAN do until I can do what I WANT to do. I get it.

And I totally 100% applaud you.

And I also think it's cute as hell that Ms. Abby is part of your inspiration. :cheesy: Hugs to you both!

Hello healthies!

I am down 61 pounds since riding on the plateu for 2 weeks; that can be very discouraging!

So my words of wisdom this morning are to hang in there and keep trying, and even if you fall off that horse be as good as you can to your body.

That's all I got.:byebye:

Pulling my own covers here even though I know my honey will read this but I have to come clean for myself and perhaps to let anyone else that is struggling to know that they are not alone. Not everyone is able to just make up their mind that they are going to lose weight and never have a slip.

I had the pleasure of spending a week with my butch. I say a week as I am like many on the Planet, in a LDR. I am, however, having a very hard time with it. I had a very dark 2-weeks after said butch flew back those 350 miles and a one- hour plane ride back to No. Cali.

I lost 3-pounds the week the butch was here.

The day after butch left, for the first time in 6- 12 months (maybe even longer) I bought an entire box of cookies at Trader Jo's and ate them at one sitting. I then bough a box of "Hold the Cones" little ice cream cones, @ least I ate them over several days

Maybe this should be in the Eating Disorders thread because it was so clearly emotional eating to fill a sadness that I felt and of course it filled nothing but self-loathing and even greater sadness at my loss of self-control.

Now, I am struggling with the cravings that will take another week or longer to go away.

I also have broken my own daily weighing rule and have not weighed in the last two weeks because I am so fearful of looking at what I might have gained.

All of this is very, very difficult to admit to not only myself but to those that read this thread. I am a control freak and perfectionist and my my loss of control goes against my core personality but it is my truth today.

{{{{Anya}}}}}

Oh dear heart, I can feel your pain through my computer screen, and I applaud you for sharing your heart with us.

My fiance is an emotional eater and when she feels (what's that acronym...HAuLT...hurt, angry, lonely, tired) she gravitates toward food as her source of comfort. She has come SO far, but I can sense when she is struggling and it takes all my will power to not jump in and try to rescue her. That sort of co-dependent behavior can be such a trigger for me. I don't have food issues so much anymore, but when my switches get flipped (HAuLT) I turn to wine. <sigh> I love it so, but I scared myself a while back when taking out the recycling and I saw how many empty bottles of red wine were there. It just takes practice. And lots of love and self forgiveness. We MUST be gentle with ourselves. Read my signature and don't forget it!!! You are so beautiful and strong and smart and wonderful and we won't ever stop caring about you! No matter what! That's what this beautiful community is all about!!! (f)

I could have easily written this, many times over.

LDR's are super hard, combined with all the other stuff going on (read: life).

It will get better, promise!

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned it but the low calorie and high protein causes the body to go into a state of ketosis... One benefit/side effect is that the person doesn't feel hunger.

I understand the thinking that '500' calories daily is dangerous but the doctors that have signed off on these diets (optifast is one I've done, personally) consider the pros and cons of a person remaining at a certain weight vs. the low-risk factors associated with a short-term, low-calorie 'fast' and the benefits outweigh the risks for a person who is morbidly obese. (Not all are morbidly obese, I know Kaiser (HMO) will allow you to 'fast' if you have even just 40 lbs to lose.)

The (only) downside is keeping off weight shed so quickly--Which is real, real hard.

((((( Anya )))))

Emotional eating is really, really hard...and I hear you completely on this. One of the biggest challenges I have is to not go to the sweets or chips if I'm feeling stressed or depressed.

I also know how hard LDRs can be... :rrose:

I happen to LOVE Novela's sig line, because it is so true. Sometimes courage truly is acknowledging what happened (to yourself), stepping on the scale to face reality, NOT beating yourself up about it, and starting again tomorrow.

You are a perfectly imperfect human being....complete with feelings. And some days or weeks are going to be harder than others. It's okay. You aren't off track at all....just experiencing a course correction. :)

A friend once told me that we have to think of progress like a sail boat. Sail boats, because they depend on wind and not motors, don't travel in straight lines from start point to end. They tack back and forth with the wind....crossing back and forth over the line that runs from their beginning to their destination...over and over again. In essence, they are almost always "off course"....but a talented sailor, who respects the nature of sailboats and the wind, will still end up where they are going.

You're not failing...you're just tacking with the wind...and need to turn your sails around.

Big hugs. :stillheart:

Those aren't fake ass--It's you trying at something that for right now, just isn't working.

(((((( PinkieLee ))))))

And what I said to Anya also applies to you lovely lady.

You have just gone through one of the toughest things there is...and you are not a failure for being human, for being emotional, for being sad, and for trying to make yourself feel better.

Sometimes I think we need to reframe it.

Let me tell you a true story.

The company I work for is a health provider...not a doctor or a hospital. We create and provide wellness solutions...like fitness, smoking cessation, health coaching, etc.

One of our health coaches posted on our intranet some months back about a major victory. The entire company recognized it and celebrated it. Guess what it was?

A client, who had Type 2 diabetes and several other chronic conditions, had finally agreed to work with one of our coaches. The goal they set was to try to reduce his consumption of unhealthy sweets. This client had the practice of going every day to Dairy Queen and getting a large Blizzard....that yummy soft ice cream and crushed up cookies or candy thing that I also love.

The success?

The client had changed their practice...and was now going only twice a week and getting a small Blizzard.

That's worth celebrating....because it is a success, not a failure.

So....instead of counting the day a failure if you eat more than you planned....what about counting each small success? What if you focus on the single instance when you wanted ice cream and had something healthy instead? Or took a hot bath? Or read a book to distract yourself?

Sometimes our victories may only last a few minutes....but we need to focus on them, and strive for more of them....not be hard on ourselves for the times we stumble.

:stillheart:

Well hot damn bois and grrrls :cheesy:

All this talk of LDRs and emotional eating got me thinking...

I have done a lot of emotional eating in the last couple years....first from stress of the LDR, then the stress of moving, then the stress of life, etc. No one's "fault" but my own....it's how I cope when I can't cope, right?

Anyway.

When I finally hit 229 I said "enough"....that's just not safe with the diabetes and all the other health stuff I need to be concerned about. I started changing how I ate, how often I moved, started this thread, re-started this thread... :)

I can see and feel the differences, my lab results are good....but there's always "the pants."

I have a goal pair I can't wear yet....those real (old numbers) size 18 Apple Bottom jeans....I'm close, but not yet.

But there are my "every day" jeans that I moved from NY and hung in the back of the closet. New (inflated....or is that deflated?) size 14 women's Wranglers. I hadn't even tried them on since I moved because I knew they'd be impossible.

But...after posting...I started wondering. Went and took my shower and, instead of the sundress I was going to toss on, went into the closet, took down my favorite pair, stepped in, pulled them up, buttoned, zipped....and didn't even have to hold my breath or suck in my stomach.

They fit. :cheesy:

The Gym
 

Possibly binge-triggery
 

Wow. Tons of amazing posts in here lately! I have been trying to catch up and wanted to respond to several things so forgive me if this is disjointed:

JoSchmooze - Welcome! I am glad you are doing something for yourself and support you in taking charge of your health! I know that traveling all the time can be incredibly stressful and hard on the body so I am very glad you are figuring out ways to make it more manageable. I have heard of the hcg diet but haven't done a lot of research on it. It sounds incredibly low calorie/carb. Best of luck to you, please let us know how it goes!

Anya - Girrrrrrl, do I ever feel you. Not only with the binging but with the LDR triggers. I remember back to when Jack and I were dating long distance. It was 18 months of roller coaster highs and crushing lows and always that crappy feeling of "when will I see you again" immediately after I flew home. Its a lot of work and it's expensive ( I took a second job to cover my exorbitant phone bills, travel costs, and to help save for the move and Jack kicked her business into high gear to do the same).
I think that kind of stress and feeling of longing is a huge trigger for some of us and can often lead (and did for me many times) to binging.
It really helped me to think about what the "pattern" of the relationship would be so that I could plan accordingly for the feelings. If I knew I was going to be moping and feeling shitty for 10 days after leaving Jack in California, I made sure I had a full schedule of 2nd job and going out with friends to fill my time so that I wasn't sitting around with the feelings. Might have been "escapist" of me but it was the tool that worked at the time rather than sitting with the feelings.

On binging, I'd like to say this: I am a lifelong binger and I will BE a binger for the rest of my life. I don't know if this will be the same for anyone else here but I have resigned myself to realizing that no amount of "work" I do or weight I lose is going to reset that part of my brain because I learned binging as a tool so early in my life that it's just part of my marrow.

Admitting that is not a failure to me.

When I accepted the behavior as something that is going to crop up from time to time when I am triggered in certain ways, I feel more power over it because then it's "just part of my stress reaction" and not an angry monster terrorizing me.

I might not ever binge again in my life and will celebrate that heartily but if I do binge again, I'm going to treat it like hitting a nail on the highway. You change the tire and keep going. By changing the tire, I mean that we gain awareness every time we binge. Pretty soon, we can see the nail on the highway coming and might be able to change lanes to avoid it.

Changing lanes might mean changing our routine, or checking in extra often with ourselves, or going to a support group, or etc. Different strokes for different folks.

I have had 5 binges in the last 9 months. And don't get me wrong, these were bad mothers that meant thousands of calories, lots of self-deprecation, and feeling like giving up. All of them lasted 3 days or more because when I talk about binging, I don't mean I overate at one meal, I mean that I went on a food rampage and ate exhaustively for days to the point of wanting to throw up (and sometimes doing so). This also meant that I got to repeat my cycle of binge, weigh, freak out because I gained however many pounds, rinse and repeat.
Because the cycle helps us *stay* in the cycle if that makes any sense.

We become swirling eddies of food addiction where we get to have our food and our self-loathing too.

Fuck. That. Shit.

The world feeds us enough bullshit so we have to do better for ourselves. That takes believing that we are worth the fight.

That shit is HARD.

Just wanted to give huge props to every single person in this thread (and to the folks who read and don't post). This is an amazing thread and has been an amazing source of inspiration and support.

Much MUCH love.

Hugs to you Kim! I have had two prior stress fractures in my right foot from previously overdoing it on a treadmill at a crazy incline and one stress fracture in my left foot when a large can of tomatoe sauce fell out of my pantry on my foot.

I was fortunate in that I did not have one in each foot at the same time. They can be quite painful.

They all took a long time to heal and will not be rushed! Water arobics is a really great idea for continuing exercise without impacting your fractures.

Best of luck and your advice to not ignore pain is quite wise. I did ignore my 1st one and it took twice as long to heal as my subsequent ones!

PS:

Thanks to all of you that PM'd me or left me comments, regarding my post of earlier today.

All of you are the very best. This is a wonderful thread with a truly caring community of folks. Hugs also to each of you for such wonderful support for not only me but for each other. (f)

Sylvie -
Definitely sounds like a tough week for you. I hope you get some down time. <3


Friday check in!

I went out last night with a group of friends from work to do Mexican food and karaoke. I had 2 huge margaritas that I'm sure were not the best of choices but I had "saved" a ton of calories yesterday knowing that I was going to have a drink or two.

Checked the scales this morning and I am squarely at 284 which is .4 lower than my lowest weight before I had my 5-pound backfire over the last month! WOOT!

Babysteps!

Clothes are definitely getting looser and feeling a lot more energetic.

Some days I have to remind myself of how far I've come because the weight loss is really slow compared to other people I know.

In the last year, I have quit smoking, gone completely off of soda of any type, significantly reduced the amount of processed food I eat, and also added a significant amount of exercise to my normal routine.

I am no longer on blood pressure medication, my knees no longer hurt, my blood pressure is a normal number, and I don't wake up aching every morning.

That's a Virginia Slim "You've come a long way baby" moment if I've ever seen it!