Healthy Weight Loss

[Leigh]

Originally Posted by Thinker

Matthew, my brother-in-law quit drinking sodas (cold turkey) and dropped 20 pounds in 3 weeks. That was it......just the sodas.

Hope you don't mind me talking in a stern manner to you... You need to cut those things OUT.....not only to drop weight but, more importantly, because of the diabetes.

Russell Stover makes some DELICIOUS sugar-free candy. I have an embarrassing sweet tooth, and I still crave something small after every meal.....even if it's just a bite-size candy bar. Those little sugar-free candies fit the bill perfectly.

My in-laws are both diabetic, and that is the candy they keep around for themselves. The peanut butter cups are better than Reese's (kid you not), and the chocolate covered coconut is pretty wonderful too.

You've added testosterone to the mix, buddy, so it's time to step up your game. You can do it!!!!! Just start with one change. Once that's a comfy fit for you, add another change.

These are the kind of suggestions I was looking for, so thank you very much for that Thinker. Yes I do have to just cut things out, but I'm going one day at a time cuz the last time I tried quitting pop cold turkey it worked for a couple of days and then poof it was gone again. My parents are both type 2 also and certainly don't drink pop, I'm working on more water and less pop which I've been doing good at over the last couple of days so I know its a beginning. Those russel stover candies sound perfect, I will look for those the next time I go shopping and keep some around for those sweet tooth cravings! :-)

Originally Posted by starryeyes

Propel power packets are awesome keep me drinking water all day long. on WW, one packet is 1 pt. They also make Propel 0, which is 0 points and also are good. I love the grape flavor.

I've never heard of this stuff before but I love grape so I will have to try that out :-)

Originally Posted by Nina

I drink a lot of water...

I drink water which I call 'crack-water'....it is MetroMint Spearmint water...I have tried all the other stuff and didn't like any, the spearmint is perfect for me...it is not cheap...one could make water by brewing some fresh spearmint and adding it to water in a bottle or glass or whatever container you like...
you can also put leaves of spearmint or mint, or other herbs you might like, into bottles of water and it will do some infusion...

there are other water infused with essences I like...they are all sugar free, and chemical free...the others I like are fruit-y, a nice change sometimes...

just a water drinking thought...

of course, water drinking has it's resulting reaction so it's sometimes worth being aware when we drink the most water...

I know water is good for us and I am working on drinking more, but I actually have a friend who was diagnosed like 2-3 yrs ago with water diabetes (he drank nothing but water all the time). So yes drinking water is very good for us but if we drink it too much that could happen, so its something to think about also *nods*

[Medusa]

P.s. I also went to my favorite thrift store and picked up a huge gaggle of low-salt/low-sugar/low-calorie/vegan/healthy eating cookbooks.

There was a special with buy 4/get one free AND they were already half-price. I might have indulged. A lot.

[little_ms_sunshyne]

Terrible 2 days for me!!! My sister and nephew's birthday parties....CAKE!!! MY WEAKNESS!!!!

Anyhow, tomorrow back on track for sure!!!!

Happy to see everyones' success and Medusa's great shopping deals!

[Queerasfck]

Today was my weigh in day for WW. I was getting myself all keyed up for a big loss on the scale. I have noticed I can already fit into some things I wasn't really comfortable in even just two months ago and my jeans are loose! At the meeting the scale only showed a 1lb loss so I admit I was a bit disappointed. I realized as the day went on it wasn't that big of a deal. I've continued going to the gym and a diligently tracking my points and staying on target. And I know I'm doing all the right things.
Next week is SD Pride and I realize that sadly I will not be a size 34 with abs of steel by then! It's ok I realize that it took awhile to put on these extra pounds and it will take a while to lose them. Tonight I relaxed and had a glass of wine and even had dessert. Tomorrow I will be hard at it again counting points and eating healthy.
I hope everyone is hanging in there and working their program, stay strong friends!

[Mister Bent]

Originally Posted by EzeeTiger

Today was my weigh in day for WW. I was getting myself all keyed up for a big loss on the scale. I have noticed I can already fit into some things I wasn't really comfortable in even just two months ago and my jeans are loose! At the meeting the scale only showed a 1lb loss so I admit I was a bit disappointed. I realized as the day went on it wasn't that big of a deal. I've continued going to the gym and a diligently tracking my points and staying on target. And I know I'm doing all the right things.
Next week is SD Pride and I realize that sadly I will not be a size 34 with abs of steel by then! It's ok I realize that it took awhile to put on these extra pounds and it will take a while to lose them. Tonight I relaxed and had a glass of wine and even had dessert. Tomorrow I will be hard at it again counting points and eating healthy.
I hope everyone is hanging in there and working their program, stay strong friends!

It's important to remember (and SOME people who are maybe hard on themselves, Ezee, need reminding more than others) when on a program like weight watchers - designed for long term results, not a fad "diet" with quick (and usually short term) results - that after initial/early big losses, your weekly weight loss will decline. Generally, the most you can lose - and keep off - is about 2 lbs a week. It's difficult to maintain big losses steadily, as your metabolism is readjusting and adapting to account for lower calorie intake, and if you include exercise, higher energy output.

Slow, steady progress, even if it's only .3 lbs a week is better than + .3 lbs or losing 0. Try not to be hard on yourself and stay focused on the positive. Even Ezee managed to do that!

I hope all of you who have made healthy dietary changes are not only noticing loss in lbs and inches, but are feeling better overall - more energy, less soreness in legs and back, clearer skin. Celebrate yourself for all the changes, even those no one can see.

[Rockinonahigh]

To morrow is my weigh day,as sick as ive been the last couple of days I may have lost a fue from hanging out in the room down the hall.Ive been on this change of diet for nearly a month so havent had heavy starches at all,so a couple of days a go I had a small serving of skeiit with meat balls...no prob when I at it but give it a day or so it was on revenge mode.Im not shure if it was the starch in the skettie or the red sause..im not toughing either again.Since I changed the eating habbits I have less and less stomach probs as it has gone on,I also had a bad reaction to kashi cinnamaon cereal why I dont know..its in the trash.Anyway im getting better and should be ok by monday so I can go to work feeling some what well.Its nice not to have stomach pain and discomfort like I had before.

[Leigh]

Originally Posted by Yellow band

Hi everyone......hope I can drop in like this.

Mathew, honey, I worry about your heart. I just read in another thread the changes that you want, are happening! (GREAT) then i scroll through and see you have diabetes. Please go for a walk every day, that T scares me all by itself.

I have neuropathy in my feet, both feet. Not from diabetes, from frost bite. yes, perfect! my feet turn blue and the pain is insane. Its called reynauds. When I was in the hospital (for the burns) they had me in therapy with the diabetics so I could learn about neuropathy. Going from the hot outside into an airconditioned store will set it off, its bizarre, so I always have socks on. Why am I talking about neuropathy except to say..you don't want that, its part of diabetes. (I do not have diabetes)

Another thing to warn you about is kidney issues.all that soda, and diabetes is REALLY hard on your poor kidneys. YOU have to take care of yourself dude. Your embarking on a new life....do you want to start out sick?

So go for a walk, and take water with you, and drink it while you are walking. Its the best place to start.

I agree with you 100%, and after all of these years of not taking care of Myself its about high time that I do. I'm at an exciting time in My life, increase in T and possible surgery in the future, but with that I need to work on taking better care of Myself. I have been doing alot of things lately that I never did before, including a good number of chores around the house (I was always so used to just sitting around, its taking getting used to). But I have to admit I'm proud of Myself for cutting down dramatically on My intake of cola over the last couple of days, have gotten out for a couple of walks over the past 3-4 days and have not allowed Myself to just sit down and do nothing.

Little changes, but I'm proud of Myself :-)

Originally Posted by Tommi

Water is my good for me Mantra....

I used to struggle to get a glass down. Partially because I was a Diet Coke addict, thus water was boring. I quit buying Diet Coke by the case. Now it is infrequent, and usually when I know a huge bowl of popcorn is the selection of the night.

Now, water is easier, straight, on the rocks, or with a packet of Crystal Light of some kind. I am getting about 60 to 80 oz /day now versus zero.

Vegetables and fruit are now part of my daily diet too. Learning to cook, making veggie soup with kale in almost everything.

Kale was recommended by a nutritionist at the cancer mentor program I go to. She made smoothies with banana, kale, and almond milk. It was awesome. So I now own a blender and make smoothies too.

Water is the one thing I can't seem to get used to drinking, even the flavoured stuff. I'm working hard on just getting the stuff down but I just tell Myself to simply drink it, I may not like it but if I want to work on getting healthier I just have to do it. I've been wanting to get a blender for awhile now, and I think now the next time I have extra money I will invest in one instead of wasting it on cola and chocolate as well as other things that are bad for Me!

Originally Posted by lillith

OK...I think I need to subscribe. In the last 6 weeks, I have lost 10lbs. I cut out the soda, and last Sunday, cut out most high bad fatty foods. I also started walking a mile everyday. I weighted myself this morning and saw that I lost two pounds, and it made me almost cry. I have been a fluffy girl for 13 years, and I didn't think I would see the scale move even one pound less. Today is about affirmation, and I believe in every single one of you who are seriously out there kicking ass. I am proud of our community and what we do to support each other within it! Thank you.

I think this is one of My biggest problems, I'm so used to being "fluffy" that I've been sabotaging My attempts at weight loss just cuz I'm afraid of big changes. I'm working on this because I don't want to end up having something bad happen to Me, all because I was too stubborn to actually do the work ....... slowly but surely I'm getting there, and it feels pretty good :-)

Originally Posted by Medusa

Congrats to the folks losing (and winning!)! This thread has been pretty amazing for support and encouragement and it is at the top of my 'thankful' list lately.

I decided to make a splurge today and went out to Whole Foods before heading out to lunch with guihong. I love me some Whole Foods but only buy certain things there for its propensity to become "Whole Paycheck".

Here's what I grabbed:

a can of garbanzo beans (I don't know if I like these so I'm going to try them. Any yummy recipes accepted and appreciated!)
several different kinds of wheat pasta
a nice sundried tomato tapenade
a sugarless, saltless peanut butter
dehydrated strawberries
2 pounds organic sweet cherries
black cherry concentrate (to add to the club soda I also bought)
a chipotle ranch dressing
some sticks and twigs (pretzels with chipotle flavor!)
more chocolate almond breeze
2 huge bottles of banana juice (on sale for $2!)
2 huge things of coconut water (I've never had this and don't know why I bought it other than it was on super cheap and I've seen a lot of people hooping about the potassium bennies)
a 4-pack of diet Izze black cherry (NO aspartame!)
dried apricots
dried pineapple
limes

I got all that for $70. Yes, really.

A lot of it is stuff I've been wanting to try so I went ahead with it. I think it's super important for me to keep the food interesting and entertaining. I get bored very easily eating tuna fish and salads every week so having some pretzels or something interesting to drink will make all the difference.

I'm still completely off the sodas and I have to say, it's not nearly as bad as I had thought. Granted, I've been slowly tapering off but I'm almost 4 months clean off the Diet Cokes!! WEE!

I appreciate all of you talking about your "process". I think that has been the single-most helpful thing for me in this entire thread.

Sounds like you got alot of good things, and thats not a bad price to pay for everything. Congrats on being off the Diet Cokes, I'm still working on being off of the colas too but I'm starting to slowly ween Myself off them. Its a slow process since I was drinking almost nothing but pepsi all day everyday, but even just small changes are good :-)

Originally Posted by EzeeTiger

Today was my weigh in day for WW. I was getting myself all keyed up for a big loss on the scale. I have noticed I can already fit into some things I wasn't really comfortable in even just two months ago and my jeans are loose! At the meeting the scale only showed a 1lb loss so I admit I was a bit disappointed. I realized as the day went on it wasn't that big of a deal. I've continued going to the gym and a diligently tracking my points and staying on target. And I know I'm doing all the right things.
Next week is SD Pride and I realize that sadly I will not be a size 34 with abs of steel by then! It's ok I realize that it took awhile to put on these extra pounds and it will take a while to lose them. Tonight I relaxed and had a glass of wine and even had dessert. Tomorrow I will be hard at it again counting points and eating healthy.
I hope everyone is hanging in there and working their program, stay strong friends!

I know its very easy to get discouraged when there is either no weight loss or only a loss of a pound but even just a pound means thats a pound less than you had before. I know for Me personally I get discouraged easily but I'm trying not to, any small victory is a greater part of a whole new Me and thats most important. As long as your doing things right and sticking to what you need to do, you will be successful :-)

[foxyshaman]

Coming into this space is like taking a breath of fresh air. There are many aspects of our process I draw strength from. Today however what I absorb and resonate with the most deeply, is the honesty. We all have successful days and the not so successful days.

I have had to re-evaluate my thoughts on success during my journey to lose weight. What is success for me?

Today I had both a successful day and a ___successful day. A friend and I drove to Jasper, about 400 KM each way from where we live. We left at 8 am and got back at 11:30 pm. She doesn't speed like me, nor was I driving and I llllooovvveeee to drive, I would have had us there and back a smit quicker!!

Anyway... I ate crap. Totally. Everything I shouldn't eat. I did it in small portions. I enjoyed it. I am wwwaaaayyy over my points. The success was to hang out with a good friend and get some heavy thoughts off my chest. We both did. Am I an emotional eater. Absolutely. Was I eating my emotions today. Absolutely not. I was in control. I had a fantastically successful day. Change is happening. Not just to me, but I see it here everyday when I read our conversations, our sharing and our support.

My initial intention of my post is to share a water drinking friend with you. I found these wonderful pure oils of the rinds of lemons, limes and oranges. I only put three to four drops in my water. The company that makes them is Boyajian.They are quite inexpensive. I love them....alot. If you don't like plain water, and don't like chemical additives try them.

[Medusa]

Weigh-in today revealed a 7-pound weight loss.

I have significantly increased my activity this week. Before I started paying attention, most of my day was spent in an office chair - either at work or here at home. As part of my "reduce stress in all areas of your life" crusade, I am working 20-less hours a week at my job (still working 50 though!) which means I have more time for other stuff. Part of that "other stuff" has meant time with the treadmill, working on household projects, a little fishing (YES, I love to fish), and more general outside time.

I had thought that reducing my stress would mean hours laying in that biggo recliner that I complain so much about and reading or snoozing. There has been a tiny amount of that but I have discovered that I'm a "busy" person - as in, I like to be "doing something", whether in a chair or up around the house. I don't really know how to relax all that much by traditional standards so I've been taking advantage of my extra time and energy this week. It's apparently paid off.

I've been doing treadmill for about 20 - 25 minutes a night. I'll probably switch back to my bike this week just to keep it interesting.