Healthy Weight Loss

[Leigh]

Originally Posted by rockstar lover

In Feb of 2011 I suffered a gall-stone attack. Being an overweight female under stress (breakdown of a 4 year relationship) I was a prime target. The episode in the ER is another story in itself lol.

The doc said to reduce your chances of another attack...switch to a low-fat diet. DONE DEAL as I never wanted to go through that kind of pain again! Within days the pounds started to melt off. Then I started to excersize daily and my life started to change. When I started I was 250 lbs & I'm proud to say that I'm now 170!!

I feel so much better now and I'm not afraid to try new things. I don't shy away from physical activities anymore so there's nothing holding me back!

It wasn't easy believe you me! But it is possible. You have to be disciplined, focused and always believing in yourself. Believe that you're worthy of a healthy life.

I'm really glad you posted this tonight rockstar, because I've had *two*, yes two, gallbladder surgeries and I remember all too well what those attacks were like ~ they were brutal, the pain for me lasted anywhere between 2 to 12 hours and it was definitely the worst pain that I have ever felt. What kinds of things did you do to start losing the weight ~ what kind of foods did you switch to? What kinds of things did you change, or substitute? Do you have any pointers for anyone else who might be going through the same thing or just wants to change their habits before this kind of thing begins?

I was out tonight with two friends of mine, one is overweight and the other is fairly skinny, and we were both having a discussion about losing weight and changing our diets etc. I have definitely slacked off with keeping up on my diet and exercise, and I know that I need to change now if I expect to make myself better. I plan on starting back to the gym this week; I've fallen off that wagon more then I care to admit but I know without a doubt that I *need* to get things going or I am going to pack the pounds back on (I've already gained back 15 lbs in a span of 2-3 months). All I know is that I have to change my ways, slowly but surely add things like water and more fruits/veggies and remove bad things (chips, chocolate, pop etc).

I know none of this will happen overnight, and nor should it, but its time to change and I know now that I need to do this in order for me to live a long and healthy life ~ no more being the fat girl, no more being invisible and no more ignoring myself

[rockstar lover]

Originally Posted by Leigh

I'm really glad you posted this tonight rockstar, because I've had *two*, yes two, gallbladder surgeries and I remember all too well what those attacks were like ~ they were brutal, the pain for me lasted anywhere between 2 to 12 hours and it was definitely the worst pain that I have ever felt. What kinds of things did you do to start losing the weight ~ what kind of foods did you switch to? What kinds of things did you change, or substitute? Do you have any pointers for anyone else who might be going through the same thing or just wants to change their habits before this kind of thing begins?

I was out tonight with two friends of mine, one is overweight and the other is fairly skinny, and we were both having a discussion about losing weight and changing our diets etc. I have definitely slacked off with keeping up on my diet and exercise, and I know that I need to change now if I expect to make myself better. I plan on starting back to the gym this week; I've fallen off that wagon more then I care to admit but I know without a doubt that I *need* to get things going or I am going to pack the pounds back on (I've already gained back 15 lbs in a span of 2-3 months). All I know is that I have to change my ways, slowly but surely add things like water and more fruits/veggies and remove bad things (chips, chocolate, pop etc).

I know none of this will happen overnight, and nor should it, but its time to change and I know now that I need to do this in order for me to live a long and healthy life ~ no more being the fat girl, no more being invisible and no more ignoring myself

As far as excersize....I was doing bootcamp about 4 nights a week. At least once a week I was doing hot yoga. Yoga does help to build strength & stamina. In the city I live in we have these huge staircases in the river valley (like at least 100 stairs long). I'd sprint the stairs several times. It really gets the heart going and it builds up so much strength in the quads (which also comes in handy in boudoir activities....just saying)!

I don't eat a whole lot of red meat. Chicken and turkey tend to be lower in fat. Almost anything you buy you can get a low-fat or non-fat option....skim milk, non-fat yoghurt, low-fat cheese, turkey bites (instead of pepperoni sticks), etc. Safeway is good as they have the "Eating Right" brand for a lot of entrees (chicken breast, low-fat burgers, turkey burgers, low-fat meatballs, etc). For desserts I buy the Skinny Cow brand ice-cream. I know they're expensive but it's low in fat & calories.

A typical day.....

Breakfast: non-fat yoghurt, fibre1 bar
Morning snack: apple or nectarine
Lunch: turkey pita, with lettuce & low-fat cheese
Afternoon snack: carrot sticks or snap peas
Dinner: skinless boneless chicken breast, steamed veggies
Evening snack: bowl of cereal with skim milk

I hope this helps Leigh

[Leigh]

Originally Posted by rockstar lover

As far as excersize....I was doing bootcamp about 4 nights a week. At least once a week I was doing hot yoga. Yoga does help to build strength & stamina. In the city I live in we have these huge staircases in the river valley (like at least 100 stairs long). I'd sprint the stairs several times. It really gets the heart going and it builds up so much strength in the quads (which also comes in handy in boudoir activities....just saying)!

I don't eat a whole lot of red meat. Chicken and turkey tend to be lower in fat. Almost anything you buy you can get a low-fat or non-fat option....skim milk, non-fat yoghurt, low-fat cheese, turkey bites (instead of pepperoni sticks), etc. Safeway is good as they have the "Eating Right" brand for a lot of entrees (chicken breast, low-fat burgers, turkey burgers, low-fat meatballs, etc). For desserts I buy the Skinny Cow brand ice-cream. I know they're expensive but it's low in fat & calories.

A typical day.....

Breakfast: non-fat yoghurt, fibre1 bar
Morning snack: apple or nectarine
Lunch: turkey pita, with lettuce & low-fat cheese
Afternoon snack: carrot sticks or snap peas
Dinner: skinless boneless chicken breast, steamed veggies
Evening snack: bowl of cereal with skim milk

I hope this helps Leigh

Hey you,

Actually yeah that helps quite alot; I can get a good idea of what you do and of the foods you eat as well. I really need to get back on the wagon so to speak; I fell off in the past 2-3 months and I really need to start making these changes so that I can get rid of this fat and finally get healthy. I may pick your brain sometimes if I need to lol but I need to talk more to people in this thread (you and others) to get myself going

[Soon]

I'm on Day Six of Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred--wow, that is a great workout in a total of about 25 minutes. There are three levels and I am only on the first one but she kicks your arse! Maybe this week I'll venture into Level Two...

With this, I've been eating a low carb diet (think a combination of Primal Blueprint and Atkins). I hate eating low fat but actually don't mind (hard in the beginning, though!) abstaining from rice, bread, potatoes, sweets. When I do NEED a sweet, I grab a sugar free popsicle, pudding or a single piece of dark chocolate.

Anyway, I've been losing about 1 to 1.5 pounds a week (about seven pounds so far) since beginning this and FEEL better.

Best Wishes to All on their Journeys Toward Healthier Lives!

[Lady_Di]

Anyone see the NutriBullet infomercial?

Considering I really miss having access to a juicer, this sounds even better to me, since it includes all the fiber goodness that is in my lovely veggies/fruits. The organic spinach, green apple, pineapple, banana, with some flax seed and raw almonds sounds damned good. And I really miss carrot juice, lovely stuff.

So I may try it out, see how I like it. Love getting rid of my blender in favor of something smaller. Less is more in my household these days of simplification and minimalism realized., slowly but surely. I really like that this one machine can replace two other machines. Blender and juicer... in one smaller, but more powerful package. Sounds good to me.

Also makes fresh nut butters, which would be lovely too.

Still primal here, though far from perfect. What is perfect these days, no? I am worried that food costs across the board are going to be going up, due to the severe drought hitting so many crops. Not sure how that would affect the grass fed livestock, if they are out there on the range eating, versus in some yard eating stuff that nature never intended for them to eat. Sort of like us, eh? lol

Hope everyone is being inspired by the Olympics. I know I sure am!