Eat less, exercise more............

arewethereyet

So we as American's eat WAY to much. I was one of these people. I fixed my plate and if I wanted more.....I went back and fixed more. I finally reached a point where I was tired of being over weight and started to do something about it. This is silly and may sound stupid, but it has worked for me. I have co-workers who do the same now! When I fix my plate I fix it like the "old me" , then I take a knife and cut each portion in half and the other goes back in to the pot or pan.(That was how I started).

I now fix a plate like the "new me" 1/2 the portion!!! You may somtimes be a little hungry after that is when you fix a large glass of water and after that you will be full. I think a lot has to do with a mental thing. I do not drink carbonated beverages ( coke, sprite, etc). I cannot tell you how much better I feel since I cut them out of my life!!!!!! I feel sooooooo much better. The first week sucks- really badly! You then start to feel so much better!

My one weakness is growing up in the south- we love our " Sweet Tea". I am not sure that this is an addiction that I can break. I have tried. I would rather not eat than to not have my "Sweet Tea"!

Breanna

Breanna, Yeah for you!! I started with using the standard servings on the box. (I now dont eat too much from a box) I remember reading the mac and cheese box and saying:noway: 4 servings in a box??? I could eat almost the whole thing myself!!

6 triscuits? 1 oz of cheddar cheese?

Then I bought a scale...........and I still use it, even on maint. because as my Mom would say, " My eyes are bigger than my stomach!"

Good luck!:flowerforyou:

arewethereyet

Hall of fame football coach Vince Lombardi said it best-

"The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work"

:flowerforyou:

I love this Andrew...........almost as much as I love you!!

arewethereyet

I agree with everything said.

I also get frustrated with those around me who need to make a lifestyle change. But it takes such an inner drive to be successful at this that the only thing I can do is show them the tools.

The other problem is people are so ingorant about the food they eat. And I'm not even talking about chemicals, just calories. We have huge education gap when comes to nutrition education. When I started this life style change I spent two weeks just researching what I was eating, before I made any real changes.

I used to love going out to eat. Now I cringe when I here ads on the radio. Not that I don't get out every once in a while. But when I know anything on the "healthy" menu is 'just' 1000 calories I get pissed off that said establishment is taking advantage of people's ignorance.

I went to the gym with a friend one Sunday morning. We worked on the treadmill and by the machine we had burned approx 250 calories. When we were done my friend asked me over for breakfast.

I said sure, and then inquired what she was cooking. She said that after all our hard work we deserved a healthy breakfast, so she was making sausage and white gravy with homemade biscuits!!:noway: If I wanted she would also scamble some eggs.

I then explained that we had burned 250 calories and she was proposing a 1000 calorie, 60 gram of fat, breakfast to supplement our hard work.

I never did get my breakfast:grumble:

slieber

I weigh myself "monthly" :happy:

10/15/2009 169.4
09/16/2009 172.8
08/13/2009 171.8
07/15/2009 177.5
06/11/2009 177.0
05/14/2009 180.5
04/15/2009 182.0
02/02/2009 186.5
01/03/2009 189.0 :noway:

I have LOST 20 pounds. Accoridng to my height/weight chart for 5'8" woman should be:
146-167 pounds. So my 2nd goal is to weigh 159 pounds BEFORE my birthday March 2010.

Blessings! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Eva

Go to the supermarket and pick up two 10 pound bags of potatoes - together, in your arms - and feel what 20 pounds really is like. It's a lot heavier than you think! You've been carrying around THAT much weight and now you don't have it on.

Puts a lot of things in perspective.

JoyousMaximus

OMG I HATE that commercial!!

"I use Nutella to get my kids to eat healthy foods" she says, as she slaths it on a peice of white bread.

Talk about generating ignorance:grumble:

I think I sat and stared at the television in shock for about 2 minutes after that commercial.

I still get amazed at what people don't know. I was asked the other day if a potato was a vegetable... Next thing you know they are going to start telling people to dip their fries in Nutella so they'll be healthy...

arewethereyet

I weigh myself "monthly" :happy:

10/15/2009 169.4
09/16/2009 172.8
08/13/2009 171.8
07/15/2009 177.5
06/11/2009 177.0
05/14/2009 180.5
04/15/2009 182.0
02/02/2009 186.5
01/03/2009 189.0 :noway:

I have LOST 20 pounds. Accoridng to my height/weight chart for 5'8" woman should be:
146-167 pounds. So my 2nd goal is to weigh 159 pounds BEFORE my birthday March 2010.

Blessings! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Eva

Go to the supermarket and pick up two 10 pound bags of potatoes - together, in your arms - and feel what 20 pounds really is like. It's a lot heavier than you think! You've been carrying around THAT much weight and now you don't have it on.

Puts a lot of things in perspective.

NICE!!:flowerforyou:

Koreapsu

Well done!

People do tend to over-complicate things.

Energy In>Energy Out = Gain Weight
Energy In<Energy Out = Lose Weight

Seems like you see a lot of people looking for shortcuts these days, but you've got it alright. Get off the couch

joann

Jeanie I am so glad you are still here. I have not been on in over 6 months and I was afraid everyone from last winter was gone. Great post, great job. I sort of got off the beating track for awhile but did not let it get out of hand. Guess I did learn something from mfp...

arewethereyet

Jeanie I am so glad you are still here. I have not been on in over 6 months and I was afraid everyone from last winter was gone. Great post, great job. I sort of got off the beating track for awhile but did not let it get out of hand. Guess I did learn something from mfp...

HEY!! Great to have you back!!

Come on over to Proud thread!!:flowerforyou:

arewethereyet

Well done!

People do tend to over-complicate things.

Energy In>Energy Out = Gain Weight
Energy In<Energy Out = Lose Weight

Seems like you see a lot of people looking for shortcuts these days, but you've got it alright. Get off the couch

To me, this IS the easy way out!

katznketo

Wow Jeanne,

This is great to read. Pretty soon, I am going to be able to post this too. kc

arewethereyet

Wow Jeanne,

This is great to read. Pretty soon, I am going to be able to post this too. kc

Your there KC! You are doing it. That is all it takes..........get up and do it. Go over your cals...........get back on and do it.........now!

11 pounds are GONE!!! GONE GONE!!:flowerforyou:

barbiecat

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
I've used Isagenix as part of my weight loss program, but even that is not a miracle solution. I log on to MFP every day, weigh and measure everything I put in my mouth, choose the foods I eat carefully to make sure they are nutrition dense and cover the whole range of nutrients I need and exercise as much as I can. I eliminated caffeine, sugar, white flour, processed foods, and artificial sweeteners. When people ask how I did it, most say things like "I could never do that" or "My husband wouldn't like it if I didn't eat what he does and he likes _________________" fill in the blank with something unhealthy :laugh: :laugh:

Thank you, Jeannie, for starting this thread. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

arewethereyet

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
I've used Isagenix as part of my weight loss program, but even that is not a miracle solution. I log on to MFP every day, weigh and measure everything I put in my mouth, choose the foods I eat carefully to make sure they are nutrition dense and cover the whole range of nutrients I need and exercise as much as I can. I eliminated caffeine, sugar, white flour, processed foods, and artificial sweeteners. When people ask how I did it, most say things like "I could never do that" or "My husband wouldn't like it if I didn't eat what he does and he likes _________________" fill in the blank with something unhealthy :laugh: :laugh:

Thank you, Jeannie, for starting this thread. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Thanks Barb! You have done a wonderful job thus far. Thanks for the smile (DH yelled at me that he wanted MEAT about 2 months into the 'change'!!)

iRun4wine

Losing weight is simple but it's not easy.

Alot of people think simple and easy are the same. but there not.

Very well said, SpyGuy... :drinker:

I've always said that it's not easy, but it very basic. It's not rocket science. It's mind over matter, but I do believe that it gets *easier*- not easy, but less difficult, with time. For me anyhow, it's all a matter of breaking old habits and creating new ones. Maybe it's not easier every single day as time goes on, but like anything else, seeing results keeps us motivated and helps us stay on track. :flowerforyou:

DeeDeeLHF

Thank you so much for posting this thread! I enjoyed reading everyone's comments.

Agreed, simple not easy!

After awhile the weight loss slows down and it is mentally harder.

As of two days ago my BMI is in the healthy range but to get to my goal weight I know it will alomost another year as I am not only losing about 1 pound per month but I really don't care. All I know is that my weight can either go up or down and I choose for it to go down!

I love this site and with it I know that I will reach my goal and maintain it!

arewethereyet

Thank you so much for posting this thread! I enjoyed reading everyone's comments.

Agreed, simple not easy!

After awhile the weight loss slows down and it is mentally harder.

As of two days ago my BMI is in the healthy range but to get to my goal weight I know it will alomost another year as I am not only losing about 1 pound per month but I really don't care. All I know is that my weight can either go up or down and I choose for it to go down!

I love this site and with it I know that I will reach my goal and maintain it!

:flowerforyou:

havingitall

When I started on MFP I was desperately looking for a way to reverse all the damage I had done. I was 340 lbs and was uncomfortable walking around the block. My mother passed away from congestive heart failure. She had diabetes and arthritis. My father passed away from pancreatic cancer and I found I carry the same genetic make up as him with the BRCA2 gene. This gives me a 50 - 80% chance of breast cancer in my life and a 25% chance of ovarian cancer. I had a hysterectomy that reduced my risk by 50%.

I was at a point in my life that I had given up on me. I have a husband that adores me and treats me like gold. I finally decided that he deserved better than a fat couch potato. Luckily he was at the same point with himself, a former marine who had let bad eating habits and even worse exercise habits pack on some pounds.

We began watching "You Are What You Eat", a fantastic show that shows how diet really affects you, not just the weight but your whole body. We bought Gillian McKeiths book by the same name and read it thoroughly.

We started making small changes in our eating habits and working out more. Day by day, week by week we grew healthier and felt better. I used to take Pepcid all the time because I had heartburn. I haven't taken it in 2009 at all. The only time I take Tylenol is whn my muscles have worked too hard and I need to ease them a bit.

Today, I have lost 76 lbs and my husband has lost 66lbs. We exercise daily. Our dogs love the fact that a walk for them is now about 40 minutes (for a quick walk) up to over an hour as opposed to the 15 minute waddle around the block. I can do an hour on the elliptical and I love the way I feel after exercising. We have joined a hiking group and we are doing a 3 hour hike tomorrow through some caves. Recently we were in Las Vegas and spent more time hiking in the desert than we did gambling.

Life is exciting! I finally know what it means to live life. I want to see it all, do it all and actively participate in whatever is going on. There are times when I think what the heck have I got myself into ((climbing up a steep hill on a long hike) but I do it and I succeed.

I had given up and now I succeed!!! If I can do it....anybody can!!!!

DeeDeeLHF

Vicky, your story is amazing! Congratulations!!! Keep us all posted!

DD:flowerforyou:

goldk

I enjoyed reading this post today. Thanks so much! :flowerforyou:

Positively_Me

thanks so much for EVERYONES post.....i truely NEED that for today....Up and on my way to a better and healthier Me...I am going for a walk on my treadmill...small steps

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Thanks AGAIN:flowerforyou: