40+Club-Making it Work

Swissmiss, I didn't plateau at all losing the weight. I kept my intake steady at 1300 for the first 2 1/2 months (no cheats...meaning no wine, chocolate, junk food, higher calorie days, etc), and lost 21 pounds in that time. Then I upped my calories to 1500 for 4 weeks, and lost six pounds in those four weeks. During that time, I had chocolate twice and a piece of cake, all fitting into my calorie allowance. I didn't have any higher calorie days. Then I lowered my calories back to 1400 for two weeks and lost the final 4 pounds....with no cheats, chocolate, higher calorie days, etc.

The reason I upped my calories after the first 10 weeks was because I hit my initial goal and planned to stop, but then found I was losing on a very comfortable diet of 1500 calories and decided to see what could happen. I did want to be careful losing the last ten pounds, so I didn't go below my recommended maintenance allowance (which was about 1410) and took all of the weight off through exercise.

This worked for me, but I don't know that it would work for everybody. Somehow, my body really has responded well to the food I've been eating (I've been really trying to clean up my diet) and the workouts I've been doing (Cathe Friedrich's STS strength training series since mid-February with added cardio). I would actually have to credit the latter (the workouts) as being probably the primary reason why I have not plateaued at all. The series is called Shock Training System for a reason, and I think my body has absolutely loved the variety and the 'shock' effect of these workouts.

That's probably a longer answer than you were looking for!! :embarassed:

kelligirl, I don't have anything planned to enjoy my birthday until Friday when my husband and I head off on vacation. My 'birthday week' will start then and will extend into next week. I can't wait! I plan on taking my food for breakfast and lunch with me, but hope to be able to find some good restaurants for dinner when I can try something healthy but good. And on my birthday, I plan on going to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop in San Francisco to see what's on offer. I hope to contain myself to a couple of pieces of dark chocolate, but that's a 'hope' and not a guarantee! :bigsmile:

TexasMom, take care of your leg! I hope you get better soon.

Wow! People are doing awesome jobs! I am telling friends who are trying to lose weight about this site.

StiringWendell: What will power! You will do well in SF. Happy BD! Last time we were in SF, 5 of us ordered one chocolate sundae with 5 spoons at Ghirardelli. The 5 of us could not even make it half way through. My son will be moving to SF in the fall for graduate school. My husband and I are planning on going to "check" on him in October.

Nita: take care of your leg. If you have access to a pool with water aerobics, that is great for workouts with little or no weight bearing. Also, Pilates was developed to allow injured soldiers to exercise from their beds, so you might want to look at some Pilates.

SwissMiss: after being NPO before surgery and then being under anesthesia, McD's is not a bad option if that was what your body told you to do. It will not remember that it ate it after all it has been through!

Kelligirl: Happy Birthday!

We are going to Chicago this weekend with our kids and meeting my brother-in-law and his son and son's girlfriend. There are cousins in Chicago working and in school. They will scatter after the summer so this is a great time for all these kids in their 20's to see each other. We realized back in the fall during a horrible time of funerals that they had not seen each in at least 10 years. So this is a fun trip as the result of two funerals.
Texssippian

Sing... Glad to hear you upped your calories, lets us all know how that goes for you. I cant believe how many calories you burn from bike riding. Are there a lot of hills where you live that you ride up?

Swiss.... I bet you look fantastic, you should put a photo up. If your anything like I am the brain hasn't caught up to the weight loss so when I look in the mirror all's I see is the double chin and the belly. :laugh:

String.... No cream in your coffee!!! Shoot I'd rather give up coffee altogether:laugh: I was on a very restrictive diet before finding this sight. I lost 30 pounds in a short time, got tired of the diet then decided to "take a break" from it. Gained 5 pounds back instantly but kept the rest off for a year. Gained back another 10 then found this sight.... My question is, are you making your way of eating your new lifestyle or are you planning on trying to incorporate some cream in your coffee eventually? Just curious...

String & Kelligirl... Have a fabulous birthday!!!!

Texssippian... Enjoy your vacation... Geesh it seems like everyone is going on vacation cant wait until its my turn:happy:

Texasmom... Take care of your leg. Hopefully it will only take a few days and you'll be up and running again. :flowerforyou:

As for me I bought myself a plug in chain saw today to thin out some of the smaller trees. I live in forest type setting so you have to for fire safety. I think I'm pretty much done with my yard work for the year... Last night I ran a 6.0 at a 4 incline for almost 3/4 of a mile. Not all at once, ran a lap power walked a lap. But that is the most I have ran so far. Then dummy me looked down at my arm and in doing so stepped on the stationary part of the tread ill and down I went...:laugh: :embarassed:
Thank goodness I only pulled a muscle in my left upper buttock region... Silly me, wont do that again

tron, the mindset I have right now is that many of the changes I'm making in my diet (like removing the cream from my coffee) are permanent changes. When I initially lowered my calories to lose the weight, I lowered them while still keeping the core of my diet in place (in other words, I pretty much just eliminated things like sweets, alcohol, and dinners out).

But over the past four months, I've been reading about food. I used to drink my coffee with liquid non-dairy flavored creamer and a teaspoon of white sugar. But when I looked at the list of ingredients on the creamer, I realized that it just isn't good for me. And neither is processed added sugar. I won't do artificial sweeteners (my body HATES artificial sweeteners) so I decided to see if I could adapt to not having either cream or sugar. The sugar went first. And then the creamer went about a month later. And now I'm used to it so I see no reason to add either back into my diet now that I'm in maintenance.

I really never want to fight with my weight again, and I know that the only way I'm not going to is if I change my eating habits permanently. In changing how I see food and assessing it based on how healthy it is vs. simply how many calories are in it is really helping me make some permanent changes. I, quite honestly, don't want the creamer anymore because, while it tastes good, I really don't want to put that stuff into my body.

That doesn't mean I won't ever enjoy anything unhealthy again because I will (and have). But where I can make changes, I'm trying to make those changes and make them permanent. With the coffee, it took about three months to make the change (I went through stages) because I wanted to make sure I could live with what I was doing before moving on.

I didn't want a diet where, at the end, I just went back to my old eating habits because I knew I would put on the weight (since I have done that before). So I continue to craft a lifestyle that I can live with permanently that is a healthier option than the lifestyle I previously lived.

Take care of that pulled muscle!!

Off to do an hour of step aerobics today. Two days until vacation. Yay!!! :drinker:

Reporting in on my weight on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. Yesterday I had a bridal shower to get to in Michigan. New Weight 150!!! Still having a hard time adjusting to the excitement of 150. I have always thought I was 145! But the new REAL weight is 12 pounds down since April 4 so I am feeling GOOD! :laugh: I think that ACTUALLY being 145 will be a real milestone for me. Not sure if I wanrt to get down to 135 or not. We will see.

I have made adjustments to lose 1 lb. a week instead of 1.5. Lately the weight has been dropping off rather quickly. I am not sure what to attribute that to. I have begun making Activia yougurt a regular part of my diet. Could be that, who knows??

It is so encouraging to read about real people who stuggle with food, weigfht and exercise! Your optimism is contagious.

Texasmom - best wishes on your recovery - everyday is one closer to better health!
Swiss - would like to "see" you too!
eriny - you are a machine!:bigsmile: (I mean that in a good way)
Sing - have a great vacation
String - I like your maintenance philosophy - look forward to developping my own!

I will be back next Wed. Company through then. Lots of sitting and eating! Looking forward to hanging out with an old college friend and a friend from California! Hoping to talk them into some walking!

Hello! I have 35 pounds to drop . Have lost 31 but have gained some back. This time around is extremely hard for me. My husband brings in chocolate bar, fries some of the food and continues to bring fatty foods in. The last time I lost this weight, I had no problem, since I never fry foods, stopped eating red meat and ate no sugar but can't seem to do it this time. I have been using Alli diet pills this time but they do nothing to supress the appetite.

String....I understand what you mean, I was just using cream in your coffee as a metaphor. I didn't know how strict your diet was but it sounds like your just making sure you do everything organic which is great. I myself was on a VERY restrictive diet before finding this sight. Something that couldn't be a life plan that's for sure. In fact I have debated on going back on it for a week and this time incorporate exercise with it just to see how much weight I could lose.

traska... Welcome. I understand what its like when the hubby brings in the food that hurts your weight loss goals. Actually I talk about this sight to him all the time. Let him know what my goals are and how much stronger I feel I am getting. He took me on a hike and said it was a test to see if I was getting as strong as I thought and ever sense then something just clicked. He hasn't brought me home any doughnuts and has even suggested that he wants to lose a few pounds. Hang in there, maybe something will "click" with your husband...

Fruits of the summer!

My husband loves to garden and grow vegetables. We have gotten butter lettuce from our backyard (made low fat, low sodium chicken taco salads with it), our first tomato and our first yellow squash! He has gotten several giant pumpkin seeds to sprout. Two years ago he grew a 90 pound pumpkin, which for around here in north Texas is pretty good. Lots of herbs to give the dog sitter when we go to Chicago. I have to clean out the refrigerator so she can open it to get the herbs. How many calories in cleaning the refrigerator? Does it increase by the number of science experiments growning in it?

Texssippian

Good morning everyone...
I should be out walking the dog..not typing on the computer. My fingers are getting plenty of exercise though.:laugh:
I am planning on visiting the YMCA today for some light work. I feel pretty good but I do not want any more surgeries.:mad: I may use the treadmill and then the steam room. And I will weigh myself. I feel as if I have lost weight even though I have not be active this week. I have, however, been watching what I eat. My pants are fitting a bit looser. I think that is a good sign.