forevermaryb Member

I feel your pain. I hit my goal weight in May 2014 after losing 70 pounds over a year and a half. I maintained within a few pounds for about a year, but then solidly put on 10 pounds (I know exactly how). At 5'9" tall, I couldn't really tell where the 10 pounds went to, so I decided I would keep my new weight for…

I hear you! In my early 30's, I was able to lose about 50 pounds fairly easily (I followed a modified South Beach Diet). It took me about 8 months and I lost consistently and without plateaus. At 45 years old, after putting back on those 50 pounds plus a few more for kicks and giggles, I followed the same diet with hardly…

I'm 5'9" as well. My starting weight was 210. It took me almost 6 months to lose 45 pounds, then about 1 year to lose the remaining 25 pounds to get to my goal weight of 140. Most of that year was trying to lose those last 10 pounds. The leaner you are, the harder it is to lose. Also, the older you are, the harder it is.…

I feel your pain! I'm not an expert, but I've done cardio with 2 bulging discs and a partially herniated disc (cortisone shots were my BFF). Elliptical is good. I had to be careful with resistance, though. Too much would bother. Walking at a slight incline on the treadmill was good, too. I could get on an exercise bike,…

Thank you for the replies. It's interesting how different running is for me versus other aerobic activity. I didn't start from the couch and went for a 5K. For almost 3 years, I've been working out at least 5 days per week for 45 minutes to an hour of Zumba, spin class, elliptical, plus I'm an avid hiker (often peaks over…

I feel your pain! What worked for me when that happened (usually after a meal out) was to drink lots of water, watch sodium and keep my carb intake around 100 g for a couple of days.

I should add that I don't mean the comments from those "well meaning" people who say you should stop losing weight (even though I have for a while now), or that you're "too skinny". Those get old. I get tired of saying I am healthy.

I agree with everyone about upping your protein and sticking with carbs that are higher in fiber. I also looked to see higher calorie food I could "sub out" with lower calorie equivalents, such as liquid stevia in my coffee instead of suger or unsweetened almond milk for 2% milk or low calorie/low carb salad dressings. You…

Well, I did it. I got rid of all the fat clothes! 7 large garbage bags full. Since hitting my goal weight last year, I've had some issues that were similar to those that led my slip last time (illness, injury, stress) and none of them put me off track. Thanks for all the comments and good luck to everyone!

I had baked some frozen boneless chicken wing appetizers for my kids for lunch one time. They were less than an inch in diameter. They smelled good, so I popped 1 in my mouth. Since they were so small, I didn't think they would be terribly high in calories, plus they were baked so they couldn't be too bad. So I ate 2 more.…

Congratulations to all of you! Thanks for the replies. I think I'm going to do both. I'll sort through and hang on to 1 or 2 items per size and per season. It really is a ridiculous amount of clothing, but I had to have work/play/professional clothes in each size and for warm/cold weather. My regain had been so gradual…

I followed Ideal Protein for 13 weeks 2 years ago and lost 35 pounds. It is a good weight loss tool, but it is not a program that can be transferred to maintenance. There were quite a few people in my area that followed the program (a well known member of our small community provided the plan). People saw results on others…

Absolutely. You can't go on a "diet", then go back to your old habits once you've reached your goal weight. I've done that before and have regained all the lost weight plus more. You have to change your eating and exercising habits for life.

I have had experience with posting seemingly invisible posts! It's rough. Losing weight can be one of the hardest, yet one of the most rewarding experiences. I've been up and down with my weight my whole life. Pregnancies, illnesses, injuries, and emotional eating have all contributed. I knew what it took to lose weight;…

I'm a definite pear, although when I was heavier, I was more hour-glass. I'm 5'9" and wore, for bottoms, US size 18 at my heaviest (215) and they were tight (I refused to get a 20). I dropped fairly quickly to a 16, stayed there for a long time and then went right into a 12 when I was around 160-165. I kept losing, skipped…

Over my adult life, I've probably gained and lost about 300 pounds (4 full term pregnancies were part of that). In 2006, I was at, what was then, my highest weight of 206 pounds after not dropping hardly any weight after my 4th child and back problems that resulted in a very sedentary life style. I used what I called a…

I had 2 herniated discs that were successfully treated with Cortisone injections (a series of 3). This was 12 years ago, and as long as I keep the weight off, keep my core strong, and pay attention to lifting anything heavy with proper form, my back is good. Is that an option? I also lost 35 pounds (out of a total of 70)…

It took about 5-6 months to lose that last 10 pounds (.5 pound loss/week), although it felt like it was longer. The last 10 pounds took me from a BMI of 22.4 to 21. I'm not going to sugar-coat it; it was the hardest 10 pounds to lose. During this time, though, I had really increased my exercise, including moderate strength…

I don't know why we are so much harder on ourselves than we are to others. I've done the whole yo-yo weight for years and it can be really depressing. Two big changes I've made this time around was 1) I found a love of exercising that I never had before. The last time I lost weight, I went to the gym because it was part of…

Look at your profile. Look at all the fitness goals you want accomplished. Nothing in life is just handed to you; you have to work for it. Put the slacking off the diet and exercise behind you. It's done and over. Today is a new day. Decide on the person you want to be and DO it. Nothing worked for me until I decided to…

First off, congratulations on losing 20 pounds! That is a very big deal. You did that. Losing weight is something you are capable of doing. You did the work and it is paying off. Looking ahead can be daunting; for whatever reason, it's easier to see how far you have to go than to see how far you've come and it can become…

op, THANK YOU for putting into words exactly how I've been feeling. For almost 2 years, food is nearly all I think about. There certainly are other things that cross my mind, but I would say a vast majority of my internal musings are centered around food-or exercise so I can have more food. I started my weight loss process…

Fantastic job keeping with it! Many people would have given up after one set back, much less what you went through. Awesome and you look great!

Some days, my maintenance calories are enough; other days, I could gnaw on wood because I'm so hungry. When I have those days, I try to do a little more, like walk a little faster/further to allow for an extra snack. Sometimes, it turns out my hunger is really boredom or stress. Keeping my diet higher in fresh fruit,…

I wish I had wise words, but I do have empathy. It took me a long time to lose the last 10 pounds. Granted, I wasn't as careful about my diet as I could have been as I did go out to eat on a weekend night most weeks. However, I stuck with monitoring calories in/calories out and it did come off eventually. Once I reached my…

Theoretically, once you reach maintenance, you should be able to increase your calorie intake depending on your activity level and how big your deficit was in order to lose. If you don't have much to lose, then your deficit shouldn't be too big (250-500 calories depending). However, if you are exercising like crazy in…

I am in the middle of post-op recovery. Depending on the surgery and how you recover from anesthesia, you probably won't be eating too much for a day or 2. Once you are eating again, feed your body. It needs calories to recover. Once I was feeling a bit better (I unfortunately had complications), I set my goals to…

Thanks for the responses. It is encouraging to hear that even though you had to stop, you were able to get back into exercise. It's hard to see it now; that I will get there. It's a big deal to just take care of myself, much less do anything else.

I would say the double chocolate chunk is one of my least favorite flavors; any of the chocolate based ones are not as good to me. I really like the strawberry cheesecake, banana nut muffin, chocolate chip cookie dough and white chocolate raspberry. I know some people don't like the texture, but it has grown on me and I…

I have no advice, only empathy. I've been trying to lose the last 1-4 pounds (keeps fluctuating) since December. Granted, during this time I have adjusted my macros and starting strength training, but I would think that 1 lousy pound would come off at some point. I agree that just eating lettuce and cucumbers would get me…