gisela

That's great AC! Don't you ever feel guilty for sharing your success! It's very positive reading!

I joined a gym as I said in an earlier post and I have been there a few times. I actually quite enjoy working out so I hope I will manage to continue.
Good luck to you all!

__________________
You need chaos in your soul to create a dancing star-nietzsche

Auntie Crazy

The very first thing I did was decide enough was enough. I haven't been feeling well for a long time and I got tired of it. After that, I began making little changes in what I ate, substituting slightly healthier foods for my favorite grill cheese and french fries.

Three months later, I started ballroom dancing and that really motivated me. I'm a wee bit older and stiffer and after I started dancing, I began having less trouble with my feet, ankles and knees. A year ago, the bottoms of my feet hurt so bad in the mornings, I nearly felt crippled, and my knees, WOW, very painful going downstairs before I'd been up and around for awhile. (Now, my knees still bother me a bit first thing, but my feet - no pain at all.)

Five months after that, I added Belly Dancing and four months after that, weight-training. In total, I've lost about 27 pounds and dropped from a size 18 to a size 12, almost 10.

I'd say the two most important pieces was the decisive, epiphany-type change in attitude toward my health and the very slow lifestyle changes I've made over the last year.

- - - - - - - - - -

Thanks, Gisela! Congrats on joining the gym! Working out does feel good, doesn't it?

Miranda

__________________
"I have the talent of single-minded determination and focu…hey look, a cat!”

belly_dancer

interesting to put a YEAR in perspective....
lets see.... as far as I can remember... I lost & then gained the SAME 22 lbs in 2007... the GOOD news is that I have lost 5 of those lbs..... the bad news is last yr at this time I had lost 10....
ALSO.... VERY interesting.... I seem to be carrying ALOT more of that weight in my top 1/2..... (not waist but boobs!!!!!)... I have always gained in my thighs & butt..... so this is interesting (& any other girl would love it.... as I do not LOOK fat!!!! just larger in proportion!!!!!)
my dilemma.... my bd BRAS no longer fit (attractively!) not to mention any of my normal clothing... damn... 20 years ago, would have LOVED bigger top 1/2!!!!!
but I KNOW I will feel alot better LOSING the extra 12-15 lbs.... so THAT is what I MUST do (and MUST avoid the time/expense of purchasing/altering costumes as well.... have plenty of favorites just WAITING for me!)
so am hoping to revive this thread in the new year... (ok I am a month slow...but..) is anyone out there who wants to "commit" (or at least help hold me accountable????)
shoot.... even if we are all only 1-2 pounds less (those of us who need to be) 1/2009... that is a step in the right direction correct????
so maybe we can take it slowly/ monthly...
so by 3/1... I REALLY should lose 5 pounds.....
heavy sigh... so here I go....
any inspirational stories out there??? or just people in the same boat??? what are you all up to on this front??

Reen.Blom

Hey belly dancer... ehem.... I am in.... I think.... for now..... maybe..... or not? LOL

My aim is short-term though.... for me to commit for a year is to definitly fail.... I commit for a month....(do I?) I really need to focus on excersize! I do eat reasonably healthy and I do not set an aim to lose 'that many kilos' but rater tone up and lose some kilos till I feel better about my body and fit better into my clothes.... half of my clothes are out of circulation cos they dont fit like they used to, and all that is left is that loosy baggy stuff....*sign*

I want to get back into my routine of daily excersizes even if it is 10 min a day! It suerely helps if it is every day! Plus the period cramps are totally gone without a trace if I do keep to my commitment!

I really want to lose the weight that I put on last year..... So will see how far I get my mid-march!

I started today with 25 min excersizes a VERY energetic walk that I will remember well tomorrow with muscle pain...LOL and also had a decent spash in the "puddle" dont think it does much for fitness but it DOES help deeper breathing!

Oh By the way... anyone here with tips on Breathing excersizes? Amamzingly few people breathe properly! Aweee the root of all evils....LOL

SO.... I did it.... commited I think.... Just wonder now if I ever post here again with fitness report.... or might just pretend this thread does not exist... LOL

hugs and best wishes,
reen.blom

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Join WORLD BELLY DANCE DAY! www.worldbellydanceday.com

Auntie Crazy

I commit!

My current weight is 161 lbs and my body fat is 38.3%.
My goals are: Mar 3rd = 155 lbs and 34.3%; Mar 31st = 149 lbs and 30.3%; Apr 28th = 143 lbs and 26.3%

Sadly, the last two weeks have been kinda rough. I couldn't exercise at all last week due to a damaged shoulder joint (no more overhead shoulder presses on the machine for me!!) and I was frustrated about not losing any weight the week before, so I... um, ate whatever I felt like all last week.

But I'm back on track this week, eating right, taking my vitamins and iron (under a dr.'s scrip right now *sigh*), drinking non-stop and sleeping at least eight hours every night. Not to mention, back in the gym tomorrow!! Whoot!!

Good luck in February, everyone!!

Miranda

__________________
"I have the talent of single-minded determination and focu…hey look, a cat!”

sedoniaraqs

Dear all:

I have been losing quite a bit of weight over the past 5 months from very careful eating and lots of exercise. I just purged my closet of size 12 and 10 clothing and had to go buy a new wardrobe of size 8 stuff. It has not come easy, and it takes permanent lifestyle changes and never-ending diligence. I have only been losing about 0.5 lbs per week, but I have stuck with it and it adds up. I am almost 42 and, damn, I look good in bedlah again.

One change I made, and it took me a while to come around to it, was to get very quantitative about the whole thing. I had never before counted calories but, you know, I had several years of NOT counting calories NOT working. But really it all boils down to calories in, calories out. Yes, there are healthy and not so healthy ways, but if the calories "in" exceed calories "out"...the numbers don't lie.

And when you think about it -- would you treat your money this way? If you were broke and overdrawing your checking account every month, would you take the following advice: "Oh, don't balance your checkbook, and don't bother looking at the amount of your paycheck. Just try to be frugal, work hard at your job, and buy what you feel you really need, but not more." I mean, for some people that may work (for money and weight). But if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

The other thing that made me quantify -- realizing the difference between being fat and being thin is a very small amount of food. People gaining weight for the most part aren't gluttons, they eat very close to what they burn, just like everyone else. Very close. If you average only 100 extra cals per day, that's about a 1 lb weight gain per month; 10 lbs per year; 50 lbs in 5 years. Anyway, now I am a firm believer that anyone who has a weight problem and wants to solve it needs to know how much they are eating and how much they are burning.

So I had a metabolism test at my university recreation center (cost me $25) which measured my basal metabolic rate. It was 1500 cals. Add to that a desk job and moderate daily activity, and I burn around 2000 cals. (This is exactly average for my age, height, and gender, so no more whining that I have "slow" metabolism) Exercise can add another few hundred calories to that per day. To lose weight safely and effectively, one needs about a 500 cal per day deficit.

I make sure I have that 500 cal per day deficit.

Other things working for me:
eating 5 small meals rather than 3 larger
eating more protein and less carbs
Measuring out calorically dense food like meat and pasta. The first time I saw what 1 cup of pasta looks like (a serving of pasta is 1 cup), I almost cried. I used to eat 3 cups at a sitting. I got over it and measure my pasta.
I keep "Muscle Milk" protein shakes at work, and I drink these when I don't have time for a proper meal. They taste great.

I also got an eliptical machine for my basement and I use it for 30 mins per day, every day, even if I really really don't want to. I also train with weights, because the middle aged female body will lose muscle mass if you don't do progressive weight training to keep it. And because it mitigates aging.

Anyway, that's my story.

Sedonia

Auntie Crazy

That's exactly right, Sedoniaraqs - slow but sure is the way to do it. I've lost nearly 30 lbs so far, at the blinding speed of just about eight months.

Funny you should mention the calorie thing - I just this evening bought Charles Platkin's "Countdown" book that lists the calorie, carbs and fat content of 7,500 different foods, from fresh fruits and veggies to soups, donuts and bacon burgers. There are days when I'm pretty sure I'm under-eating and others where I think I ate okay, but I really have no idea what the calorie count was. Guessing, as you said, is a poor way to manage important issues, so I picked this book up to get a clearer picture of my daily caloric balance.

You know what my biggest hurdle really is, though? Throughout my life, I've never been able to sleep enough. I remember when I was a young child, rearranging my bedroom at 2am, or reading a book, or just watching out the window. As an adult, it's still reading or it's the internet - I just can't seem to make myself go to bed early enough to grant me 8 hours of sleep.

When I was younger, it didn't matter, I could totally handle the sleep deprivation. Today, though, not at all. I have sleep apnea (which means even the sleep I do get is not particularly restful) and I have chronically low levels of iron; put all three of these together and, well, you get one massive feeling of exhaustion.

I'm sorry, I digress (I'm in the middle of addressing the apnea and the iron levels with my doc, so it's on my mind) - my point in mentioning all this is the effect it has has on my willpower. It becomes difficult to make the right choices over the easy ones. When I've had a particularly hard few days, I crave potato chips and french-fries insanely, and just thinking about trying to pick out what I'm going to wear to the gym is debilitating - never mind actually going!

My doc has finally convinced me that this issue has the potential to cause me serious consequences if I don't do something to mitigate it, so I've been taking the same small steps here as I did to change my eating habits. I used to stay awake until 2a or 3a in the morning every night; my current goal is to get myself into bed by midnight, and I've been more or less successful at this for about a month (at least, I seldom stay up past 1am now). Soon, I'll aim for 11p. Since my natural sleep cycle is 1a to 9a, I doubt I'll ever be able to go to sleep much earlier than 11p, but I'm blessed enough to have a job that allows me to sleep 'till 7a - so that will give me that ever so necessary 8 hours.

Wow, I'm really rambling tonight - I hope I haven't bored all of you to tears!

I have less than 15 minutes to brush my teeth and get my tired ol' carcase into bed!

__________________
"I have the talent of single-minded determination and focu…hey look, a cat!”

sedoniaraqs

Auntie Crazy, do you use a CPAP for your sleep apnea? My husband has been using one for about 7 years now and it is wonderful not only for his health, but because we can sleep in the same room again, when pre-cpap I could barely sleep in a distant end of the same house with him because of the snoring.

And yes, you bring up another good reason to count calories -- undereating! If you get too gung-ho about losing weight, and eat salad all day, you might be way undereating. This tends to make one feel like total crap, of course, and rebound and overeat within a day or so, plus it undermines any exercise regime.

Sedonia

Auntie Crazy

Yep. *sigh* I went about a month ago for a sleep study (and a worse night I don't think I've EVER had) to test the level of apnea, and I go back on the 14th of this month to get fitted for the cpap. I'm SO not looking forward to it, but I know I must.

Glad your hubby is feeling better, Sedoniaraqa, and I know you both must be happier to be able to cuddle again!

Miranda

__________________
"I have the talent of single-minded determination and focu…hey look, a cat!”

sedoniaraqs

The second night at the sleep clinic may be much more comfortable for you. I still remember when my husband came back from his. Because he had had his first night of sleep without 400 apneas, he looked all bright eyed and bushy tailed. He said he felt like he had awakened from a foggy bad dream that had been going on for years.

So I hope you find relief. Some people can't seem to get the CPAP aparatus to fit them. There are a jillion different kinds of the headgear part -- some are masks, some are not masks. Mark has tried about half a dozen but only one works -- the "Breeze" with nasal pillows instead of a mask. If the first thing they give you doesn't work -- keep trying other kinds. Mark has worn his every night since he got his.

Sedonia