EnvyMyHealth.com Forum

About 18 months ago I realized I weighed as much as I did when I was 9 months pregnant with my now 12 year old son. THAT'S not right!

As a youth, I'd always had great metabolism but as an adult it eluded me. I went from 120 at 23 to 199 at (mumble mumble mumble). Yes there's no question that as a woman menopause changes things (I gotta ask why the guys never have these problems). However, a lot of my problem centered in giving up on myself -- feeling that at (then) 48 I would never look "good" again.

I was wrong. I started a Biggest Looser contest at work. In three months the company lost over 1,000 pounds. I and one other person continued our efforts to support each other long afterwards. She lost 65 pounds, I've lost 50 (so I'm now 149-150; 5' 9").

Now there was NO secret diet... no crazy fasting, no vinegar, etc. The truth is that moving more and eating right is the key. You have to exercise.. you HAVE to watch what you put in your body. It takes discipline but now I know my body well enough to be able to splurge and know what it will take to keep my weight from rocketing back up.

So here are some hints for those of you facing similar lifestyle changes:

- if you work in an office, don't pick up the phone WALK and TALK to the person. Sitting on your butt doesn't help.

- Eat in your office and walk for your lunch break. People laughed at me for months .. not knowing why they saw me passing their windows. The laughter stopped when I transformed from a size 16 to an 11.

- find healthy snacks you like. It's very good for your metabolism to eat little bits throughout the day - but make those calories count! I snack on radishes, fresh cherry tomatoes (very sweet), carrots etc. Within a few weeks of changing your eating habits you'll find the normal snacks taste TOO salty, or TOO sweet.

- Create a ritual of exercise and diet that you can stick with. I started getting up at least 30-50 minutes early every day to exercise before work. That consumed on average 300 calories before my day even got started! Walking at lunch is another 200 (depending on how long you walk and at what pace). After work.. dance while you make your dinner - go for a walk with your partner or children... do SOMETHING before your body starts shutting down for the night.

- Set aside specific days of the week just for healthy foods. Other days can include your family favorites within reason and moderation. This way you nourish yourself and support weight loss without feeling completely cut off from what's personally meaningful.

- LISTEN TO YOUR BODY: No one, NO ONE can tell you the right diet and exercise program for you better than your body. Take measurements before you start trials. Weigh yourself. Even when you're not losing weight you're often losing inches. FOLKS I lost 8.5 inches on both my hips and waist -- imagine 10, 5 pound bags of potatoes dropping off your body... that's what its like!

I hope these ideas help. I know how frustrated I was for a long time before trying this approach.

GOOD LUCK

Thanks for the tips. I am a firm believer in eating less and moving more. I started a calorie reduction diet about a month ago and it's going great. I don’t have to worry about how many sugars or eating or drinking particular things at the right time, I just eat what I want but stick to a certain amount of calories per day. Of course I try to choose healthier options now. Counting calories is easy once you start to learn the calories in basic foods that you eat everyday. I just have to start exercising now.