Let’s share our journey for those of us that want to pursue a healthier lifestyle to lose weight.

[b2bailey]

Since 9/3/2019, I have lost 49 pounds. I have 31 to go and hope to be there by the end of a year, so 9/2/20. I would like to lose another 10 after I lose the 31 additional pounds, ultimately, but I would like to lose the 31 and see how I am feeling. A Facebook group I belong to has been a great help. This is a program I started after my neighbor lost 70 pounds and looked amazing. I saw her in October of 2018, and then in June of 2018, she was vivacious and youthful looking and was six sizes smaller. She is my coach. I noticed her and told her I wanted to do whatever she did.

I eat six times a day. Small meals except dinner, which is 5-7 ounces of protein (depending on how lean it is) and 3 servings of green vegetables. I feel good, my pulse is under 60, my blood pressure is 100/60, and my cholesterol is lower than it's ever been. My doc was amazed. The program is perfect for me. I have never been this successful at weight loss. My life is completely different. I don't think I am going to need a hip replacement now. My right hip had to be replaced 5 years ago, and since then, I have had pain on the left side, but no more.

There are two books I have read related to the program, and everything is in place in my head to keep the weight off. I haven't strayed even one day from my program. It's easy for me. I have done WW and other programs. Atkins worked, but I had to plan all of those meals. One meal is easy every day, and that is all I have to plan and think about. I eat cauliflower crust pizza and love it so much. I eat steak and green beans and salads. I eat pulled pork and broccoli a lot.

My plan to go on maintenance is very similar to what I am doing now to lose weight, but I won't spend this much money anymore on the Medifast foods. I will still eat six times a day. Each of the 5 meals will be around 100-150 calories, except dinner will pretty much stay the same.

I will replace my current bars with Built bars, and I will replace my current delicious shakes with others that I can buy at Costco. I will eat yogurt, those 80 calorie ones, for one meal. I will eat nuts for one meal. Lots of other choices that are listed in the books as replacements for the current easy-breezy choices I am doing now. I will eat an egg for breakfast every day, or a protein pancake (Kodiak brand). I can eat a small amount of popcorn, around 100 calories' worth, but no more big buckets at the movie theater. That has been a challenge to walk by the concession stand at the movies.

I see companies creating new products that I can eat and maintain my weight loss. Eating six times a day has become a great habit. I love it. No hunger pangs. I also drink 90-120 oz of water a day. Love that. I also get to drink my coffee, but I do half decaf in my coffee pot.

Life is good, I feel so positive. This was my destiny to find this program. Too bad the food is costly. If it was not so expensive, I would just stay on it forever, but $450/ month for just those easy meals is cutting into the budget (my travel budget!).

Congratulations!
So happy to hear of your success.
Wondering if you can do a modified plan, say $200/month, after you reach your goal? I'm thinking the familiarity of the items On plan might be helpful and encouraging.

 

[b2bailey]

I went to yoga after all yesterday evening. Not sure I would have if it weren’t for thinking about it on account of this thread. I wanted something mellow so I picked a Restorative Yoga class.

When I signed up for the class online at the new-to-me yoga studio, they offered me a $30 first month new member special- I was planning on the single $17 class fee, but took the unlimited classes for a month option. So I guess March will be yoga month for me.

The class was excellent. It was lots of lying down poses with props to put your body into a deep stretch of some specific muscle group that you didn’t even realize was tight. Very relaxing, great ambience.

My day off is going to change from Fri to Wed next Sept. I could definitely see making this Wed evening class a regular thing (right now to make the class, stars have to align such that I can get out of work a little early).

This studio has a great vibe and quite a few interesting classes, glad I found it.

I have tried yoga a few times and each beginners class seemed too difficult for me. I don't want to venture too far past child's pose so imagine my distress when instructor wants me to try header and against the wall. I like the sound of the class you described.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Any journey towards improved health starts with eliminating sugar (especially added sugar) - including “diet” sodas, and processed foods (preservatives).

Try it for a couple of months (hard), and you will feel and sleep better. And sugar addiction syndromes (cravings) will subside.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[b2bailey]

Mention of sugar reminds me of movie I saw recently -- The Magic Pill. Anyone else seen it?

 

[amycurl]

@Panina,
Based on what you've posted (I'm catching up in the thread, and am not all the way through it yet,) have you thought about joining a community-supported agriculture program? The best part about living where you do is that so much of your food can be grown locally. I find that being a CSA member has been great for our eating habits. I like the challenge of "cooking out of the box" with fresh, locally-grown veggies eat week; we eat out less (because we don't want those veggies to go to waste!); we snack more on veggies/fruit; and we even entertain more, because we like to share the bounty with our friends, too. Local, in-season produce tends to both taste better AND be healthier for you (veggies lose some nutrients in long-term storage and shipping.)

A quick Google search produced some good choices near you. Happy to PM you the links if you want more info.
*steps off soapbox*

 

[rickandcindy23]

Congratulations!
So happy to hear of your success.
Wondering if you can do a modified plan, say $200/month, after you reach your goal? I'm thinking the familiarity of the items On plan might be helpful and encouraging.

Thank you! It's been a journey for sure, and a very positive one. I have that goal of 80 pounds to lose, and once I lose it, I know I will have the energy to exercise and keep the pounds off. I can continue the bars/shakes/brownies/pancakes/cereals for three meals a day after I get to goal. I might do it, that is what a lot of maintainers have done. I haven't gotten there yet. I know the pounds lost each week are going to slow down a lot now that I am this close to goal.

Someone told me the shakes make them lose weight faster, and I did a lot of the Medifast shakes while on Maui this past few weeks. I noticed a four pound loss after two weeks, so that was amazing for me. I may have to add more shakes to my order for this month.

 

[Panina]

@Panina,
Based on what you've posted (I'm catching up in the thread, and am not all the way through it yet,) have you thought about joining a community-supported agriculture program? The best part about living where you do is that so much of your food can be grown locally. I find that being a CSA member has been great for our eating habits. I like the challenge of "cooking out of the box" with fresh, locally-grown veggies eat week; we eat out less (because we don't want those veggies to go to waste!); we snack more on veggies/fruit; and we even entertain more, because we like to share the bounty with our friends, too. Local, in-season produce tends to both taste better AND be healthier for you (veggies lose some nutrients in long-term storage and shipping.)

A quick Google search produced some good choices near you. Happy to PM you the links if you want more info.
*steps off soapbox*

When I lived up north I belonged to a CSA and loved it. We travel often now, so it just wouldn’t work to pick it up each week. Meanwhile I look for as much local produce and vegetables I can get.

 

[presley]

I have tried yoga a few times and each beginners class seemed too difficult for me. I don't want to venture too far past child's pose so imagine my distress when instructor wants me to try header and against the wall. I like the sound of the class you described.

A good Yoga instructor will let you stay within your own limits. If you want to do child's pose and savasana the entire class, they should be okay with it. It's really about listening to your own body and only doing what your body wants to do at the time.

My husband can't even do child's pose. He just does whatever he can when he takes a class and the instructor tells him to let her know if he wants her help with anything and he never does. He just does whatever stretching he can do - which is extremely limited.

 

[geekette]

Thank you! It's been a journey for sure, and a very positive one. I have that goal of 80 pounds to lose, and once I lose it, I know I will have the energy to exercise and keep the pounds off. I can continue the bars/shakes/brownies/pancakes/cereals for three meals a day after I get to goal. I might do it, that is what a lot of maintainers have done. I haven't gotten there yet. I know the pounds lost each week are going to slow down a lot now that I am this close to goal.

Someone told me the shakes make them lose weight faster, and I did a lot of the Medifast shakes while on Maui this past few weeks. I noticed a four pound loss after two weeks, so that was amazing for me. I may have to add more shakes to my order for this month.

probably you should add more Maui, too. Don't mess with success, get back there ASAP!!!

 

[Snazzylass]

Thank you everyone for participating. I enjoy reading everyone’s responses. It has helped me lots as I know I am not alone.

I got weighed today at Weight Watchers and was shocked how much water I am holding. The scale went down 6 pounds, so I figure 1-2 pounds fat, 3-4 pounds water.

Congrats on your first week weigh in! That's impressive! And, please, everyone, let's not discount water weight loss. Retaining too much water cannot be a good thing Think, edema, etc.

 

[heathpack]

We shall not discuss Disneyland, as much (zero-regret) revelry was had. On the weight management side, at least there was lots of walking...

Today I got out for around 3 hours on the bike on a beautiful February day. I rode up into the mountains with some friends, around 32 miles with 3200 ft elevation gain.

Burned around 1050 cal. For my pre-ride breakfast, I ate a slice of whole wheat toast with homemade peanut butter and half a banana (around 270 cal), then around 100 cal on the ride (3 dried apricots and 5 almonds), then a large nonfat hazelnut latte at the coffee shop after (around 275 cal).

So by the time I finished riding and getting coffee with friends, it was noon and I’d burned 1050 cal while consuming 645 cal- ie a net -450 cal. Good start to the weekend of caloric atonement.

 

[VacationForever]

I am a little depressed right now and it is not good for dieting. I golfed on Wednesday this week and my tennis elbow has come back with a vengence so I have to take it easy for a few days as I have a golf tournament next Wednesday. I have also been experiencing hip and back issues, also aggravated by golf so I have to skip my aerobic activities as well. So I have been a bit of a couch potato last couple of days, snacking alot. My weight has been steady. I did buy packaged hard boiled eggs from Costco this week as I get very hungry on golf days and instead of snacking on carbs for the rest of the day I figure having eggs will stabilize my blood sugar a bit more and snack less on carbs.

 

[Panina]

I am a little depressed right now and it is not good for dieting. I golfed on Wednesday this week and my tennis elbow has come back with a vengence so I have to take it easy for a few days as I have a golf tournament next Wednesday. I have also been experiencing hip and back issues, also aggravated by golf so I have to skip my aerobic activities as well. So I have been a bit of a couch potato last couple of days, snacking alot. My weight has been steady. I did buy packaged hard boiled eggs from Costco this week as I get very hungry on golf days and instead of snacking on carbs for the rest of the day I figure having eggs will stabilize my blood sugar a bit more and snack less on carbs.

Understandably you are a little depressed but realize it is temporary. Just try to maintain and if you gain a little you will deal with it when you can. Don’t beat yourself up. There are good days and bad ones. Try to allow yourself to have both.

 

[Panina]

So I just came from a community event basically a buffet of about 60 different items and desserts. I made kasha varnishkas. It is a polish dish my grandmother made. Bow tie pasta, buckwheat, garlic, onion and oil. That is all I had as I watched everyone else have plates that were filled and high.

Normally I cannot have anything except what I bring because I have to be sure I eat gluten free but it is usually depressing and difficult to watch and I feel poor me. This time it didn’t even phase me. I ate what I made and the urge wasn't there. I wonder if it is because I have been eating clean for the last 2 weeks or because I felt what I cook would taste better.

 

[Quilter]

I am so glad someone brought this up.

In October my doctor confirmed my blood work showed prediabetes. His only directions were no grains, no sugar. I had already been dabbling with the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle so my sugar consumption was cut way down except for the occasional cookie or ice cream binge and a Dr. Pepper as a treat. I was still eating grains. I never had trouble with sugar before except hypoglycemia. Guess age finally caught up with the cookies, even though they were from the organic section of the store. Organic sugar is still sugar.

So I started going to library, and then that led to podcasts. Friend told me she was on Plant Paradox plan. I kept coming back to Dr. Mark Hyman and his books, interviews and podcasts. I haven’t heard a boring one yet. This is the first of his Farmacy podcasts. https://drhyman.com/blog/2018/05/22/the-doctors-farmacy-episode-one-with-michael-moss/

I was already eating very close to his recommendations but his information made it easier to give up bread, pasta and some rice. Of course there’s the occasional for each. Ive blended information gleaned from him, Dr. Terry Wahls, Dr. Gundry. Now I’m listening to Bulletproof Diet book. Doubt I’ll go keto. But there’s lots more to the book that can be helpful. 12 pounds melted away effortlessly and I’m at goal weight. I didn’t follow any diet plan or schedule. Just adopted the suggestions. I’m very curious where my blood sugar numbers are. My doctor said to wait until I’m back home in April to test again.

I manage a Yahoo group for owners at Marriotts Ocean Pointe. We have all aged 20 years since we first bought. I’ve gone from 47 to 67. Friends went from 60 to 80. We’ve lost several owner friends. Others are having to give up there winters at the resort because their spouse has Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or dementia.

 

[Panina]

So this morning I decided to do cooking for the week. Last week I did it twice, the second time was annoying, an inconvenience. The only other cooking experiment I might try this week is an apple dessert.

I never liked cooking. I mostly purchased ready to eat and more recently hired a food service to cook for me. I am surprised how much I am liking it. My primary reason is because it all tastes so good, better then anything I can buy.

Amazing I found two new passions recently cooking and painting, two things I never thought I was any good at.

This is what I made
vegetarian tuna from chick peas, a different variation from last week to make it crunchy.
mushroom onion egg quiche
eggplant parmesan using nutritional yeast instead of cheese
Baked onion garlic tofu
fresh garlic basil sauce
”fried” edamame rice
blueberry banana oatmeal muffins
candied oranges using date syrup instead of sugar, won’t know until they dry out if it worked.

The muffins are real easy, no flour
preheat oven to 400

mash 2 bananas
add two eggs to bananas and beat with fork until mixed
add 1 1/4 cup instant oatmeal, mix
add 1 teaspoon baking powder, mix
add 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, mix

I use a nonstick mini muffin size pan and spray each cup

about 25 minutes to cook

best, zero points on purple plan on Weight Watchers

 

[Quilter]

That is what I hoped this thread would become, a reminder of what we want to do for ourselves.

My community has many yoga classes. Years ago I tried yoga and didn’t like it. I think I will try it again.

Years ago I didn’t like the yoga classes I tried at the gym. Too big and I was concerned I’d hurt myself because the instructor couldn’t give personalized help.

I’m an owner at Marriott’s Ocean Pointe and they have great stretch classes but that’s just a couple weeks a year. My neighbors have been longtime yoga girls. Last year one began an online course for senior yoga instruction. She offered to have classes at her house for us. It’s just 2 others and her. She is the best instructor. We’re both snowbirds so she is in Sarasota and I’m heading to Ocean Pointe.

I also found a class about 45 minutes from home but it was something I really wanted to try. It’s another kind of stretch called Essentrics. I was so glad to find the instructor was about my age (67) as well as the other participants. Some around 80. About 10 total. I explained my concerns and she was always watching the students and giving pointers. The other students encouraged me to schedule one on one with her and I did. She’s also a snowbird and is in St. Petersburg.

I found even another yoga studio and talked to that instructor. Paid for 10 classes been to one. It’s good for the year so when my neighbor isn’t available I can join that class. The Essentrics instructor knows her and thought it would be good for me since it’s 4 minutes from my house instead of 45.

 

[WinniWoman]

I am a little depressed right now and it is not good for dieting. I golfed on Wednesday this week and my tennis elbow has come back with a vengence so I have to take it easy for a few days as I have a golf tournament next Wednesday. I have also been experiencing hip and back issues, also aggravated by golf so I have to skip my aerobic activities as well. So I have been a bit of a couch potato last couple of days, snacking alot. My weight has been steady. I did buy packaged hard boiled eggs from Costco this week as I get very hungry on golf days and instead of snacking on carbs for the rest of the day I figure having eggs will stabilize my blood sugar a bit more and snack less on carbs.

Wishing you a speedy recovery. Sometimes the body just needs a rest from too much activity. Yes, there is such a thing and it stresses the body.

 

[WinniWoman]

I think people should do whatever works for them, but I will tell you I know several people- my best friend in her 80's and her husband come to mind. Both slender. Both fairly healthy for their ages. My friend is not on a single medication. She is not a big eater but she eats what she likes and that includes some alcohol and some sweets like a piece of cake at night for desert. She is Irish and loves her potatoes and also pasta. She drinks regular soda occasionally, not diet. Never exercised a day in her life, but was active in terms of doing chores around her house. She still cooks.

Her son is as thin as a skeleton- always was since a child- and is a runner, but he was a skinny pencil before he became a runner, not as a result of it. As opposed to my son who was obese and had to lower his calorie intake to the extreme to lose weight on top of exercising and eventually became a runner to be able to eat and keep his weight off.

My friend's mom lived well into her 90's and loved to eat 3 full meals. She loved her oatmeal every morning so I do not buy the theory about not eating any grains. And yes- she was healthy and slender until the day she died.

I think everything in moderation is the key and calories in and calories out and staying active, but not crazy active to the point you hurt yourself. In addition, there is a genetic factor as well.

 

[Quilter]

Since 9/3/2019, I have lost 49 pounds. I have 31 to go and hope to be there by the end of a year, so 9/2/20. I would like to lose another 10 after I lose the 31 additional pounds, ultimately, but I would like to lose the 31 and see how I am feeling. A Facebook group I belong to has been a great help. This is a program I started after my neighbor lost 70 pounds and looked amazing. I saw her in October of 2018, and then in June of 2018, she was vivacious and youthful looking and was six sizes smaller. She is my coach. I noticed her and told her I wanted to do whatever she did.

I eat six times a day. Small meals except dinner, which is 5-7 ounces of protein (depending on how lean it is) and 3 servings of green vegetables. I feel good, my pulse is under 60, my blood pressure is 100/60, and my cholesterol is lower than it's ever been. My doc was amazed. The program is perfect for me. I have never been this successful at weight loss. My life is completely different. I don't think I am going to need a hip replacement now. My right hip had to be replaced 5 years ago, and since then, I have had pain on the left side, but no more.

There are two books I have read related to the program, and everything is in place in my head to keep the weight off. I haven't strayed even one day from my program. It's easy for me. I have done WW and other programs. Atkins worked, but I had to plan all of those meals. One meal is easy every day, and that is all I have to plan and think about. I eat cauliflower crust pizza and love it so much. I eat steak and green beans and salads. I eat pulled pork and broccoli a lot.

My plan to go on maintenance is very similar to what I am doing now to lose weight, but I won't spend this much money anymore on the Medifast foods. I will still eat six times a day. Each of the 5 meals will be around 100-150 calories, except dinner will pretty much stay the same.

I will replace my current bars with Built bars, and I will replace my current delicious shakes with others that I can buy at Costco. I will eat yogurt, those 80 calorie ones, for one meal. I will eat nuts for one meal. Lots of other choices that are listed in the books as replacements for the current easy-breezy choices I am doing now. I will eat an egg for breakfast every day, or a protein pancake (Kodiak brand). I can eat a small amount of popcorn, around 100 calories' worth, but no more big buckets at the movie theater. That has been a challenge to walk by the concession stand at the movies.

I see companies creating new products that I can eat and maintain my weight loss. Eating six times a day has become a great habit. I love it. No hunger pangs. I also drink 90-120 oz of water a day. Love that. I also get to drink my coffee, but I do half decaf in my coffee pot.

Life is good, I feel so positive. This was my destiny to find this program. Too bad the food is costly. If it was not so expensive, I would just stay on it forever, but $450/ month for just those easy meals is cutting into the budget (my travel budget!).

What is the name of this plan?

 

[Panina]

I think people should do whatever works for them, but I will tell you I know several people- my best friend in her 80's and her husband come to mind. Both slender. Both fairly healthy for their ages. My friend is not on a single medication. She is not a big eater but she eats what she likes and that includes some alcohol and some sweets like a piece of cake at night for desert. She is Irish and loves her potatoes and also pasta. She drinks regular soda occasionally, not diet. Never exercised a day in her life, but was active in terms of doing chores around her house. She still cooks.

Her son is as thin as a skeleton- always was since a child- and is a runner, but he was a skinny pencil before he became a runner, not as a result of it. As opposed to my son who was obese and had to lower his calorie intake to the extreme to lose weight on top of exercising and eventually became a runner to be able to eat and keep his weight off.

My friend's mom lived well into her 90's and loved to eat 3 full meals. She loved her oatmeal every morning so I do not buy the theory about not eating any grains. And yes- she was healthy and slender until the day she died.

I think everything in moderation is the key and calories in and calories out and staying active, but not crazy active to the point you hurt yourself. In addition, there is a genetic factor as well.

Definitely a genetic factor too which makes it harder to lose and maintain.

 

[Quilter]

Even with losing weight do others deal with pain or a general achiness. I’ve often thought of trying an elimination diet to see what foods may be causing pain. Haven’t gotten my head around doing something so strict but I tried a day with no dairy today and was surprised at the lack of gut rumblings.

Food sensitivities seems to be a repeated topic with every podcast I listened to. Dr. Gundry targets lectins as the foundational culprit to autoimmune disease and obesity. Dr. Terry Wahls points to environmental toxins as the trigger for her MS but says lectins aggravate her symptoms. Dr. Hyman is focused on eating real food and getting our country’s production of food cleaned up. His recipes include foods containing lectins but he agrees in his books that some people need to avoid them.

Very interesting was another study about food sensitivities causing insulin spikes. This was done by the Weizmann Institute https://www.google.com/search?q=wei...egal&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

Scroll to the right on the video links and watch the TEDxRuppin talk.

 

[Quilter]

I lost 60 pounds and have kept it off for almost 18 years. I did it with Weight Watchers and changed with the plan over the years. I incorporated changes to my diet and lifestyle along the way. I'm not perfect, but I like to think that when I stray it's because of a conscious choice I made. For example, when we go on vacation we eat differently than we do at home. More meals out, more alcohol (like one drink with dinner when we go out) and more desserts. So, when we get home I just jump back on plan. I've gotten to the place where I don't know how not to do it. I've recently stopped the stringent tracking, but I still keep a food journal. I do that as it keeps me accountable for what I put in my mouth.

I did WW years ago and got to Lifetime status. The program evolved into a new pattern after I had lost interest. The thing I disliked the most was how the program was only as good as the coach in the session you attended. Mine was heavily dependent on fake sweeteners. My body doesn’t like fake foods and I get headaches. I don’t remember the quality of food ever discussed. It was only about weight management. Not toxins or nutritional value.

Has that changed?

 

[bluehende]

Weighed in for the one week anniversary and was down 2 1/2 lbs. More than expected as this week was a busy one limiting my walks to 3. Too many Dr appointments along with shopping for this weeks trip to Shawnee in the poconos. Diet was pretty good with only a couple days taking in a couple hundred calories over my goal. I hate to waste food so with going away I ate a few seconds not worth saving. All in all a decent week. This week coming up will be a challenge. With hiking and pools we will be much more active. The problem is hard to deny myself on vacation and it is too easy to eat away the calories of a little exercise. Hope to just break even.

 

[Panina]

Weighed in for the one week anniversary and was down 2 1/2 lbs. More than expected as this week was a busy one limiting my walks to 3. Too many Dr appointments along with shopping for this weeks trip to Shawnee in the poconos. Diet was pretty good with only a couple days taking in a couple hundred calories over my goal. I hate to waste food so with going away I ate a few seconds not worth saving. All in all a decent week. This week coming up will be a challenge. With hiking and pools we will be much more active. The problem is hard to deny myself on vacation and it is too easy to eat away the calories of a little exercise. Hope to just break even.

Great loss. Enjoy your vacation. Even if you gain a pound you are ahead with the loss you had this week.