Good morning all! Well another Thursday is upon us. I have decided in my own slow stubborn way that this is not just a diet, but an entire change of life! It isn't like you acn just say I am going to lose 30 pounds, then go right back to the old way of eating. It must be a slow gradual cahnge of lifestyle. I am really committed to eating better,and getting more exercise. While I am always busy, I need more physiacl activity. I am not blessed with one of those magical metabolisms that allows me to eat anything I want. So I just have to adapt to that.

So what have I been doing? Well I am weeding out all of the junk food in the house. I am changing my way of cooking and eating. The main thing for me is portion control, fixing a set amount of food and not having seconds. Another is in the shopping. Because face it, if you buy it you will eat it, and if you don't buy it, it is harder to eat it!!! So it is slowly coming together a little more each day.

We have started exercising in the evenings (Cale and I) We have one of those Weider gym with cables and weights and all sorts of things on it. Also Cale has many hundreds of pounds of metal free weights. So we have started once again to work out iwth these. I am in pretty bad shape!!! Trying to do sit-ups has been interesting!! Crunches are a littel easier. I do need to do a lot of stretching first. My joints and muscles are so stiff! I do make the kids laugh a lot, but my determination is very strong!

OK, how are you all doing? I have lost 4 pounds, doesn't seem like much , but I figure it is better than gaining 4 pounds. Since I have started this 3 weeks ago, I do notice a big increase in energy. Just feeling better is a blessing. I still have a l-o-n-g way to go, and much to learn. I hope that many of you are sticking in here, and I think it will get easier as the weather gets nicer.

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), January 24, 2002

Answers

Think of it this way, Melissa. Those 4 pounds represent 16 sticks of butter that are no longer on your body! I started using this visualization a few years ago and it really helps when you get down to losing 1/2 or 1 pound a week. I'm battling the same 20-30 pounds that have plagued me for years, and now I've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. What an added challenge that is going to be!

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), January 24, 2002.

Hi:

I'm a little discouraged...my weight is staying exactly the same. I've been drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day, eating less, and exercising. It may be because I am not far from what I want to weigh (I want to lose 5-10 pounds), but I am only 5'4" and every pound counts!

I probably need to up the exercise even more. I've been skiing and walking and doing yoga. but I've never had a real speedy metabolism either and I've always had to watch it. Also, I'm going to try to really eat less at dinner. THis is tough because my husband loves to cook and pile on the portions. I think to him, feeding someone is love. I try to tell him I don't need to eat that much.

Good luck.

-- Cat (catcrazy@somewhere.com), January 24, 2002.

I had a girlfriend who was about a size 18 and wanted to loose weight for her wedding. She did it in the most gross way I had ever seen. She said she liked all food, craved it all and could never seem to get enough to eat. Dietting never worked for her at all. Any way when I was over at her house for dinner we sat down and started eatting. She sat still for a min and closed her eyes and then started eatting real slow. I ask her if she was feeling alright and she just laughted and told me how she had been loosing weight. She said she could not give up all the things she loved to eat so at every meal she looked at her plate then closed her eyes and pictured 100 magotts on her food. She said then she open her eyes and would have to eat around where she saw them. The food they did not tough. LOL I was like YUCK!!!! She said it had been working. Her eating was cut in half and then she would take a mile long walk every night. She was about 50 lbs lighter in 4 1/2 months LOL. She looked wonderful in her wedding dress.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), January 24, 2002.

Way to go Melissa - 4# is great!!!! Since we started this I have lost a grand total of about 1#!!! Nothing to brag about at all. The older I get, the harder it is to lose. My husband and I have started walking on our tread mill this past week. I walked .6 of a mile last night. Doesn't sound like much but when I first started it was all I could do to go 1/4 a mile! I hope to be up to a mile in a day or two. Remember we didn't gain the weight overnight and we won't lose it overnight.

-- Barb in Ky. (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), January 24, 2002.

Well, I'm still the same. But, I haven't really tried that hard yet. Mostly trying to get "unsick" (some virus is being passed around my hubby's work and guess who brought it home). But, today, hubby and I decided to get back on our Ayurvedic diets and suppliments. We've also decided not to eliminate the junk from our diets, just don't have any in the house and limit it to once a week. And a reasonable portion, not something like a whole cake a piece. lol At the same time, we've decided to cut down on caffeine and get rid of it totally by the end of March. That length of time should help prevent the withdrawal headaches. We really don't have a problem with salty things, except if we do Mexican food, than we can't resist the chips. This too we plan on rationing and eating only away from home like the sweets. Fats has never been our problem either. Just the kind you get in good old donuts. lol But, neither of us have a cholesterol problem, so cutting out that kind of fat probably won't show up that way, just hopefully in our waistlines. The walking program we used to do that we were supposed to start back last week and couldn't because of the crude, we are starting this week. That seems to work best for my hubby, but I will have to add aerobics and perhaps weight training. I, too, am type 2 diabetic, so this is almost necessary for my existence. My doctor told me 20 pounds by June 10th, but I'm making June 1st my goal. I have about that much more that I hope to lose between June and September. But, I know that 20 will prove my hardest.

I know that when I can get outside more for the millions of projects in the gardens that are planned, I will lose more weight. And I've found that if I keep my hands busy with quilting, I eat less. But, I've also found that it is easy to nibble when I'm at the computer, so I'm trying to limit that time. I used to smoke and I quit that, but it seems I still need the stuff to the mouth feeling. It used to be carrot sticks, but I've burnt myself out on those.

Well, keep doing whatever you're doing, Melissa. It sounds like it's working. Good luck to everyone.

-- Iris in Central Oklahoma (WatchingWideEyed@peaceful.com), January 24, 2002.

I'm now up to 80 ounces of water a day, same adjusted workout. Still doing the two hours after meals of not eating except weekends(I'm a compulsive eater). And I've made great strides in getting back to natural food. I did take a couple days off from drinking quite so much water, I had to get some sleep, today I'm beyond what I was before my break. My clothes are looser, I can work even with the toxic headaches and poison feelings, I can't eat as much. I've noticed a big difference in my moods/emotions, but I gotta sleep sometime. I also get thirsty now, never did ever except when working hard/outside.

-- Cindy (SE. IN) (atilrthehony@hotmail.com), January 24, 2002.

Weighed in this morning and am down 3 pounds this week. That makes a total of 10!!!!!!!!! I am so excited and feel great. I have started only eating healthy , real foods. No prepackaged junk. If I want a cookie I make it. If I want a candy bar I improvise and make what I can. I am not starving myself. I have decided it is a change of life I am making and want to do it right. It maybe slow going, but they say if you loss it slowly it is easier to keep off. I am walking and doing crunches, leg lifts, dancing, etc. Anything to keep moving. I put on a pair of jeans I haven't wore in over a year, so I think I am lossing inches also. Some maybe descuraged, but feeling better physically and feeling better about ourselves in what really counts! Heads up and Good luck this week. God Bless

-- Micheale from SE Kansas (mbfrye@totelcsi.net), January 24, 2002.

Hello all.

I am down 5 pounds, in 3 weeks.

Cat- Ann is still at 170; I say no gain is not in vain!!

A friend at work started a metabolism boosting program this week (poor thing is forced to eat ice cream at times!). Too soon to determine progress.

Anyway if you are intersested, I can get a copy from her, and post it.

-- Rick (WV) (Rick_122@hotmail.com), January 24, 2002.

down only one pound, and it looks like our exercise group at work is going to dry up and blow away. sigh.

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), January 24, 2002.

yes, Rick, please post the metabolism boosting stuff!

-- Cat (catcrazy@somewhere.com), January 24, 2002.

Iris, I'm curious. What is an Ayurvedic diet?

-- Barb in Ky. (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), January 25, 2002.

Well, I haven't gained back the two pounds;) I've gotta work harder.

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), January 25, 2002.

Barb in Ky,

Ayurvedic diets are from east India and are foods that are geared to your specific body type. My favorite author of Ayurvedic diet and medicine is Dr. Deepok Chopra. He's pretty well known and I'm sure you can even get his stuff in the libraries. A lot of the concepts of this food lifestyle seem to be mostly logic. Like the different times of day that it is good for your body to consume food and others that are not, which are meant for the digestion of the food. I hope this helps a bit.

-- Iris in Central Oklahoma (WatchingWideEyed@peaceful.com), January 25, 2002.

Hi all. I'm glad to say I'm down 1 more lb this week. That makes for a total of 9!!!Hubby even made a coment about my pants being 'not so tight'.

-- Sherry (Calfarm@msn.com), January 25, 2002.

Cat

Rhonda e-mailed from work, and said she had found it on the net.

She'll send the link if she can find it in her history (at home), in which case I'll pass it on.

-- Rick (WV) (Rick_122@hotmail.com), January 26, 2002.