Well, I don't know if that's what you would call it exactly, but here it is all the same.
I have finally reached a point in my life over the past few years where I was mostly happy with myself - with my body. I'm a little overweight, yes, but I was OK with that. I had this arbitrary number in my head. As long as I don't ever get above ___, then I'm content with the way I am. Budman has done a lot for me in this department, because he thinks I'm beautiful and sexy no matter what I weigh or how I look. And most days, that is all that matters to me. He believes that I am the most beautiful creature on the planet, therefore I am.
But yesterday, I stepped on the scale at work, and THERE. IT. WAS. I have reached THAT weight - the one that I SWORE I would never be. And here's the kicker. I'm going to tell you what it was.
Give me a minute to get brave, though.
Ideally, I want to weigh 135. Realistically, I would settle for 160. Unfortunately, at the moment, I am weighing in at 200 lbs. Whew, there I said it. (deep breaths, Melody, it's OK.) I'm thinking that working on my weight loss in 25 lb. increments is probably a good way to go about this.
So, my Frump Fighting today is more like a quest for Frump Fighting advice. I've read many of the other posts over the past few weeks about exercising, eating right, etc. And I really want to follow them all, but here's the thing:
I don't DO exercise. I could probably manage something small, but heck, I get winded going upstairs. (OMG - how pathetic is that!?!)
I LOVE food (see yesterday's post) and while I do eat healthy, I also eat everything else. I'm not the one who cooks the evening meals in our house right now, so I don't have any control over what is for dinner. I suppose I could go home and have a salad while everyone else is eating something good, but it's not likely to happen.
I'm not expecting to find some magical weight loss program where I can live exactly as I have, and watch the pounds fall off of me. I know that this does not happen in the real world. The way I see it, I need to cut out back on Dr Pepper and drink more water. I need to eat smaller portions. I need to swear off French Fries completely. AND, I need to begin some sort of exercise program - something simple at first, just to get me started.
Anyone have any ideas that worked for you? Any tips for eating better, cutting fat or recipes that you swear by? Any suggestions on a beginner workout routine? I own a recumbent bike, that decorates the living room, and now that spring is arriving, we are spending a lot more time outside. I will be walking for the Alzheimer's Association in September, but I need to do something before then, of course. I've already mentioned what my daily schedule is like - so I'm not looking forward to spending a lot of time on this, but I HAVE to do something. Now that I've reached 200 lbs. THAT WEIGHT, I MUST to do something.
Pop on over to Fussy's place, and find more Frump fighters!
10 comments:
Ok first I would definitly get rid of the Dr. Pepper. Cokes are so bad for us. Your on the right track with the eating smaller portions and giving up the Dr. Pepper. I would suggest though that you not give up everything cold turkey. If you have a craving for a Dr. P maybe take a drink of someone elses. Or fix yourself just a little. Thats what I did on the fries. I would not order them I would just sneak a few from my kids. Unfortunatly I have gained some of my weight back but I am gonna get back on the wagon. You can do this.
I have to say that the roller coaster is a tough one. When I went back to work full-time, it was so stressful that I ate until I weighed in at 193 (January a year ago. I didn't even think I was overeating that much but I didn't have time to balance it with some form of exercise and I felt I needed the food to think straight. Today I weighed in at 167 and feel sooo much better. But you are asking how so I have to say it is ALL about limiting your food intake and picking up the exercise - especially interval training such as weights in between cardiofitness. Go buy yourself a $30 mini-trampoline to put in front of the TV at night to walk or jog on for 1/2 hour every day and a $20 pair of 5 lb weights. Whatever you can do, it will be more than you did before and the magazines are full of exercises to do between household chores. On the food, try cutting out all carbs like in South Beach and then after two weeks, adding back in some things. If you see your weight going up, cut out what you added. Make sure to add in fiber of some kind through veggies or whole grains. You will be surprised how these simple steps will make a huge difference. Since I am not a doctor, I will say that these steps are outlined in Atkins and South Beach but most importantly, go see a doctor and get a complete workup on your health. It scared me to see that I was possibly pre-diabetic.
After that first 25, it does get harder. I'm telling you this because I have been there and finally wanted it bad enough after last summer's pictures came back to do something about it. It is still a daily battle.
YOU CAN DO IT and you will feel sooo much better!!!
You go girl!
I diet & exercise a week at a time. I start every Monday following my diet and exercise regimen and every weekend I get to eat what I want and don't have to exercise. Then on Monday I do it again. I only weigh myself on Mondays. I started with 35lbs to lose and I am down 8lbs in 6 weeks (real loss, not water weight). I'm BFing my 3 month old, so I have to lose slowly, no more than 2lbs a week. By making my commitment a weekly thing, I keep my body from hitting a plateau. It also gives me a way to enjoy the "bad" foods that taste so good without feeling like I blew my diet on the weekends.
My advice to you would be to start out with the exercise SLOWLY. Don't set out to do an hour of cardio five days a week. Set small goals for yourself. Start with 15 minutes twice a week, or whatever you know you can manage. Then, build on from there.
As far as the diet goes, in my opinion, there is no better program than Weight Watchers. It advocates eating everything in moderation -- it's a healthy approach -- not all protein, no carbs, etc. Also, the weekly weigh ins and meetings give you accountability and a support network, because without that, it's very hard to stick with it.
Hope that helps! Good luck! :)
I am in the same boat as you right now - higher than I ever wanted to be. I've been putting off doing anything until I was done having kids, but guess what? Last last baby is 2 months old now and it's time to get off my frumpy fanny and do something. I would recommend the book, Your Perfect Weight, by Prevention magazine. Check Mark Bricklin and Linda Konner for authors. It really advocates changing your lifestyle to include healthy eating habits and basic exercise. It starts with walking 15 minutes. I think I need to pull this out again myself. We can both do it!
Great post. I hope your willingness to open up will be rewarded by continued determination to reach your goals.
I totally know how you feel on the 200 lb mark -- I hit that with my last pregnancy and then refused to look at the scale again until after I gave birth.
Agree on the giving up soda for water (this is a constant struggle for me.) And agree on needing to start exercising asap. The fact that you get winded going up stairs isn't proof that you don't DO exercise, it's proof that you'll feel so much better, more energetic as soon as you start exercising every day. Start with walking and go from there.
A meta-study of diets showed that the two things that most successful dieters had in common (regardless of which program they used) was that they 1) ate breakfast and 2) kept a food journal.
Check out sparkpeople.com for motivtion and tips for the "lifestyle change" not "diet."
Also, I read a great article in the NYTimes about willpower. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/opinion/02aamodt.htm
Good luck! Keep us posted on your progress!
I lost 15 pounds a year ago and have kept them off. I did it with the south beach diet. It's really about looking at what you eat and substituting veggies for bread, etc. My husband lost 15 too. He's convinced if people have a protein/ chicken, etc. and veggies for dinner they can lose a lot of weight.
It will be hard for a few days but you will feel SO GOOD! If I can do it- anybody can (I love fries, carbs) but I like feeling better way more. Good luck, and I'm pulling for you :) You can do it!
You and I sound like we have the exact same weight and food issues. I've always been comfortable at a higher weight than a lot of women because I take the Queen Latifah approach to my weight--I'm not defined by how much I weigh.
My biggest advice would be to tackle this NOW. A few years ago I was at 195--which was definitely my never go there number--when my mom got sick and died. I gained 35 lbs. in 2 months. Not from eating, but from my body's reaction to the stress.
I managed to lose 60 lbs. over about 18 months by eating only healthy. No junk at all. I exercised by walking a lot.
Unfortunately, when my sister died this past January I had the stress weight gain again--this time about 15 lbs.
I started Weight Watchers online about 3 weeks ago. I'm really liking it a lot, and am down about 6 lbs.
The things is it gets soooo much harder as you get older.
I'm dieting myself. Walking is an easy way to start an exercise program. I wouldn't give up the Dr. Pepper. You need some kind of comfort food. There is alot of low fat or no fat foods out there like Edy's fruit pops or Snyders organic pretzels. Watch what you eat, but don't eat smaller portions or you will starve yourself, and then you will need to eat more.
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