Weight Loss and Getting in Shape

[AbielleRose]

I've noticed a few people around here have been talking about dieting and getting in shape and thought it would be nice to have a thread to discuss things that have worked, haven't worked or just a place to come to for support if we are struggling and need someone who can relate.

 

For the last few months I have been doing the Slim Fast diet and have been seeing pretty great results with it. I've also started working out to a bellydance DVD and using the gym in my new apartment daily. Though it has really been paying off I am starting to get really sick of drinking most of my meals. I love cooking but don't really have the time to focus on making a 'healthy' meal since I eat most meals on the run. Grabbing a Slim Fast is just easier.

 

What about you all?

[missybct]

Good thread CaliLily!

 

I will be joining you in the dieting wagon, I've got loads to lose and need to at least start to lose some weight before my brother's wedding in September, and then my own wedding the following December! I'm not going to get skinny slim, I'd just like to be about a size 12 (anything less on me looks silly).

 

I think I'm going to adopt a low GI type diet as this seems to work well with my illness and have got all the relevant books, just need to put a diet plan together!

[AbielleRose]

Good thread CaliLily!

 

I will be joining you in the dieting wagon, I've got loads to lose and need to at least start to lose some weight before my brother's wedding in September, and then my own wedding the following December! I'm not going to get skinny slim, I'd just like to be about a size 12 (anything less on me looks silly).

 

I think I'm going to adopt a low GI type diet as this seems to work well with my illness and have got all the relevant books, just need to put a diet plan together!

 

First of all, congratulations on the wedding! That is so exciting

 

Having a goal is great. For me it helps if you break it up into a smaller monthly goal on top of an over all. I think a size 12 sounds about perfect. Did you know, Marilyn Monroe was a 12?

 

Good luck with putting a plan together.

[lexiepiper]

I've been thinking about the slimfast diet, how are you finding it Cali? You drink two meals and eat one right?

[Nollaig]

This is probably actually a better idea for a thread than all the individual threads that get abandoned, including my own.

 

I'm not actively trying to lose weight - I'm eating healthily and so far I'm losing weight as a side effect. I'm not going to diet anymore because as soon as you come off the diet, you put weight back on without fail. You have to change your eating habits for good and due to my recent illness putting me off any kind of solid chocolate that isn't on a wafer or biscuit, I'm eating far less rubbish.

[AbielleRose]

I've been thinking about the slimfast diet, how are you finding it Cali? You drink two meals and eat one right?

 

That is what I am doing. I eat my biggest meal for breakfast since you can work those calories off during the day and then I have a Slim Fast for lunch and one for dinner. For snacks I get their bars and Nutri-Grain because they are each less than 130 calories. So far I have lost a total of 29 lbs since the first of December.

 

I really recommend Slim Fast to anyone who is debating. Just know that you can't go into it thinking that you are drinking a chocolate shake. They do not taste like chocolate. They do fill you up and that is most important.

 

That's great Noll! The most important part isn't so much the weight loss as the eating healthy.

[Nollaig]

I tried Slim Fast. I lost nearly a stone in a couple of weeks. I came off Slimfast and ate actual (healthy) meals, and put the weight back on.

[AbielleRose]

I tried Slim Fast. I lost nearly a stone in a couple of weeks. I came off Slimfast and ate actual (healthy) meals, and put the weight back on.

 

Sorry to sound ignorant, but what exactly is a 'stone'? I've seen that term around a few times and have been wondering.

[Nollaig]

14lbs, sorry. I'm back in the stone age still with my system of measurements. Literally.

[AbielleRose]

No, I wouldn't say that. I suck at math and all forms of counting unless there is a calculator involved.

[Nollaig]

I have picked up some great tips though. One of the best I ever got was from Ceinwenn: drink water. Drink a LOT of water. Your body will reject the excess at first because it won't be used to it, but drink it anyway. You'll start absorbing it and it will make you feel brighter, fresher, fuller with less food. I drink up to 2 litres a day now and can't do without it.

 

Another good tip from Kell: cook in bulk. When you go back to your proper meals, cook a LOAD and freeze portions so it's easier to just heat one up and you don't do rushing for take outs and other easy options.

[AbielleRose]

Those are great tips. Water is great but I have a hard time drinking it straight so I drink a lot of tea and Crystal Light.

 

Do you eat a lot of bread and dairy? I discovered that I was lactose intolorant about a year and a half ago and ever since I started incorporating soy products into my diet I've really noticed a big difference in my digestion. I feel healthier getting rid of all of that cheese and dairy. Every so often I'll still have some of the real stuff, but it makes me really sick to the point of not even being worth it. The veggie cheese is actually pretty good and they have pizza crust that you can make with rice flour so you can have a whole pizza that doesn't have any dairy or gluten in it. Very healthy.

[Nollaig]

Those are great tips. Water is great but I have a hard time drinking it straight so I drink a lot of tea and Crystal Light.

 

Do you eat a lot of bread and dairy? I discovered that I was lactose intolorant about a year and a half ago and ever since I started incorporating soy products into my diet I've really noticed a big difference in my digestion. I feel healthier getting rid of all of that cheese and dairy. Every so often I'll still have some of the real stuff, but it makes me really sick to the point of not even being worth it. The veggie cheese is actually pretty good and they have pizza crust that you can make with rice flour so you can have a whole pizza that doesn't have any dairy or gluten in it. Very healthy.

 

Tea is bad. I used to drink a load of tea, but several people on here pointed out it's a diuretic. It makes you expel water. If you drink water, and then drink tea, you're negating the water. Tea is good for you, but it doesn't give you any water.

 

I eat a lot of bread with meat and salad in it, I don't have much dairy really - low fat mayo in my sandwiches and milk in my cereal. No eggs, cheese, creams, butter, anything like that.

[AbielleRose]

I drink about 2 cups of tea on average every day. I only do green, nothing else. No sugar or cream.

 

Soy milk is so great for cereal because it is naturally a bit sweet. I always put sugar in my non sugared cereal before using it, now I don't have to.

 

Do you take any vitamins or suppliments? I've always been curious about them but wouldn't know where to begin.

[missybct]

I've never tried slimfast before - I remember drinking a shake of my friends and not liking it but I'm really fussy with foods/drinks. This was about eight years ago though so things have probably changed!

 

I do have a lot of weight to lose though, which is a bit depressing, but years of not being able to do much activity beyond walking (and occasional gym) and not eating the right things (although I've never been a binge eater, the last packet of biscuits I had lasted a month and a half!) means I've put weight on, plus PCOS - joy!

 

Interesting to read about the water consumption, Noll - I really try hard to drink a lot of water as I drink a lot of fluids in general but I get a bit of a gag complex if I drink too much. Strange I know!

[Johnny Carson Whit]

Tea is bad. I used to drink a load of tea, but several people on here pointed out it's a diuretic.

 

Very true, the same applies for any drink that contains caffeine.. or alcohol

 

Even the 'decaff' options still contain Caffeine, just less of it

 

I am not supposed to drink any diuretics at all, but cant resist my coffee!

 

Another thing I noticed in your post is that you eat a lot of bread, if you are trying to lose weight this is one thing you should try and cut down on.

[Nollaig]

 

Another thing I noticed in your post is that you eat a lot of bread, if you are trying to lose weight this is one thing you should try and cut down on.

 

I'm not, I'm trying to eat more heathily. Which means my bread is now brown, my mayo is low fat, my salad is plentiful etc. But I can't give up bread. It's my staple food

 

Also, lucky me, I got fat by eating chocolate. Literally. Chocolate, biscuits, cakes, etc. I ate so much that just knocking it out of my diet for a couple of weeks made me start dropping pounds. So that's the main area I'm working on.

[pipread]

Good idea for a thread!

 

I`ve never tried slimfast mainly because I think when I stopped it I`d go back to my bad eating habits, I could see it being a good way to kick-start a diet though.

 

I need to lose nearly 2 stone ideally. I`m trying to cut out the snacking at the moment and to just eat normally but sensibly, like cutting down on potato and bread. Also I`m trying not to eat after 6 in the evening other than fruit. One thing I really need to do is to cut cheese and eggs right out of my diet because of my cholesterol levels which I find hard to do.

As for water consumption, I drink quite a bit when I`m at work but when I`m at home I completely forget to drink it.

[Univerze]

Well, I am not on any diet, though I am trying to cut down on sweets and snacks.. what I do eat is quite healthy, just have to watch how much I eat (which is not a problem these days, I used to eat too much, you know when you're full but still eat more because it tastes so good? Now, I eat till I am just full).

But the last year, when my dad was ill, our eating patterns were kind of strange, and stress always makes for more unhealthy eating patterns in my family, and mom's eating lots of sweets and chocolate.. when I cut down on those, I'll lose a little weight. Just the weight I gained in the last year.

 

In my opinion, I don't need to lose a lot, you can say I'm thin enough, but I just have this little bit of tummy fat I'd like to lose. I like my body better without that.. I'm currently like, size 10/12 I think? These UK sizes are weird, European (Dutch sizes) I am 36 or 38, Small or Medium. Anyway, I'm good with that, really, I won't do much to lose weight, but I'd like to lose about 5 to 10 pounds. So I'll just eat less stuff that's bad for me (or I'll try hee hee, sometimes I just am a sucker for chocolate) and pick up exercising again. We have a crosstrainer in our house, so it's not real effort really.. apart from that I am generally lazy.

 

However, I used to be about 30 pounds heavier.. I was living with my now ex, he worked a lot, I had this time where I quit university for a while and was generally feeling very bad.. so I ate. Only lost the weight again when my ex broke up with me, but getting your heart broken isn't a great way to lose weight, even if it's an effective one.

 

Oh and pipread, if you find it hard to cut eggs out of your diet, can't you just try egg whites? The cholesterol is in the yoke, and my dad had to be on a low cholesterol diet years back because of heart problems, and it was fine if he ate egg whites.. I like the yoke better too, but I guess egg white is better than no egg at all.

Edited February 7, 2010 by Univerze

[AbielleRose]

I do have a lot of weight to lose though, which is a bit depressing, but years of not being able to do much activity beyond walking (and occasional gym) and not eating the right things (although I've never been a binge eater, the last packet of biscuits I had lasted a month and a half!) means I've put weight on, plus PCOS - joy!

 

I have PCOS too so I can COMPLETELY understand! A few years ago when I was diagnosed my doctor had me on 4 different pills to try and balance everything out. One was Phentermine (one half of the drug formerly known as Phen Phen). It messed with my heart so much, making it race and skip beats, that I finally just quit. I also took Metformin for a while but it did absolutely nothing for me. Now I don't take any drugs except for one every 3 months.

 

If anyone is considering trying Slim Fast, I really encourage you to do so. I haven't found anything else on the market that has worked as well. You just have to remember that it doesn't taste anything like a shake. It is a NEW food in and of itself.

Edited February 7, 2010 by CaliLily

[BookJumper]

Question about water, apologies if it's daft :

 

My retention is non-existent. If I drink a glass of water I'll be returning it five minutes later, which is why I don't drink when I'm out and about as there's no restrooms handy. I'm meant to be drinking at least 1 litre of water before an exam next week for example, and I'm panicking as I've got no idea whether I'm going to be physically able to hold it in.

 

Does this mean that the whole 'drink water, it makes you fuller' principle won't work for me because I'm getting rid of it as soon as I drink it?

[missybct]

I have PCOS too so I can COMPLETELY understand! A few years ago when I was diagnosed my doctor had me on 4 different pills to try and balance everything out. One was Phentermine (one half of the drug formerly known as Phen Phen). It messed with my heart so much, making it race and skip beats, that I finally just quit. I also took Metformin for a while but it did absolutely nothing for me. Now I don't take any drugs except for one every 3 months.

 

If anyone is considering trying Slim Fast, I really encourage you to do so. I haven't found anything else on the market that has worked as well. You just have to remember that it doesn't taste anything like a shake. It is a NEW food in and of itself.

 

Oh, CaliLily, that sounds awful about the tablets! Metformin is the drug of choice over here but I've heard it really messes with your tummy and I already have problems with the M.E, so I'm not too keen on taking it.

 

BookJumper, I think the theory behind the water consumption is that because you are taking something in, your body reacts in a way that makes it think it is full. I am probably wildly wrong though! I'm the same with water, I have a threshold and if I go over that then I'm always rushing to the lavatory!

[AbielleRose]

I don't know if this is true or not, but I wonder if the water consumption also has something to do with the fact that you are swallowing something. Sometimes, even if your stomach doesn't need food your brain wants to consume something. Maybe that water helps to satiate that urge to consume.

 

Again... just a theory... no idea if its true.

 

Good luck BookJumper. I hope everything goes well with your visit.

[Nicola]

I'm not going to diet anymore because as soon as you come off the diet, you put weight back on without fail. You have to change your eating habits

 

This is pretty much what I'm doing. I went to Weightwatchers last year and they promote a healthier lifestyle rather than simply a diet. I'm not sure if everyone knows about the points system they use? I'm allowed 18 points a day.....a slice of bread is about 2 points, banana 1.5 points, salad and most vegetables are free, fish is really low too. Alternatively, 1 scoop of chips from the fish & chip shop is about 10 points......some chocolate bars are 14 points! Obviously one scoop of chips or a chocolate bar wouldn't sustain you for long so the diet gets you to think about what your eating and making sensible choices. If you really felt like having chocolate, you could do but you'd need to eat mainly free foods for the rest of the day and it's just not worth it really.

 

I lost 15lbs and managed to keep it off (even though I stopped going to weightwatchers) until Christmas when I put on 7lb thanks to parties and chocolates and all the other evils that are attached to the festive season.

 

Now I'm eating a healthy diet again and going to the gym 4 times a week. My goal is 10 stone (140lbs) as that's my comfortable weight (I'm about a size 12......sometimes a 10 UK size). 7lb to lose and counting!

 

 

Question about water, apologies if it's daft :

 

My retention is non-existent. If I drink a glass of water I'll be returning it five minutes later, which is why I don't drink when I'm out and about as there's no restrooms handy. I'm meant to be drinking at least 1 litre of water before an exam next week for example, and I'm panicking as I've got no idea whether I'm going to be physically able to hold it in.

 

Does this mean that the whole 'drink water, it makes you fuller' principle won't work for me because I'm getting rid of it as soon as I drink it?

 

I'm exactly the same and also had to drink 2 pints of water an hour before an examination. I managed to last (thank god!) even though they forgot about me for 45 minutes!! I was ready to burst.

 

I've started to drink more water recently and have noticed, like Noll says, I'm retaining it more. So, my advice would be to train yourself to drink more. It's a pain at first and I do find myself looking for the nearest loo whenever I'm out and about but it's getting better

[BookJumper]

That's encouraging Nicola, thank you I am trying to drink more water, every time I go to the kitchen to cook/wash up/put a clothes wash on I try to have a glass of water but it's a struggle. It doesn't help that I don't like the taste of water, either... does that make me odd?

 

As for actual weight loss, I must say the Slimfast is working - I've definitely lost weight since I've been on it, although not owning a set of scales makes it difficult to be more precise than that - although it bugs be that I've lost far more cleavage than waistline so far, and to be perfectly honest it was the waistline I was trying to target!

 

It was meant to be only a temp diet anyway, to stop me gaining even more until I was referred to the gym for some supervised exercise (I've got a bad leg I don't want to mangle even further) however the gym's decided I'm too much of a liability because of my tachicardy so I'll probably stay on the Slimfast until I find a gym that'll have me...

 

Onwards, towards that size 12!