Phase 2 of weight loss odyssey

Q

QuickSilver

SF VIP
Location
Midwest
Last June I found myself 55 pounds over weight. Losing that much weight was a daunting thought. So I took off all I could last year.. that was 30 pounds. At that point I hit a plateau of which nothing seemed to break. So I stopped trying to lose weight and simply concentrated on not gaining. I have maintained my 30 pound weight loss since last November. NOW.. I feel the possibility of removing the last 25 pounds is more feasible. I am hoping that my body has adjusted to the weight I am and will now let me remove the rest. My feeling is that we reach a point in weight loss where our bodies compensate for the effort by hanging on to weight. Maybe it fears starvation. I'm hoping that I can restart my journey and reach success now that some time has passed. ANYWAY that's what I am thinking. Wish me luck..
 

Well done QS! I know very well how hard it is. Maintaining is even harder than losing, IMO. True that the closer you get to your ideal weight, the harder it gets as the body goes into starvation mode.
 
Losing excess weight is an admirable objective that more of our people should be striving towards. Obesity, and its various "side effects" has become this nations biggest health issue, and probably accounts for the largest share of our health care expenses. It's a given, that as we get older, we tend to gain weight...due to a more sedentary lifestyle, and lack of regular exercise...so extra measures need to be taken to stave off that eventuality. For me, it was fairly easy, after we retired to the country. I went from 205, down to 165 within a couple of years, and have managed to hold right there. Every day when the weather permits, I have plenty of outdoor chores to do to burn off the calories.

If a person is trying to lose weight, and has trouble staying motivated, One of the best tools is to fire up the computer, and go to www.peopleofwalmart.com, and spend a few minutes looking at the pictures of some of the gross people who populate our nation. Some of these pictures are hilarious...and very sad, at the same time.
 

Good for you, QS! I blew off 50 pounds a couples years ago, one of the best things I've done recently for my health. I got showered with all kinds of compliments by people that hadn't seen me for a while, who only knew me during my "heavy period". But, I did look somewhat skeletal and so I started focusing my workout on developing muscle. To make muscle you have to eat, and that's the tricky part- building muscle while keeping off fat. I did gain back 15 pounds, a portion of which is muscle, the rest being fat. So, I'm regrouping right now, and redoubling my determination to avoid fat-sugar-salt as much as is feasible. I'd become a vegan if it were just me, but my wife would balk at that idea.

Best of luck QS, you can do it! :)
 
Thanks everyone. I'm wondering if that dreaded plateau most of us hit in weight loss can be overcome simply by letting the body adjust to the new normal for a period of time. Then when one resumes trying to lose, it could be easier because the body isn't in fear of being starved. So.. here we go.. I'm hoping to have the last of it off by the end of the summer.
 
QS, is exercise part of your weight loss plan? That did it for me, 30+ minutes per day just walking, or using an exercise machine like and elliptical. Ellipticals are "low impact", easy on the joints...like swimming. I have an Elliptical, I'd have a swimming pool if I could afford it. At least 30+ minutes a day, plus avoiding the excess fat, salt and sugar, that's what did it for me. ;)
 
tnthomas said:
QS, is exercise part of your weight loss plan? That did it for me, 30+ minutes per day just walking, or using an exercise machine like and elliptical. Ellipticals are "low impact", easy on the joints...like swimming. I have an Elliptical, I'd have a swimming pool if I could afford it. At least 30+ minutes a day, plus avoiding the excess fat, salt and sugar, that's what did it for me. ;)
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Yes.. 30 minutes walking on a treadmill 6 days a week.. but now that the weather is breaking that will increase as I usually do 5K at least 3-4 times a week.
 
I found that for plateaus all I need to do is change something - vary my calories, even having one high calorie day - varying workouts. When I'm trying to lose my calories are normally 1500 on heavy workout days, 1200-1300 on less active days. If you keep to the same number of calories every day - 1300 for example, after a while your body will think that's all you need. Then if you eat more than that, you will gain. So don't keep your calories low for too long - have a high calorie day as well - at least every couple of weeks.

In a normal week I do 2.5 hours of aerobic activity, and 4.5 hours of muscle work. But if I don't eat right I won't burn off excess calories or keep me from gaining.
 
Good luck QuickSilver, and kudos for keeping all that weight you lost off! That's part of the challenge that many people fail, I know I've had issues with it. They say that eating lots of small healthy meals throughout the day keeps your body from thinking it's starving and holding onto the fat reserves. I've been listening to a couple of people on PBS who are against wheat and other grains, and promise weight loss and health by just eating meat and veggies. I'm sure it works, but we're not willing to go that route in our diets.
 
I understand the health benefits in diet.. But it have to wonder if weight loss comes down only to calories and exercise to burn them Would it matter HOW you got your daily caloric intake so long as you burn off more that you take it? Would it matter if you eat 1200 calories of cake.. OR 1200 calories of grain and veggies? If you burn 1500 calories a day, you are going to lose. You won't be as healthy, but you will lose weight.. no?
 
QuickSilver said:
I understand the health benefits in diet.. But it have to wonder if weight loss comes down only to calories and exercise to burn them Would it matter HOW you got your daily caloric intake so long as you burn off more that you take it? Would it matter if you eat 1200 calories of cake.. OR 1200 calories of grain and veggies? If you burn 1500 calories a day, you are going to lose. You won't be as healthy, but you will lose weight.. no?
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You could eat your daily allowance of calories in cake, but the sugar would make you hungry. And you'd feel like shit. :playful: High fibre is what works best for me.
 
Well, we could just post back here every day and tell the whole world whether we stuck to our plan that day, or not. One day at a time.
Provide some support and encouragement.

The thought of public humiliation works for me sometimes, lol.
 
NancyNGA said:
Well, we could just post back here every day and tell the whole world whether we stuck to our plan that day, or not. One day at a time.
Provide some support and encouragement.

The thought of public humiliation works for me sometimes, lol.
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Me too! :D I found the diet forum I'm on very helpful as everyone gives support. Nobody bashes anyone for getting off track. A daily report for each of us would be fine.
 
Ameriscot said:
I'll join in as well. I'm already on a diet forum where I report calories, workouts, weight. But I could post here as well. How about weekly reports on how much we've lost?
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Sounds good to me... Starting with this week.. What day of the week should we report in?
 
Ha, ha, ha, ha, did you say weigh in? You do mean, amt loss right? I haven't any intention of announcing my weight to the world on this forum. There's a forum I would do that on, but not this one. You killed me with that mix up :lofl: Well I hope it was anyway.
 
AprilT said:
Ha, ha, ha, ha, did you say weight in? You do mean, amt loss right? I haven't any intention of announcing my weight to the world on this forum. There's a forum I would do that on, but not this one. You killed me with that mix up :lofl: Well I hope it was anyway.
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LOL. No, you don't need to list your weight. Just a weigh-in as in how many pounds/kg you've lost in the past week. Always called a weigh-in at weight loss clubs or diet forums.
 



I figure I'll use this chart to keep track and show the lb losses come report time. Keeping fingers crossed, I'll have something good to report back weigh in.
 

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