Obesity Discussion Forums

[valr]

Hi all
Here I am, nearly 44 years old and weighing in at 310lbs! I am a female , 5'11. Pretty scary, huh?
Well, it is to me. I have decided to lose weight before I have a heart attack, like others close to me. I have an 8 year old son and kind of want to stick around for him!
I look forward to sharing the journey with you kind folks.
Val

[Miranda]

Welcome, Val! We are the same age, I'll be 44 in July! I think you'll find many of us in the same boat. We're not losing weight so that we can look like super models, we're here because of health issues that can only be resolved through either lots of medications or weight loss.

Have you talked with your doctor about what eating plan would be best for you? I know that sounds cliche, but I have to tell you that talking over my weight loss plan and goals with my doctor was so helpful. He gave some really great advice and it seems to be working.

Anyway, welcome and let's move our burgers down together!

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by valr

Hi all
Here I am, nearly 44 years old and weighing in at 310lbs! I am a female , 5'11. Pretty scary, huh?
Well, it is to me. I have decided to lose weight before I have a heart attack, like others close to me. I have an 8 year old son and kind of want to stick around for him!
I look forward to sharing the journey with you kind folks.
Val

Welcome! You're already ahead of the game because you want to do this for all the right reasons. Having that motivation is VERY important!

Have you figured out how to go about your weight loss journey?

[valr]

Hi guys and thanks for the nice welcome!

I have "dieted" myself up to this weight over the past 20 years so I am ditching the "diet"! I have been to various slimming clubs and done Atkins and Cambridge and they all worked for a while... then I regained all the weight I had lost and more! I am sick of it.

I think "being on a diet" involves too much thinking .... every minute you are thinking about what you are "allowed" next and if you "cheat" you feel cr@p and binge ... or at least I do! So - a new approach. I bought a book called "Get off your @rse and lose weight" which advocates "eat less and move more"! Simple as that. Advice is to eat only those things we know to be healthy... and think about the health not the calories. And get off the couch/away from the computer, and move!
Also recommends repeating some kind of self-affirming mantra and relaxation techniques almost like self-hypnosis although I admit I am a bit sceptical about that!
SO I have been making an effort to WALK and go up and down stairs, and I have been on a long walk in the country (unheard of for me!) and I have cut out the booze temporarily at least. For me that was a huge contributory factor to the weight gain - I am a real booze hound! Anyways its only day 3 and I have lost 5lbs - I know it's water but hey its a start! I plan on weighing myself once every 2 or 3 weeks.... I was just testing them tonight, honest :-)
My doctor is skinny and patronising so no help there I'm afraid...
Still, I am feeling optimistic and excited! I am not on a diet - just getting healthier - and if I end up looking like a supermodel that will be a bonus lol!!
Val

[Miranda]

Your plan sounds very sensible! I have also cut out the alcohol- mostly beer and wine - and I definitely think that it has helped out with my weight loss so far. Forget the 1,800+ calories I'm no longer consuming each week, it's the urge to eat lots of salty foods while I'm drinking that has made the biggest impact. No drink - no salty food binges! Good luck and maybe think about starting a blog. It really helps to have something to report to each day, at least for me. It keeps me focused and on track.

[pursuitofhappiness]

Originally Posted by valr

Hi all
Here I am, nearly 44 years old and weighing in at 310lbs! I am a female , 5'11. Pretty scary, huh?
Well, it is to me. I have decided to lose weight before I have a heart attack, like others close to me. I have an 8 year old son and kind of want to stick around for him!
I look forward to sharing the journey with you kind folks.
Val

welcome!

i read the other post as well were you talked about the book you bought.

You have a great plan! theres so many different ways folks are losing weight here.

Some are weighing in every day and counting calories, others like me try to watch them but focus more on exercise and muscle building.

Ive been getting great ideas from all kinds of people, and learning more and more about weight loss in general

you mentioned you lost 5lbs

Great job, and even if it is just water weight the body is made up of mostly water, that means your body is reacting positively to your new healthy decisions.

you should put down the loss on your stats! you have earned it!

5lbs lost Next stop SUPER MODEL!

[valr]

Thanks guys will need to try and work out how to change the stats first!

And thanks for the tip re: the blog - maybe that is the kind of focus I need.

Yesterday I bought a new cook book with 400 new low fat and low cal recipes! Only problem I will need to make sure I read it right after dinner when I am not remotely hungry or else the pages will become dampened with drool lol!

I reckon I was drinking about 4000 calories worth a week ....

Only 5 lbs to go and I can use the recumbent exercise bike I bought on ebay. At the moment I am over the max user weight and it would be horrendous to sit on an exercise machine and break it! I plan on rigging my laptop up to it. It is also near the TV..... I saw a laptop holder to attach to your car steering wheel on Amazon and I reckon that will be just the job to attach it to the bike! If you read the user reviews on Amazon it is quite funny .... people suggesting it is so you can browse the web while driving... but I hope thats not what it's meant for!

[Chrissy]

Welcome to the boards, glad you are here. Your plan sounds great.....and a nice start to your weightloss journey. I hear you about dieting your way heavier......lose 20 gain 30, lose 30 gain 45.....that has been my road. Time for a change.

A laptop holder you attach to your steering wheel.........are you kidding me thats actually a real invention. Maybe next they will make a laptop holder with a extra large cup holder for those who like to drink and go online while driving. Who's driving like this???? LOL

[Rue]

Congrats on starting up. A 5lb loss is nice and motivating!

Good luck with the new cook-book, hope the recipes are tasty!

[valr]

Tried to post a link to a pic of the car laptop holder but I am not allowed yet! Never mind, I will soon!

Am tucked up in bed because I felt a mosey into the fridge coming on. Why do we do that? Go and look in the fridge, like we are expecting something different to be there since last time we looked?

I am going to try and figure out why I want to eat when I am not physically hungry. Tonight it was stress.... work worries. Feels like I am making progress just stopping and analysing that, rather than giving in to the Food Monster!

baby steps....