Obesity Discussion Forums

[Treasure]

Hi! I'm a 43 years old, and live in Arizona. I'm 5'5" and 213 pounds. I'm a software consultant and do a lot of travelling, which is one of my primary excuses for not eating well For years I've been in denial about my weight, thinking that I didn't look so bad and that my health was just fine. Well, since I've been in my 40s the house of cards has come crashing down. My blood pressure is a bit higher than normal. On my last blood test, my fasting blood sugar reading came back at 100 - just above the normal range. My body fat percentage is embarrassingly high. So, silly as it sounds, I'm just starting to come to grips with the fact that I'm "obese" and that I need to take this seriously for the sake of my health.

This forum looks like a great resource for information and encouragement. I'm eager to learn as much as I can to lose this weight in a safe and permanent manner.

[Obesity Discussion]

Welcome! We have quite a few Arizonans including myself. Have you decided how you'd like to go about losing weight or are you looking for a little help in that department?

[Treasure]

From the food side, I am starting the South Beach Diet today. My Dr recommended it and it seems like a reasonable approach. My big weaknesses are junk food and fast food - it's really not a mystery why I weigh what I do. So hopefully I will see results from South Beach, if I can stick with it.

I've been doing a lot of walking, training to walk a half marathon. The ironic thing is that I'm fairly athletic for a fat chick. I've finished 5 half marathons in 3:28 or less. The problem is that I'm not consistent - I only train when an event is coming up. So I need to find a way to incorporate exercise into my life on a regular basis.

I'd appreciate any suggestions! I'm terrible on my own so any help you all can provide would be really appreciated!

[sass63]

Hi Welcome to the boards! We are glad to have you here.

[Chrisydj]

Originally Posted by Treasure

From the food side, I am starting the South Beach Diet today. My Dr recommended it and it seems like a reasonable approach. My big weaknesses are junk food and fast food - it's really not a mystery why I weigh what I do. So hopefully I will see results from South Beach, if I can stick with it.

I've been doing a lot of walking, training to walk a half marathon. The ironic thing is that I'm fairly athletic for a fat chick. I've finished 5 half marathons in 3:28 or less. The problem is that I'm not consistent - I only train when an event is coming up. So I need to find a way to incorporate exercise into my life on a regular basis.

I'd appreciate any suggestions! I'm terrible on my own so any help you all can provide would be really appreciated!

welcome to the site...i started out following the south beach diet very strictly for the first month or so now i still kind of follow it just not as strict about it...i'm stilll losing and i found that after the first week it was relativly easy to eat healthy if you have the south beach diet book they have some really good recipes in it like mashed taters made out of cauliflower instead of taters.

[Treasure]

Thanks Chrisy, it's very motivating to know that you've been following the South Beach approach and have done so well!

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Treasure

From the food side, I am starting the South Beach Diet today. My Dr recommended it and it seems like a reasonable approach. My big weaknesses are junk food and fast food - it's really not a mystery why I weigh what I do. So hopefully I will see results from South Beach, if I can stick with it.

I've been doing a lot of walking, training to walk a half marathon. The ironic thing is that I'm fairly athletic for a fat chick. I've finished 5 half marathons in 3:28 or less. The problem is that I'm not consistent - I only train when an event is coming up. So I need to find a way to incorporate exercise into my life on a regular basis.

I'd appreciate any suggestions! I'm terrible on my own so any help you all can provide would be really appreciated!

Just curious, how closely are you following the diet? You following it to the T or just eating the food?

As far as suggestions, at the end of the day the calories you eat compared to the calories you expend are going to determine what you're going to lose. Just remember that diets like this are meant to be nothing more than short term fixes. In order to keep it off a lifestyle change will be required.

[Treasure]

I'm not sure I understand your question. I'm not eating any packaged South Beach food. I'm following the plan in the book - eating lean protein and complex carbs, cutting out white sugar/flour/rice. I am altering one thing in the 2 week introductory phase - I'm eating a limited amount of fruit. I'm using it to help me get past the snickers bar and chocolate shake cravings.

At this moment I'm not counting calories but I know I need to start. Changing my eating habits is taking up a lot of my time and energy right now - it's an effort to shop and cook when you're used to running out for a couple of slices of pizza at lunch. So I'll start counting calories when I'm more comfortable with these changes. But I'm losing weight, so I must be doing OK.

[Chrisydj]

i found that when following the south beach plan even when i dont follow it closely but just use it as a base for the way i should eat that i'm eating less than i used to and am full, not stuffed but satisfied and i dont have the cravings all the time like i used to. it gave me an idea of what i should be eating and gave me a starting point which is what i needed to get me going

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Chrisydj

i found that when following the south beach plan even when i dont follow it closely but just use it as a base for the way i should eat that i'm eating less than i used to and am full, not stuffed but satisfied and i dont have the cravings all the time like i used to. it gave me an idea of what i should be eating and gave me a starting point which is what i needed to get me going

Bingo, the South Beach Diet does like to use complex carbs, a lot of protein and fiber, all of which will help you feel fuller longer. One of the reasons I buy a lot of their packaged foods.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Treasure

I'm not sure I understand your question. I'm not eating any packaged South Beach food. I'm following the plan in the book - eating lean protein and complex carbs, cutting out white sugar/flour/rice. I am altering one thing in the 2 week introductory phase - I'm eating a limited amount of fruit. I'm using it to help me get past the snickers bar and chocolate shake cravings.

At this moment I'm not counting calories but I know I need to start. Changing my eating habits is taking up a lot of my time and energy right now - it's an effort to shop and cook when you're used to running out for a couple of slices of pizza at lunch. So I'll start counting calories when I'm more comfortable with these changes. But I'm losing weight, so I must be doing OK.

Yeah, that's what I was asking. As long as you're losing weight and are happy with your progress there isn't a need to change anything up.