Finally doing things properly.

[Squink]

Hello there my name is Sam and im a 35 year old  five foot tall serial yo-yo dieter.  You name the diet i've done it, weight watchers, atkins, slimming world, lighter life, cambridge diet...gosh the list goes on and on and depressingly on.  At my heaviest weight I was 18 and a half stone (260lbs) dropped to 9 stone stopped doing the diet, shot back up to 16 stone dropped to 12 stone shot back up to 15 whiich is where I currently am.....yeah really not good specially for such a short girl. 

The key factor to all of these failed weight loss attempts has mainly been me being pretty lazy when it comes to exercise.....very lazy. I do quite a manually demanding job (i work in a soil laboratory testing mud and using heavy compaction tools and standing on my feet all day, but other than that i do no exercise at all).

So  after seeing a friend enthused by her 30lb weightloss due to healthy eating and regular exercise I bought a Fitbit Charge HR on Monday evening.

Already I'm addicted, a combination of eating healthy and just getting out and clocking up steps and getting badges for my effort really has me hooked which can only be a good thing and i've already seen a 2lb drop in weight which is awesome (started on 210lbs so got a very long way to go)

For the first time in my life im actually excited about getting out of the house and walking/running around, and teh calorie in/out thing is amazing and just being able to see all these stats.....(stats and badges really really push my happy buttons)

At the moment i'm just aiming to drop below the 200lb mark...but ultimately i'd love to be in my ideal weight range one day....just gotta get out there and do it properly for a change rather than jumping on the next fad diet.

Anyway it's nice to meet you all.

[WendyB]

Welcome to the forums! Good luck on your Journey and keep us posted!

Happy Stepping!

[SunsetRunner]

Hi @Squink

Everything possible, never give up. Every day making the best choices possible, when eating healthy, exercise with moderation (listen to your body if not feeling up to exercise, allow to rest instead). The rest will come, slowly and steady wins the race.

Eat the foods you the most, which leave satisfied the most. Try eating when hungry, not eating if feeling needing to force feed yourself (the food plan can tell there's lots of calories left to eat but your precious body can tell still having enough).. depending when have eaten previously and how much..

Have Fun

It's not a diet, but changing food / exercise habits on the journey to change body composition (increase muscle mass with exercise, lowering body fat with eating healthier overall), having a treat once in a while if desired.

Always eat what you like with care (prevents binge eating) (not eating until thanksgiving stuffed but comfortably satisfied), if eaten a bit to less, and be hungry later, it's possible to eat a bit more again. As we don't have to stuff ourself since food is plenty, not scarce like when our dear ancestors had to hunt for food and surviving on everything they found.. the food could be scarce, not having much food for days while other days there were feasts.

[shell2016]

Hey Sam! Your story sounds justs like mine..minus that active job. I have a desk job so I don't even get any movement from work! Anyway, I have always been up and down with my weight..mostly up and would love to figure out how to make lifestyle change and keep it off. Unfortunately, no one around me has the same issue, or they do and just don't want to do anything about it.

I'd love to have some friends on here to motivate and encourage each other.

I'd love it if you wanted to friend me and we could try and go through this and help eachother out.

Michele ☺

[Squink]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.  And Shell, having friends just motivating and being able to relate is a huge thing so i'd certainly be up for helping each other out.  My husband is stick thin, sits at a desk all day, does no exercise and eats what he wants and drinks like a fish so he's fairly unsympathetic with my battle  As he's never had a weight issue and in fairness doesnt have an issue with MY weight issue, Its me that wants to get fit and healthy and feel more confident about myself.

In my lab im the only female so same sort of thing the rest of the lads at work dont understand why im trying to lose weight and obsessing about counting calories and suchlike, so i dont really have many people I can really chat to or relate various problems to.

So I'd love to chat more.  yesterday I ended up walking almost 13 miles by accident.  Had decided to go on a 5 mile walk thats quite well signposted near my house...only a took a wrong turn so ended up walking for a lot longer and a lot further than I had anticipated Silly Squink!  Still i'd packed plenty of water and suntan lotion and a nutbar incase I felt low on energy so I survived the trek and managed to get  the trail shoe badge for my effort so that was nice

[Dominique]

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@Squink wrote:

My husband is stick thin, sits at a desk all day, does no exercise and eats what he wants and drinks like a fish

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This is an often heard argument: that it looks like some people can get away with anything. Like: your husband expends 2000 calories (desk job, no exercise), eats 4000 calories (relentless eating and drinking), does that consistently, yet does not put on weight. In other words: seems to defy the laws of thermodynamics. However, if you look more closely, there’s usually an explanation. For instance, many thin people tend to be natural fidgeters (in technical terms: have a higher NEAT - non-exercise activity thermogenesis). When you’re eating with them, it may look like they are loading their plates with huge portions, but may be they do not snack at all between meals. Then, there’s also the fact that just because your husband is a man, he’s expending more than you are (at the same activity level); and if he’s taller than you, even more so. Bottom line: if he’s been staying at the same weight for years, he has just been able to eat at maintenance, even if your subjective impression is he’s overeating in relation to his activity level.

[A_Lurker]

@Dominique - my mother before her accident was this way.  She would eat 2000 calories of food per day, and at least 500 calories of candy (possibly more).  She was just over 100 pounds and in her 80s.  After an accident (struck by an impaired driver while walking) she went down to low 90s in weight.  Because of permanent injuries she doesn't do as much NEAT as she did, however, she still eats:

~900 calories food between breakfast and lunch

~600-800 calories dinner

690 calories meal replacement shakes

To maintain weight she should be eating 1168 (assuming sedentary).  Even before dinner she's eating 1360 calories.  So even though she's pretty much housebound (her choice, at 88 I'm not going to continue to fight about it) she's obviously burning way more just going back and forth down the hallway.