Setting sane fat loss goals, care to join me?

[DarleenMB]

Hi all.  I have a fat loss goal of 97 pounds.  (insert sounds of sobbing and head banging off keyboard).  I've been "trying" to lose that weight for so long now I've about given up.  

Seven years ago I went on the jenny diet (will never make THAT mistake again) which resulted, after 18 months, in a loss of 58 pounds.  I was never so hungry in my whole life and TIRED!  I had NO energy at all.  I fought for the last 5 years to keep it off but it has almost all crept back on.  Then I got my Flex.

For xmas hubby gave me the Aria so between the two I now have to face facts.  Sitting on my backside is what's keeping the weight slowly creeping upwards.  

I've started back at my local gym on the treadmill.  I still haven't reached 10,000 steps in one day yet.  The highest I've managed has been about 7500.  My daily average when I don't do much is about 2800.  So there's a slight improvement.

I also started tracking my food intake on my dashboard.  That was a revelation when coupled with how much energy I'd burned during the day.  It's one thing to "know" that calories and movement determine your weight.  It's a whole other thing to actually see the numbers.  Can't hide from THAT truth.

Anyway.  I have set my goals and am aiming for 2 pounds fat loss a week.  Anyone care to join me?

[sbgrimes]

Hi Misty Mo!

Its really nice to see such an interest in sane weight loss goals. We
all struggle w the same issues.
Is it really just calories in vs calories out? I'm not so sure. The
quality of the calorie content matters too.
I have 8 ppl on my leaderboard and try to message everyone at least
once a day. Have 20 pounds to loose, but have been joking around for
the last few months w the same 5 lbs, up, down, and back up, and ...
Add me to friends via my email address. We ALL could use a little pushing!!
Susan

[DarleneM]

Hey Darleen... I'm right there with ya girl!

My goal is -130#'s.  Back in the mid 80's I lost 120#'s over two years with diet and exercise, plus leaving a crazy abusive husband who stressed me out to no end. I was about 30 years old and my metabolism was decent then. Now at 57 and menopausal, my metabolsm is not as good and it's taking more effort.

I am using the FitBit Flex and a high protein/low carb diet and I'm already seeing a few pounds drop and my energy level go up.  If you have any tips that would help, please post them and I'll do the same.

Hang in there, we'll do this; it takes time, effort and support. 

Darlene M

NC

[Believe-Achieve]

As a 55 yr old woman with a great deal of weight to lose, I need all the help and support I can get. I have an injured knee that has hindered my progress, a high stress job and a massive amount of will-power & determination. As I move more and build my stamina, I am allowing myself to consider the possibility of success this time. I would love to have help, a partner in this journey to health.

[DarleneM]

I have been there before and unfortunately here I am again but I am NOT
alone and neither are you!

I will be 57 in May and I have 6 grandsons and now two great-grandsons on
the way (twins due in July). I want to be around to spend time with them
but the way I have been living the pat few years made me just sort of give
up, on me, on everything.

Last year I was blessed with a new job that I love, however I work from
home and it's way too easy to sit on my rear end in front of the computer
and "graze" or nibble on stuff all day and night long. I got up to 344#'s
this past year and it has gotten so out of hand I KNEW I had to do
something or just die. I started cutting back and walking just about every
day. I got up to a half mile twice a day and was doing good. Like you I
have a bad knee, my right one, messed up tendon and the knee cap "slips"
and pops, it hurts and makes it hard to do stairs too.

Last August an old school friend and I went to NYC for 3 days. She and I
are the same age and have both had weight issues, she was 410#'s and had
gastric bypass surgery in 2001. Since then she's gained back some of her
weight but she is healthier than she has been in years. She can walk for
miles and miles and has challenged me to lose some weight and make the trip
to NYC again this August for her birthday. I can't walk as much and as far
as she can and I don't want to hold her up... so I bought a FitBit and
started my own journey to loosing this tonnage. The last time I weighed at
the doctor's office last November I was 344#'s and now I'm down to around
315 or so. My weight will vary a pound or two but I have dropped about 20
pounds. I want to be back down under 200#'s again. For me, 180#'s is a good
weight. I'm large boned and 5'8.5" tall, never been "skinny" and I have
large hips and legs.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with a bariatric doctor in Raleigh and I
will be working with their weight-loss program along with using the FitBit.
I have to watch my sugar level and cholesterol as well as blood pressure so
the doctor will help advise me and keep me on track.

My job isn't high stress but I live alone, my kids are 500 miles away and I
miss them and the grandkids terribly. My children want me to move back to
Alabama but if I did I wouldn't have a job at all. I love my house and my
job here in NC so I stay here but travel the 500 miles to spend time with
the family there and that causes me stress. Tomorrow is my youngest
grandson's 1st birthday and I would love to be there but it's a 13 hour
drive or a $700 plane ticket. The last few times I flew on a plane, I had
to ask for a seat belt extension because I couldn't buckle myself in! That
was the last straw so here I am on the journey again.

Determination helps but as you know, so does support. We're not in this
alone and there's plenty of people out there that struggle with weight
loss, younger than us even.

I work nights and sleep during the day, but anytime you want to write, I
will reply as quick as I can. Keep track of how your moods are and
remember that this is temporary, everything changes and we can control our
own futures.

The journey has begun, let's make it fun and entertaining 🙂

DarleneM
NC

[wizzywig]

Thanks for this Darlene

I must admit I am in a bit of a slump at the moment feeling very demotivated.

I'm hoping to get myself "back on the bandwaggon" so to speak, I just need to get into a better frame of mind. 

Thanks for the support.  I'll be 58 at the end of March and I really want to make this year the year I lose weight and get a healthier BMI etc.

[Pj]

I am with you all too...I want this to be my year! I am going to do it as it gets harder the older we get, I know I will be 57 in May as well so here we go.......MAY WE ALL CONTINUE ON THIS JOURNEY TOGETHER with support and understanding for each and every one of us. This is hard enough to do by yourself but with help it is ACHIEVABLE!! 

[sbgrimes]

I have a small group of ladies all w the same goals. I try to write to
everyone daily, but as the group grows, I may go to 2-3 emails a week.
Once a week I will ask you to weigh yourself and evaluate what your
doing. Please feel free to add my email to your list and I will
"friend" you. Good luck on your goals. If I bug you too much, just let
me know and I will cut back. Lets start the week off right! Lets start
moving!
Susan

[sbgrimes]

thanks for writing back. Since I wrote you, several ppl have written to
me! I have 10 ppl on my leaderboard and i have been writing to
everyone daily. this may go down to 2-3 emails a week as it is getting
time consuming. I try to walk daily, and dance 2 to 3 times a week. I
had a sleeve gastrectomy in June last yr, more for my liver and diabetes
than for the weight. I ask ppl to weigh themselves only once a week.
Be true to yourself and evaluate your own progress. Add my email and i
will friend you back.
I am in the Boston, Mass area.
Susan

[DarleneM]

Hi, I'm at my bariatric clinic appointment now waiting for my next
appointment to be scheduled.

I'm hoping to have the gastric bypass or sleeve done this summer. I have to
do 3 months doctor supervised diet and weight loss before they will
schedule surgery...

Weight today was 340#s, so I have lost only 4#s since I started this
process.

More later,
Darlene M
Benson, NC

Sent from my Windows Phone

[Suzy]

I'm praying for you that your appointment goes well.  Take care.

Alice

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@DarleneM wrote:
Hi, I'm at my bariatric clinic appointment now waiting for my next
appointment to be scheduled.

I'm hoping to have the gastric bypass or sleeve done this summer. I have to
do 3 months doctor supervised diet and weight loss before they will
schedule surgery...

Weight today was 340#s, so I have lost only 4#s since I started this
process.

More later,
Darlene M
Benson, NC

Sent from my Windows Phone

---

I'm praying that your appointment goes well. Take care. Alice

[zelda]

Hi Darlene M. How did the appointment go today? How long have you been thinking about having this? I have two sisters that had it done over 2-4 yrs ago. I am not telling many about having it done. My daughter is extremely against it. She thinks I will die on the table but I told her I may die if I don't have it done. Turning 50 this summer is a real eye opener. If you wan to friend me we can talk more open if you want. My surgery may be in April.
Please please let me know more about your plan.

[DarleneM]

Thanks for the email.

My appointment went well and things are moving forward. I have to do 3
months of doctor supervised diet and nutrition; April, May and June so it
is looking like this summer I should be ready to have the surgery.

Like you I haven't told but a few people and not my kids, not yet.

Darlene

[Rystmom]

Hello! I like the idea behind this group. I am 53 years old and have over 100 pounds to lose. More than losing weight I want to be healthy. I just became a grandparent and want to be around to enjoy my granddaughter!

[Florae]

I'd love to join you in your personal weight loss challenge of 2 lbs a week. This is my 2nd day to healthier me. I don't have trouble hitting the 10k step mark because I have a four-legged baby that pushes me to walk her approx. 2 miles everyday, rain or shine.

I also walk with my coworkers on our morning break. I have very short legs and they have very long legs, so I'm walking approx. 3.5 miles of heavy breathing. Of course this is a leisurely walk for them. I work across the street from a gym that I'm a member of. 25 minutes of my 1 hour lunch break is on the elliptical. Then 5 min. shower rinse and then back to work. 

I've started (for the 2nd time) a weight loss support group at the lgym. I'm going to be 48 years old in August and I have diabetes and I need to lose approximately 34 lbs. They say I can lose it by October 12. We'll just have to see. I'll continue to keep you posted. I would love to hear from you on how you're coming along!

florae

[wizzywig]

Hi everyone,   well I am still in a bit of a slump, but I am back on the bandwaggon, trying hard to lose the weight I have put back on!

I need the motivation of good people like yourselves who know how hard it is.  I manage to get 10,000+ steps most days walking our dog and walking to work, but it doesn't help me lose weight I'm afraid, I think for that I need to do something else. (probably not putting so much food into my mouth! )

I am also aiming for losing 2lbs a week, but so far I am putting the same 2lbs off and on and not getting anywhere.  Help!

Wizzy

[MariCoder]

I would love to join you all.  I have a little over 100 that I would like to lose.

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D

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[Florae]

I'd love to join!

[LewWagner]

DarleenMB,

LIke you, I had to lose a lot of weight.  In previous attempts I never really was serious and therefore failed after about 50 lbs.  Then my doc diagnosed me with Type II Diabetes in Oct 2013.  My weight at that time was a tad over 300 lbs.  I'm 5'8" and should be around 165-160 lbs.  I'm 58 years old.

So, with that "wake up" call, I became really OCD about slowly building up an exercise regimine in conjuntion with a healthy dietary intake.  It was tough at first.  I couldn't walk a half mile to a communcal mail box area without having to rest several times.  But now, about 8 1/2 months later, I'm 192 lbs, doing over 6 miles a day (walking) and around 21K steps a day.  I do the walking because I'm still just a little heavy for my knees and feet to do consistent running.  Maybe when I get below 190 or close to 180.  My initial goal is to get to 170 lbs and then really start working on getting to 165 or 160 (the BMI upper end for my "nomal" weight). 

At the recommendation of my doctor, I saw a nutritionist in Dec 2013 and she gave me some excellent tables and lists of good healthy things to eat as well as these average daily intakes:

Cals   2,000

Fat           65

Chol      300

Sodium 2,400

Carbs     150

Diet Fiber  25

Sugar      90

Protein 50

At first, I couldn't make even these target intakes, but over the months I have and am green in most of them except for protein.  Guess I will never be a vegan or a rabbit...  My current caloric intake is around 1,200 calories.  I don't feel hungry (I got over the hunger pangs a long time ago...that was tough).  According to my FitBit wireless, I'm burning about 3,000 calories a day.  I started out with a goal of losing around 2 lbs a week, but it's really around 3 lbs a week.

It can be done, you just have to be mentally and physically tough enough to "want" to do this.  Maybe get a little OCD yourself....

My way may not be your way...I only offer it as a possible way to lose weight. 

Lew

[Florae]

????Thank you for sharing your very motivational story. I'll be 48 this year, ?and I find it gets harder to keep my weight down as each year passes. I don't have problems exercising, as I've been diabetic since I gave birth to my 1st daughter 24 years ago. It's mandatory for me to excercise to balance my blood sugar level. I excercise at least 25 minutes daily(I still have to take meds).
????I average 10-14k steps a day, with the help of my?four-legged baby, ?who pushes me to walk her 2 miles everyday, rain or shine. My problem is I love food. I highly believe I'm addicted to food. I need to learn how to eat to live, not live to eat.
???????Nevertheless, stories, such as yours, keep me on track and help increase my motivation to lose weight. I hope to share my weight loss struggles and successes (spelling doesn't look right) with each and everyone of you.
florae

[sbgrimes]

Hi Mari,
I had about 15 ppl, we dwindle now, but we track each other, support and
taunt one another for support. I used to be really good about writing
to everyone, but I dwindle too- especially the summer time. Send me your
email so I can add you. I have a 20 pound weight loss to go, and I
haven't done jack in the last few months. (my body likes this weight).
I would be pleased as punch if you'd join us.
Susan