Ready to tackle weight loss

[Peacefull]

Hi Everyone,
I am on day 20 and feel great about being AF, but awful about the pounds I have gained in such a short time. I have been using food instead of AL and now that I feel a little more confident in my resolve I am ready to start dieting.

Anyone want to join me? My goal is 30 pounds and getting to the gym at least four times a week. I will use this site as a journal to keep me motivated as it has been a godsend for keeping me on track giving up AL.

Peace

[Doggygirl]

Ready to tackle weight loss

Hi Peace. My current battle is keeping off the weight I have lost since I quit drinking (about 55 pounds depending on the day! :H) So...YOU CAN DO IT TOO! Maintenance is my challenge and I SO know what you mean about using food in place of AL. Those are the habits I am still struggling with.

I started going to weight watchers when my re-gain exceeded 10 pounds. I like the group support and am back at my goal weight. The eating plan is flexible which is nice for the long haul - nothing is "off limits." My challenge with that is the SUGAR MONSTER. So my goal for now is to manage my eating plan avoiding sugar and "empty carbs." There is also a phrase someone came up with at a recent meeting. "Eat with dignity." So when I'm ready to do a donut dive or eat ice cream from the carton, I've started trying to ask myself if whatever it is I'm about to consume in the way I'm about it consume it...."would I do this in front of my friends?" That has helped me a bit.

Now you all know an ugly little truth about me. I CAN eat the whole thing of ice cream or many many many donuts. Not a healthy practice and especially not good for an alkie to unleash the sugar monster like that.

OK. I'm in for 30 days of "Eating with dignity" and tracking my Weight Watchers points for maintenance. My exercise goal is 5X per week at Curves.

Glad you started this Peace!

[mollyka]

Ready to tackle weight loss

I'm like Doggy, I've lost heaps of weight, roughly 45lbs and now that I'm away from crisis drinking for quite a little while I'm feeling happier,and when I'm feeling happier I'm inclined to eat more, so maintenance would be good.
QUESTION. All you folks to come, cos there will be loads, and you Peace and Doggy. I have never in my life done any formal exercise but we bought an exercise bike about a month ago and I'm building up time on it, am up to about 20 mins a day. The question I have is that there is a 'recovery button' on it which shows your pulse when you are finished and mine goes down nicely for the 1st 30 seconds or so and then it goes back up again and then at the end of the minute 'recovery' it tells me that my fitness is 'very poor'. That is strange as I have a really active job on my feet running around all day and I'm not overweight. Just wondering why my pulse goes up like that, anyone any ideas?
Molly

[Sunbeam]

Ready to tackle weight loss

I'm in! Current weight 140. I'd love to see 130, but would be satisfied to get back down to 135. But Molly, I can't answer your question. There are so many forums and health sites on the web, maybe try Google?

[mollyka]

Ready to tackle weight loss

Yeah, you're probably right, just thought someone might know what gibberish I'm talking!! Will 'do a google' as my uncle puts it! 140lbs sounds pretty good to me - s'pose it depends what height you are, I'm nearly 6 ft so I'd be a skeleton at that weight!
Molly

[paguy]

Ready to tackle weight loss

mollyka;961536 wrote: The question I have is that there is a 'recovery button' on it which shows your pulse when you are finished and mine goes down nicely for the 1st 30 seconds or so and then it goes back up again and then at the end of the minute 'recovery' it tells me that my fitness is 'very poor'. That is strange as I have a really active job on my feet running around all day and I'm not overweight. Just wondering why my pulse goes up like that, anyone any ideas?
Molly

Hi Molly:
I am not an expert but I have learned a lot about aerobic exercising over the past 2 years. Based on what you described, I think what you are seeing may be a reflection of your overall aerobic conditioning. Many people who have active lifestyles and who are not overweight actually do not have good aerobic conditioning. What this means is that your resting heart rate and how your heart rate responds to exercise is not very effective.

To improve your aerobic efficiency, you need to exercise aerobically for at least 20 minutes, preferably 5 days a week. What this means is that when you exercise, your heart rate must reach between 70-80% of its maximum capacity for a duration of 20 minutes.

I know this may sound pretty technical but the body really is quite a masterpiece! You will find that over time, as you continue with this aerobic exercise, you will become more aerobically efficient and your heart rate recovery period after exercise will improve.

Here are a couple of websites that may help you to better understand aerobic exercise and hear rate targets:

What is Aerobic Exercise
Heart Rate Training Zones

Hope this helps!

[mollyka]

Ready to tackle weight loss

Thanks Paguy, that makes a lot of sense. It goes back to the point really that I have never done organized exercise. 20 mins 5 days a week sounds pretty doable, I've only worked up to the 20 mins in the last couple of days, so I s'pose I've a way to go!
Just checked one of those websites, it is quite complicated but very interesting. Will delve deeper tomorrow - this is my latest hobby horse!
Thanks again
Molly

[Peacefull]

Ready to tackle weight loss

Hi everyone,

Went and armed myself with healthy food, I am determined and hope to get obsessed (in a good way) as I was in the past. I am pretty good exercise wise, get up early before work and go at least 4 times a week, it's my eating and of course all the booze I was drinking that got out of hand.

Having a tough day craving wise and using my weight gain as ammunition to the thoughts...not to mention remembering the last hurrah so to say.

Will check in tomorrow,
Peace

[enja]

Ready to tackle weight loss

Hi Peace-

Count me in! I'm currently at 143 lbs and would like to be 130 (well, I'd actually prefer 125 but I think that's pretty much impossible :H). I was recently diagnosed as borderline diabetic so need to get the extra weight off. I'm also at day 20 AF and I've lost 4 lbs so far - I've got the food aspect more or less under control (WW) I just need to commit to a more structured exercise plan than just walking the dog.....

Special shout out to Molly and Doggy on their impressive weight loss. Very inspiring!

[taytayhi5]

Ready to tackle weight loss

We can do this!!!!

Hey All,
I am in!! Paguy gave good advice. For those of you just starting out in fitness...read up!! There are tons of great sites out there! Don't be scared to push yourself a bit, (unless your Dr says otherwise). You should only be able to say short sentences while exercising...Not longer and not be so out of breath you can not talk at all. It is an easy guide to start. Also follow the FITT principal. Increase by Frequency (number of days), Intensity (how hard you are working out), Type (add another kind of exercise), Time (duration, from 20 to 30mins ex). Another thing to keep in mind: Metabolism: it is not magic. It is how fast your body burns calories and takes in factors such as: how much muscle and how much fat you have on your body, (one lb of fat burns 35 cals an hour at rest and 1 lb of fat burns 5-7 cals an hour at rest which is why women have "slower metabolisms and it is why it is good when we put on a few lbs of muscle!) We need to also remember that how fast we loose or gain weight is at least 60% based on the food we eat and the rest is about how much we exercise. We exercise for our heart, mind, sleep, sprit, cardio, muscles. We loose fat though our diets, mostly.

I have a degree in Physical education/health; I was a trainer and a nutritional director once upon a time ago. Now, thanks to the economy, I am a correctional officer If I can help answer questions I would be happy to help....having said that AL has gotten me off track with my weight too. I am 6.1' female. I weigh 183 and feel my best at 157-162 @ size 8 but right now I am a 12 and that sucks for me persoanlly. I started Topa a week ago and have been AL free since and have not been eating nearly as much so I am off to a good start. I am going back to the gym tomorrow too!

Let's do this! I am 32 and NOT ready to retire my bikini just yet! There is an Earth Day half marathon I will run in April! I want to feel sexy with out having to drink 1.5 bottles of wine!!

:l

[taytayhi5]

Ready to tackle weight loss

Topa brain correction: One lb of muscle burns 35 cals an hour and one lb of fat burns 5-7 cals an hour....sorry....

[mollyka]

Ready to tackle weight loss

Hey Taytay, nice to meet another tall female - I used to be the tallest woman I knew, but all the young folks are growing like trees around me! I weigh 158lbs, so am fairly happy with my weight but definitely need to get the 'aerobic' bit moving. I am 54 but at 32 I was like a stick insect - and (what a waste) I used to think I was fat!
With your expertise and Paguys, I reckon I'll be tapping into your knowledge again
Thanks
Molly

[mollyka]

Ready to tackle weight loss

cross-post - yeah Taytay, I guessed that's what you meant
Molly

[anon]

Ready to tackle weight loss

I hope you do not think i am stalking you from the September challenge! I need to get my carbo/sugar cravings under control. I think because I am not drinking it is ok to binge on chocolate etc. each evening but I am sure it is not good for me. I have gained 5ibs in 14 days.
On the other hand just been out for a 4 1/2 mile run and considering it is a month today I fractured my ribs it is good going. God that sounds arrogant!
Glad I found this thread as I had not seen it before. Molly in my head I thought you were about 5ft 8 ins with black hair! My kids and I are all short and therefore a bit of extra weight makes us look dumpy so at 6ft we would look fab.

[Pride before Fall]

Ready to tackle weight loss

and (what a waste) I used to think I was fat! >>

Me too, Molly! To think I hid the best bod of my life under oversized t-shirts. Oh well, spilt milk, etc.

I've found the feeds on exercise equipment to be pretty inaccurate. I got myself a heartrate monitor that takes your age, height, and weight into account and that's been great. They can get expensive, but I've had mine for 2 years and it hasn't conked out on me, and I can even use it in a pool:
FT4 Training Computer - Fitness & Cross-Training - Get Active - Heart Rate Monitors - Us-en - Polar Electro - USA

I also highly recommend Weightwatchers--group support (like here) and a realistic approach to diet and exercise.

Doggie, did you get to lifetime member at WW? If so, good for you!