How is the weight loss going......

[carole]

Well i know many of you are battling the bulge like me and was wondering if we could all check in and see how much progress is being made, if you need some help or encouragement etc etc.

Well for me it is confession time, lol, I have taken a much needed break from the dieting cycle, infact i took two and half months off, and I am pleased to say I am holding my own, infact i have managed to maintain it , well at least until recently, I did gain one kilo back , which is around 2.2 pounds, so I am NOT A HAPPY person about that, but i am back on track again, sort of, I am not being perfect , but i need to be to loose that kilo and start loosing the rest, my aim for this year is Ten kilos, I have already lost 8.9 kilos, I am ok with it maybe taking me the whole year, as i plan to keep it off for good once and for all, famous last words, but i must try.

So how have you been doing,? need any help? or advice? post your thoughts please, we all need any help we can get.

I just wanted to post an interesting fact on a food that most will stay away from on a diet , myself included, but since reading this I intend to introduce it in my plan.

It is a snack i particularly love, PEANUTS, and salted ,roasted ones are ok as well.

US research showed that three times more people lost weight on a moderate fat regime including peanuts, peanut butter and olive oil than a low fat one with the same calories, that is all good news to my ears, love all those foods.

So let me tell you about PEANUTS.

FACTS:
They combine fibre and protein and have a very low glycaemic index (GI) so they keep your blood sugar stable and CURB hunger.

In a study people who added peanuts to their diet, increased the amount of calories burned up by 11 per cent.

It is thought increasing the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fats in your diet slightly increases your metabolic rate-peanuts are high in those healthier fats.

Roasted salted peanuts contain twice as much potassium as bananas,and a similar amount to boiled spinach.

A good source of Magnesium. (often lacking in womans diets today), they are rich in Niacin and and Biotin two important B vitamins.

A handful provides 10 per cent of an adults guideline daily intake of fibre.

A handful of any type of nuts reduces your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Now would you not agree Peanuts are a great healthy snack, I am going to have my 30 grms every day now, and see if i notice the difference, I love peanuts so for me it will be easy peasy.

I always knew nuts were good for you, but steered away from them when dieting, now i know different, they will be a welcome addition to my food plan. :)

[CalliesMom]

I've lost about 26 lbs since Sept. 29, 2005. I have another 14 to go but am taking my time. I'm working out at least three times a week and though I don't count calories anymore, I have stuck to eating more healthy than I used to. I have a weekend here or there (when I went to NYC to visit hubby) where I ate whatever I wanted but pretty much I'm eating well. I feel so great right now and I know my body is enjoying it. ;)

[Lizzie]

I've been incredibly lucky all my life in being able to eat anything I wanted (and I have a very sweet tooth) without fluctuating more than a pound or so. I've also been very active all my life, walking everywhere and doing things like heavy landscaping of my garden on a steep hill. Then several things happened close together that really threw me for a loop. First came the big M at 50, though it didn't impact my weight at all for a few years. Then I fostered kittens that turned out to have feline leukemia. Then some of my older cats started to get sick. Instead of spending my weekends hurling a pick-axe, wheelbarrowing tons of soil downhill and rolling boulders, I spent them on the sofa or bed to give all the time I could to my sick cats. Last year I lost 3 of my long-time cat companions within 8 months and ate lots of the sweet and junky stuff that you think will make you feel less depressed. Factor in a new car which I decided to drive to work every day instead of walking to the bus stop a mile away and - voila! a recipe for a bulging stomach and, even more horrible, cellulite in the thighs.

I'm embarassed to write this but I am now reduced to using rubber bands to fasten my pants at the top and have to wear long loose tops. I flatly refuse to buy new clothes since I don't want to accept this physical change. I'm determined to fit into my size 8's again and still be able to breathe but I'm shocked by how difficult this is. I've never had to try and lose weight before so naively thought that if I simply cut out most of the cakes, cookies and chocolate, my weight would be back to normal in no time. It made so little difference that I started skipping meals which only meant that I got my first taste of hearburn. It's exercise that is key, I realize, and that's what I'm working on now. I can't afford a gym but I have gone back into what was once a garden and is now a jungle.

Great idea for a thread! Hopefully writing here will help me stick to my resolution. I don't have scales but I can report back on whether I can zip up my pants half-way within the next two weeks, all the way within a month. By summer, I should be able to tuck in a t-shirt.

[AmberLee]

And maybe I shouldn't as it's taken me so long to get to this point, but at last Friday's weigh-in at my Weight Watcher's meeting I finally earned my 50# loss magnet. Counting the 10# I lost before WW, I'm a smidge over 60# lighter than my highest weight. Very happy about this!

(Sanity check: it's taken me over 2 years to get to this point ... but, it could have taken me 2 years and still maintained the highest weight, right?) Thanks to all the PTers who sent me advice on WW cookbooks, recipes when I first joined WW. :D )

[carole]

Calliesmom that is a fantastic achievement, I hope you are very proud of yourself because I am proud of you too, keep at it and remember it is the last lot that is always the hardest to come off and takes the longest, I think taking it slowly is the best thing to do, you have more chance of actually keeping it off, been there done that many a time.

I have found that it is the body fat that is creeping on as i come up to that menopausal time in my life, i have weighed alot more than I do know at least 15 kgs more, but i think i have more body fat around the middle than I did years ago, it is really very difficult to move, I know some woman are lucky and it just does not happen to them, but nope i am not one of those, my mother had the same problem at my age, but yes i know i have to up my exercise, one i struggle with more than dieting really, as my aches and pains make it rather uncomfortable to do so,but it is necessary for the weight loss and my health, i am managing a twenty minute walk daily, and hope to slowly increase this as time goes on.

I will be turning the big 50 next year, luckily not until December of next year, and I plan to be at goal weight, and fitter and healthier, I had made this promise to myself when i turned 40, 40 came and went, with no results, I am NOT going to let myself down this time, I hope to have a trip down to the South Island in that year as well, have not been there since I was 15 and it would be great to be feeling good about myself and enjoy my planned trip to the Max.

I am finding it rather hard to get back to dieting again, as maintainence was most enjoyable, but i have found myself slowly loosing control of mantainence and eating nawtee stuff again and more quantity, I am sure the one kilo gain is temporary and i will have it off in no time, but i get scared when i see myself slipping back into old bad habits, still i am managing to stop opening the pantry cupboard and looking in there out of bordem to see what i can find to munch on.

I am gradually getting back in control,I have noticed a real downslide in how i feel about myself by loosing control, so far i have not gone overboard, but it is just the little things that count and sure make you slide back so easily, just a little extra here and there.

I know this much when i am in control of my eating I feel like a new person, more confident, and happier in myself, i guess none of us really like being out of control in anything in our lives.

MOTIVATION, MOTIVATION that is what i need to keep at it and achieve my goal, just got to hang on in there, at least now i don't go punishing myself after a small blow out, i just get back on track and put it behind me, used to be my biggest downfall, now i just get on with it and put it down to being human.

Cheers everyone and keep posting about your weight loss journeys, it is so inspiring to read, and helps me too, thank you. :)

Amberlee i have to say you have earned your bragging rights , that is also a fantastic result, it is not how long it takes you to get there, but actually achieving it that is important, way to go girl, hold your head up high and be proud .WW is the best, the only programme i will ever follow, yep i am doing WW at home by myself, they are offering a new programme here, would love to join to loose this last lot, but i will have to go it alone,that is why i need the extra support from you all here. :)

[ILoveMyAbbyGirl]

I'm not sure. I'll have to check, but last time I checked I had lost 10ish pounds. I'm sure I've gained it all back. Lots of stress.

[carole]

Megan that is a good effort, i am sure you won't have gained it all back, you should weigh in , hopefully you will get a pleasant suprise.

I jumped on the scales this morning, and have lost that kilo gain, i am thinking maybe it was never really a gain after all, just fluctuation in my weight, so i am happy about that, now just got to get off maintainence and back into loosing. SIGH!! :)

[poofy]

Been down hillfor a while now and gained back to much weight, feeling
slightly like "whats the use"..but will gain back the want to im sure, I think I can , I think I can, I think I can.... :(

[carole]

Of course you can do it, i remember how well you having been doing, don't be too hard on yourself and just think positive thoughts from now on, and you will be back on track on no time, just think of all that hard work you did to achieve your results, don't let it go to waste and I am here for support anytime, I know how darn hard it is , and i struggle daily with it, so you have my empathy one hundred per cent, let us be there for each other, onwards and downwards i say lol. :)