Diets & Weight Maintenance Support Group

I hope it is possible, I am 47 too and need to lose lots of weight, maybe 80lbs. So far have lost 14 lbs quite quickly but it is Friday night, my husband is with his new skinny girlfriend and I am stuck in front of the telly alone, fat and miserable. The fridge is calling me.

BTW, Slim Fast on sale at Asda (UK)

Hi lisaLs & Gina45. How are you guys going today? I am another 47 yr old so here's to hoping that your right, it's not only possible but even more important for us to lose weight and not burden our bods with extra weight as we age. Let's be the fittest and healthiest we can be ! Are you guys getting any exercise? I don"t know about you, but i find on the days i exercise i find it so much easier to stick to healthy eating (maybe it's because i don't want all that hard work to go to waste by eating junk) Don't listen to the fridge calling you gina45, it tells lies... big fat ones. keep strong and keep going. Being slim will feel better than any food could possible taste and any comfort it might give is only temporary. God Bless.

I have 40 pounds to lose in total. But am aiming for 28 lbs by Christmas as there are 28 weeks till Christmas day. So that's 1 lb a week, slow I know but quite effective and not too difficult if I stick to my points. I shall try for the other 12 lbs by Easter 2010.

Hi Carolina. You can do this. Great that you have set yourself such a realistic weekly goal? Are you on weight watchers? If so how is it going? Look forward to hearing of your 1 pound loss in the next week. Do you want to weigh in together on the same day next week, if so, what day suits. Best wishes and kind thoughts.

Hello Ladies,

I've been gone for a while because my kids just ended their school year and I took them to Disneyland. I got them all set up now with swimming classes throughout the Summer.

Now I am ready for business!!! The "getting-fit" business, that is. You guys are all such an inspiration. I agree... WE CAN DO IT!!! Let's ignore that damn fridge when it calls us.

I lost a lot of weight before, 40 lbs to be exact, and I regained it. :( I guess I did not believe that it would come back if I went back to my old eating habits, but it did!!! Darn!!! Being fit is a change in lifestyle, now and forever. It's hard, but rewarding.

Anyway... I am ready to do it again. It will be TOUGH, I am not going to lie to you. Losing weight is TOOOUUGH. That's why we need each other for support. We must not let each other down. We encourage each other by staying on track ourselves, by being serious, by caring and understanding each other's struggles.

What worked for you in the past? What worked wonders for me was a modified version of Atkins. I followed the Atkins diet to the "t," except that I did not consume fatty meats and counted each calorie I ingested. Spinach is a wonderful vegetable that is packed with nutrients and does not provide too many carbs. I calculated my caloric needs and determined that I should consume about 1,200 calories if I lived a sedentary life and up to 1,800 if I lived a very active life. I allowed myself more calories on the days when I worked out extra hard. I am going to follow that same program this time. I am also doing one hour of moderate to heavy aerobics everyday.

As a way to be accountable and committed, I would like for you guys to tell us 1) what program you intend to follow, 2) your starting weight, 3) your weight goal, 3) why you want to lose the weight, and 4) how you will feel when you achieve your goal.

We should also measure our waist, chest, hips, arms and legs. It is optional if we want to share that information or not. Another important, but somewhat embarassing thing we must do is to take a picture of ourselves on a bathing suit, in order to compare our "before" and "after" selves.

*****DAILY*****
We must weigh ourselves everyday, ideally as soon as we wake up and before we eat or drink anything. We must share our weight with each other daily, to hold ourselves accountable.

What do you guys think about this? Your feedback is important.

Welcome back Gentlemom. Hope you are feeling refreshed and rearing to go. Love your idea about being accountable to each other, especially on a daily basis, a woman after my own heart! Like you, i lost 40 lbs and did the unthinkable by putting it all back on . Lost weight about year and a half ago, was going to the gym 5 days a week and eating high protein foods, cutting out bread, pasta, rice etc, having 5 meals a day (including 2 protein shakes). Will go back to eating this way as I felt great and was losing weight . Have started walking instead of going to gym.
Starting Weight: 235 lbs
Weight Today : 227 lbs
Weight Goal : 94 lbs

Seems an impossible goal, but i know from past experience it can be done, pound by pound. Main reason for wanting to lose weight is that i am so over being fat and frumpy, having no energy and refuse to go into my fifties burdening my body with all this excess weight. Onward and upward for all of us (or should that be downward ). will go and get tape measure out (yuk) Keep strong, remember: a second on your lips, forever on your hips...

i lost 56 pounds with weight watchers. trying to lose 28 pounds now x

O.K., everyone. I went to the gym today. It was fun seeing some old friends there. I took a Step class. The instructor is this young (about 35) Asian lady with lots of energy and an awesome, well-toned body. She is sooo sweet! I love going to that class. It's so positive. :) What a good vibe!!! But I feel so heavy and unbalanced when I move. :( I feel stiff too, and I'm starting to have pain on my joints. I guess I'm just getting old. Oh, well, that's part of life. But I want to do the best I can to keep my body as healthy as possible. The best I can do for my body is to exercise everyday and eat a healthful diet. I came across a great website: www.whfoods.org (World's Healthiest Foods). Check it out!

My starting weight: 178.5 lbs.
Today's weight: 178 lbs
I'll share my measurements. :)
waist: 34 1/2"
hips (2" below belly button): 45 3/4"
upper thighs (widest point): 26 3/4"
chest (above breasts): 36 3/4"
arms: 12"

I am feeling very excited about this group. Good luck to all of you. Come on, let's get serious. We can do lose the weight and keep it off forever. Yes, we can!!!

I will ask my little boy to take a "before" picture of me in my underwear. I hope he does not get all frightened!!! LOL

I will feel so accomplished when I compare my two pictures and see a BIG difference.

Hi friends. Jeanette- WOW, what a great achievement losing 56 pounds, good on you, how long has it taken you? You only have 28 lbs to go, i am green with envy. You must feel so proud of yourself and rightly so. Keep up the great work, what an inspiration you are.

Gentlemom- How are you doing? Good on you for making it to the gym, you have motivated me to stop being so lazy and either get on the treadmill that keeps calling my name ( jump on me, you know you want to...) or going out for a nice long walk. Too scared to get a before picture taken, afraid i will break the camera, happened to glance in full length mirror yesterday and was sure i heard the glass cracking. ha ha. As for the sore joints, they will pass the fitter you become , i know from experience, so keep up the good work. Hi to everyone else out there ,hope today finds you all well, energized and ready to put your best foot forward and reap the rewards of your hard won effort.

Lost 1 lb today = loss of 10 lb altogether.
Measurements are as follows:
waist- FAT
hips: FATTER
Chest: Full and gravitating towards floor
Arms: Flabby

Just joking (or not). Will hunt out tape measure today, shock of shocks, horror of horrors. Sorry for such long ramblings, will try to keep it short in future.