PL wrote in alt.support.diet on Sun, 15 Aug 2004:

Hi, and welcome!  This sounds like a sensible way of doing things; you
need to take it slowly, eat as normally as you can, while cutting down
on the obvious things such as sugar & fat.  Don't totally deprive
yourself, though; if you want some ice-cream, have a *small* helping.
And if you find you have a really bad day and revert to bad habits,
don't despair - just bring yourself gently back to how you want to eat.

You do know, I'm sure, that one always loses a great deal of weight the
first week of a diet - this is mostly water & glycogen, not fat, but
it's encouraging!  Aim to lose weight steadily, rather than fast - even
1/2 lb a week is great.  And reward yourself (non-food) every time you
hit a 10 or 15 lb-lost-mark.

Me, if I could just *stay* on a healthy way of eating for a week - I
started, then suddenly had the opportunity to go to Poland for a week,
and then we were back for 3 days and we had guests..... Even still I've
lost between 1.5 and 2 kg (3-4 lbs), so I'm pleased with myself.  Now I
have ten clear days before I go away again..... (August!!!).

Hi PL,
welcome to ASD :-)

It sounds as you've thought this through and found an approach that is
working for you, so I'll just add these two things.
I recently found out that using mini-goals is very motivational (my first
mini-goal was to drop 4-5 kg in a bit over a month, and I'm just 0.5 kg
above it, and still have 5 days to go ;-), especially when you plan to lose
a lot of weight. For myself, setting my mind into the "I just need to lose
4-5 kg by August 20th)" sounded a lot easier than saying "I need to lose 25
kg!" - that would be a bit overwhelming, the challenge might seem too hard.
But mini-goals take care of that kind of thinking.

The second thing that I wanted to add is that in addition to walking, you
can begin to *slowly* introduce some other forms of exercise. For example -
swimming is great for "beginners" - water holds your weight, there is almost
no chance of an injury... or water aerobics (I did that in the past, and now
I miss it; there're no classes available anymore where I live ;-( )

Anyway, glad to have you here, your plans sound really good, so - good luck

Elly
breastfeeding mom of a 10mo, following the balanced low carb WOE
Mid July 2004: 195.8 / 185.9 / mini-goal by August 20th:
184.8 (to 187 lbs- reached)
sometime in the (distant) future: 150 lbs

Welcome and congratulations on taking that first step.  There are a few of
us here who started out at 300+ pounds and have lost or are losing it.  When
you get that moment in life that says "do something now" it's really a
turning point and probably the beginning of the rest of your life.

It sounds like you are off to a sensible start!  By lurking around this
group you'll get a lot of good information about a variety of WOE (Ways of
Eating) but the key is to find what will work for you personally.  Your goal
should be to find a WOE that you can comfortably live with...forever.

My only other advice is that when you're physcially capable of it (now or
soon), do some type of resistance or weight training in addition to walking
and other cardio.  At your weight you have quite a bit of lean mass,
including muscle, and it's in your long-term best interest to maintain as
much of it as possible.

Best of luck with your progress.

Jenn

Welcome, PL!  It sounds like you're on the right course this time.
It's important to remember that this is a permanent life-style change,
and that you can afford to be patient and lose weight gradually and
safely.  I lost weight with an approach like yours -- tracking my
intake, eating a healthy but all-inclusive diet, and exercising.  I
really want to encourage you to gradually build up the exercise as
you're able.  Also, adding some strength training will pay big
dividends, both in revving up your metabolism and in helping you keep
muscle while you lose fat.

Good luck!  We're here for you; don't hesitate to ask for advice or
just for encouragement!

Chris
262/143/ (145-150)

Congratulations for arriving at a such a reasonable conclusion about your
weight.

I love to walk.  I do four miles each morning.  I forget all about it being
a healthy thing to do for my body.  I spend the time thinking about my day
or nothing at all and just relaxing my addled brain.  I also love to play
tennis and do so as frequently as I can.  Engaging in any kind of exercise
regardless of how hard or easy it may be is impossible for me if I don't
enjoy it.  So, I hope you enjoy walking but if you don't, my advice would be
to find something that you do enjoy.

I do not do well with refined carbs at all.  For me, the key to avoiding
hunger and cravings is to avoid the insulin surge that follows eating a meal
high in refined sugars and starches.  If I do indulge, I will eat the carbs
with protien and good fat to increase saity.  Since reaching goal, I do have
a small piece of dark chocolate each evening but I wouldn't dream of eating
anything so sweet in the middle of the day for fear I would consume the
entire box.

I like the idea of mini goals.  Also, if you are like most people, you will
undoubtedly do everything right for a period of weeks and not see any weight
come off.  This is so very frustrating.  A good friend during that time will
be a tape measure. When I hit those weeks on end without loss, they would
usually be followed a week where I lost four or five pounds.

One thing that I have been doing which is very scary for me is throwing out
all my old clothes that no longer fit.  I think in the back of my mind I was
hanging onto some things as a safety net.  It is mentally challenging to
remove whatever safety nets you have in place.

I am not much for detailed planning but I know of at least two places where
I can get a meal on the run during the day for those days when I forget to
pack something to eat.  Because these places also serve other foods that I
really love, I will try to take an early lunch so I am not too hungry when I
get there and order my salad before I get too weak to make good choices.

Good luck.  I like your attitude.  I expect that you will be most
successful.

Julianne

143/115/115

Welcome, PL!  We've got a few other tall women here, too.  It is tricky
to notice when you've gone from "big" to "Big!", isn't it?  :-)

I feel a little like we're a bunch of wise [wo]men bringing gifts to the
new babe!  So here I am taking my place in line and here are some of my
suggestions.

There's a book called "Fattitudes" by Wilbert that explores the internal
question of why you chose to become fat.  What's in it for you?  You
*got* something out of it or you wouldn't have done it.  It might be as
simple as preferring fattening foods and a sedentary lifestyle... or it
might be more complex.  You need to look deep inside you and face the
payoffs or they're going to sabotage you.  They've got a website:
http://www.fattitudes.com/page2.html

Someone else mentioned that scales are not your friend.  They really,
really aren't, especially when you begin an exercise program.  I much
prefer to track measurements and pictures.  There's a free, anonymous
site you can use at http://www.bfltracker.com that tracks nearly every
measurement you might want.  It is structured for Body for Life people
but I don't see any reason why everyone couldn't use it.  My profile is
there - with before and during pictures - as I've lost 70 pounds over
the past 2 years.

I honestly don't think this is enough food.  Part of what you need to do
is to learn to live without hunger or cravings.  As non-intuitive as it
sounds, you need to EAT!  I'd eat often if I were you.  Pay attention to
when you're most likely to slip up and reach for something... then plan
a snack for that time of day.  I find that I MUST have a snack between 3
and 4 or I'm starving and munching the entire time I prepare dinner then
eat everything in sight.  You may need an 11 pm snack before bed... in
that case, PLAN to have one.  I prefer to eat five times a day.  It
really helps with portion control, too, because eating a tiny amount of
food is okay if I know I'm going to eat again in three hours.

Anyway, the rule of thumb to avoid starvation response is to stay above
8x your weight in calories.  For you, that's more like 2400 calories.

You'll need to adjust that down as you get closer, but take it in
stages.  You're much, much more likely to succeed.

There are a lot of lessons I've learned on this journey.  It's a bit
overwhelming to throw them all at you in one post.  Suffice it to say
that my weight plan has five steps and each step has its own challenges
and learning curve.  I certainly haven't tackled them all at the exact
same time!  Here are the steps:

1. Change my mind
2. Eat less
3. Exercise more
4. Repeat
5. Forever

Dally
244/175/168

Sounds like a good plan. Losing 150lbs @ 2lbs/week is a year and a
half, but not that long considering you're under 30 still and have a
lifetime of less weight on the other side. In fact, *if* you treat the
new WOE (way of eating) as a WOL (way of life), you shouldn't find any
difference between the diet you're on now and what you'll be doing
once the losing is done.

I'm no expert, but IMV the important thing for long-term weight loss
is to not try to lose too much too fast. A lot of weight lost this
month will mean less weight next month. Since you're in this for the
long term, just let it work off naturally, don't try to force it. But
be deadly serious about sticking to the plan, whatever it is -- don't
make temporary excuses to go off & on it, but don't worry about
tweaking the plan as you go.

Heywood

232/185/182

You've recevied some excellent information so I'll just say "Welcome to the
group".  I look forward to reading your posts.

Beverly

Hi,
This program has worked for me.
I lost 80 pounds and found a great fellowship to help in other areas
of my life as well.
If u don't know about this, you might want to try it.
http://www.foodaddicts.org
c.

Welcome and good luck. Surely, like others, you can lose weight and
keep it off on some reasonable diet, given enough dedication and
realism. Given your extreme obesity and history of diabetes in your
family, have you been screened for diabetes or prediabetes? You might
as well already have it.

Giving up sugar is a good first step, but, obviously, there will have
to be more steps. By the way, living without sugar is not hard and
even pleasurable, I have lived completely sugar free for 14 months
already and I am not missing sugar at all at this point.

Besides, this newsgroup, check out alt.support.diet.low-carb and see
what they have to say, as they might say something worthwhile.

i

Better late than never, welcome to asd and to your new journey as a healthy
person!

Susan
280/188/140

Congratulations on taking the first step and coming out of lurkdom.

I know you are getting a lot of "don't deprive yourself of your favorite treats!"
messages and I just have to intervene and say that for me, I will NEVER eat refined
sugar (nothing over 3g per serving) again. And that is no deprivation -- that
commitment literally saved my life. How could a 325-lb. 23-year-old expect to live
long when it is known that overeating is a progressive problem? Unchecked, it doesn't
get better -- it gets worse. Like you, I was nearing 330 lbs but I was not 6 ft.
tall -- more like 5'5".  And now I am 41 years old and thinner than I ever have been
in my life.

Sugar is something like alcohol -- some people can handle it, some people can't. And
those who can handle small amounts of it do not understand those who cannot, and
hence have no problem or conscience telling us that we should allow ourselves to eat
it. Bullshit, I say. If they want to eat it, fine -- but don't tell me that I can't
"deprive myself" or I'll "go off the deep end." I haven't gone off the deep end in 19
years, so when is the big blowup coming, I want to know? It would be a completely
different story I'd be telling you if I listened to that kind of advice. I wouldn't
be sitting here saying that permanent weight loss has happened for me, and perhaps I
wouldn't be sitting here at all -- I'd probably already be dead.

If you know you can't stop eating sugar once you start, then forget about "having a
little bit and then stop there." That is as ridiculous as telling an alcoholic --
"You can't deprive yourself of your favorite vodka -- otherwise, what is there to
live for? Just make sure you stop at one shot, that's all." Yeah, right. For me, I
can go the rest of my life without my former "favorite treats" that got me in such
terrible physical shape. I now am enjoying a weight loss of 175 lbs, with 100 of
those pounds off for 19 years. So do what is right for you, and if you think sugar is
a problem for you, try eliminating it for at least 21 days and see how you feel. It
has made all the difference in my life and has enabled a weight loss and maintenance
that many people say is impossible. Be willing to give up the crap that made you fat
and sick, and see how life feels without it. Listen with just half an ear to those
who wail that "you can't deprive yourself." Best of luck to you and let us know how
it's going.

Mary M
325-154-148