Thanks, guys. I’ve been lurking on your thread for awhile, and I’m really looking forward to your support.
Welcome, Tenar. If you’re still considering the DS, and want to email me for all the grisly details, my addy’s in my profile.
Wanted to add my welcome, Tenar! Mad props on the 60 lost already!
I’m not inspiring. I’m a cranky bitch who just happens to have learned how to eat less and exercise.
OK, Sunday’s are official weigh-in days. After a 4 day debauchery last weekend, I have gained 1 lb. That isn’t too bad because when I checked on Tuesday it was 3 lbs. However, I was dedicated to getting back into it and worked very hard all week.
Today I’m going to go buy an elliptical machine. I’ve been walking the stairs every day for 1/2 hour, but think I might do better if I had something to do while exercising. I figure I’ll set up the elliptical and a DVD and start making the most of my Netflix subscription. I would like to try to get up to 45 to 60 minutes a day.
Ok, last night I was that person. This morning I’m not nearly so cranky, and can say thank you.
I must say – you are absolutely inspiring.
I should finally step up and introduce myself.
Quick summary: female, 32, 5’7", high point in January of 213. Currently 192.2.
Last December I had bloodwork done at my annual poke-n-prod, and was in perfect health. In February my blood pressure was high. Again in March. Again in April. Right about the time I realized that my body can no longer cope with the excess weight, my back injury from 2005 flared up.
April and May were difficult. I missed a week of work in each month from pain, spent each of those weeks on Vicodin (which suppresses my appetite - helpful), and am slowly returning to normal. This is going to take months of work.
On the good (?) side, my hypertension medication also suppresses appetite. I actually need to check with my doc about that. It’s making the calorie counting easier, but I’m being careful to take vitamins.
So, I’m down to 20 minutes of aerobic exercise a day, no weights allowed for at least the next month. I’m having a fun time following The Hacker’s Diet. It helps me “de-emotionalize” weight loss. The matter-of-factness of weight loss to battle blood pressure is much easier for me than “I want to look like Paris Hilton”.
Enough babble! Glad to be here. My goal will be somewhere between 130 and 150, depending on muscle mass. I have no idea what I’ll be able to do for weight training long term. I’m a little scared, working with this injury. The future is a lot murkier now than a few years ago.
Welcome, MN_Maenad!
That’s my take on it too. I want to fit into society by not being an outlier, but I also want to be accepted as a worthy person even as an overweight person. So I am doing this to feel more comfortable (walking around without joint pain, etc.) and to ward off diabetes and other resulting health problems. It’s not about looks for me, because I have accepted myself as I am and don’t care too much what other people think.
Hell Yes! I’m in. thanks for the kick in the butt tdn I needed it.
I weighed in at 171 this morning.
This should be the month…I know I’m not realizing my full potential just exercising once a week, but I am managing to still do 55 minutes on the elliptical at high intensity (~1150 calories). I like your “100 minutes of ass pounding exercise” plan…at least 3x a week, if not 4 or 5 For me at this point in time, it would actually be easier to drop down to 40 minutes on the elliptical (840 cal), and spend more time working on my upper body and pound on my abs for those other 60 minutes (~250-350 cal). I am beginning to look like Carl Lewis from the butt on down, but like a T-Rex from the waist on up. Not Pretty. My wife wants to get back to the gym with me, and that certainly helps…she usually interferes with my work-out, but now wants to be included. Win-Win!
Thanks for the link to that book Chloe it does look interesting. I might even be prompted to break my “no more diet books ever” rule.
Welcome Tenar it sounds like you’re ready to make some changes. We’d like to help you in whatever way we can. We’re all in this together.
And welcome to MN_Maenad too. I like the Hacker’s Diet. It’s just so sensible in many ways.
tdn did anyone ever tell you that you look just like Bruce Willis? 
I have been very successful on the elliptical where I have failed on other machines because of my bad knee(s). Just remember to start at a low level and somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes. If you do buy an elliptical, DO get one with a heart rate monitor, and know what your heart rate limits are so you don’t overdo it. At home with your machine, you can workout on your own schedule, a definite plus.
Try to work out on the elliptical 3x per week on the first week, 4x on the second, and 5x on the third and thereafter. As you continue these workouts you’re going to find that the initial workout settings to be “too easy” or you may find yourself not getting enough sweat in your work out, or your heart rate is still not reaching the aerobic zone…that means your body is getting stronger and more accustomed to the workout…great! Now bump it up either 5 minutes or 1 level of resistance. Don’t try to do both at the same time, just pick one or the other and stick to your new settings for the rest of the week. The following week? Bump up the setting OPPOSITE of what you picked last week. The week after? Bump up the OPPOSITE of the previous week, and so on and so on.
This will take months to do, but you will build a strong base for aerobic fitness without burning yourself out or getting injured. Do stretch your legs before you workout, and DO spend the last 5 minutes (cooldown period) of your workout pedaling backwards to work the glutes. Then stretch again. Have plenty of water before you workout, and water easily accessible from the machine so you can drink without stopping. If you stop before your target time, you may find it hard to get back to the same RPMs that you started out with. At least it seems this way with me. That’s why I DO NOT STOP until I reach my target time, and I push my self to keep the target RPMs consistent throughout the workout. The only exception is when my max Heart Rate is reached, then I must decrease the RPMs so my HR can decrease.
I have been getting quite a bit of notoriety at my gym as the “Guy who kick ass on the ellipticals”, and I can probably out cardio any of the other folks in the gym, but now I think I need to start building up my upper body to even things out.
I have set a goal to hike our highest peak here in SoCal…San Gorgonio Mtn…11499’ in elevation, by the end of the summer or early fall. My knee maybe questionable still by then, but my strength, weight, and lungs have all improved to make the goal within reach. I owe that to the elliptical.
Well I went a bought and elliptical. I asked the sales guy if it would be hard to assemble. He said no, it was quite easy. He was right - if you have two people!
Luckily a friend came down and we got it put together rather quickly. Unfortunately I then sorta owed it to him to buy dinner or something, so I didn’t get a chance to use it tonight. (He had driven close to an hour to help me out, I figured some sort of thank you was in order.)
170 today.
Way to go Ginger maybe this is the end of your plateau?
I’m happy for you and mildly jealous. I’m 172 today but that’s mostly because came home from my gig at midnight and had a generous midnight snack, not unhealthy (hummus and pita and smoked salmon though not all together) but just more than I needed to eat at 1 am right before going to sleep.
w00t!
Yes, majorly w00t, Gingy! 160s, here you come!
This morning as I stepped on my scale, I realized something: I’ve been eating lunch at the local hospital cafeteria many days for a couple of months now because they have a decent salad bar, their prices are cheap, it satisfies my desire to eat out and I get my walk in getting there and back. For me, it’s a win-win-win-win situation. At first, I’d sometimes have pie or pudding for a treat afterwards. Then, somehow, it became an every meal thing. That was about when my most recent plateau started. I’d somehow deluded myself into thinking that hospital food equals healthy food, so the pie or pudding couldn’t have that many calories. :rolleyes:
Now, it’s been a couple of weeks since I last gave into temptation and my days of bouncing around between 181 and 184 are definitely a thing of the past. This morning, I weighed in at 177. Woohoo! All the size 18 pants I bought over the last 4 or 5 months are baggy on me and some of the size 14 clothes my sister let me look though before giving them away are only somewhat tight. Last winter, I would never have dreamed of wearing a 14. Now it’s almost a reality. Wow!
Welcome, all you newcomers. I’m glad you’re here. I’m even gladder for those of you who have been here a while and have shared your stories and given your support to one another. What a great bunch you are!
Tikki, isn’t it something when you figure out you’ve been innocently sabotaging yourself? :smack:
It’s great that you’ve figured out the problem, and left the 180s behind. Me, I’m looking forward to breaking the 200lb. mark. I’ve got to buy a scale, so I can take a pic of it when it happens!