Holy crap, I wish I was a size 14 at 200. I’m barely a 14 now, at 171ish. I was in a 24 pants when I began, and I am down 85 pounds. Good luck to you, and welcome!
tdn I agree that in this case the biggest loser is a good thing. I have to add that your words have been rolling around in my head for weeks now. When I mentioned that I needed to be more careful about my eating because just walking wasn’t doing it and you replied that it was like trying to sprint only using one leg (I’m paraphrasing). That phrase has stuck with me for weeks now. Mostly because, while I’m still walking like a maniac I’m still not being as careful as I should with my eating which means that I’m still hanging out at 171.5
So, you’re a winner in my book!
Welcome RoniaBorkason We’re always open to new members. I have to say that if you’ve never dieted then you’ve got a head start already. Many of us have been on one diet or another since puberty and the yo-yo thing really hampers your progress in the long run.
I’m an avid walker these days and I’d highly recommend a pedometer. Set yourself a step goal and try and bump that up a bit each week. According to Virgin LifeCare you need 10,000 steps/day plus dietary adjustments to lose weight and 20,000 steps a day with no dietary adjustments. I was making it to 20K steps several days a week for a while and really did notice a quick drop in weight. (I haven’t ever weighed less than my current husband, dammit! but I’m working on that)
Good luck and have fun!
Our only real tradition is to mock Ginger at every possible opportunity. 
Welcome, and good luck! If you need any advice, just ask. It won’t necessarily be good advice, but it’ll be plentiful and free! 
Hi Ronia, I’ll chime in with some free advice which is worth what it costs 
If you’re doing part of this through your healthcare plan, make sure that you get some good advice on eating healthy, which at the lowest level comes down to:
a. Eating less junk.
b. Eating more healthy foods.
c. Portion control.
You also need to start getting more exercise and like others have said, plain old walking is a fantastic way to start, since it requires no training, coaching, special equipment, gym membership, etc. Just a good pair of shoes.
There’s really no magic to this stuff, it’s just being determined to do it and setting realistic goals (stories about people losing 85 lbs in 3 months on the Amazing Apple Butter Diet have, IMHO, no bearing on real life) - everything I’ve read from responsible sources is that 1-2lbs/week is a healthy and realistic weight loss rate. It may not seem like much but that’s 50+ lbs per year, and remember that it took a long time to put the extra weight on so it’s probably going to take some time to get rid of it.
Another thing I noticed at WW (and from personal experience) is that men tend to lose weight faster than women. I have no idea why this is true but if it happens with you and your husband don’t get bummed or discouraged by it. Remember that he is your biggest cheerleader.
Welcome to the thread! There are no rules. We chime in when we want and we try to encourage each other as much as possible. I (usually) start a new thread each month so that the thread doesn’t get too big. I try to put a link to the new thread at the end of the old thread. When I am remiss (and I am occasionally) one of the others starts the new thread for me.
Good luck losing!
My understanding of why men lose faster than women is that men have a higher percentage of muscle mass, which burns more calories per pound than fat. IOW, men have somewhat higher metabolisms, just as a matter of course.
Welcome, RoniaBorkason! The only real rule to participating in this thread is that you put some effort into yourself. We can help, or try to. You’re among great friends here.
Thanks, velvetjones. I appreciate the compliment, and glad I could give you something to think about.
Tomorrow I’m going on my annual “artist’s holiday.” I’ll exercise everyday, and I’ll get in a lot of walking (euphemism for shopping), but the bad part is the eating. And by “bad”, I mean “yummy.” Crab is pretty low fat, until it is swimming in butter and cracker crumbs. Carrot and vidalia onion relish is healthy, except when it’s sitting on the world’s yummiest hot dog. Shrimp is high in cholesterol, especially when it is deep fried. And did I mention the strudel? But waitresses there are pretty good about making substitutions, such as smashed cauliflower for fries. And I think I’m getting pretty good at self-discipline, so I can walk away from a plate that’s still half full.
And it’s only four days. Still, expect next week’s weigh-in to be less than stellar.
I think you’re right, but I recently read an article on the topic, and it mentioned five more reasons. The only one I can remember is about using hand weights. Women tend to pick out cute little pink plastic weights that don’t offend. We men are far less subtle and refined. Our primary motivation is to impress women (and other men), so we go straight for the heavy iron, whether we can handle it or not. Yes, this results in more injuries, but it also results in, well, results.
And one more bit of advice if I may:
In terms of eating less junk and eating more healthy food that may seem quite simplistic until you get right down to choosing what’s healthy and what’s not. Just because something labeled Light or Lite or Diet or Low-Fat or Low-Carb doesn’t necessarily make it healthy or good for you.
A very easy rule of thumb is to try to limit things that don’t look like where they came from which ends up meaning lots of fresh fruits and fresh vegetables and fresh, lean cuts of meat and whole grains.
So, go to the cupboard and pick up the box or bag of your favorite junk food. Look at the ingredient list. Look at the first item on the ingredient list (ingredients are listed in order of quantity, the most plentiful ingredient first) Let’s say you’re looking at a bag of Nacho Cheese Flavor Doritos. The first ingredient is (probably) corn flour. Corn flour comes from corn. Does a Dorito in any way resemble the corn it ultimately came from? Not really. This, then, is not a great food choice.
I like to tell my daughter to treat her body like her castle. If she owned a million dollar castle, would she fill it with cheap furniture that she bought at Wal-Mart or would she fill it with the best, nicest furnishings she could find? I’m thinking I want my castle to be filled with fine furniture made by expert craftsman from the absolute finest materials. That’s also how I want to eat, fresh wholesome ingredients well prepared.
I think my problem at this point is that I can’t seem to stop buying furniture for the castle
Or “All Natural.” Ice cream is all natural. So are french fries.
One credo I have is to avoid all white foods, with meat being the exception. Greens, oranges, and browns are your friends. The bulk of your meals should be practically calorie-free, which means veggies. Carbs should be whole-grain and small in quantity, about 1/2 cup per meal. Sweet potatoes are a tasty way to go. Meats should be lean, and limited to 3 ounces (the size of a deck of cards).
Some may disagree with me on this, but it’s working well for me.
Seconded on the exercise front. I’ve been trying to get from 15 stone plus down to 11 stone. I haven’t followed any diet - just changed my eating habits drastically. Some weeks I lose as much as 4 pounds, some none or 1.
What seems to make the difference is the amount of exercise I do that week. My main exercise is good old walking. Spurred on by declining weight loss I’ve now taken to walking the to work and back, which is 7 miles round trip.
I’ve surprised myself in this but I figured that it actually only adds an hour to my normal journey time each day and I can happily spend that extra hour listening to music or a talking book so it’s not wasted time. And I can now have a lunch break not spent walking round the campus perimeter road.
It’s not impressive compared to some feats here but just by not eating crap, cutting down on the booze and doing more walking I’ve lost over two and a half stone so far this year.
I know it sounds smug but I’ve been amazed at how easy I’ve found it to lose weight once I put my mind to it and just decided to eat healthy and do some gentle exercise.
That’s like 35 pounds, right? That’s fantastic!
I am having a rough time lately. I can not lose any more weight, no matter what I do. I vary my exercise, I vary my eating, and still nothing. I’m very frustrated. I am up to 173.5, which is a gain of 2.5 from my lowest ever. I suspect that some of that is monthly gain, but my body doesn’t retain water at the same time each month so who knows?
I think I’m going to go back to actual WW meetings, even though I’d rather stick my eyes with forks than listen to a room full of whining. Which is what I just did. Right then, I’ll just step into the paradox machine.
Ginger, how long has this plateau been going on? you’ve lost an awful lot of weight, maybe your body just needs to take a break from doing that right now. Also, I know quite a few people who’ve had the kind of surgery I’ve had, successfully break weight loss plateaus by drinking lots and lots and lots of peppermint tea (hot or iced, unsweetened or artificially sweetened). I don’t know why it works, or if there’s something that would make it work for us and not you. But you might want to give it a try.
Hey Ginger sorry for your plateau miseries. I can feel your frustration.
Maybe this is an opportunity to coast for a while. Not quit, not eat everything in sight and to hell with it, but just relax and enjoy your body. Notice the things that you do now and wear now that you couldn’t do or wear 85 lbs ago. Try shifting your focus just a little from dieting/trying to lose weight to just being healthy and taking good care of your beautiful body.
Learn to be a T.O.W (Tits Out Woman) that is, walk with your shoulders back, your head held high and the girls right out front in all their glory. Exercise and eat with a focus on loving your body and being grateful for it.
It’s more of change in attitude than a change in behavior but I’m sure the end result will be that you’ll be happier and more peaceful. Learn to love 173 and after you’ve given yourself a nice relaxing break, re-double your efforts and re-focus on losing.
and if it’s any consolation, I’m back up to 173 today too after visint 169 a couple of times last week. I’ve been eating way too much. I know it. I’m paying for it.
Hang in there.
“Chin up! Boobs out! It’s SHOWTIME!”
The 170s are a real bitch aren’t they? I’ve been struggling lately too and I’m beginning to think that I might meet my Fourth of July goal by that date in 2008. I got in sight of 174 last week but I’m in the midst of my monthly weight gain now and it feels like I’m going to weigh 175 for the rest of my life. On the other hand, I tell myself, there are definitely worse things than weighing 175 forever. We may be stuck where we are, but at least we’re not stuck where we were.
I heard a fascinating article on NPR two nights ago. They interviewed the author of a book called “Rethinking Thin”.
The book focuses on the reasons most dieters fail at maintaining their weight loss and the various factors that contribute to that failure.
She had some interesting things to say about hunger and metabolism and how our brains and our bodies adjust those two items as we lose weight. She also talked extensively about how everyone has a genetically pre-determined weight range and how difficult it is to try and live outside that range.
The book focused on several people who had participated in a long term diet study done a few years ago comparing the success rates of various diet plans.
The NPR article was too short to provide many answers and in reality gave me little hope for success using traditional methods of dieting.
But the discussion of set points and pre-determined weight range got me thinking about the wisdom of losing weight slowly and making actual lifestyle changes.
I’m not sure I’m going to buy the book (because I’ve vowed to not purchase any more diet books) but it sure sounds interesting.
It sounds like a very interesting book. Jayjay and I have a very smart WW group leader who has talked about several of the ideas that you mentioned. The reason that I am still here doing what I am doing is simply because I am making the changes that I need to make in order to lose weight and get healthier.
The one thing that irks me about Weight Watchers is that they use the government standards to determine what my lifetime goal weight will be. There is some leeway to that, but I find it almost impossible to imagine myself at that weight and feeling healthy. I can always talk to my doctor and have him contact them if necessary. He would do that for me.
But that is a decision for the future. The real goal is simply to get there.
I know you’ll get down there - just lay off the bear pic-a-nics.
LOL. Those provide alot of motivation here. I want to be able to go to more! I think that we did rather well there yesterday, espcially considering the temptations that abounded.