Support Group for the Well-Endowed TM's

[Shayna]

Purplebear!!! I am so happy that you decided to open this thread! Everyone’s been so incredible to us in our stop smoking effort, that I know this thread will be just as successful. How could it not be with the Teeming Millions in everyone’s corner?

Since my near nervous breakdown and subsequent depression last year I completely stopped exercising. And as a result, with age and a slowing metabolism, I’ve managed to put on an extra 15 pounds. I know that’s not a lot, but everyone here knows that 50 started out as 15!

I desperately need to get back into a healthy lifestyle so I can nip this in the bud before it gets out of control. And since I’m no longer smoking, I’m more prone to adding more and more weight. But the good news about that is that exercise will be much easier for me now - woo hoo!!

I’m going to have to stop driving through McDonalds and Taco Bell on my way home from work and quit making 2 cups of rice and platefuls of pasta for dinner. I’ve always had really shitty eating habits but never had to worry about it. Now I do!

So not only am I going to be with you guys in spirit and not only am I going to be cheering you on, but I’ll be joining you in your efforts as well.

If there is anyone here who would like to work this like the Smoke-Out topic and wants to have sponsors, I’d gladly volunteer to be anyone’s reason not to have that midnight snack or that extra slice of pie for dessert.

For me, I don’t think I’ll be needing sponsors because all I need to do right now is make a commitment to getting up every day and walking again. But everyone’s been so incredibly supportive and helpful in my efforts, I’d like to be able to return the favor. Let me know if I can be of any help at all!

[Sentinel]

Evilbeth & Christi and anyone else

Peas and beans are high in protein – which we need, but sweet peas have sugar in them. Beans and such also have starches and some sugars and are fattening to an extent but you trade off the fattening aspect for the protein if you decide to cut down on meats.

Water hating: Make unsweetened iced tea – caffeine free – mix 3/4 water to 1/4 tea. THAT cuts the water taste and you CAN ADD a no cal sweetener or lemon to the tea if it is too bitter. You may also make coolaid with sweet and low and drink that for the original coolaid mix – those little packets – contain no sugar and very few calories. 99% of the coolaid calories come from the sugar.

DIABETIC FOODS: No true diabetic food should have any form of sugar in it BUT some types have natural sugars but don’t go above 2 or 3 grams per serving!! Pies especially will have about 2 grams if they contain fruit.
That’s acceptable.

Hidden sugars lie in starchy foods like crackers, pasta and so on. The starch turns into sugar. (Hold a soda cracker in your mouth after chewing it up. Within 30 seconds it begins to taste sweet as your saliva reacts with the starch to create sugar.)

If, like me, you ADORE BUTTER AND MARGARINE, cut the calories by using BUTTER BUDS (artificial, powdered butter) and then use 1/2 of your normal dose of butter.

There is another little secret one might use, but one needs to be careful, especially if one is consuming large amounts of vegetables. Fiber laxative. Take a dose 2 times a day. Usually 30 minutes before your main meals or 60 minutes after. It can push foods through, plus swells with moisture and makes you feel a bit ‘fuller.’

I don’t recommend this unless as a last resort.

Types of lettuce If you are going for low calorie, ICEBERG is best because it mainly is fiber and water.

EXTRA CREDIT HERE: Juicer and juicing. (GREAT, once you get used to the earthy flavor – which they NEVER tell you about on those shows.

Juice anything you want and drink it!! All pulp from vegetables may be separated and frozen and added to soups and meals for flavoring and fiber and vitamins. Like, a tablespoon or two of celery and carrot pulp will thicken and mildly flavor a soup without adding gobs of calories. (The pulp is less strong in flavor than the whole vegetable.)

Combine vegetables for various juice flavors. KEEP ALL JUICES CHILLED and if you make them in bulk – like a quart – YOU need to add about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to keep it from changing color or starting to go bad. Fresh juice will last about 1 or two days in the fridge.

My favorite low calorie drink: 2 stalks celery, 4 medium carrots (peeled), 1 slice of ginger root (quarter size), 1 tomato, 1/4 head of lettuce, a bunch of parsley (adjust to taste – it gives little juice BUT many nutrients, a pungent flavor and a dark green hue – 1/2 of a cored apple. Fresh spinach leafs can be added. Serve chilled. Add water if the flavor is too strong or juice thickens. (Juice will separate easily, so shake container before serving.) WARNING: Ginger is tasty but too much can make it hot.

[purrplebear]

WOW. Again, a bunch of people snuck in on me while I was typing my last post. Sorry for that. Didn’t mean to ignore anyone. I am surprised and gratified that I’m not the only one trying to win the battle of the bulge.

evilbeth, welcome aboard. You are very welcome. Let me say that I, too, really hate tap water. I have been buying the bottled flavored waters from the local grocery store (HEB, for those of you Texans). They may cost a little more, but they taste soooo much better than the tap water around here tastes.

Narile, glad to have a guy aboard! I believe you may be right about the slow burn vs the fast burn. I seem to remember hearing that also. I wish I had an excercise bike to jump on. Oh, well, first things first.

Three bunny mama, welcome! As to what I have been doing for exercise, well, not nearly enough. :o I am renewing my search for a water aerobics class for me to join, and I try to go for a walk every day, long or short, at least get out and walk. I have some weights, and will be using those as well. Having osteo arthritis makes some exercising difficult, but I’m looking for what I can do, instead of what I can’t do.

Christi, again thank you for your support. It is much appreciated.

Kricket, welcome! BTW, the elevators are the huge industrial size ones, so no worries. I will look forward to seeing the diet from your sister.

Shayna, my friend! Thank you so much!! I know that you are having a hard time with not smoking, and for you to take time out to help us is awesome! I am trying to lose a couple more pounds before Mr Bear gets home on Thurs, so I would appreciate a sponsor this week. Will you take Monday for me? You are so amazing. I am fighting a major depression again and am having the munchies bad right now. I know, he’s coming home in a few days, why am I depressed? I wish I knew.

[ruadh]

Well, I’m in too. I’ve really only got about 15 pounds to lose but they say those are always the hardest. (Especially when you’re trying to quit smoking at the same time…)

I walk 25 minutes each way to work and back, and I don’t eat many sweets. I’m also vegetarian, but in this country that means veggie burgers and chips are my main takeaway options, which doesn’t help. And forget about eliminating alcohol - that just isn’t going to happen - though I am trying to limit the amount I drink at home. Can’t afford to join a gym at the moment though I’m definitely planning to as soon as I can. Shayna, you’re right - that’ll be a lot easier without all the smoke in our lungs!

Good luck everyone!

[evilbeth]

The only thing I am drinking that really has any calories is milk–for calcium. I am drinking unsweetened tea but I am trying to drink lots of plain water (we have flavored sparkilng water here but I hate it) to help flush bad stuff out of my system. Plus, I cannot eat/drink anything with Sweet-n-Low but I can use Equal in small amounts–too much gives me a headache. Thank you everyone for your help! My friend and I are trying to walk a mile every morning to add some exercise and I have a treadmill at home plus, salad is one of my favorite foods so this shouldn’t be that difficult for me (except for the water!)–I just need people to push me!

Anyone who has trouble drinking water, here’s an idea. When you are at the computer, only take a bottle of water with you. Get some Icebreakers Hot Cinnamon gum to chew. That stuff is hot!! You will drink water just trying to cool your tongue off and before you know it, you will have finished a whole bottle! Refill the bottle (get another one) and repeat! Eight glasses of water go down in no time!

[GaWd]

I feel like the only guy in a womans’ club.

Well, I’ve always been a big but athletic guy. I weighed about 240 as a freshman in high school. Well, after my dad passed away almost 2 years ago, I gained about 60 pounds or so. So, now here I am at between 280-290 pounds.

I lost about 15 pounds before I went ot Cabo…but then all of the food and alcohol kinda did my weight loss in.

<b>Girls, Help me! I need a bit of moral support to get my butt into the gym a few days a week!</b>

[Thought]

Okay I’m all for help.

I’m 6’6" about 260. I carry my weight well. I’m fat though. spare tire. Fat on my arms… gosh…

Do you know how much I’m supposed to weigh? The ripped body builder guys on tv are 6’6" and weigh 260 so it doesn’t sound bad but I don’t look like them.

I’m on eating at a college campus so I don’t know what I should try to eat.

I think I’ll go with the water thing though. I play softball, I also do some martial arts. I hate running. I’m not good at it. This weight just doesn’t seem to want to go away.

I could use some help too.
Good luck to all the others out there though! Seeing that you get results gives me inspiration!!

[GaWd]

Dude, THought…

It seems you and I are in the same kinda boat. I’m a little shorter than you, but I’ve got some of the biggest hands/feet/bones than I’ve seen in most people. I look about 250, but looks are very deceiving…

It sucks. I’ve quit drinking, which is kinda what got me into this mess to begin with, but now it’s time to stop digesting the feared red meat. <DoH> That sucks.

[Zyada]

Signing on -

Current stats:
191.5 lbs
47.5% of that is fat.

My goal is 25% body fat
Exercising every day.
And more vegetables in my diet.

Do you know how much I’m supposed to weigh? The ripped body builder guys on tv are 6’6" and weigh 260 so it doesn’t sound bad but I don’t look like them.

Thought - This is why I use %body fat instead of simple weight. Because muscle is denser than body fat, two people can weigh exactly the same, yet one person is “overweight” & the other one is not. If you are going to college, there should be some resources to help you. Contact the PE department and see if they have body fat analyzers and nutritional information. The best advice I can give you is stay away from fried foods, fill up on veggies & fruits and eat sweets sparingly.

BTW, one of the nice things about exercising is that muscle has a higher metabolism factor than fat. So if you have a lot of muscle, you lose weight faster & can eat a little more.

[phouka]

Now that I have tackled the majority of my financial and health problems, I finally have the psychic energy to take on my weight.

I’m 5’9" and 250 lbs, and some of this is attributable to a disorder I have called PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome. Only in the last year has research been starting catch up with the deficit of knowledge. Between 5 - 10% of women of childbearing age have this disorder. It’s linked to hyperinsulemia and insulin resistance. Women with this disorder tend to accumulate fat around their waist instead of hips and thighs. We also have a 50% chance of adult onset diabetes (Type II) by our 40s and a 7 times greater chance of heart attack, than average women.

Because of the PCOS, hyperinsulemia, and insulin resistance, I’ve put myself on a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. It’s tough. The cravings for carbs can be overwhelming. However, my blood sugar has evened out, I’m not hungry all the time, and I am losing weight. I’m actually about 244 right now, I think.

The thing to remember, of course, is that this must be a lifestyle change, not a temporary diet. It’s going to take a while to reverse the weight gains of the last 16 years of my life. There’s also an emotional component to this struggle - I have never been an adult woman and slender. I don’t know what that’s like. I’m having to redefine who I am as I change my eating habits and lose weight. I’ll probably also have to redefine my relationships with other people.

So, to all those other women out there, I wish you strength, courage, and fortitude. This is certainly the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do, and I suspect it is for you as well.

[Elthia]

**
Try to make the changes something that you can live with for the rest of your life.

So far, this is the best advice I’ve seen. All the technicalities in the world won’t help you if you can’t keep it up. Remember, losing weight is NOT (despite what you might think) about losing the poundage alone. It’s about becoming what you want to be. And that means permanent changes. Things you will have to live with forever.

Also, you can note when you are eating for some other reason than hunger, and come up with other methods of dealing with the problem.

This is also a big one. In my family (my family, not the one I was born into), we love food. We eat it when we’re happy to celebrate, when we’re sad to comfort, when we’re hungry to fuel, and when we’re desiring a certain flavor we eat then too. Replacing food in things is difficult, but if it’s affecting your weight and you don’t like it, you have to put in the effort.

I keep a canister of raisins at my desk for when I get what I call the “grim munchies” If you get these, determine what you want: sweet or salty, crunchy or chewy. Then you can find a low-calorie, low fat snack to satisfy you without adding too many calories. Be creative, another food that I’ve used for the grim munchies is Apple Cheerios ™.

Hehe. I found that Quaker makes flavored rice- and corn-cakes which are really good for salty desires. They’re a bit high in sodium, but very low-cal and they actually taste good. Not like crunchy cardboard with powdered sawdust on em

Finally, and I cannot stress this enough: exercise, exercise, exercise. You can’t lose weight without exercising. Note: when you start exercising you may actually gain some weight. This is a good thing, because muscle is denser than fat, and what you are doing is replacing fat with muscle. There are scales which measure body fat as well as weight.

Also, try - as with food - to make the changes something you can live with. Take a quick lunch on your lunch break. Take a fifteen minute break at some point that’s stressful and walk to another floor of the building. When you do, concentrate on the muscles you’re using. I know it sounds silly, but when you are more aware of what you are doing, it seems to have more of an effect. Buy some 10-dollar dumbbells and use them while you watch tv at home (it’s easier than you’d think). Do little things. They add up. You don’t have to go to a gym to get healthy and strong, but sometimes it helps (especially if you can afford a session or so a week with a personal trainer, which isn’t as expensive as it used to be).

Purplebear: since I believe exercise is more important than dieting, would you exercise for me? What say you?
**

I’ll second that one

I recently gained six pounds from exercising - and lost two sizes in the process. laugh It’s nice to be lifting weights again, all that babyweight was starting to get to me.

-Elthia

[SwimmingRiddles]

I need to drop about 10 lbs. I think the stress of finals caused me to go into overdrive, which messed up my metabolism, because as soon as they were done, and I regained a bit of sanity, suddenly there were a lot of new rolls that I had never seen before. (“Hey! You! Where did YOU come from? Oh, the Ben & Jerry’s? Nevermind…”) So I’m starting Tae Bo and salad. Chick peas…mmmmm…high in fat, but I’m a vegetarian, so I need the protein. I’m also considering running, but my knees are not that strong, so…

Good luck, Dopers!

[the_Scarlet_Pimpernel]

Just wanted to offer my support to everyone…

Last summer I lost about 15 pounds (extended backpacking trip) - but it’s reeeeally hard to keep them off.

Im echoing everybody who said to drink lots of water - the explanation I heard was that fat cells are hollow, and when you first lose the fat, you need to fill them up with water so they can shrink slowly as you lose the water - otherwise theyll likely fill up with fat again.

Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. When youre shopping, park once and walk from store to store, instead of driving 200 yards further down to the next store.

Ive stopped eating anything but toast after 6 pm. I also keep a big bag of apples in the refrigerator for when I want to nosh, and I keep an apple in my backpack, too, if I get a random snackin urge. If there’s something healthy to hand, Im less likely to get ice cream or pastry.

[ttaylor]

I love seeing everyone together on this. Thank you, everyone, for all the wonderful advice. I tend to lose inches but not weight necessarily. I was a competitive powerlifter for 6 years so i have this large lower body and wimpy upper body…anyone have ideas on fixing that???

---

I’m also considering running, but my knees are not that strong, so…

---

Hey, on that note i tried rollerblading so it is not so hard on my hips(i’ve had multiple surgeries on my hips). So skating offered an easier exercise yet i still built muscle. It will actually work your thigh muscles harder than running does. It works on the quads and the inner thigh hardest. Just a tidbit for anyone ineterested.

Keep up the hard work everyone!!!:)

[Shayna]

purplebear

Will you take Monday for me?

You betcha!! It would be my honor to return some of the encouragement and support you’ve given me. You can do this, purplebear, I just know it. Think positive thoughts about how awesome you’re going to look and feel and how much healthier you will be. That means you get to live longer and have more sex!! Woo Hoo!! Alright girlfriend, I’m cheering for you. And for you, I am committed to taking a 45 minute power walk tonight when I get home from work!

To everyone here, I will be more than happy to ‘sponsor’ anyone who’d like to use me as an incentive to push that plate away or walk that extra mile. I don’t have any diet tips, but I have plenty of cheerleading experience on my resume!

Good luck to all!!

{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}
Shayna

[purrplebear]

Good Morning to all! So glad to see so many here. This is truly awesome! I managed to stay away from the late night munchies last night, but I had to get up a few times in the night from all the water I drank!

ruadh, welcome! All the way from the Emerald Isle no less. And while you’re quitting smoking too! Awesome Dude!

evilbeth: Push! I may try that about the cinnamon gum.

GaWd, Thought, welcome aboard! Glad to see some more guys jumping on here with Narile and ruadh. You don’t have to give up red meat completely, just limit it, and get the leanest cuts you can. Flank steak is great for that, and pricey enough to not fix it too often. I can relate to looking different than what you weigh also, guys. Thought, I can’t run either. I used to love to run, but those days are long over for me, too many problems with my footsies now. Walk, get an exercize bike, whatever does work for you, just get out and move.

zyada, hello! Glad to see you here. I must say that after seeing you in Houston on the 6th, I would never believe you weigh that much! You sure don’t look it! :eek:

phouka, welcome! PCOS? Hmmmmm. You have me wondering. That is where almost all of my extra weight is at, my middle. Maybe I need to talk to my doctor. Thank you for your good wishes too. The same to you as well.

Elthia, thank you. I will exercize every day. Even if it’s just a walk around the block due to time constraints. Good advice too.

Swiddles, hello!! Glad you dropped in. Sure, welcome to the group.

Scarlet, thank you so much for your support. It is much appreciated. I like apples a lot, so I will be doing that also. I just need to remember that they do have sugar in them.

I was reminded of a quote from a movie by something pipefitter said to me early this morning.

“Do or do not. There is no try.” Yoda, from Star Wars

Shayna, are you there for me today? I look forward to hearing from you. Does anyone else need a sponsor? I will be happy to step in for someone.

ttaylor, thanks for the advice. You almost slipped by me while I was typing. Thanks for the tip.

[psycat90]

Add me to the list. I’ve gained 50 lbs since last summer, actually, probably closer to 60 after the past week of vacation eating and drinking. I refuse to diet, I simply must force myself to exercise. I’ll keep you guys posted.

[Shayna]

purplebear: "Shayna, are you there for me today? I look forward to hearing from you."

Psst, purp, look up (see above)! I’m here for ya, sweetie!

[purrplebear]

Shayna! hehehehe! Cool simupost!! I haven’t done that in quite a while. Thanks, girlfriend! I’ll go for a walk this evening too. And, I really love the idea of more sex! He’ll be home on Thurs evening!!!

psycat, welcome aboard! You don’t have to diet. Try some minor changes in your eating habits, and exercize. That should work for you. Don’t forget to get lots of rest before your move out to California, it will help keep you from too much snacking on the plane. Or are you driving?

[struuter]

Can I come in? Please? I need to join the crew if I may.
I’ll drink a bathtub full of water.
I’ll eat all the veggies and throw anything marked ‘milk chocolate’ out the window.
I’ll cut back on red meat and bake, not fry.

Lord help me–I hate to exercise. It’s like tricking myself into doing it. But I’m dedicated to doing the walking thing.

What a great support group you have here. Good luck and I’m here to lend a shoulder when needed.
struuter