New and lost

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-29-2004
New and lost
5
Sun, 08-01-2004 - 7:34am
Hello. My name is Christie. I am 26 years old and I really want to lose weight, but as the discussion title states..I am LOST! I just had a baby almost 10 months ago. Before then i knew I was over weight at 220 lbs, but in my mind it didn't seem "THAT bad." (I'm 5'8") I had only gain 10 lbs. during my whole pregnancy so I thought I was set. Oh NO! 10 months later I have shot up to 260-265 lbs. and to a size 24 jeans. I have mastered the fine art of strech jeans so I can still trick myself into thinking I am in a size 20. That is sad. I am so scared that if I do not do something about my weight now, I will just get bigger and bigger and then there will be no stopping me. I am so depressed because I want to look like i did in high school (I was 200 lbs., but I looked GOOD!)I have stopped talking to ALL of my old friends, i do not go out, I hate meeting new people face to face. I am so ashamed. I am on this board because when I do get to 200 lbs I know i will want to lose more. I don't want my daughter to have to grow up with an overweight mother. I want to be active for her, and myself. I have a few key problems when it comes to loseing weight. 1. No support 2. Don't know what foods to eat. 3. don't know what exercises to do and 4. I get ticked off easily if i don't see results as quickly as I like (but I think everyone may have that problem). If anyone has any ideas please let me know. Also i have to do my grocery shopping today and i am TOTALLY CLUELESS on what would be good meal plans. Ahhhhhh! This seems so hard, i'm about in tears over this! I want to do good, and i really would love any help or advice you guys have to give. Thank you. ^v^Christie
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
In reply to: aydynsmommy
Sun, 08-01-2004 - 9:37am
General guidelines for healthy eating:

- as much fruits and vegetables as you can handle

- lean cuts of meat/protein

- avoiding deep fried foods and processed carbs (packaged foods) like the plague

- WHOLE GRAIN (high fibre) breads and pasta

- low in saturated/trans fats/added sugars

General guidelines for exercising:

- cardiovascular exercise (something that gets your heart rate up - walking, running, aerobics class, stationary bike, swimming)

- strength training (weights/resistance training) muscle is more metabolically active - a pound of muscle takes up much less space than a pound of fat and burns FAR more calories even when you're not exercising.

- flexibility (general stretching/yoga/pilates) helps you be more flexible, obviously, also is relaxing

I really think healthy eating/exercising go hand in hand, you really will have a much easier time losing weight doing both. However, make one healthy change per week. A good start is to eat more vegetables (5-10 servings daily) and do cardio (as much as you can) 3 days a week.

I started out only exercising, and eating whatever I wanted, and didn't lose ANYTHING (not inches, not pounds) for 2 whole years. Once I realized it was all a part of the whole, the pounds just fell off.

As for support, come here and post often! Welcome.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-29-2004
In reply to: aydynsmommy
Sun, 08-01-2004 - 9:50am
I just wanted to welcome you to the board...I think another important thing is to drink lots of water...that really helps...I'm new here too and I know how hard it is to lose weight and actually wait to see results...just try not to focus too much on that...we're all here to support you always...
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2004
In reply to: aydynsmommy
Sun, 08-01-2004 - 10:26am

Hi there Christie :)

 

  Shawna

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-29-2004
In reply to: aydynsmommy
Sun, 08-01-2004 - 11:22am
Thank you all for you responces! I found them not only helpful but encouraging as well! I hope to hear more from everyone and if i can help anyone i will be more then happy to! Thank you again and good luck to all. ^v^Christie
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2004
In reply to: aydynsmommy
Sun, 08-01-2004 - 12:13pm
Welcome to the boards, Christie! Spammy and Shawna already gave you some great advice. If you're looking for some good healthy recipe ideas, we have a recipe section at the bottom of this board. You should check it out! Also, I know it can be frustrating when you don't see immediate results. I can't stress enough to be patient. I always got frustrated because I didn't see results as quickly as I wanted to. But since I've made some changes to my diet (increasing fruits and vegetables, eating more lean proteins and whole grains, etc.) and exercising, I've started to see the results I was looking for. I've been at this since January and have lost 36 pounds, which is an average of about 5 pounds a month. I think when I first went into this, I was expecting a loss of about 8-10 pounds a month, but when I thought about it, I am so happy with losing ANYTHING that 5 pounds a month is perfect for me. You'll find the right pace for you.

As far as exercise, if you haven't exercised in a while, I would suggest starting out slowly. Shawna made an excellent suggestion when she suggested Leslie Sansone's Walk away the Pounds. I did her tapes in the beginning (and still do them sometimes). It's a good way of re-introducing yourself to exercise. As you feel yourself getting stronger, you can start to increase your exercise routines and challenge yourself with more challenging tapes or routines.

Good luck, and you've already found your support system in us :)

~~Linda

~~Linda